Wednesday, January 30, 2008
School Libraries
I had great experience in my elementary library. I loved helping out the librarian and in the upper grades became a library assistant. As I try to think about my middle school experience I do not remember the library or where it is located in the school. In High school I remember having to use it a lot and the librarians were very helpful. As I sub in the media centers I can see which libraries are heading to the future with their technology and which ones need a bit more updated.
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6 comments:
Now that I think about it, I didn't use my middle school library too much either. Elementary school is when we went on a regular basis for specials and in high school I needed it for the research purposes. That saddens me that I just skipped using the school library for 3 years. I still used the public library but school libraries have a different feel to them - at least to me. It's a place for others just my age and things are tailored to the things that we like.
I work in a middle school library right now and it is always busy with kids. It's a new building so everything is still in great shape. They can come in before school, during lunch and after school. We have to limit the number to 20 kids per lunch period because so many want to come in. I love it!! Some read alone while others look at some of the "cooler" books and/or magazines. It delights me to see them sharing a book and discussing what they are reading.
I do a trivia question each week and 2 names are drawn each Fri. to pick a prize out of the prize box. Just today I put up an "I loved this book!" board where students can fill out a slip to recommend a book to their peers.
Since kids are already at school, school libraries have a great "in" with them. All we need to do is make it inviting with our collection, technology availability and interactive bulletin boards. Easier said than done - but it's definitely worth all the work and effort to bring them in.
Now, I still sub in some elementary schools and once a week the class had media/library time when they are assigned to go to the library and spend time with the librarian. I think this is great when I was in grade school we never had this. It really helps young kids know the library.
I really don’t remember using my middle school library either. I’m not even sure if I knew where it was located in the building. I remember that I loved going to the library when I was in elementary school. I probably remember going to that library because we went there on a certain day every week. There was not a designated day to go to the library in middle school, so most students just never went. I also think there is a lot of pressure on that age group to be popular and to most hanging out in the library is not considered very “cool”.
Holli I am glad to see that the middle school library you work in is bustling with students! I love the “I love this book” bulletin board idea. A great idea for Valentines Day!
I barely used school libraries until high school and college. in middle school, a research paper meant something entirely different than in college. I remember the library/media center in middle school primarily being a place for students to play games online.
I find it fascinating that middle school is the time when most people didn't use their school libraries. That is when I used it the most. I did research projects and often spent my free time there. For me, it was high school when I visited the library less frequently, probably because I did less research for class.
Since I cannot even remember if we had a library in middle school, I am going to assume I never used it. I remember elementary and high school libraries very vividly. in fact, I still keep in contact with some of the librarians from both. They were an extremely helpful group of people :)
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