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  • Writer's pictureThe Black Nightingale

How Babies Love Books

Babies love books!


They love hearing them, looking at them, touching them, and eating them!


This is why, in library world, Board Books (the sturdiest of books meant for the littlest of people) are often beat up, well loved, and... also neglected.


Having an ever changing board book collection is super important. The books need to not only be visually appealing for baby, but also for grown up. And they need to be well organized.


Just exactly HOW they are organized is a great example of one size does NOT fit all.


What kind of shelves do you have? Do you have bins? Do they match? How big is your board book collection? How big do you WANT it to be?


When I recently revamped a public library board book collection, I abandoned the idea of organizing alphabetically. That is a nightmare for people to put those books away. I decided to organize board books by topic. I bought 16 colorful bins (same size & color) and labelled them 1-16.


Each book now has a call number which takes patrons directly to a bin. Books within the bin are not alphabetical, but each bin has the same general topic - leading parents to books similar to what they were looking for.


For example, the book "Germs are not for sharing" has a call number of BB 12 MANNERS.


The topic is "Manners" and the bin is 12.


You can make up whatever topics you want, to suit your community., but the most appealing to the big people are the ones that fit their big dreams for when baby grows up, so here are some suggestions for categories if you're looking to revamp your board book organization.


ABC & 123

Concepts (i.e. opposites and colors)

Manners (please, no biting, etc)

Classics (i.e. Snowy Day)

Seasons & Weather

Stories

Animals

Family & Friends

Fun & Play

Me & My Day (body parts, habits, potty)


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