In the Bell library there are about 8,800 items for students to check out. We have books, paperbacks, magazines, and reference materials. We also have about 100 bilingual books in 15 different languages funded by a Lake Washington Schools Foundation grant. The average number of library books for elementary schools, in LWSD, is 14,217 with 29 books per student. At Bell we have about 22 books per student, so our collection is on the smaller side.

Our books are frequently circulated. On average, more than 1900 items are checked out each month from our library, or more than 17,000 items per school year. Considering we have one of the smallest collections in the district and are one of the smaller sized schools, we have a high circulation rate. We also have about 350 items for staff to check out including professional books, teaching materials, tapes, and DVDs.

Our fiction section is set up much like book store with the books shelved alphabetically by genre. It is an unusual method for shelving books, yet is based on the premise of the Dewey Decimal System and professional research. In the Dewey system, all books about dinosaurs or dogs or history are shelved near one another. In our fiction section, our books are shelved by genres-science fiction, horror, fantasy, historical fiction, classics, adventure, mystery, sports, humor, animals, graphics, and realistic fiction. The genre is clearly stated in Destiny, our computer system, so students can either find a book using the computer system, or simply walk to a shelf to find something they might want. Since converting our fiction section two years ago, our circulation has jumped from about 13,000 books per year to over 17,000 books per year.

Thanks to the wonderful support of our PTA, Lake Washington School Foundation grants, and the funds earned from our book fair each year, our library is constantly growing with materials that students need for classroom assignments and pleasure reading! Our per pupil budget in 2009-10 was $15.88 including building funds, PTA donations, LWSF grants and book fair profits and was the third highest in the district for per pupil funding. Our Lake Washington School Foundation grant was to fund “Blazing Books for Boys”. With this funding, we were able to purchase about 75 new books that have a high appeal to boys. In the past, we have received funding to purchase art books, bilingual books, and internet linked books.

 Our library also has a Bell Bulldog Readers blog. Here you can find info about new books, reviews, classroom lessons, events, visiting authors- in other words – important and fun information about our library. This blog will be a Web 2.0 communication tool students, parents and staff can use to get the latest information about our library and see projects students have completed. To go to the blog, click this link! http://bellbulldogreaders.edublogs.org/

There are twelve student computers in the Library. Students may use the computers during their Library class, at lunch recess, or during the day if their teacher sends them to the library. Students search for books in our library, use the Internet and online databases to conduct research, work on classroom assignments, and much more!