Classroom Library Audit: A Printable Checklist for Range, Representation and Condition

A classroom library tends to grow by accumulation: donations, book-fair bonuses, a colleague’s retirement boxes. An audit is a few hours spent asking what you actually have, whether it serves the readers in front of you, and what to remove or add. This checklist works for a single classroom shelf or a school library section. Print it, take it to the shelves, and work through one section per sitting.

Before you start

• Set a scope. One bin, one shelf or the whole room. A full classroom library can take two or three sessions.
• Decide how you’ll sample. For a large collection, pull every tenth book or one full bin per category instead of counting everything.
• Prepare a tally sheet with the categories below. A simple paper grid or spreadsheet works.
• Gather sticky notes in three colors: keep, repair or replace, and remove.
• Involve students for parts of it. Older students can tally formats and genres, and their opinions on what’s missing are valuable data.

The audit is a snapshot, not a judgment. Most collections have gaps. The goal is to see them clearly.

Part 1: Formats

Tally how many of each you have.

• ☐ Board books (for pre-K and K)
• ☐ Picture books (fiction)
• ☐ Picture books (nonfiction and biography)
• ☐ Early readers and decodable books
• ☐ Chapter books (transitional)
• ☐ Middle-grade novels
• ☐ Graphic novels and comics
• ☐ Novels in verse and poetry collections
• ☐ Reference (atlases, field guides, dictionaries)
• ☐ Magazines
• ☐ Audiobooks or access to audio

Questions to ask:

• Does each format fit my grade, and the readers above and below grade level?
• Are graphic novels and verse novels available in more than token numbers? (See our guides to graphic novels for kids and verse novels.)
• Do older students have access to picture books, and are they treated as real reading?

Part 2: Reading range

• ☐ Books that your least experienced readers can read independently
• ☐ Books that challenge your most experienced readers
• ☐ High-interest books with accessible text for students still building fluency
• ☐ Books that can be read aloud and enjoyed above students’ independent level

Questions to ask:

• If you level books, are levels visible only on the back or inside (so students don’t feel labeled), and can students also browse by topic and genre?
• Is there enough at every level that a student can choose rather than take whatever’s left?

Our guide to choosing just-right books has more on balancing levels with choice.

Part 3: Genres and topics

• ☐ Realistic fiction
• ☐ Fantasy and science fiction
• ☐ Mystery
• ☐ Historical fiction
• ☐ Humor
• ☐ Adventure and survival
• ☐ Folktales, fairy tales and myths from many cultures
• ☐ Poetry
• ☐ Sports
• ☐ Animals and nature
• ☐ Science, math and technology
• ☐ History and biography
• ☐ How-to, crafts, cooking
• ☐ Books about emotions and relationships

Questions to ask:

• What do students ask for that you don’t have?
• Which bins are always empty (popular) and which are never touched?

Part 4: Nonfiction share

• ☐ Count nonfiction titles as a share of the total.
• ☐ Check range: animals, space, the human body, history, biography, arts, sports, how-to.
• ☐ Check currency: science and technology titles that are many years old may be inaccurate.
• ☐ Check variety of nonfiction styles: narrative nonfiction, browseable fact books, memoir, picture-book biography.

There is no single “correct” proportion. Decide what fits your curriculum and students, and note whether nonfiction is easy to find and inviting to browse. Award lists such as the ALSC Sibert Medal for informational books and the NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for nonfiction are useful places to look.

Part 5: Authors’ and characters’ backgrounds

This is the part of the audit most worth doing slowly. For a sample of books, record:

• ☐ Race and ethnicity of main characters (when the book makes it clear)
• ☐ Race and ethnicity of authors and illustrators (when publicly stated)
• ☐ Gender of main characters
• ☐ Family structures shown (single-parent, grandparent-led, two-parent, adoptive, foster, multigenerational)
• ☐ Settings: urban, suburban, rural; U.S. regions; countries outside the U.S.
• ☐ Economic circumstances shown
• ☐ Religious and cultural traditions
• ☐ Immigration and multilingual experiences
• ☐ Characters with disabilities (see Part 7)

Questions to ask:

• Does every student in this class find characters who share important parts of their life?
• Do students also find characters whose lives are very different from theirs?
• Are characters from underrepresented groups shown only in stories about struggle or history, or also in fantasy, humor, mystery and everyday stories?
• Are books about a culture written by people from that culture? Check author’s notes and publisher information.
• Are any books built on stereotypes, in text or illustrations? Note these for review.

The ALA Library Bill of Rights says materials shouldn’t be excluded because of the background or views of their creators. A representation audit is about adding range, not about removing books for their viewpoint.

Part 6: Multiple languages

• ☐ Books in students’ home languages
• ☐ Bilingual books
• ☐ Books that include another language naturally in English text
• ☐ Books translated into English from other languages

Questions to ask:

• Which home languages are in this class? Are they on the shelves?
• Are home-language books mixed into topic bins, or isolated in one corner?

