Let’s talk about classroom library organization using book spine labels! In this post I’ll share information about my book spine labels and how they help me organize my classroom library + some pictures of my current classroom library! You can see how my classroom library organization from previous years here and here!
I filmed a YouTube video all about my classroom library organization and book spine labels! You can watch that below for information + a tour of my library OR continue reading for all the details!
How I Organize Our Classroom Library Books with Book Spine Labels
I really want my students to have an authentic experience with our classroom library and learn not only how to find books in our classroom, but also how to find books when they are at bookstores and public libraries! That was the whole reason behind creating my book spine labels for classroom library organization! All books are facing with their spines out so books don’t get lost in the back of book baskets and students can see the titles of every book at any given time as they are browsing for books!
We have 3 different sections in our classroom library: fiction, informational, and graphic novels!
Fiction Book Spine Labels:
Our fiction books are organized in alphabetical order by author’s last name using my Classroom Library Rainbow Book Spine Labels! Each book has a label on the bottom of the spine. The labels all have letters and are color-coordinated. This allows students to not only see the titles of all the books as they are browsing, but also easily find their favorite authors by searching for the letter and the color! It also makes it super efficient for them to put books away when they are finished reading them because they can see right where the book belongs by searching for the color and letter on the label!
Informational Book Spine Labels:
I created the Classroom Library Informational Book Spine Labels based on the Dewey Decimal system, but instead of numbers, the labels have colors and icons! There is an informational reference sheet in a picture frame on top of the informational book shelf, so students can use that to help them find the types of informational books they are looking for!
This has been a huge help for my students when finding informational books! When I used to have them arranged in baskets, I had a lot of subjects with only a few books, so they didn’t really have enough books for their own basket, but then other subjects were overflowing with books, but not enough books for another basket. That left me with lots of random books and no good place to put them, and made it a lot harder for my students to find the books they were looking for!
Graphic Novels:
Our graphic novel section is on top of a couple of our bookshelves! My students LOVE the graphic novel format and will read both fiction and informational books that are graphic novels, so it makes it easy for them having them all together in one section! For several years our graphic novels didn’t have book spine labels, however I recently created special book spine labels for graphic novels! The labels are free for all my email list subscribers! You can sign up to get them here!
Supplies for Labeling your Classroom Library with Book Spine Labels
- Classroom Library Book Spine Labels
- Avery labels for Inkjet Printers – #8160
- Avery labels for Laser Printers – 5260
- Optional: 1 inch tape to cover the labels so they last longer (this is the tape I use!) or vinyl label protectors (these ones are pre-cut, but have more of a matte finish!)
- This is the laser printer I have! I love it, but I got it years ago, so they have more updated versions of it now! Here’s one of the updated laser printers that looks really nice!
Another option that some people do is get the labels printed at their local office supply store! If you don’t have access to a color printer you may want to choose that option!
Book Spine Label Tips:
- Choose the option that works best for you! I have 3 different book spine label options! The newest addition is an ink saving option that has a strip of color down the center instead of the whole label being colored! These ones work well if you are wanting to save on ink and/or have thinner book spines!
- When I label my books I like to align the labels with the very bottom of the book spine! That way when they are on the bookshelves the labels are all lined up in a straight row!
- When I printed my labels on an inkjet printer they lasted for years without any issues with the ink! Laser printers are higher quality printers that don’t have as much streaking, however the ink seems to rub off the labels easier! I cover the labels with this 1 inch tape that helps them last way longer without any issues with the ink!
Want to dive in deeper into creating a meaningful and effective classroom library and classroom reading community? I created an entire course with everything you need to know to Transform Your Classroom Library! Click the button below to find out more!
What About Levels?
I get asked this question all the time, and the answer is that I don’t label my books by level, nor do I have the levels listed anywhere on the books. Fountas and Pinnell have said that reading levels are a tool for teachers only and “have no place in classroom libraries.” You can read more about their thoughts on their website here.
With that being said, we spend a lot of time at the beginning of the year going over how to choose books that are a good fit, and then we do a lot of practice! I also am talking with my students about the books they are reading all the time, so I’m able to get a good idea of if they are choosing books that are a good fit! If I see a student is having trouble selecting books, then I can work with them on finding books that are a better match for them!
How are you Molly ,I’m Abeer I will work at English school for the first time we are in Kuwait l need your suggestions about how to organize shelves by colors labels
I will be happy if you contact me
With my pleasure,
I might have missed this, but how do you label/organize picture books? I love your system!
Hello! I absolutely LOVE your labels. I used them for my fiction texts. I have been trying to get ahold of your graphic novel labels, but I must be doing it wrong. I have “subscribed” several times the past couple weeks and still have not received an email. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Makenzie!
