What is Happening in the Library?

If you've passed through the library this past week, you've probably wondered what is going on with all the book shuffling & shelf moves and other changes. Here's a peek at what we've been up to:

New computer station area in primary: This will be used for a variety of purposes, including Mind Craft gaming for upper primary and middle school students. Students will have supervision and boundaries with the use of this area.

New tinker table in primary: This is a great way for students to inquire, explore, and engage in hands-on learning by taking apart every day objects and more! They are already using it and loving it!

New sections in primary: Miss Jill has created specific sections for holiday picture books, fractured fairy tales (funny re-tellings of classic fairy tales), and a dedicated area for "SuperSeries"- books that are fantastic for children who are looking for more of a read than beginner chapter books, but who aren't quite ready for junior fiction. Come check it out!

New sections in secondary: The DVDs, which are gradually going the way of Blockbuster Video and Redbox, are being shifted to the departments that use them for easier access during units of study. The DVDs were taking up a lot of "prime realty" right by the coffee bar. That space will now be used for some new genrified sections: real-life survival and adventure stories, high-interest non-fiction, wellness, teen sexuality, and high-interest biographies. You'll also notice a new shelf on the walkway with "Regional Reads"  & regional travel books. Our hope is that our patrons can find what they want more easily this way.

New fort for secondary students: Secondary students helped design a new "fort" for the back, left-hand corner of the secondary library. This will be built over the first part of the break. It will have a lower and upper level that will give them a fantastic space to enjoy reading.

A Spruced Up Coffee Bar: Our "bundu" coffee bar will get a face lift! We have some simple but inspired design plans to make it more inviting for all. You'll see the changes when you come in after the break.  Huge thanks to Primary IT Teacher Mr. Frank Louw for helping to create the plans for the redesign.

A semi-enclosed quiet study space: Though our overall space makes it tricky for real quiet space (our new facility will have several glassed in study rooms for that purpose), we are trying to create a couple more quiet zones so people can focus on what they need to do.

A new craft / maker table: In Secondary School student have a dedicated Maker Space in the Middle School Design Lab. But we also want to promote hands-on activities & problem-solving in the library. We will have a weekly activity or challenge on a large table where the computers used to be.

Laptops for Check-Out for Work in the Library: We will have 4 laptops available to be used in the library starting in August for those people who used to work at the desktops. With the laptops you can work anywhere you'd like, which will give you greater flexibility and allow us to use our space more effectively.

Thanks for bearing with us while we make our space better to meet our patrons' needs! We are always open to your suggestions!