Blogging Beginnings

Well, here goes. I’m making the leap into the world of blogging. To be completely honest, it may be more of a fall after being gently pushed. Regardless of how I arrived at this moment, I feel ready to use this medium as a means of recording where I have been, where I’m going and reflecting on the whole process.

I have been in my current role as Teacher-Librarian for the last 5 years, over the course of which we have seen a huge move from “library” towards “Learning Commons” in our schools.  No longer are we content to stay as the library in a traditional sense of print resources and quiet reading/work space. The move is towards the “learning commons” – a space that is both physical and virtual; a space that encourages collaboration, inquiry and innovation; a space that sees students as creators and not not just consumers.

There are 2 current documents that drive many in this field. Together for Learning was produced by the Ontario Library Association (OLA) in  2010. The latest is Leading Learning, written by the Canadian Library Association (CLA) in 2014.

Although I have made programming changes over the last few years to lead our school in this direction, we are now looking at taking the giant leap and have begun plans to change the space physically as well.

Here’s what our current physical layout looks like:

librarylayoutThere is also a traditional computer lab beyond the back wall that you will be able to see in the photos that follow.

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Picture book area with SmartBoard; open area with tables for working; circulation desk with French novels and Professional resources along back wall. One of our favourite features of the library it it’s flexible furniture arrangement.  We transform 2x a year into a book fair, host monthly parent meetings, and have used the space for author visits, theatre productions, and so much more. (It was even transformed into a temporary classroom for 5 weeks one fall).

 

 

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A cozy reading corner for our younger students; most of our collection – 3 banks of Fiction and 3 of Nonfiction.  The shelving often seems very tall to visitors who ask if we have any concerns about sight lines.  We are fortunate to have a student population where this isn’t much of an issue.  The taller shelves have left us more open space.

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Our computer lab. This began with 30 computers.  We have seen it used both as a prep delivery space and on a sign-out basis. This year we have reduced the number of computers to 20, as we have opened several new classrooms.  The space is currently a combination of open sign-out and permanent bookings for our Media Literacy teacher.  The space also houses the desks of 4 non-classroom teachers and is the home of our Lego-robotics club.

While I love the size of our space and most of the components we already have, I feel they can be rearranged to produce a different feel, and better support student learning, especially in our lab.

The planning process is already underway. I am looking forward to recording successes, roadblock and questions during this journey. Stay tuned for my next post which will include thoughts on the planning process and a draft of the new design.

 

5 thoughts on “Blogging Beginnings

  1. Way to go on your first blog Dawn! I can’t wait to read more. It’s an important perspective to share, that many, not just TL’s, can relate to. Change is not easy. You have a beautiful library space that I know you are very proud of. But your attitude of continuous improvement is a voice that I know I want to read about.

  2. What a journey for your school! Thanks for posting your process! I am looking forward to following you all along the way!

  3. Congratulations on hitting the “Publish” button, Dawn. This post is exceptional as it effectively captures your transition for the traditional library to a more effective learning environment for your students at Pierre Elliott Trudeau. It is one thing to transform your own classroom space, but it is certainly a more powerful impact when you’re transferring this space for all students to access. I will be looking forward to reading more of your posts!

  4. Many thanks for sharing your journey towards a Learning Commons, Dawn! Congratulations on your first blog!

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