There have been so many times when I've had a student come up to me at the reference desk and say "You came to my school." If I came to their school it was because I was doing a booktalk and now they recognize me when they come in the library. We hear that many patrons are shy about approaching the reference desk for help, but if a student sees a familiar face at the reference desk they're more like to approach that librarian for assistance which may save them valuable study time.
Booktalks also let students know about the wide variety of materials that the library offers. One mother came in this summer and said that no one had sparked interest in reading for her son until he heard a booktalk this spring. If you have reluctant readers in your classroom, an enticing booktalk could get them excited about reading. I've heard from more than one student that they had to have the book after they heard the librarian talk about it.
So contact your local library and invite a librarian to come get your students psyched for reading this school year.
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