The school library that I visited was located in Millboro elementary school in Bath County, Va. The library is smaller but has a lot of good books for kids and middle schoolers since the school has kindergarten through seventh grade. I like the little library, however, I feel like it does lack a lot of modern features, like a lot of computers and digital content, that other larger schools may have. The librarian typically reads to the students, and does crafts and activities depending on the age group. There is no digital access to the school library and nothing is available online. The library doesn’t have a website of its own, but the school has one. The library also doesn’t have digital content but there are two computers for students to use if needed, however, the school has a resource room that is separate from the library that has more computers for students to use.

 The library is nice, and there are some couches and tables for the students, as well as a little reading area that’s hidden in the stacks, but I don’t feel like the library is very welcoming and it doesn’t help that students don’t really get to spend a lot of time in the library. The article, Encoding Space by Brian Mathews and Leigh Ann Soistmann says that we respond to the places we inhabit and “these spaces influence what we get done, whom we engage with, and how we interact with the world around us” (Mathews & Soistmann, 2020). I feel this library needs some remodeling to make it more current and more welcoming. Since the school is K-7, I don’t feel like the library caters to the different age ranges. I feel the students could use a little cozy corner with bean bags or a paint job that makes it look brighter and more welcoming. 

The signage for the library is posted all around on the bookshelves and says what the genre is and the shelves are alphabetized with a range of what the authors names start with on the end of the shelves. There are also the reference shelves that are located beside the leveled readers and where the reading group books are. The check-out and return is one desk.

The library serves the students of Millboro elementary, however, there are a lot of resources in the library for the teachers, like leveled readers, and books that are bunched together for reading groups. The library shares our librarian with another school. She has to go to the other school, Valley elementary, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays because they are a little bit larger than our school, although they are in the same school district. She comes to our school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, where she does reading and activities with the students, allows them to check out books, and is there if any teachers need her. 

What surprised me the most was the amount of space that the library does have and how under utilized it is. I also feel that some of the books are too worn and look very tattered. I feel the librarian could maybe trade these out for more updated copies or more modern books that are similar. Overall, I like the library and think it has a lot of potential, but most of it depends on what the school is willing to change and offer; like it says in our textbook, “learning spaces must reflect new approaches in education. The pervasiveness of active learning pedagogies is requiring a shift in how learning environments are being designed” (Rubin & Rubin, 2020).

References

Mathews, B., Soistmann, L.A. (2020) Encoding space: Shaping learning environments that unlock human potential. American Libraries. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2020/09/01/encoding-space-library-design/

Rubin, R. E., & Rubin, R. G. (2020). Foundations of library and information science. American Library Association.