Self Checkout: A Win for Everyone
It is a joy to be back in our library and have students buzzing about choosing books and checking themselves out. Yes, they do it themselves. In the mornings our library is open for students to pick out new books and check in with me for a book recommendation. I am able to match readers and books while books fly off our shelves, all because of self-checkout. Self-checkout was the best decision I made for our library.
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| Students help each other check out |
Why student self-checkout?
Self checkout helps students...
- have greater ownership of their library and their checkouts
- exercise independence
- respect our books, policies (how many they should be taking out), and privacy
The challenges
Privacy - Students were seeing the account of the person before them and sometimes checking books out to them.
- Solution: During 1 class have students demonstrate to me how they check themselves out.
- Add a fun sound ("poof") to say when clearing your name.
- Read a fun book like One Big Pair of Underwear by Laura Gehl and Tom Lichtenheld and talk about how some things are to be shared and some just aren't (like underwear and our private information)
Inventory is inaccurate
- Solution: Mark it lost and move on. (It will probably show up later).
- Coaches - have student volunteers (who can prove they know how to clear their name) coach students and remind them.
"It's not working!" I will sometimes hear repeated beeping which tells me the cursor is not in the box and no matter how many times you scan, nothing happens. However, the overall impact by far exceeds the inconveniences.
The Road to Independence (How we did it)
I created a sign that walks you through the 4 steps to checking out.
My 3rd-5th graders were successfully checking themselves out three weeks into the school year. On week two, I committed myself to "checking in" with each child at checkout and had them show me how they clear their name when they are done. This action is one of the ways we will "respect ourselves" in the library. I explained that students have the right to borrow library books, but they also have the right to keep this private.
Grades 1 and 2 are learning now. I needed to wait until I had volunteers lined up, as this can be time consuming and I didn't want them to be frustrated. This group starts by scanning their name on week one. The next week, they will scan their name and books. After several supervised weeks of independent scanning I will have student "coaches" be at each station, freeing the adults in the room to help students with book selection.
My Takeaways
My favorite part about self-checkout is watching the "leaders" emerge. I developed "coach" roles and students were eager to step into these positions. A coach is a guide and helps but does not actually touch the scanner.
"Poof" was a new addition this year because I was finding too many students walking away from the screen with their information still on it. I added the word to the "clear your name" step. It is so much easier to remember to clear your name when there is something fun attached to it. I tell them they have to "make some magic" before they step away from the computer.
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| Adding a "sound" helps students remember the final step of clearing their names. |
Resources
Our self checkout sign (there is also a check-in sign, but I haven't gotten brave enough to introduce that one yet this year).
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