It is always so fun to visit our member libraries – and the BBE schools were no exception! On this trip I visited both the high school and the elementary school. It really had a lot of impact to talk with the people who work together to bring library services to their community, during the entire K-12 system! That kind of partnership can be so valuable in making libraries stronger, and in ensuring students have a consistent experience.
Visiting the high school first was fun! They are getting ready to do some interior work, so things were pushed around somewhat – but they are clearly still open for business, and actively used by students.
You can see how they have thought about providing comfortable seating for students – those beanbag chairs looked great! Students were sitting in them most of the time I was there. (I bravely kept moving instead of plopping down to relax there also!)
And this sign is just adorable! I do feel like I need to know where Hogwarts is in relation to where I am – maybe I need to borrow a book? – and this would help me get there. Bringing literary ideas to life like this gives books, and their readers, a new perspective and importance!
Some older technologies are stored in the back room – an important idea, as too many items can only be viewed or used on platforms that are very hard to find! (I have floppy discs of information – and have not owned a computer that read discs in years now.) There are also plenty of current items, including computers they can loan out to students. I loved seeing this range of tech devices!
And I was so excited to see these: not one, not two, but THREE 3D printers in this library! These can be so useful as a strategy for helping kids (and adults!) to get interested in technology – and the library. Have you tried Thinigverse in your library?? There are so many fun 3D patterns available there – you could print cool things all the time! Try their 3D math collection for some ideas.
Breakout boxes are a fun activity for many school libraries; and BBE is right on trend with this! They have had a few recent games in the library, and clearly the signage is very cool! Can your students work together to solve puzzles in time to escape??
They still have a computer lab, used mainly for teaching; and this school, like so many others, also relies on personal tablets and chromebooks to give each student an individual technology experience.
Just outside the library door, this great mural was on the wall! A wonderful sentiment for students, and for libraries!
Then I was off to the elementary school to visit their library! This was another act of coordination between the schools, and it was so impressive to see the regular communication that happens between them. This library was just hopping! Everyone was busy, the kids were occupied all over the library, and it was great to see.
The cheerful feeling in the library started right away, as you can see from the colorful material all over the Circ Desk! The positive signs were repeated throughout both schools, with a lot of emphasis on Jaguar pride, and on positive actions at school.
These signs were representative of the signs kids can see all around school. The comfy beanbag chairs were a great addition!
The computer lab was in the back of the library, easily accessible and all set for teaching to happen! Technology literacy skills are so important for everyone, it’s great to see them emphasized in this library.
I love to see tech of all sorts in libraries, and have a love of laminators and printers; so this was so fun for me!
There were books all over the place in this library! These shelves have been selected to be accessible by the shorter students in elementary school, and the books all look like they are being enjoyed. Certainly the kids all over the place in this library were pulling assorted books down to read – great to see! (As a reminder: we don’t take photos of kids for this blog; and encourage you not to post any photos of kids without permission.)
Everything was so bright and cheerful, it was just fun to visit and to see all the neat resources available in this library!
Thank you so much to everyone who helped to organize these visits, and to everyone working to provide students in the BBE system with good libraries!
Have we been to YOUR library yet?? We want to come visit you! Tell us a good day and time to stop in, so we can admire your library!