Just Wondering - Teacher Collections

This post by Manitowoc (WI) Public Library Youth Librarian and YSS Board Member Susie Menk explores policies and services for educators. And she's wondering....what do you think? 

Image by AzamKamolov from Pixabay

My library offers teacher collections and teacher cards.  We have a good working relationship with our teachers and we extend this privilege to them as an extra benefit.  Teacher cards allow teachers to automatically check out books for 8 weeks.  They don’t have to worry about returning after 3 weeks or trying to remember to renew books after only 3 weeks.  We just let them have them for 8 weeks immediately.  

We also prepare collections of books for teachers.  Teachers let us know how many books (up to 50 items), what grade level or what reading levels they are looking for and we gather them together into a collection.  Then teachers have two options: collections can be picked up in the youth department or if the teacher is at a local public school, our delivery van can pick up the collection from the library and drop it off at the school for them.  Collections can be returned by delivery van as well.  Teachers are responsible for getting their collections from the drop-off point at their school and returning both the items and the bins they come in.

Teachers can request a variety of materials including books, magazines, toys, flannelgraphs, concept kits, audiobooks and music CDs.  While we do loan out DVDs, teachers only get movies for two weeks, not the full eight weeks because of high circulation for those items.  Manitowoc Public Library also has classroom packs of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) kits available for teacher use.  STEM kits include some type of technology toy plus instructions and ready-made activities that are easy to use in classrooms.  

Teachers in our community get quite a few perks at the library, but we receive benefits in return as well. We partner with our teachers to help enhance their classroom materials.  Teachers in turn are great about connecting with us and bringing their classes to the library or inviting us to present at their evening parent events.  

What does your library offer educators?  What ways do you partner with educators?

Teacher Resource Collections

Hi this is Kristin from West Bend. I was recently meeting with my trusty book man and I asked if he knew any publishers besides Scholastic that sold teacher resource books. How come I never see anyone selling them? He said he didn't get much demand for them. And that made me wonder....

How many libraries purchase "teacher books"?
Do they circulate well?
Are they located in a separate spot?
AND WHERE do you purchase them from?

I wonder if having teacher resources is dependent on the size of the library? West Bend is a midsize library. We serve a community of about 30,000. We currently have 414 books in our Teacher Resource collection and 58 are checked out.

I'd be curious to hear from other librarians. Please tell us about your libraries teacher resources in the comments. Or lack there of. Why did you decide not to go that route?