I jumped on this bandwagon and didn't look back!! I've seen a lot of different views on the whole book vending machine phenomenon.
Here's why I decided that this was a good fit for my school and why I don't regret it a single bit!!
*Book access- I believe in book access for all students. Yes...I know that we as librarians provide access to books daily BUT I also believe in the power of book ownership. I work in a Title 1 school, so not all my students have their own books at home. Statistics show that kids are three times more likely to be struggling readers if they don't have books of their own at home. BOOM! There it is- my why.
*Reading promotion- If students feel like books are PRIZES then they will value books.
*Social/Emotional Learning- This is huge! Our vending machine is tied to our SEL goals. Students get books for a myriad of reasons: some get a book because they are always doing the right thing (which unfortunately sometimes gets undercelebrated) and some meet behavior goals. Teachers made personalized behavior goals based on our schools behavior rubric to determine goals.
*JOY- yep...the pure joy of it! When kids come in to get their coin, we ring bells, break out the pom-poms and whoop and holler (SCANDALOUS!! Whooping and hollering in the library!). We share a library with our adjoining middle school and the middle schoolers love to join in the celebration too. It's become such a source of joy for me as much as the students.
So...here's the "Really-Reals" if you are thinking about purchasing one:
*We purchased ours from Global Vending Machines. They were great to work with but it is expensive. I wrote a grant to purchase our machine and books to go in it.
*We learned that students need help using the machine. A LOT of students had no idea how to use a vending machine!
*We purchased books from Scholastic and First Book and have tried to stay around the $2.00 mark per book if possible. I've used a lot of Scholastic points to get some of the really popular titles.
*Teachers have bookmarks that they use to write why the student is getting a book. They send the students down to the library, we celebrate and give them the token. We go out with them to take pictures and help them. This works well because students then put the bookmark in their book so parents know why they received it.
That's how it works for us!
I just have to tell you this...one of our Maintenance men came in the library and asked if he could buy one of the books out of the vending machine. I thought he was joking so I said "Noooo...you've got to earn them!" He looked a little crestfallen when I said that so I then said "Wait...you really want a book?" He began to tell me about how his mother read The Mouse and The Motorcycle to him when he was a kid and it was his very favorite book. He even talked about details like the Ralph's ping-pong ball helmet!! I loved it so much that I had to give him a token (as long as he promised to hang a shelf in my library that was needing to be hung. Ha! Win/win!). But it just further proves the power of reading! He had such good memories of reading that book with his mom. Precious!!!
