We had a book swap in Nov. It was held on a Thursday. Teachers signed up for a time to visit. We had books donated along with books brought to swap. Students were able to bring in books before school Mon-Thurs. Books were swapped as one for one regardless of paperback or hardback. They had to be in good condition.

Students were given a coupon with the number of books they brought. We were lucky enough to allow each student to receive a book whether they were able to trade a book or not.

We are now having a swap before school two mornings a week. The students have been very receptive to it. They can also earn Book Bucks from their teachers which equal one book.

Here is how our book swap works:
The Swap is held on a Friday night. That same week the kids bring in books that they want to swap and can turn them in to a parent volunteer before school starts each day. The parent volunteer records how many books have been turned in by each student(limit is 5) by writing the name and number on the back of a bookmark(the kids choose a bookmark from a variety offered) which is put into an envelope to be picked up at the bookswap on Friday night. Then on Friday night, the students come to the book swap, pick up their bookmark which tells them how many books they can take home that night-according to how many they turned in. They show their bookmark on the way out to a volunteer who checks how many books they have and "stamps" it or puts a sticker on it to show that they have "checked out." We invite kids to turn in as many books as they want but they are limited to 5 books that they can choose Friday night. We purchase a fair amount of books also in order to have a good selection of books for kids to choose from the night of the swap. We have a free table for preschoolers or kids who come to the swap but did not turn in books ahead of time. We serve refreshments and have a corner where kids can sit and look at the books they have chosen right away. I think that covers it. Did I forget anything?

I would like to organize a Book Swap at my school. We have Book Fairs every year and like every parent, my bookshelves are overflowing. I am looking for ideas on how to get started, how to collect the pre-read books, what exchange rate to offer when bringing in your books to picking out "new" books, etc. I don't feel comfortable offering this idea to the group without an outline of how it should work.