Pike County High School

DECODING THE LIBRARY – BOOK LABELS

• Shelf Labels
  The standard library shelf label is white and helps show where the book goes in the library.
  The first line will have the location. FIC stands for FICTION, PB for PAPERBACK, and BIO for BIOGRAPHY. Those that have a number will be found in the NONFICTION section and should be in order primarily by the number.
  The second line will be a 3-letter code. For everything except biographies, this represents the first three letters of the author's last name. In biographies, it is the first three letters of the subject's last name.
• Leveling Labels
  For AR purposes, there are two labels that refer to leveling.
  1. A colored dot (or the shelf label may be colored) that identifies the book level. Orange is 0.0 - 2.9. Pink is 3.0 - 4.9. Yellow is 5.0-6.9. Red is 7.0-7.9. Blue is 8.0-8.9. Green is 9.0 and up. 
  2. Juvenile, Teen, and YA indicate the Interest Level. Juvenile is for Lower Grades (K-4). This indicates that the book's content is meant for younger readers and may not interest your middle/high school child. Teen indicates Middle Grades (4-8). The content will be more advanced than a Lower Grades book, often dealing with the sorts of topics that come up in Middle Grades. There may be mild language. YA stands for Young Adult and represents books that are intended for grades 9+. There can be strong language, violence, suicide, and other topics that may not be suitable for younger readers. 7th and 8th-grade students are not allowed to check out a YA book without parental permission. This gives the parent the ability to make the decision about this content level.
• Genre Labels
  Something new (and an on-going project) is genre labels. These will help you when browsing as they identify why type of book it is -- poetry, realistic fiction, Holocaust stories, science fiction, etc. Did you find a book that doesn't have a genre label? Give me a suggestion for it!