Yesterday I was able to “visit” the library media center in Bethel High School in Hampton, Virginia and it was wonderful to see all that they offered.
Space
The library is located inside of Bethel High School and, in my opinion, is the heart of the school. It is a decent size school library that has been made accessible to all the students and faculty of Bethel. This library has about 8 round study tables with chairs and a computer lab room for students. I observed a conference room The painting and images on the wall make the space feel bright and welcoming. There is also a large green and gold Bruin (bear) painted on the glass along the back of the library. This library seems like it will be welcoming to youth of all ages.
Services & Intellectual Access
Since this is a school library, it offers all the necessary resources for a student to succeed. There is diverse selection of books and a computer lab available for use. The librarians offer many homework help options for all subject areas and well as one-on-one sessions with the students. The BHS Media Center is catalogued using the Dewey Decimal system which makes it a smooth transition from a school library to a public library. They also have clear and bright signage indicating where everything is when it comes to the print materials.
People
The Library Media Center is in place to serve the students and faculty of Bethel High School. It is staffed by a Library Media Specialist (Librarian) and 2 Library Media Assistant. They also receive help from student volunteers. The staff seems approachable and welcoming to the students based on the website. They offer an “Ask a Librarian” link as a video chat option with a librarian. Students who come into the library can read, study, use the computer, conduct research, or just chat with the library staff.
Collections
The BHS Library Media Center offers many of the same genres of print items as a public library. They have a large fiction, nonfiction, reference, and graphic novels section for checkout or in house use. BHS also offers eBooks and e-audiobooks for student use. The Library Media Center, as stated previously, has a computer lab with about 10 computers. In addition to that, they also have a wireless interactive whiteboard for library use. The library collection reflects the population and age of students since majority of the books, in print and electronic, are for ages 11 and up.
Digital Access
Let me tell you about this catalog and website…ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! I so impressed with how fun and exciting it was. They offer a virtual escape room, a virtual makerspace, and Bookflix which is a virtual library. The website also shows that they offer Homework help, SAT/ACT prep classes, databases (Gale, Find it Virginia and World Book), and eBooks for students and faculty. The only thing I see that could possibly be improved is to make the other tabs and pages just as bright as the home page of the website. They offer an online catalog for the public to view but it is kind of difficult to find. You must click on “Online Catalog” at the bottom of the homepage to get connected to the catalog. Hampton Public Schools uses the Follet Destiny Discovery app for their catalog which allows the public to search for books in the BHS media center.
The Bethel High School Library Media Center seems to be a beautiful gem for the school. I had so much fun “visiting” and learning all about what this library has to offer their students and faculty. This library has so much potential, and I hope to be able to visit this library in person one day soon.
References:
Bethel High School. (2022). Bethel High School Library Media Center. BHS Library Media Center (google.com)