Lexile Levels

The question is as follows:
Are you dealing with the issue of assigning guided reading levels to
your collection?
     a) If so, how do you deal with cataloging, costs of obtaining
records, method of adding searchable levels to your catalog records?

Pru—

I have leveled my library by Lexile. You can access their database for free and Follett and PermaBound also have lexile levels. My aide added the 521 field and I used colored dots on the call number label to indicate the reading level by hundreds. The actual lexile level in written on the pocket. Students can search for their lexile level by typing in the number with an L after it (ex. 570L). It took some time, but not as much as I thought it would. I printed the shelf list, fiction only, by authors last name, wrote the lexile numbers on the list, then did the work. This was not required of me. I am trying to be proactive and get the MS/HS to buy into having students tested and allow them to read at their level for their outside reading books.

Mary Jo—

We haven't dealt with guided reading yet in our library.

Jane—

Will be more of an issue for Downsville when we start the 100 Book Challenge.  I will use their software to assign reading levels for existing records.  As new materials are being put into the system, our Follett records have this info in them.  When you search in OPALS by "anywhere" by reading level, ex. 4.5, OPALS displays all titles in your collection having that reading level...

Barb G.—

We are not assigning levels, so far.

Bruce—

No to guided reading; it is handled through the reading specialists.

Kathleen—

We would very much like to add lexile levels to our catalog.  We would use the 521 field: subfield a: Lexile # subfield b: the word "Lexile".  As of yet, Harry Chan has not made this a searchable field, but Ron said he would keep suggesting it.  We would like to use the months of May and June, when our library is closed for renovations, to add the subfields to our titles.  We have some contracting money available to consider paying for lexile levels that aren't easily found through lexile.com.  It would be great if the union catalog could add lexile levels as well.  :-)

Carolyn—

In our library we shelve about 1,000 books by reading level and we also provide rotating classroom libraries for classrooms of leveled books. This is an area of very high circulation for us and has increased the use
of the library and, most importantly, the involvement of the library in the language arts curriculum.   Opals does not do a good job of including levels in their mark record display.  This information is available, but I don't think they feel it is important to include it.  I have been talking to Ron about his, but I'm not sure that he understands exactly why this is so important to us.

I use my CCCD funds to by easy readers and have been able to boost our collection is this area with those funds.  We are also talking with teachers at grade level meetings about collections of books for "guided reading" which are collections of books for small group reading and is encouraged in our new language arts program, Literacy be Design.  We have a lot of questions!

What is the role of the library in this area?  Typically the guided reading books are shelved in a separate room and organized by level for the teachers to use in their reading classes.  I think that we can do a much better job at selecting the books for "guided reading".  The books that the company recommends and SELLS to schools are awful.  This is material that has not been reviewed and is really just bad basal readers.
If we get involved in book selection, then should we get involved the processing and distribution of those books from the reading  rooms?  I think it is very important for the library to be involved in the
selection of high quality literature for the classroom, but we are all struggling (in a very friendly way) with what that looks like.