January 1999
Staff -- School Library Journal, 1/1/1999
Make the case to your principal to keep yourscience collection up to date, says one reader.
The Wonders of Weeding
Thanks for your article by Charli O'Dell ("Confused About Fusion? Weed Your Science Collection with a Pro," October 1998). I was able to order some science books as well as other nonfiction books our collection needed.
This is what happened. I had compiled a recommended list of science and other nonfiction books to order. I had told Follett [Library Resources] to start processing the order since the principal usually gives blanket approval for what I requisition, and it takes six weeks to get a book order.
This time, however, the principal called me in and said that since we are stressing Accelerated Reader, shouldn't we only order Accelerated Reader books? Having just read your article, I stressed how important it was to keep our science collection up to date, as well as other nonfiction titles. She looked at me like I was the smartest person and said, "You are absolutely right!"
So you saved my bacon. Thanks!
--name withheld
city withheld, OK
I just received my October 1998 issue of School Library Journal. I really enjoyed and was impressed by the article by Charli O'Dell ("Confused About Fusion? Weed Your Science Collection with a Pro." I will put this information to very good use, since science is not one of my strongest areas. As an addendum, I would like to offer information about the "Weed of the Month Club" www.sunlink.ucf.edu/weed [see SLJ, "Weed-of-the-Month Club Pushes Librarians to Dump the Deadwood," October 1997, p. 16]. This "club" originally started with a message on LM_NET concerning weeding out old space and astronomy books -- to get rid of that "We have books that still say, 'Man will one day go to the moon,'" problem. Since then, each month a weeding topic is presented with justification for weeding, suggested titles to purchase, and comments. There have been several science-related topics: computer science, dinosaurs, and space and astronomy.
As long as I'm writing -- I find the format for [SLJ's] book reviews to be very disappointing. I am a high school librarian and find very little to use in the book review section. Most of the reviews in the Grades 5 & Up section are for much lower grades. Adult Books for Young Adults gives me only one page of reviews. Please consider returning to a format in which high school books are considered seperately.
Thank you for letting me comment.
--Deborah Stafford
Wiesbaden, Germany
The Limits of Lexiles
We read with interest the article about the Lexile Framework for Reading ("Company Touts System to Match Students and Books," September 1998). As a leading publisher of school reading software, with years of experience using reading levels with teachers, we at Advantage Learning Systems wish to clarify a few points for your readers:
The Lexile Framework is a round readability formula, but it's just one of many. None of them can "help teach students to read"; teachers do that. All readability formulas use similar principles to analyze text, and all produce largely comparable results. All, for example, can be used to create thematic units at different levels.
The most popular formulas are those that provide teachers with grade-level measurements. Our experience with educators in 38,000 schools shows that they find grade levels essential. The Lexile formula does not produce grade levels, so educators have difficulty relating Lexiles to other measures of student ability and progress. Ultimately, since grade-level measures appear throughout reading materials and curricula, educators using Lexiles find themselves having to juggle two different standards at once -- a waste of time that should go for instruction.
Everyone's goal should be to match students with appropriate books to foster maximum growth in reading. Readability numbers are useful in that process, but they're just a start. The vital factor in improving instruction is a teacher who knows her students and how to use readability, while also gauging the many variables not measured by any current readability scheme: interest level, subject matter, genre, coherency, student's prior familiarity with the subject, and so on.
Other readability formulas are free to both publishers and educators. Lexiles are available through only one company, for fees that are paid directly by publishers and indirectly by schools. This implied "monopoly" is disturbing to many educators.
We believe meaningful improvements in readability are possible, and we ourselves are currently conducting major research to make such improvements. However, we always have and always will support a free, open standard where educators' informed choices prevail. The most important element in readability, as it is throughout education, is the trained and dedicated teacher and librarian.
-Michael H. Baum
Chief Executive Officer
Advantage Learning Systems
Wisconsin Rapids, WI
Editor's Note
Advantage Learning Systems sells Accelerated Reader, a computerized reading management program.
Correction
The Palmdale Youth Library (CA) is not the state's only library constructed solely for youth library services, as we reported (News Notes, October 1998, p. 20). The Palo Alto Children's Library, built in 1940, was also designed for children.
