Creating a Brand New Library - Part Three

We made good progress in the library today. The internet connection was reliable and we've now got a couple of hundred books catalogued. The volunteers have been busy taping and covering books and we've got so many volunteers they are almost working faster than we can provide tasks for them to do. We had a major tidy up in the library this afternoon as the children who start at Amesbury School next week came to visit with their families this evening.

There were a variety of activities set up for the children to do. A lot of them enjoyed drawing their faces and writing their names on the windows. There is much more glass than wall space in the school so the children will be able to write and draw on the glass. We have special pens that write on glass like a marker pen but wipe off as a powdery substance.

No one who visited the classrooms asked where the desks and chairs are. Actually we don't have classrooms. The learning areas are two large 'hubs' each with multiple 'suites'. The suites are open areas that flow into each other. Large sliding glass doors can close parts of suites off from each other but we don't think the doors will be used much. The furniture consists of tables, stools and chairs in a variety of styles and types. It's a bit hard to describe some of the more unusual styles so I'll take some photos of furniture soon. The intention is that the children will choose to work at or on the furniture that suits them best and that they will move around the space rather than have an allocated desk or table. The library is the most central room in the school which is great as it will be an integral part of the school.

A couple of older children and several adults commented that they wished they could go to primary school all over again and I heard a boy say "this school has everything". One Year 6 girl said she wants to do Year 6 twice to get more time at Amesbury. It was reassuring to get positive feedback from the parents and children, particularly as the furniture and physical set up of the learning spaces is quite different from a traditional school.

The library is very much a 'work in progress' but it also received a positive reaction from the visitors. A couple of girls are already enthusiastic about becoming student librarians. We had a table full of books available for parents to buy and donate to the school and we sold over $300 worth.

Foreground: books for sale. Background: catalogued books temporarily on the display shelves.