The check in for our meeting is ‘Imagine a library…’
We talk about libraries we have seen in different places and in our heads. Libraries that challenge prior notions of what a library might be. Tranquil libraries with waterfalls and vertical gardens, places to read, to imagine and simply to be. Interactive libraries that buzz with activity, places to gather, to socialise, to communicate. Wonder filled libraries that provoke curiosity to explore, to research, to find out about the world. Creative libraries, with equipment and inspiration to film, to make, to animate, to create…
Next we look at our learning principles, our shared beliefs about how children learn, and consider how practice should align with beliefs. How will these beliefs influence the way our library looks and the role of the librarian?
The new library at our junior campus will be an open plan, central hub, with access from all sides. There will be a decentralisation process… The younger children will have mini libraries in their own learning areas. Teacher resources will move from the library to the planning area. These shifts will not only ensure access at point of need, but free up space for a different vision. There are organisational problems to solve, logistics to work out, perceptions to be changed and understandings to be unlearned.
And it’s an incredibly exciting time to re-imagine possibilities…
What Ed Said 
This reminds me of how routines are such an important cultural force and how difficult it is to reimagine doing things differently. It challenges our core sense of security, of the known, of the predictable. To imagine a new routine is to scary, especially when you cannot “see it” but we need to always remind ourselves that working in the unknown is innovation in action.
LikeLike
I’ll always read a post with library in the title straightaway! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi, Always love reading about your school’s journey and as a teacher librarian, excited by the possibilities of your new library. However, while the library is a shared collaborative space, it is much much more than that.
Sound design (see Julian Treasure Ted talk) is often not considered, and rooms for quiet learning often are lost when an open plan library is advocated. As part of my Masters, I have reflected on the library space: http://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/info530concepts/2015/10/18/inf536-mod-7-2-time-sound-and-spaces-for-creativity-reflection/ and a conducted a case study of my own library: http://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/info530concepts/2015/10/13/inf536-case-report-the-central-library-assessment/
Student voice is also very important when looking at change and designing spaces for learning.
LikeLike