Picture books such as Likkle Miss Lou, about the childhood of the Jamaican poet Louise Bennett Coverley, who made the island’s everyday speech into poetry, and Planting Stories, about bilingual storyteller and librarian Pura Belpré, can anchor conversations about language. ALSC’s Batchelder Award honors children’s books translated into English. See also reading in bilingual families.

Part 7: Disability representation

• ☐ Books with disabled main characters, not only sidekicks
• ☐ A range of disabilities: physical, sensory, intellectual, developmental, chronic illness, mental health
• ☐ Books where disability is part of the story but not the whole story
• ☐ Books by disabled authors (when publicly stated)
• ☐ Memoir and nonfiction about disability

Questions to ask:

• Is disability shown as something to be “overcome” or pitied, or as part of a full life?
• Are characters defined by their disability, or are they people with goals, friends and humor?

El Deafo, Cece Bell’s graphic memoir of growing up deaf, is a good test case for the questions above: disability is central to the story, but so are friendship, embarrassment and jokes. ALA’s Schneider Family Book Award honors books that artistically portray the disability experience, with categories for younger children, middle grade and teens. The Council for Exceptional Children’s Dolly Gray Children’s Literature Award focuses on portrayals of individuals with developmental disabilities.

Part 8: Currency and condition

Pull a sample and check:

• ☐ Torn, stained, loose or missing pages
• ☐ Faded or unappealing covers that students skip
• ☐ Outdated information (science, technology, maps, “the future”)
• ☐ Outdated or harmful depictions that aren’t balanced by context
• ☐ Duplicates beyond what’s needed
• ☐ Publication dates: what share is recent? What share is older?

Question to ask: Would a student pick this book up? If not, why not?

Part 9: Accessibility of displays and organization

• ☐ Books shelved face-out on at least some shelves, especially for younger readers
• ☐ Bins labeled with words and pictures (and in home languages if possible)
• ☐ Shelves reachable from a seated position and by students using wheelchairs or other mobility devices
• ☐ Large-print, audio, or digital options available for students who need them
• ☐ Clear check-out and return system students can manage on their own
• ☐ Rotating displays that feature a range of authors, characters and formats
• ☐ A comfortable place to read

How to weed

Weeding is routine collection care, not censorship. ALA’s Selection & Reconsideration Policy Toolkit says materials are judged for weeding on accuracy, currency and relevancy, along with condition, format, edition and number of copies. It states plainly that weeding should not be used to remove controversial materials.

A practical process:

1. Check your school or district policy first. Many schools have rules for what can be removed and how discarded books are handled. ALA advises that school policies address disposal of weeded items.
2. Consider a criteria checklist such as MUSTIE. The ALA toolkit names MUSTIE (and CREW) as weeding methods that libraries, notably academic libraries, use. Adapted for a classroom:
   • Misleading (factually inaccurate or outdated)
   • Ugly (worn beyond repair)
   • Superseded (by a newer edition or better book on the topic)
   • Trivial (no lasting value or interest)
   • Irrelevant (not used by your readers or curriculum)
   • Elsewhere (obtainable elsewhere, such as the school or public library)
3. Pull, don’t discard immediately. Put weeded books in a box for a week. Look again with fresh eyes.
4. Replace what’s still needed. A worn copy of a beloved book is a reorder, not just a removal.
5. Record what you removed and why, in case questions come up.
6. Dispose according to policy (recycling, donation, or giveaway, as allowed).

Don’t weed a book only because it’s old, a “classic” you personally dislike, or a title someone has complained about. Follow your school’s reconsideration process for challenges.

Where to find recommendations

When your audit shows gaps, these lists are good starting points:

• ALSC Book & Media Awards (ala.org/alsc): Newbery, Caldecott, Pura Belpré (Latino cultural experience), Sibert (informational), Geisel (beginning readers), Batchelder (translated), Odyssey (audiobooks).
• ALSC Notable Children’s Books (annual list): birth through age 14, grouped by reader age.
• Coretta Scott King Book Awards (ALA): African American authors and illustrators.
• Schneider Family Book Award (ALA): disability experience.
• Awards from other organizations (ALSC list): American Indian Youth Literature Award, Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, Sydney Taylor Book Award, Américas Award, Arab American Book Award, South Asia Book Awards and more.
• Your public library’s children’s librarian. They often know what’s circulating locally. See using your public library.

On this site, browse diverse books, nonfiction and classroom picks, or use the book finder and reading list tool to build an order list. Our review methodology explains how we select books.

One-page summary sheet

After the audit, fill in:

• Total titles (or sample size): ___
• Strongest areas: ___
• Three biggest gaps: 1. ___ 2. ___ 3. ___
• Books removed: ___ (reasons: ___)
• Books to repair or replace: ___
• Wish list (top 10): ___
• Student input collected: ☐ yes ☐ no
• Next audit date: ___

Repeat the audit once a year, or before a big order. Small, regular reviews are easier than one huge overhaul.