Friday, April 20, 2012

Why I Love BHS Library

I have once again been fortunate enough to be able to sub at BHS library.  I've been there for a good share of the week while the librarian is out of town.  How do you like the display I created? It is a collection of books that have been made into movies. (click on it to see a bigger image) The staff have gone to movie theaters over the years and have asked for the display posters of movies that are from books.  All sorts of books are in this display from The Grapes of Wrath to Harry Potter.  The cardboard cut-out was donated to the library by a student.  While I put this display together today, it generated a lot of attention from students and faculty walking by in the hallway.  A couple of girls even stopped to help out so that I wouldn't have to keep climbing out of the display case to stand back and look at it.  I was quite pleased with the results.

For the last few days, I have been trying to evaluate what it is about this library that I love.  Here are the reasons I've come up with.
  • I always feel welcome and appreciated.
  • The staff is so warm and friendly.
  • The staff has told me that they LOVE me as a sub and always request me.  (Wow!)
  • The students always seem friendly too.
  • The staff members really like teenagers.
  • The teenagers really like the staff.
  • The staff have a wonderful sense of humor and allow teenagers to BE teenagers.
  • The staff respects the students.  There is no unreasonable policing or "lording it over" the students.
  • The staff have reasonable rules that make the library a functional, safe and respectful place.
  • Students are never told that they cannot come to the library because it is too full.
  • There is plenty of staff so that the library is never closed so that the librarian can go to lunch, teach a class, etc.
  • There is a section of the library where students can hang out and just talk with their friends. They can even use their cell phones in this area of the library.
  • There is a section of the library that is for study purposes.  Students are expected to be quiet and productive and they are!
  • It is always busy and there is plenty of work to do.
  • If a student has an overdue book, reasonable action is taken to get the book back..but the student is never black-listed for life! 
  • The physical space is really ideal.
Anyway...I just wanted to share some positive aspects of a library I have been in.  I hope that one day I will work in a library that runs very similarly to this one.