Holiday Reading Tips and Dewey Decimal Day Activities
Winter is a wonderful time to spark curiosity and encourage students to discover new books.
As the holidays approach, libraries can play a key role in helping young readers stay engaged, explore new interests and build confidence in finding stories they love. In this blog we share practical ideas to boost holiday reading, creative ways to celebrate Dewey Decimal System Day and simple tools that can make managing your library easier this season.
Five Ways to Boost Reading Over the Holidays
1. Create a Winter Reading Passport
Give each student a small passport sheet with spaces for stamps or stickers. Each space represents a simple reading task such as reading for ten minutes, reading to a sibling or choosing a book from a different genre. Students love collecting stamps and it turns reading into a journey.
2. Start a Warm and Cosy Reading Moment
Ask students to choose one evening during the holidays to create a cosy reading nook at home. A blanket, a warm drink and a book can turn reading into a comforting tradition. Encourage them to share a photo of their reading space when they return.
3. Recommend a Book to a Friend
Before the break, invite students to write a short recommendation for a book they love. Pair students randomly and ask them to swap recommendations. Students often enjoy books more when they come from a peer.
4. Holiday Story Starter Challenge
Give students three fun story starters they can continue at home. It might be “This morning I opened the door and saw snow where it should never be” or “The book I was reading suddenly started talking back to me.” Creative writing naturally leads them back to reading.
5. Create a Twelve Days of Reading Countdown
Offer a simple countdown sheet with one small activity each day such as reading a poem, reading a picture book to someone younger or choosing a fact book to learn something new. This works well for students of all ages.
Dewey Decimal System Day, 10 December
Dewey Decimal System Day is a great chance to help students understand how libraries stay organised and to learn about Melvil Dewey, who created the system in 1876 to make finding books easier.
For many younger learners, it is the first time they realise there is a structure behind the shelves and that knowing it helps them feel more confident in the library.
Ideas to Celebrate
1. Dewey treasure hunt
Give students simple clues that lead them to different Dewey number ranges and ask them to record the books they find.
2. Dewey information wall
Create a small poster or wall display with facts about Melvil Dewey and the main number ranges.
3. Mini shelf organisation
Let students organise a small pile of mixed books into the correct numerical order.
These activities make the Dewey system memorable, enjoyable and easy to understand. They also encourage students to explore more of the library and build independence in finding books on their own.
Making Library Management Easier for Schools
Many primary schools still rely on spreadsheets to manage their library collections because a full library management system can feel out of reach. Spreadsheets only offer basic tracking, and they can be time consuming and difficult to maintain as collections grow.
We are pleased to share that ANS is preparing a new low cost solution named Hedgehog Starter, created especially for primary schools. It is simple, affordable and ideal for young library administrators who need an easy way to manage their shelves without unnecessary features.
Alongside this, 247lib.com continues to support schools that need a more complete library management system. It offers powerful tools such as an online catalogue, student access from home, advanced reporting, resource reservations, reading analytics and full cloud based access. This helps students explore books independently, supports teachers with reading insights and gives schools a modern system that grows with them.
Together, Hedgehog Starter and 247lib.com provide schools with real choice. Whether you need a straightforward starter solution or a full library platform, both systems help reduce admin time so you can focus more on encouraging students to explore, read and enjoy learning.
Discover More
Find out how Hedgehog and 247lib.com can help you promote non fiction reading, streamline your daily tasks, and give students more ways to learn and explore.
Visit www.247lib.com to learn more or get in touch with our team for a friendly chat about how we can support your library.
