Even before I had lined up my first teaching job, I'd started collecting books for my future classroom library. Maybe it is because I'm a bibliophile, maybe it is because my tiny apartments have never had enough space for all the books I want personally, but I was obsessed with curating a bountiful classroom library.
I spent a lot of money. Money I probably didn't need to spend. Money I could have spent on things to make my teaching day better. And I learned the hard way that that the truth is, kids can be tough on books. When a student finds the copy of Drama that's been smooshed under an old lunchbox for two months to return to you, its best if in that moment you don't remember dropping your hard-earned money on a brand new copy.
Now, I have an amazing classroom library, and enough book club sets that I have to seasonally rotate some to storage. I also rarely spend money on books anymore. If I knew then what I know now about getting books, I could have saved so much money. So now I'm sharing it all with you so that you won't spend your own money where you don't have to.
6 Places to get Classroom Books on the Free or on the Cheap
1) The Public library.
Yes, obviously you can check books out, and if your local library has a teacher card available, GET IT. But I'm talking about the books that aren't on the library's shelves anymore. First, each out to your local library to find out if they make unshelved books available for schools and non-profits for free. Then find out when their book sales are. My local library has an ENORMOUS warehouse of older books that also has some new ones that were donated and excess. Setting up an appointment is a bit of a pain, but so so worth it. For libraries without that system, they often have in person book sales.
Pro Tip: The last day of the sale you can generally get a whole bag of books for like $5. Admittedly, you're looking at quantity not quality at that point in the sale, but if you don't know what your students like yet, why not have options?
2) Garage Sales
While the last few years have been particularly demoralizing in some places, most people, especially parents, still really appreciate and support teachers. So not only are garage sales advertising kids stuff a great place to pick up books for cheap, often if you mention to them that you are getting the books for your classroom, the seller may just give them to you. In fact, one eager parent even went into the house to get me more books and came out with some art supplies to boot. Score!
3) Thrift Stores
In general, I've found Goodwill to be cheaper than Salvation Army and most local thrift stores even cheaper. I'm not ashamed to admit that at one point I had a list in my phone of just about every thrift store along the four hour drive to my mom's house and which ones tended to have good kids book selections and which didn't. Again, if you mention you are a teacher at checkout, they may apply a discount.
4) Local Non-Profits
In Northern California we are blessed with the Children's Book Project. I've seen teachers drive in pairs from three hours away for a day trip to go there. Why? It is basically a used book store that is free for teachers. Seriously, you can walk out with a few hundred books, some of them brand new, for your classroom for free. Scour the internet for a similar non-profit in your area.
5) Facebook (and Next Door)
For high-interest books, I've grabbed some on Facebook Marketplace. However, if you post in local groups, especially "Buy Nothing" groups on Facebook that you are a teacher looking to build up your library, you will receive many offers of free books from parents who's children have outgrown them.
6) First Book
If you teach at a Title 1 School, you have access to the fabulous catalog of First Book. This is particularly great for book club sets and they have an emphasis on diverse, high interest books. Delivery will take a few weeks though, and the books must be shipped directly to your qualifying school, so summer orders can be tricky if there isn't someone on site in the weeks leading up to the school year.
7) Tiny Libraries
Ok, I said 6 because #7 is controversial. The spirit of Tiny Libraries is to take a book and leave a book. But remember, I said I was obsessed for my first classroom library. And all those beautiful free graphic novels tempted me. It wasn't like I was taking the books for myself, these were for my classroom. The guilt haunted me though. So, when I did get into my first classroom, and it was full of books that hadn't been mine and had clearly been loved for many years, I ended up taking a bunch of those, along with the books from the $5 bags that weren't hits, back to those same tiny libraries. So in the end it worked out? You decide where you stand on this one.
With these sources, you should be able to get a pretty strong classroom library going. If there are still books you're after, and your school doesn't have funds available, consider fundraising before going out of pocket. Our students deserve engaging, recent, diverse books at their fingertips. But we don't have to go broke to give them to them.
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