How To Use Your Classroom Library during COVID

One question I have gotten over and over again is – how can we have a classroom library with no shared supplies? We know that our students need access to books, but how do we run our classroom library during COVID?

I have a few different ideas for you, but they all revolve around this bin:

Please remember that this is just an idea for how I will run my classroom library without sharing supplies. You need to do what makes you comfortable and what your district and health officials advise.

Book Quarantine Basket

Full transparency, I stole this idea from my public library. After we turn in books, they sit in a bin for a week before the librarians even check them in.

You can do the same thing with this book quarantine bin. After your students are done with a book, they put them in the bin. Books will stay in the bin for at least a week before students can read them again.

Now, in order for this to be as effective as it can be, you will need to have a set day for book shopping. Otherwise, students will be throwing books in the basket all week which will just put in more germs.

Managing Your Classroom Library during COVID

I would have a set day for book shopping, maybe on Mondays or Fridays. First, divide your classroom library books up into piles. If you have 3 piles, I would only out out one this week and save the others for the next couple weeks.

Spread out some of the books from your classroom library and let students choose a few to keep in their book bins.

If students touch a book, they need to take it or put it in the book quarantine basket.

These will be the books they use all week. On the last day of the week, they will put their books in the book quarantine bin to sit for at least a week.

You may want to have more than one book quarantine basket for your classroom library during COVID. Then, each basket can sit for two weeks before being rotated back in for students to choose from.

Remember, do what makes you feel safest and what is suggested or required by your district and health officials. This is just my idea for how I would manage my classroom library.

You can grab the free book quarantine label here.

Need More Ideas for Centers While Social Distancing?

I wrote two other blog posts all about how to manage centers while social distancing! You can find them here:
* Running Centers While Social Distancing
* How to Have a Writing Center without Shared Supplies

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