Jazz: Think of your library as a Starbucks...Apple Genius Bar...Spaces for Enlightenment and Collaboration! (21st-Century Libraries: The Learning Commons)

6 Active Learning Spaces Your Library Should Have (Rebecca) Active Learning Spaces In the book Get Active: Reimagining Learning Spaces for Student Success, the authors identify six types of active learning spaces that are essential for creating an engaging learning environment for students. While this research (and this book) are not specifically focused on school libraries, we are the ideal place in our schools to encompass all six types of learning spaces in one location. We are the learning hubs of our schools after all. :) You might find that many of these spaces will overlap in your library, or that their purpose might shift depending on the day.

What Does the Next-Generation School Library Look Like? At a time when public libraries are starting to offer everything from community gardening plots to opportunities to check out humans for conversations, some school libraries are similarly re-evaluating their roles and expanding their offerings. Case in point: Monticello High School in Charlottesville, Virginia. When librarian Joan Ackroyd arrived there four years ago, she found an environment very different from the “engaging, creative, fun” elementary and middle school libraries to which she was accustomed. “Its library was none of those things,” she recalls. School Libraries School libraries and librarians are vital to the educational community. The school library is a unique and essential part of the learning community, and when led by a qualified school librarian, prepares all learners for college, career, and life. ALA President Jim Neal writes, “School libraries are about innovative technologies and creative spaces. Through school libraries, students understand issues like privacy, confidentiality, intellectual freedom, open access, fair use, and how these relate to their work as learners.

Setting Up a New Elementary School Library (Part 1) (Beth) I had the honor of putting the very first books on the shelves After my last post (New Beginnings), I’ve received several requests to document the process of setting up our new library space. It is an exciting and exhausting process to walk into a big open room with endless possibilities. Is a library without books still a library? Some thoughts on The Library as space Text of my talk at The Danish Research Library Associations Winter Assembly 2017, Korsoer, Denmark. I like people. Not all people but in general. I strongly believe that people talking to each other, sharing ideas, challenging one another on believes and arguments makes this world a better place. The landscape of human beings interacting has changed. The rise of social media platforms as a arena for sharing of opinions has change the way we talk to each other.

Defining The Modern School Library May 23, 2016 By Katy Bainbridge Gone are the days of the librarian reminding kids to keep it down. Top 5 Teen Zone Trends You don’t have to have a lot of space, tools or equipment to foster a making environment. A “makerspace” can work on any budget and it may not even be a set physical space (See Makerspaces on the Move). 2. Comfortable, Colorful Furniture What does your furniture say about your teen space? A relaxed environment encourages teens to be themselves. 4 important spaces every modern library should have There is a promising potential in making use of the library’s services in new ways. This is why libraries are more valued now for their spaces and the opportunities that they create for the community, such as support for education, access to recent technologies and help for local businesses and much more. As Kathryn Zickuhr from the Pew Research Center points out there’s no one thing people want their libraries to be. They want their libraries to be lots of things, a place where they can study and meet with friends and attend meetings — and more. In the last post of our series we’ve explored the various services users want from a library (haven’t read it? You can find it here).