Welcome students in your school library with this bright and fun welcome to the library sign. This cute design comes in both vertical and horizontal orientations and there's also a version for the media center too!
decorating ideas for a high school library
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Last year at Big Walnut Middle School in Sunbury, Ohio, there were some days when fewer than ten students passed through the library doors. Just like in so many other schools, students and teachers had a growing number of resources available to them through tablets, Chromebooks, e-readers and interactive whiteboards, so they no longer needed to visit the library like they once did.
Can students still check out books? Absolutely. Big Walnut did not reduce its collection; they just consolidated it. In fact, students now have access to even more books than before, because Big Walnut is working on a partnership with the local public library to allow for inter-library loans with weekly deliveries to and from the school.
I agree with my colleague above (i.e. Cobb). Please contact me or send me contact info to connect and collaborate with those who implemented this idea so that I may get a sense of how this could be done in my school library.
Jill Staake is a Contributing Editor with WeAreTeachers. She has a degree in Secondary English Education and has taught in middle and high school classrooms. She's also done training and curriculum design for a financial institution and been a science museum educator. She currently lives in Tampa, Florida where she often works on her back porch while taking frequent breaks for bird-watching and gardening.
A visit to the school library is one of the only times a student ventures beyond the classroom during the school day. Therefore, the library provides an opportunity for students to have a learning experience that differs from traditional studies. Decorations are one way to make this special library time a positive, memorable experience. A well-decorated school library can inspire students to enjoy reading and to read more often.
In the Collect Info step of the design process, you try to gather as much information as possible about your existing school library, along with the students and staff who will use it. You can't propose new solutions until you figure out and document what the existing problems are.
Walk around the interior of your school building and take photos or a short video of the existing library. You can upload those photos or short videos here. Be sure to write a detailed description for every image. (If your school grants access to YouTube, check out this short video that some students in Chicago made about the design of their school building.)
The final step of the design process is to create more finished drawings that illustrate your ideas to others. Remember, your explanation text, and the types of drawings, images, and models you share need to tell the whole story of your project to someone who may or may not have ever visited your school.
I want to highlight what students have read over the summer and also build student ownership of the library space. If all goes well, I might even make this into an independent library center or add it to the Book Review Library Center.
Things are looking up at P.S. 189, in Manhattan's Washington Heights, where a flock of books (fabricated from sheet metal) soars beneath a digitally printed sky, turning florescent light fixtures into inspiring works of art. The libraries shown in this article are located in some of New York City's poorest neighborhoods, and were created as part of an initiative by the Robin Hood Foundation-a leader in school library design-and the New York City Department of Education. Photo Albert Vecerka/Esto
The boldly colored library at the New Vision School, P.S. 69 in the Bronx, is the school's learning epicenter. To enter the building, students must pass through the library on their way upstairs to the school's main floor. The shelving system is from Haller of Switzerland, and the chairs are Arne Jacobsen's "Seven" chair from Denmark. Photo Peter Mauss/Esto.
Based on the things admin said in my interview and on the feedback I received from teachers, I knew that my school wanted the library to be modernized, updated, and made to be more welcoming, representative, comfortable, and enjoyable. Therefore I knew that the changes I wanted to make (adding high interest and representative books, facilitating social and collaborative connection between students, offering brain break activities, etc) should not wait even 1 year. I knew those big changes were needed right away. So I made the changes. I received some pushback and criticism from certain teachers. I received positive feedback and excitement from other teachers. But the only thing that really matters is that these changes caused students to start coming to the library, using the library, asking me for help, and providing positive feedback.
Thank you!Hmm, I learned a lot of it in library school and more from my librarian mentors. Mostly I self teach by watching webinars, attending conferences, reading blogs, and immersing myself in as much professional development as I can! The best thing to do is to analyze your schools needs and focus on brushing up your skills in those needed areas first. For instance I realized no one at my school was teaching students media literacy and source evaluation skills so I set out to become the expert in those topics.
This is an excellent list of advice about how to prioritize your first year in the school library. It is so easy to get overwhelmed by all the tasks that lay before you, and you can find yourself getting confused about where you want to be several years down the road rather than starting with building relationships at the very beginning. You will not get anywhere unless you begin to build those relationships with students, your colleagues, and the administration team. You want people to know that you are an approachable person and enjoyable and friendly to work with (on top of all the great skills you bring to the table).
As a teacher who has just taken over a very out-dated high school library, I am so appreciative of your blog. I was wondering if you had any editable copies of your library menu either on TeachersPayTeachers or another source. I would love to use something similar right at the beginning of the year:) Thank you for all your advice and information!
This is seriously very awesome! I am a school librarian for two years now and still not known by students and some of the teachers. I focused first on organizing the library and set aside collaborating with students and teachers. Then, the pandemic came and I felt totally useless. These suggestions are totally wonderful but we are already in the last four months in our school calendar. I know I am too late but can you suggest some things I should do this late in the school year so I can be known by students and teachers alike? Thank you in advance!
School libraries differ from most other types of libraries because they are contained within school buildings, which, in addition to library space, may include classrooms, auditoriums, circulation space, administrative offices, cafeterias, and the like. As a result, school libraries, or library media centers (LMCs) as they are commonly called, are smaller than their counterparts. Appropriate space planning for present needs and future expansion is imperative in the school library program. According to a study by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, computer and video technology, in addition to other forms of media including print material, is an important part of education. Use of technology in classrooms and in the library must include design aspects that support learning, including adjustable lighting, ample electrical connections, sound control, and space for expansion. School library space must also accommodate computer learning that is separated from quiet reading, group study, circulation, reference work, and other learning activities.
In addition to the emerging issues of sustainable design and wiring technology to accommodate modern communications (see Public Library: Emerging Issues), and digital media and the space required to accommodate it (see Academic Library: Emerging Issues), connecting classrooms to the library and to outlets for distance learning is an emerging issue in school media center design. As outlined in Classrooms, Library Media Centers, and New Technology, a study by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, some other design considerations include:
What do you have in the library? Are you responsible for the maintenance, checkout, and troubleshooting of these items? Are they currently hooked up? Do they work? Do they need any maintenance, and if so, are you responsible for making that happen? Can the computers be used to search the library catalog? How are the computers used within the school?
As an example, at one school, there was a screen, but it was so high up that I could not reach it to pull it down. It appeared to have had a remote control at one time, but no one knew where it might be.
One school had a screen, but it was on the computer lab side of the library, not where I would be teaching lessons. I requested a screen for my lesson area, and I did get one. Too bad it was way too small for the large area I was presenting in. It looked like a postage stamp. I requested and got a computer projector, but I ended up buying my own audio speakers. The computer speakers just were not intended to be heard in a large space like that.
Unless you are starting a brand-new library, you should be able to find these policies on the school or district website. If not, ask other librarians in your district or even your teachers/admin what circulation policies they would like to see in the library.
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