So you're starting at a new school, you're super excited about all the challenges the year holds, you have lots of ideas and experience in how to encourage reading in your classroom, but you are now working at a school without trained library staff in the library. How do you go about encouraging kids to read in a school without a librarian?

If you are fortunate to be working in a school with a library that has trained library staff, celebrate it! And if you are new to a school or are a graduate teacher and are unsure what the library can do for you and your class, make sure you read my recent post with my 9 awesome tips for how to use a library effectively.

Frustratingly, students’ access to well-resourced school libraries is still declining. A key finding from the 2020 Australian and New Zealand School Library survey was that only 42% of respondents feel their library is adequately resourced, including staffing and budget.

In some education districts or areas, there are schools without trained library staff in the library or where volunteers are utilised to keep the library operational.

These challenges can make it hard to encourage reading habits in your students. So, how do you encourage reading if you are working in a school without a librarian?

Find fun ways to encourage reading through collaboration with the public library.

Go visit your public library. Make contact with the public library staff either by phone or email and book a time to talk to the children's librarian or the youth librarian. It’s amazing what public library membership can offer you. Many public libraries offer bulk loans for teachers. They also have online databases and access to homework help for your students. You might also be able to book educational kits for your classroom through your public library.

The New Zealand National Library website provides a detailed explanation of the ways schools and public libraries can collaborate and why collaboration is important.

“Working with your local public library improves student access to reading resources, services, and programmes. It supports reading for pleasure at home and during the holidays. Collaborating also helps public libraries respond to curriculum needs.”

https://natlib.govt.nz/schools/reading-engagement/family-whanau-and-community-connections/collaborating-with-public-libraries

Encourage reading by visiting the school library space.

Even without trained library staff, you may still be able to use the library collection and the space with your class. You could take a class over for reading groups, literacy rotations, reading conferences or small group work. Find out what the library collection is like. Can students still borrow and return books on a regular basis? You might need to be trained how to use the library software but the extra time is worth it as a way to encourage students to read for pleasure.

Online book chats and book trailers are fun ways to encourage reading.

When you are looking for ways to talk to your students about new books or to interest them in specific titles, research the internet for book trailers. Publishers and fans of various books will create trailers just like movie trailers that promote the books. I regularly use book trailers myself for library classes as a way to interest the students in new books or tempt them to try something new.

Visit your local bookshop to discover ways to encourage reading habits.

Talk to the bookshop staff about the most popular titles for a theme or the best sellers for a particular age group. My local bookshop has a dedicated education consultant who handles all the school orders and sends emails on a regular basis featuring the most popular titles in fiction, non-fiction and graphic novels. The staff will know what books children are coming in to buy or are requesting as gifts from their parents and grandparents. Many bookshops hold author visits when there are new books to promote. You can pick up lots of great writing and reading tips plus background information on the stories at author visits. My bookshop also has VIP nights for school staff where teachers can get extra discounts on their purchases.

Reading aloud to your class on a daily basis is an essential part of encouraging reading.

Integrate books into your curriculum as much as possible by looking for books that link to specific subjects and themes. If you need ideas for books to include in your units keep an eye on my TPT store for book lists and related activities that align with the Australian curriculum.

Read books to your class for the fun of it. Although it does help with planning and time management, Not everything needs to be linked to the curriculum to be useful in the classroom.

Another way to encourage reading is to invite guest readers to your classroom.

You don't have to be the one that does all the heavy lifting when it comes to reading. Send home a survey at the beginning of the year and find out if your classroom community can help out. Do any of the kids have retired grandparents that could spend time in your classroom reading to or reading with the students? Invite the principal to come and read their favourite book to your class or the tuckshop convenor or the school cleaner or the groundsperson. Having male role models is an especially important part to encourage reading habits for the boys in your classroom.

Interested in more ways to encourage reading habits?

If you want to read more on the Importance of school libraries, have a look at this article School Libraries matter! By Holly Godfree and Olivia Neilson.

For more on reading role models for boys, check out Reading Role Models: Why They Matter for Boys.