Sharing Innovative School Library Practices

Have you downloaded Softlink's recent publication, "School Libraries share innovative ideas yet?"

Like many other teacher-librarians, I always participate in the Australian and New Zealand Softlink School Library Survey. Last year they included a new question:-

"Do you have an innovative practice story about your library you would like to share?"

Over 300 participants responded, and many of these ideas feature in the document which can also be accessed via the resources page on the Softlink website.

"Whether you're looking for inspiration or just want to see what your peers are up to, you'll find plenty of ideas that demonstrate just how versatile school libraries can be. The paper includes fresh ideas for traditional library roles, such as learning support, reading programs and organising the collection. There are also sections that focus on the changing role of libraries, with ideas for innovative use in the digital age, as well as contributing to overall student well-being. There are even some handy tips on making your budget stretch even further."

Coincidentally, before this paper was published, I had asked my Library staff to come up with at least two new ideas or innovations which they'd like to see implemented in 2017.
We quickly filled a whiteboard with our ideas and are now prioritising them.

Here are some of our innovative Library ideas for 2017

The innovative ideas in the Softlink paper are grouped into 9 categories. I have annotated each one with my own favourites from the ideas which were shared by the original respondents to the survey.

• Ideas for the Library space "When we opened our library last term we made a 'shelfie' booth. Students had their photo taken with the first book they took out of the library. This became our first display."
• Ideas to support learning "I create library displays featuring students' current topics and inquiries. Associating fiction and non-fiction books with these displays, draws in both students and staff, identifying the library as a functional research area."
• Ideas to encourage engagement "We have done very well with eBooks, partly because I am asking students to borrow while I teach them how to access them, and partly because we are publicising them heavily."
• Ideas involving technology "One of the main goals we have achieved this year is the implementation of a new learning management system with enables federated searching."
• Ideas for organising the collection "The use of spine label icons (many produced in house) makes searching for certain types of books much easier."
• Reading program ideas "Grades 7-9 have engaged in a reading program which includes silent reading at the start of every class and fortnightly library visits."
• Budget ideas "We are involved in sharing resources through a network of other school libraries."
• Student wellbeing ideas "We have taught the students that reading a book for 6 minutes can relieve their stress levels by 68%"
• Ideas for using Oliver 5 "Advertise library and school events and competitions on your Oliver v5 home page."

School library staff are creative! We are always looking for new and exciting ways to make our libraries better and more inviting for our students, staff and wider community.

DO YOU HAVE AN INNOVATIVE LIBRARY IDEA YOU'D BE WILLING TO SHARE?