LIBRARY
The school library is part of your school’s teaching and learning environment. It provides resources and services that support students, staff, families and whānau. Your library’s resources, physical space, and staff have tremendous potential to make a difference to students’ achievement, educational equity, and their social and emotional well-being.
The purpose of your school library is to help every member of your school community — students, staff, families and whānau — gain new knowledge, skills, and dispositions for learning and personal development that they will use throughout their lives.
The school has an excellent well-resourced Library, which we share with the community. The children change their books weekly. We are very keen to see the Library being used.
Children are allowed two books at a time and are encouraged to transport their books in their class reading folders/plastic bag. The community also uses the library to access books.
There is a large range of adult fiction and non-fiction available. The library is open daily to the community.
What makes an effective school library?
The school library is a central hub supporting every student and staff member, as well as parents and whānau. The library combines several elements — library staff, resources, and space. Each of these plays an important part in supporting teaching and learning. School libraries are most effective when these elements combine to form an integrated whole.
An effective school library:
improves student outcomes — collections developed for your unique school community enrich reading and learning programmes
welcomes people in — the library is a safe place, that values and includes students from different cultures and backgrounds
brings people and information together — connections with other libraries and information sources enhance your library’s collections, and help your library staff help users find what they need
embodies the principles of ‘learner agency’ — students having the independence to choose their own reading, and to find resources that help them develop their interests and strengths at their own pace
helps close the education gap — for students who might otherwise be disadvantaged, the library can provide access to the stories, information, and technology they need.
