Classroom Library Informational Book Spine Labels

Organize the informational books in your classroom library with these Informational Book Spine Labels!! These labels have a color and an icon that coordinate with a variety of nonfiction book subjects that are typically found in classroom libraries! There are 27 different icons as well as a reference page for students to refer to that explains what types of books go with each icon!

Tired of books getting lost in the back of book baskets? These classroom library informational  labels are based on the Dewey Decimal system of organizing books, which is used in school and public libraries. They make it so your informational books can be facing spine out so students can see the titles of all the books, and the icons and colors on the labels help students easily find the section of books they are interested in reading!

Here's what you'll get:

• 27 different colored labels with icons for the sections that seem to be most prominent in classroom libraries.
• 8 reference page options that have all the icons and descriptions
• 3 label options (single icon labels, ink-saving labels, and multiple icon labels)
• A teacher note with printing + labeling tips
  

Having colored labels with icons on the spines of these books help your students quickly identify where a book belongs on the shelf. Students simply look at the color label on the spine of the book, and find the other books with that color on the shelves.

There are three different printing options included in this download:

OPTION 1: SINGLE ICON Book Spine Labels

This option allows you to label the informational books in your classroom library with the colorful book spines. When printed, each label will be completely colored and have one icon in the center of the label.

OPTION 2: INK-SAVING Book Spine Labels

This option is for you if you would like to save ink when printing your labels. They have a stripe of color down the middle of the label, as well as an icon, however the sides of each label will remain white.

OPTION 3: MULTIPLE ICON Book Spine Labels

If you have a really large classroom library, this option may be for you! These labels have three icons on each label. Once printed, you can cut the labels into smaller strips to put on the spines of your books. The label will not wrap around the book as much as the other options do.

AVERY LABELS:

These Powerpoint files are formatted to fit Avery labels.

If you will be printing them on an inkjet printer you will want to get style #8160.

If you will be printing them on a laser printer you will want style #5260.

The white Avery labels are 1" x 2 5/8' labels and they come with 30 labels on each sheet. The only difference between the two labels mentioned above is that one is specifically made for inkjet printers, and the other for laser printers! Most office supply stores use laser printers. Please make sure you have access to the correct labels before purchasing!

These labels are based on the Dewey Decimal system of organizing books. I did a lot of research about the Dewey Decimal system when creating this product. I really want my classroom library to give students an authentic experience when browsing for books. Since this is the organizational system public libraries use, I thought it would be good for classroom libraries as well, but I wanted to make it more classroom friendly with colors and icons instead of numbers!

I broke down the ten main classes of the Dewey Decimal system down and created 27 different colored labels with icons for the sections that seem to be most prominent in classroom libraries. The purpose of these Informational Classroom Library Book Spine Labels (based on the Dewey Decimal System) was not to create options for every single specific topic of book that you have in your classroom library, but rather to break down the 10 main Dewey Decimal classifications into smaller topic groups to make it easy for students to find books that fit their general interests.

PLEASE NOTE: Even though the Dewey Decimal classification system is widely thought of as an organizational tool for informational books, it actually includes some fiction books as well! The 800s are dedicated to literature (including poetry, plays, etc.), and fairy tales and folk tales are included in the 300s. With that being said however, the majority of my fiction books are arranged using my Classroom Library Rainbow Book Spine Labels, so these labels are intended to be mostly for informational texts.

(In addition to the options pictured on the reference sheets, I also included labels for "marine animals" and "insects" in the same pink color as the animals label, as well as options for "Canadian history" and "our country's history" instead of American history)

TEACHERS LIKE YOU SAID…

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Josh B.. says, "This is such a great resource. Using these labels has made my classroom library so much more organized, and my kids are able to engage with it so much more easily. They can even own putting away the books and keeping them organized because of the really clear, visual labels."

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Cathy L.. says, "A colorful and seamless way to get my library organized. This resource has been so helpful. I really love the Informational Chart to help the kids recognize the icon when they're searching for a particular type of book. This is just what I needed for my classroom library!"

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Emily H.  says, "I absolutely LOVE these! I'd been looking for a way to organize my hundreds of informational books because bins were too complicated and bulky. This was the answer! My kiddos can easily find books on a topic they're interested in, as well as books on similar topics nearby. They can also help reshelve books, which makes my life easier! Couldn't recommend this enough - thank you!"

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© Molly Maloy | Lessons with Laughter