I came across an amazing article questioning the usefulness of the Dewey Decimal System for cataloguing children’s books. The article describes the journey of four librarians who restructured the library at the Ethical Culture School in New York City.

They raised a number of issues such as: Do children need the 3 letters of the author on the book spine when many of the youngest members can’t read…?

• Child-centred: it had to start from a student’s point of view and use appropriate language for our users.
• Browsable: the order and the sections and subsections had to be clear not only to librarians, but also to students, faculty, and parents.
• Flexible: it had to be capable of being adapted for use by a range of ages and be capable of evolving over time, as the world changed and our collection grew.”

The system these four librarians developed is called Metis and I think this is the way forward for little readers to get the most out of a library service.

Here are the links:

http://www.slj.com/2012/09/librarians/are-deweys-days-numbered-libraries-across-the-country-are-giving-the-old-classification-system-the-heave-ho-heres-one-schools-story/

http://www.metisinnovations.com/

This is probably the fastest moving idea I have ever had … Less that 4 weeks ago, I read a post on the fb page of the International Women’s Club (IWC Breda) regarding access to English children’s books.

Often, ordering new books seems our only solution. Somehow, while tidying up my girls’ substantial book collection, looking at books we don’t really use any more, the idea of setting up a children’s library suddenly sprang to mind:

• A free library service catering for the English speaking children and their families living in and around Breda.
• A library service for the Dutch children learning English
• A library service for Dutch Expats returning and wanting to maintain their children’s English
• A library with a collection of books suitable for 0-11 year olds.
• An old-school library with a library card, book cards and date stamps.
• A place for children to regularly browse and select their books and get that amazing ‘library feeling’.
• A library that becomes part of their school week

I first discussed the idea with a few friends and family and then got in touch with the IWC and a member of the International School in Breda. The support and enthusiasm has really taken me be surprise. And with book donation offers already being made, well it’s full steam ahead!

I will be using the blog and fb page for updates, so start following. Thanks Tatia