I thought my high school library was terrible. That is, until I spent some time at Lehi High School here in good old Utah. Embarrassing. Sad. It breaks an English teacher's heart.
I could not believe my eyes. I think I own more books than the school does. I learned from the teacher I was working with that she has to buy her own "class set" of books if she wants to change up the reading selection. There are great deals for teachers, but you are looking at a sizable amount of money if you want selection at this school.
I thought this might be of interest because there are a lot of those "hidden" costs that teachers don't realize until they are in the middle of the job. What I have seen that I think works well is for a teacher to have their own little library in the classroom that students can check books out from. Over the years, just look for deals and gather a book here or there to put on your shelves. Please, for the sake of the students!!! Don't let a terrible school library limit your students' variety in literature.
