Reviewing a children's book collection is a great way to see what children are reading.  It can be a great deal of fun because as some books "jumped off the shelf."  Often, today's children are still enjoying the same books that that their older siblings, parents, or even grandparents read.  

By observing how old books are and how they were worn (typical user wear patterns, not abuse or neglect), it is possible to get an idea for which books are being used.  In many collections, certain book represent the titles that circulate the most

With today's LMC computerized catalog and circulation systems (such as Winnebago), it is easy to create reports of book titles and use. She says that she had never done this before.  Browsing the shelves and talking to teachers, the LMS, and staff is helpful, looking at the actual data is fascinating.  This would be where I would start assessing student usage and needs in a school library media center.

Informal recollections of what students check out cab be influenced by perceptions of what has circulated in the past and expectations about student usage and needs. Clearly, to the LMS, an automated database of how each book circulates is a powerful source of objective, quantifiable data that should be considered when assessing how children's literature in a library circulates.

Of course, circulation statistics do not tell the full story, especially in a school LMC. Many books, especially nonfiction, are there to support the curriculum. While students may heavily use these books, they may not circulate because they are pulled from circulation for classes to use for specific projects. To better understand how these books are used, library media specialists must keep track of the needs of classroom teachers for specific types of resources and monitor how often those resources are requested. 

For example, if 3rd grader students do a research project on Native American Indians, the books and resources for that unit must be as fully up-to-date as the curriculum demands. These nonfiction books are pulled from circulation when the 3rd graders to those projects and are set on special carts. They are available and heavily used by those students during that unit. 

While other teachers and students have access to those resources the rest of the school year, typically, resources that are utilized for specific curricular projects do not widely circulate.  It might even be important to not allow those books to be checked out if they are not likely to be returned by the time they are needed for a project.  

This means that such items do not show up as circulating in reports, however, they are an important part of the overall collection and are needed to support the school's curriculum.  Many circulation systems allow a special check-out code to be established so that those books can be inputted into the system when they are pulled for specific units.  This can be an important strategy to monitor collection usage and document user needs.

Analysis of Circulation

Most Circulated Children's Books, in a Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, Public School.  

As the community assessment for Fort Atkinson indicates, this small town, in many ways, is fairly typical of many Wisconsin school districts.  The following are some of the books that students frequently check out at one of the elementary schools.  This listing does not represent a ranking - it merely identifies the books that, relative to the rest of the titles in that section of the collection, circulate significantly more than the "average" typical book. 

Leveled Readers 

Easy Readers

Intermediate/Chapter Books

Note: that when books are in series, the circulation of the entire set circulates widely as students want to read more by that author. Typically, when a series of books that is read by students has more than 4 books, the entire series becomes extremely popular).

Fiction (Classic)

Fiction 

Note: that when books are in series, the circulation of the entire set circulates widely as students want to read more by that author. Typically, when a series of books that is read by students has more than 4 books, the entire series becomes extremely popular).

Nonfiction 

Note:  According to the circulation records, sports, animal books, drawing books, and sports cars/motorcycle books are the most circulated nonfiction books.  This is only half of the story.  The value of much of a non-fiction collection in a school library media center, however, needs to also consider how books are used to support the curriculum

Sports

Animal Books

Drawing 

Note: Craft and other art books do not circulate much but support the curriculum. Many of these books have seasonal themes, so they are used extensively at that time and then not again for the rest of the year

Sports Cars/Motorcycles

Nonfictions Books That Support the Curriculum

The nonfiction books in a school library play a major role in supporting the rest of the school's curriculum. How these books circulate is not really important.  The library media specialist needs to monitor how these books are used in the LMC and classrooms to support core subject areas. 

The following subject headings and Dewey classifications are used to supplement classroom texts and provide resources for student projects. The order on this list does not indicate relative use - just that the books are pulled to support classroom activities.

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