If your school does not have an annual or semi-annual book fair, consider starting a tradition that will provide students with a wider range of access to books and that may also bring in a profit for your school and media center. Scholastic book fairs give students access to the newest books for elementary reading levels and encourages students to get excited about reading. A portion of the sales from each book fair go directly to the hosting school to be used for the purchase of books to expand the resources in the media center.
Take what the children learn in the classroom about cultures around the world and bring it into the media center. On a bulletin board, create a large map of the world and label all of the continents. After learning about a particular culture or country, give the children a selection of books about that culture or country to read then have the students mark the country down on the map. Mark each country with a gold star and write the titles of the books read near the gold star on the board.
Read a few tall tales with the children to learn about characters like Paul Bunyan, John Henry, Pecos Bill, Johnny Appleseed and Davy Crockett. Discuss these stories and give the children time to select another story from a collection you've compiled of myths and tall tales to read. When the children are finished, ask the children to create a project that represents a favorite tall tale. Children may draw a picture, make a diorama or even create a tall tale.
One of the key functions of any library or media center is to provide students with research materials. Draw up a list of time periods and assemble a collection of books about each time period, then have the children pick from the list or draw one from a hat. Each child must research his assigned time period and pick a person or profession from that time period to focus on. The children will assemble a number of facts about daily life for that person then make a presentation to the class.