The Golden Shelfmarker is an end-of-the-year tradition I started four years ago in my second year as a library media specialist. My inspiration for the this came from the head custodian at one of the elementary schools where I’d done my student teaching; he gave out a Golden Trash Can to the class who’d kept their room the tidiest all year. At the end of my first year, there were SO MANY books that didn’t make it back to my library, and I was determined to find a way to motivate students and teachers to return their books before summer--thus the Golden Shelfmarker was born!
At the end of the year, winning classes get a Golden Shelfmarker (a paint stirrer from Lowe’s spray painted gold and labeled using my Cricut) to display for the following school year, and each student in the winning classes receive a coupon for an extra book checkout to use at their choosing. One class at each grade level (and one honorable mention out of the whole school) will receive a Golden Shelfmarker for the fewest overdue books at the end of the year AND their overall behavior as a class throughout the year during weekly exchanges.
To encourage book returns, I have signs throughout the library reminding students to return their books, a bulletin board outside the library (see photo above—the numbers represent how many books that class still has out), and quick videos I put together on iMovie. I’m not kidding you, this has been a GAME CHANGER. The teachers might actually be the most competitive and the ones driving the rapid book return rate, but it works!!! One of my kindergarten teachers proudly displays her Golden Shelfmarker on her classroom door all year long—she’s won three years in a row and is looking for a fourpeat!
I know there will be some stragglers at each grade level—but if a kid has an extra book over the summer that could be read a few more times, I ultimately can’t complain!!
Are you ready to start using Golden Shelfmarkers to manage your end-of-year returns in your library? Two lucky people will win a custom set of Golden Shelfmarkers for their library! Just follow the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I’d also love to hear if you’d be interested in seeing Golden Shelfmarkers or their Cricut labels in my Etsy shop!
