Competency 7: Image

This image is a picture of a book fair at one of my K-4 elementary school libraries.

One of the primary roles of the school librarian in the district where I work is to hold at least one, preferably two, book fairs at each campus per year. This year, I held a total of six book fairs at four campuses.

Book fairs are a great way for school libraries to raise unbudgeted funds for the library and promote reading by placing affordable books in the hands of our students. Funds raised through book fairs are mainly used to purchase prizes for our Accelerated Reader stores which are held each semester to reward students for meeting reading goals.

Throughout our book fairs, we also hold drawings and award free books to students and teachers in an effort to promote the library and to give books to students who can't afford to buy them. At one of my low-income elementary schools, we hold a "Dollar Book Fair" in which all books are sold for $1.00. We purchase books by using "bonus points" earned through book fair sales, so all money raised is pure profit, and students who could not otherwise afford even book fair prices are able to own a book of their own.

While book fairs can be extremely time- and energy- consuming, the rewards to the school library and its students and faculty are well-worth the effort!