While you’ve already taken the steps necessary to build your own high-quality classroom library, the start of the new year provides another wonderful opportunity to ensure it continues to meet the demands of all your young readers. These five tips will not only make sprucing up your bookshelves fun and easy, they’ll make your classroom library an even more valuable resource for your students this school year and beyond!

1. Rearrange and Reorganize

One of the easiest ways to refresh your classroom library is to rearrange your design elements. Whether you designate a new corner for independent reading, put your display of classroom favorites front and center, or decide to move books from shelves to storage bins, shuffling a few features around can make your classroom library even more inviting.

2. Add Something New 

A thrifted lamp or comfy pillows. A plant from home. A new bulletin board, poster, or wall display. Adding just one new design element or item of classroom decor is an easy way to breathe new life into your classroom library.

3. Expand Your Toolbox

A classroom library shouldn’t just be stocked with books — other helpful interactive teaching tools that support reading and literacy should make a home here too. Resources like sight word box sets or a few classroom magazines are a great complement to all the amazing books lining the shelves of your classroom library.

4. Repair or Replace

Give your classroom library a good once over and search for books that need to be repaired or replaced (this is also a great task for students to help out with). Once you and your students are done thumbing through your collection of books, sit down with your class and talk to them about the books they’d love to see on the shelves of their classroom library, as well as the new subjects, topics, and areas of interest they want to learn more about. Check out library collections under $40, with everything from popular fiction series to gripping nonfiction and beyond. 

5. Add New Releases

After learning which books your students can’t wait to get their hands on — and the topics they are itching to learn more about — add a few of their recommendations and requests to your classroom library.  With new best sellers and kid-favorite classics from your students’ favorite authors, these teacher-approved collections will help you take your classroom library to the next level and support your students on their reading journey. 

For more must-have tools, check out these essential classroom library resources from Scholastic! 

Shop the best new books to refresh your library below! You can find all books and activities at The Teacher Store.