Student Issues

I found all three articles geared towards student engagement very applicable to where I am at on my journey in the LC. I was pleased to see the article by Miller on ways to create LC engagement including Drama in the Library, something I am also exploring more of this year.  After reading Goldfinch's article about reaching students through compassion and humour I was driven to address my own hours of operation.  I emailed my Admin to discuss opening the LC at lunchtime for students.  Some of the areas I wish to discuss with her include:

-Library is used for lunch meetings, but could other classrooms be used instead

-What activities would students be able to do/take part in or not do (playing computer games prolly not a great idea)

-if coding club is an option.. I know we are waiting to see how coding materials get shared around the school, but if they are shared then how would they be used in the LC? 

-would we need to regulate which students are able to come on certain days so the LC is not bombarded

-Maybe its not all days but twice or three times a week

-I'm thinking more along the lines as a space to be open to those who love having more time in there but don't necessarily get the time.  Reading, signing out books, puzzles, chess, book clubs...

-I would ideally be the one in there, but is there a supervisor that could also be available to support me if I need a break?

Seeing as October is Love Your Library month, I thought why not give it a try.  Trying to continue the "yes".  If anyone can add to my list of concerns I would be most appreciative.

One welcoming poicy I have seen relating to students started at the Public Library System last year when they introduced "no late fines for children".  I frequent the Library myself with my kids and they have come to know the space as a fun place to be.  It's a very smart thing to do as a way to indoctrinate children in a positive way to encourage life-ling learning- as opposed to say McDonalds that indoctrinates a cradle to grave marketing that gets children "hooked".  I don't know why I associated those two things, but it seems relevant to me.  I also appreciate how the Public Library is proactive in helping parents locate missing items.  They usually give you a few months to locate items and on their end conduct a search electronically through the branches.  If indeed items are lost and have to be paid for, they still return your money to you if the item is found at a much later date.  It's a very fair and forgiving experience to go through with encourages me to be a repeat user.  I try to  apply these two student friendly policies in our LC.   

I appreciated the readings on overdues by Goldfinch and Bacon, and really had a good laugh.  I find that kids are always asking how many items they are allowed to sign out.  My feeling on this is quite simply, "I don't care- the more the better!" Although I don't say this or I would have a book reshelving nightmere!  I have not been as focused on how many items get checked out of the Library, but I do try to get students to choose different kinds of books rather than hoarding all three of the same kind of book.  This can help develop their reading interests and it makes those books available to others also.  Not to mention, the coveted book on hold.  Students love to know that they have something special waiting for them.  I have this year taken on that stance of saying yes to another book or two even if they forget them at home.  There are things I can do to connect with their parents if it gets out of hand.  Or ways to help students be more responsible with their book borrowing.  I could ask their teacher to help them find a place they can keep their Library books at school instead of bringing them home if it becomes a problem, send a reminder note home or at the end of the day try to connect with the parent at pick-up time to give them a friendly reminder.

I can't seem to remember any negative Library policies as of lately.  But one thing I have noticed are peoples' perceptions about what a Library is and how the space should be used and what tone of voice one should have etc....  I can appreciate and also enjoy the LC space to be peaceful and quiet, however this doesn't seem to be the case most of the time.  I'm sure it has something to do with my personality, but I try to change the age old sentiment that Libraries are a quiet space.  Students really enjoy making noise and so I let them in a more structured way at times and less structured at other times.  I know my own children are spirited, lively and generally speaking- a handful and I wouldn't have them any other way.  I have been in the public Library during one of our many visits and have been given the "keep it down" eye, which I don't really like, especially when a Library  can be filled with so many ways to ignite the imagination such as puppets and toys.  

I feel that in keeping up with providing spaces to encourage participation and engagement that focus should be on the experiences provided and the learning taken away rather than how one should use the space.  For this reason I really like the separation of Public and School Libraries.