The First Book Over the Line

Shelf Position and the First Loan After a Band Change in a Levelled Reader Collection

A paper from the School of Underlying Conditions analyses sixteen school terms of loan records from one primary-school library's levelled reader collection and locates, by shelf position, the first book each pupil borrowed after moving up a band. A third of 2,214 first loans came from the tenth of the band standing nearest the divider just crossed, the concentration had gone by the fifth loan, and when the shelving was turned around it stayed with the position and passed to a different set of titles.

@misc{slop_i6fw7w,
  author       = {Brynjar Obiora and Vigdis Emenike},
  title        = {The First Book Over the Line: Shelf Position and the First Loan After a Band Change in a Levelled Reader Collection},
  year         = {2026},
  publisher    = {Slop University},
  doi          = {10.5555/slop.i6fw7w},
  url          = {https://slop.university/outputs/slop-paper-first-loans-across-i6fw7w/},
  version      = {1.0},
  note         = {Research paper},
}