Thank you so much, that makes me so happy to hear! I just checked my email list for your email and you are on the list! It looks like you should have received an email on June 17th and on June 20th. Maybe they went to your spam/junk folder? Check there and if you still don’t see them, send me an email at lessonswithlaughter@yahoo.com and I’ll get them to you!
Hi! I am switching from Kindergarten to teaching 4th grade! I love how you have all your books organized! It will be super easy for students to see more books and pick other books if they fall in love with a particular author!
I was wondering if you had a post about how you help students choose a “good fit book” and if you keep an anchor chart visible at the beginning of the year to help!
I am also starting my library from scratch. If you have any recommendations for great books to help get me started I would appreciate it!
I know this is an old post, but wondering what you figured out starting a fourth grade library from scratch. My son is a first year teacher next year in 4th and collected a ton of books during college from friends and old teacher friends so trying to figure out what he might use.
Hi! Where are your bookcases from!?
Do you have the Graphic Novel Colorful Icon Genre Poster? Love your products! My library is coming along thanks to you!
I’d really like to double label my books with author and your information, fiction, graphic novel labels but it gets to be a lot on the spine. Do you have these resources available to print on Avery’s .5 x 1.75? I purchased your toy set and am so excited to get organized!
Hi! I love your system. I noticed you have the I Survived series in a book bin which other series are spine out. How did you determine which series are spine out and which series are in bins?
Thanks!
Hi! I am super interested in organizing my library with your labels! These colors are all over my classroom and look so neat! Do you have any tips on removing labels if that would need to be done for any reason?
These look amazing!! I would love to know your thoughts on using these in second grade. Do you think that these would be too difficult for students of that age to navigate? I love the way they look, but something about not having them organized by topic makes me wonder if second graders are a little young.
Hi Molly, I just wondered what the depth of your bookcases is…I’m trying to make sure this system will work with the bookcases I just bought. Thanks!
Hi Amy!
I’m not sure exactly how deep they are, but they are the Billy bookcases from IKEA if that helps!!
Hey! Have you had anyone have success with printing them at a certain store? I want to print them but don’t know where to start! Any help would be great!
Hi! Any local office supply store should be able to print them! I know people have had them done at Office Depot and Staples! One of them (I can’t remember which one) has their own labels that are the same size as the Avery labels, so they print them on those!
Do you label picture books as well? I see you have mostly chapter books. I like a variety on the shelf. The spine is obviously much thinner so it’s not as visually pleasing, but I’m just curious how/if you organize those.
Wondering if you have come up with a solution for this? I am about to start using this system and have a lot of picture books. I want to gather as many tips and ideas before I get started.
How do you label the “where is”, “who is”, “what is” book series? Do you sort them by author? With your nonfiction labels? Or do you just put them into a bucket since it’s a series? I have about 50 of those books and I don’t know how I want to display them in the classroom.
Side note: it’s not the same author for every book so I’m leaning towards not doing the letter labels. Thoughts?
I’m wondering how you categorize the Who Was series. Do you place them in their individual informational categories or do you group them together on their own?
Where did you get the calendar?
I’d love to know if you’ve used this system for lower grade goods. Could this work for picture books or have you found a better system for those?
Hi! I have tried to get the graphic novel book labels but I can not get it to come through on my email. I checked my spam and everything. Could you help me?
Hi Megan! I just sent you an email!!!
Hi, I LOVE your label ideas! I just wanted to add that if you don’t want to spend money on one inch tape, use clear packaging tape, cut into one inch long sections. You could just turn each one-inch length on its “side” and it would give you the one inch high, 2 1/2 wide tape sections you’re looking for. 🙂
That’s a great idea! Thanks, Stacy!!!
I am wanting to redo my library and I am modeling it after your extensive class library. Thank you so much for this resource! I have a combination of picture books and chapter books. Many of my students are reading below grade level, so I don’t want to get rid of all my picture books. Should I mix both picture books and chapter books or should I put them on different shelves? I know my 4th graders should be reading chapter books, but there are some picture books with high lexile levels too. Any suggestions would be appreciated!! Thank you!
Is there any way that you have merged all of your different genres together in your library, or know of someone who has?
I have a special education classroom and wanted to make maintenance and finding things as simple as possible. I was thinking of having them stored on the shelf by ABC/color, then just placing a genre label sticker on the book/spine as well.
Wondering if there’s a better way anyone has tried.
Thanks! I can’t wait to start using this system!
Hi!
Can you share what font you used for your bulletin boards above your library? Thanks so much!
Thank you for sharing all your ideas and resources! I’m redoing my library this summer and I’m super excited to model it after yours!
I also LOVE your calendar I’ve seen in some pictures. Do you share where/how to made that too?
Hello,
I love your calendar on your whiteboard. My daughter is a new teacher to the classroom and I would love to surprise her with a calendar like that. Can you tell me how you made it or where did you get it from? Thanks a million!
I love the way you set up your library! Do you have any suggestions for the lower grades? I’m a 2nd grade teacher.