A Bigger 'Battle'

Many of us in the Library world may already know about Battle of the Books—the program in which students read books, then compete to see who can answer the most questions about them. Did you also know that the program's a great way for school and public libraries to work together? The Scottsdale (AZ) Public Library System has been involved in such a partnership with local schools since 1981, and we've seen it grow from eight schools to 29 in the 2000–2001 school year. The interest doesn't stop at our city limits, either: four neighboring public-library systems have joined the Battle program in the past few years.

If you'd like to form a joint "Battle" program, too, here are some tips.

We've found that in promoting a joint Battle program to our school counterparts, a public/school librarian meeting works best. Try finding out when the media specialists are holding a regular meeting and ask if you can give a presentation. (Of course, school librarians can also contact their public counterparts.) If a school already offers Battle, I find out how it conducts the program and then highlight the similarities between our approaches.

Through meeting with school librarians, I've learned about the many different ways schools conduct Battle of the Books. You may meet librarians and teachers who are reluctant to change the program they love. I try to make joining us an attractive proposition. For instance, the mere mention that public library staff will create the questions for 15 books often turns frowns to smiles on the faces of overworked school staff.

As with any other joint effort, you will face situations that call for compromise. For instance, some of our schools had included fourth graders in the program. But for the joint program, we've had to limit student participation to those in fifth and sixth grade. While this means some fourth graders will have to wait a year to join the program, it also means that libraries can reuse Battle titles every two years instead of three. To help with the expense of the program, some of our library systems lend paperback copies of Battle titles to participating schools. Others buy extra copies of the books to lend to Battle students who visit the public library.

The program works best when both groups have clearly defined tasks. In our program, school and public librarians jointly select the 15 books used each year. While public librarians prepare the questions, school librarians promote the program and form teams. At the school competitions, the public librarians ask the questions while the school librarians keep score. All act as judges. Public library staff then conduct the finals.

Even with our best efforts, we still face the occasional difficulty. We've coped with simple problems, such as rescheduling a competition to accommodate school testing. More difficult problems involve requests such as how to accommodate a class of fifth- and sixth-grade students who are reading below grade level but wish to participate. We've offered these students the option of using recorded books so they can compete with their peers.

A joint Battle program can lead to other school-public library initiatives. In Scottsdale, for instance, we now join forces when planning author visits to the schools. We also lend sets of noncurrent Battle titles to classroom teachers. Certainly, the Battle program has been a great way for me to meet fellow librarians. And there's no sweeter music than the compliments you hear at the end of a successful Battle of the Books program.