Creating an art collection for a school library has been a dream of mine for a while now and I have so enjoyed starting my own collection over the past few years.
Tag: School Library Design
I’m in the midst of redesigning our Junior School Library. it’s very exciting but there is also a lot of pressure to get it right. What should we include? How do we pick colours? I totally love it and have enjoyed looking for inspiration from libraries around the world.
School libraries have and continue to rapidly evolve, adapting to the changing needs of students and the education and learning environment. Today’s library spaces should be dynamic, flexible environments that encourage collaboration, innovation and creativity. But designing a school library to achieve all this can be tricky. Whether you are completely renovating the space, undertaking a new build or just making small updates to an existing space, there are lots of decisions and considerations to be made. From flexible furniture to tech-friendly zones with VR, 3D printers, and makerspaces, modern school libraries are being reimagined to inspire curiosity and cater to a variety of learning styles. Exploring the latest design trends has helped me, so here are a few I have discovered that are shaping the future of school libraries.
We are all aware of barriers. Some are for our benefit and safety – Railings to prevent falling from tall buildings, metal strips along roads to reduce the impact of crashes. However, other barriers are societal problems that cause great harm – stairs instead of ramps, door widths inaccessible to wheelchairs.
Barriers exist in our school libraries as well. In her presentation with EduWebinar in early 2023, Krystal Gagen-Spriggs shared research around influencing reading culture and spoke about the importance of removing barriers to promote reading and prevent readercide. I love that word. Readercide. Though, of course, I don’t like what it represents, but I do think it captures so accurately the severity of the act and the fact that it is an act, it’s something we do, intentionally or otherwise, to the students or staff who frequent (or avoid) our space. Killing a love or interest in reading. Killing the desire to be seen or identify as a reader.
2023 Year in Review
It’s has become a bit of a tradition of mine to reflect back on the year that has just passed. I find it immensely helpful to not only remember all the things I actually got done in the year, but to also track what I am spending my focus on, track my goals and my progress towards them and set new goals for the year ahead.
Honestly, 2023 feels like it could have been two years with the amount that has been squeezed into it. To say it has been a massive year feels like a massive understatement. Before writing this, I read my reflections from 2022. I had to chuckle at the plans I had set for the start of 2023. I thought I had it all organised and all laid out. Well, let me tell you, the start of 2023 did not go as planned.
Professional Learning: ASLA 2023 Designing Dynamic School Libraries Experiences Presentation
It was so fantastic to be involved with the #ASLA2023 conference. When Anne Weaver invited me to present alongside her on the topic of designed experiences for dynamic school libraries, I jumped at the chance.
The ASLA 2023 conference had such a wonderful range of presenters and topics and brought together school library staff from all over the country and even from overseas.
It has been a while since I last shared anything on my website. I’ve had, what I think, is a petty good reason. This term has been entirely focused on moving into our brand new secondary school library space. I am currently the Head of Library Services at St Paul’s School and we have two school libraries on the campus. A junior school library and a secondary school library space. Last year, in the term 3 holiday break, my AmazingLibraryTech and I moved the secondary school library into a temporary location in the staff lounge area (usually used for meetings and special events). It meant boxing up all of our belongings, having our collection and shelving packed up and stored offsite, and keeping just a tiny live collection with us.