Book Tasting in the Library

I was inspired by Kristen Hearne to organize an event to highlight my new book purchases for the year. She called her event a Sip and See. You can read all about it here. I decided to call my event a Book Tasting because the visitors would be getting a taste of the books (and hopefully want more) and we would have refreshments.
This event served many purposes: highlight and share the books, build collaborations, showcase what I have to offer the teachers as they adjust to Common Core standards, thank the district administrators and school board for additional book funding this year, and invite many of our stakeholders into the library.
I had tables set up for different categories of books including: fiction/nonfiction pairs, history, literature, mythology, high interest reading, health, argumentative writing, space and science, professional development, careers and biographies, bullying, and the arts. I also set up a table with books that my teachers could check out for our summer reading challenge.

I had signs on display indicating Common Core standards addressed by different books, lesson plan ideas and websites to complement the books.
All three of my administrators stopped by and 28 teachers.
A few of the highlights were:

• One special ed teacher was excited about the high interest nonfiction she can use for research next year
• A resource teacher was excited about the hunting series I purchased because she has boys that will only read Outdoor Life
• Several ELA teacher were interested in the Both Sides of the Story nonfiction series
• Lots of teachers checked out books for the faculty summer reading challenge
• I had to fight the kids off of the books especially the Good Sports series, Gearhead, and hunting books

Overall it was a successful event and I plan to do this again next year.