HHS Library Quarterly Report
August-October 2014
Life in the library...
Students read...
In addition to students checking out books for seminar, Mr. Broadfoot's World History classes and Mrs. Becker's Biology classes checked out fiction books to complete assignments.
Students use resources...
These numbers are a reminder that the resources the library provides are not limited by the physical space. The library is not just the books it holds! But because students are using databases, one can also guess that databases are not the only place they are researching. I will continue to work with teachers and students to discuss where to find reliable sources, how to tell if sources are reliable or not, and how to use the information they find ethically.
The physical and online library...
I continue to work to make the library website a place where students can find information they need. One way I plan to make the website more useful in the coming months is to add short videos reviewing how to access the databases. This way students can be reminded how to access the material they need even if it's been awhile since we've talked about it in class.
What's next?
There is a large group of students who gathers in the library before school and during LS each day, and a smaller number who prefer the environment of the library during lunch. Right now those students play games on their iPads, sit and chat, and generally "chill." I am so glad students consider the library to be inviting and choose to spend their time here, but I would also love to move towards an environment where there is positive creating happening rather than just being.
I am still very much in the brainstorming stage of this idea. I have not worked out any of the details! But I am intrigued by the idea of a makerspace, and will continue thinking about ways I can possibly add some of those elements to the library to introduce an environment of collaboration and creativity to the space.
Rachel Yoder
Email: rachel.yoder@usd460.org
Website: hs.hesstonschools.org/library
Phone: 620-327-7122
Twitter: @swatherlibrary