A Turn to Learn

Ed Tech Integration in the Elementary Classroom

Do You Want Cheap Books For Your Classroom?

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How would you like to have totes (yes, totes!) full of books for your classroom without breaking the bank!?  Yes, I know it sounds like a gimmick, but I promise you it’s not!

Cheap Books for the Classroom

In addition to having a fully stocked classroom library, I have 11 totes full of books in my basement! And not just any totes, they’re huge totes that hold 100-200 books each!

how to get books for the classroom for dirt cheap! you can sometimes get 300 books (of your choice!) for 10$

Obviously, the cost of books can add up quick, especially when there are so many great books out there (and so many topics that we want to teach about!). But, there is a way to get books for your classroom for dirt cheap… library books sales!!! These are probably the best way to build a classroom library!  You can sometimes get a whole bag of books for $5!!!

The best way I’ve found library books sales is through this website:

Note: I’m not getting paid to promote the website, I’m posting it because it honestly is the best!!

Browse through the site to find sales near you. Usually the ones that state “Big Sale!” are pretty good, but only trial and error will really work. You can sign up for a weekly email alerts so you’re always aware of the sales in your area (without having to remember to check the website!)

Now, any given day at a library sale is a steal for books… but do you want books for your classroom that are basically free?  Of course you do!!!!

So you need to go to the book sales on the best day… bag day! Most large library sales have this the last day of their sale. Fill up a whole bag full of books for $5!

A lot of places let you even bring your own bag… I get a kick out of people with giant beach bags full of books (ok, so I’m usually one of those people but it is funny to watch)!

Not only do I use bag day to stock up on new books for the classroom, but I also use it to fill my treasure chest! The kids just love to bring home books as a prize for their good behavior! I started off this year with two totes full of books for the treasure chest (easily 300 books that I paid a total of $10 for) and all of these books were gone by December! They were the most popular prize as well as the least expensive!

Comments

  4. Mary says

    You need to catalog your books on Librarything.com. Then shelve them by author's last name. That way you will be able to use your books for more than one topic. You add your own tags.

    • TurntoLearn says

      I haven't heard of LibraryThing before. I use a software called "Book Collectorz." It came with a barcode scanner which is really fun and makes things a bit quicker to input. I usually keep mine by Category so that it's easy for the kids to find a book, but being able to catalog for more than one topic is interesting… I'll have to check it out! Thanks for the tip!

    • Jen says

      does book collectorz just catalog the books or allow you to check out the books to students? I've been looking at on online library that will check them out and in, but I love the idea of the scanner. Is the scanner you got with the book collectorz just for their program? thanks in advance!

    • TurntoLearn says

      There is an option in Book Collectorz that allows you to check the books in an out and write down a location with them, though I'm not positive if it works with the scanner or not… I honestly never tried it!

      I'm also not positive about which programs the scanner works with… I know it works with Book Collectorz and the other Collectorz software (Music and Movie) but I'm not sure beyond that… My version is also a few years old so I'm sure it's improved over the years, but I wouldn't honestly know at this point.

      Sorry I couldn't be of more help!

    • Saralisse says

      There is an app called Booksapp that let's you check the books out to students. Well it let's you check them out to any of your contacts. But I figure I can make contacts called Student 1, Student 2, etc. It's supposed to be able to scan the book's barcode and know all the info. But if the book isn't very well known, it might not find it. Then you can input it by hand. What I really love is: you can put the books' location in the Notes section. So you can find books on a topic and know where it is! I found it in the Android marketplace. I don't know if it's also available for Apple or iTunes.

    • TurntoLearn says

      Check out the Book Sale Finder link above. You can browse by state or sign up for weekly emails. Personally, I always go by the emails. I've gotten almost all of my books at these sales and you can't beat the deals!

  8. Mrs. Farina says

    Just wanted to THANK YOU for posting this. I'm going on my second year of teaching and am just a bit (or more) obsessed with creating my classroom library. Obv, my budget is small. I've caught public library sales here and there- but this site!! It has them all!! You have brought some joy into my day.

  10. Gabrielle says

    I found you via Pinterest. Thanks for the tip! There is a sale in my area I love to go to but can never remember when it is, I found it listed!

    • TurntoLearn says

      I'm glad it helped! There's a sale like that in my area also… they can't seem to make up their mind as to which month they want to use it in annually, but I can always find it on this site!

  11. Saralisse says

    This was such a great tip! I was able to find a bag sale going on in my backyard for the whole month of June and an Educator's Sale in town in Aug!!

    Thanks a ton!!

  13. Joni Chism says

    Thank you so much for posting this. I just found your link through Pinterest. As a self proclaimed Bibliophile I'm super excited to use this tool. Not only for my collection, but for the future when my husband and I open our bed and breakfast. Now I will be able to allow my future guests to take home a favorite read without breaking the bank.

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