by Maria Falgoust, Librarian
ISB’s Library has truly flourished in the past year and a half, thanks to the dedication and support of our wonderful administration, teachers, students, and parents. It’s hard to believe that in this short time, we have set up our online cataloging software; moved the Library from the Lower Level of the West Building to the ISB Annex; cataloged over 10,000 books in French, Spanish, and English; created Library webpages; established policies and procedures; increased the size of the collection by nearly 50%; added 20 online resources in French, Spanish and English; introduced successful family hours; and circulated over 13,000 books (this school year alone)!
I am delighted to see how much our community values our current Library and how much our students love visiting the Annex. The students are engaged during their scheduled Library times, and I am thrilled that they have also been using the Library outside of class; a 1st Grader, for example, recently adopted a dog, and she has been checking out every book we have about dog care and training! 4th Grader Elsie M. was so excited when I told her about the new Learning Commons that she sent me a presentation about the new Library space, including a floor plan! As she writes in her presentation, “I think a library is a place for kids that love to read, for kids that just want to read a specific book once, for people that cannot afford books, and many more reasons. A library is supposed to welcome people to enjoy the life of knowledge and imagination.”
Our families love visiting our Library as well. As parent Emily Morgan (Nursery) says, “The library is a wonderful environment to wind down in after the school day: a quieter place than the hub-bub of school, but just as stimulating and thought-provoking. As a family, we’ve enjoyed so many books we would otherwise not have come across.” Parent Jennifer Benn (1st Grade) says, “The Library goes beyond just ensuring there are age-appropriate books for 3-year-olds through 8th Graders in three languages – the book selections are amazing! The topics are interesting, engaging, and really reflective of the diversity and global community focus that ISB celebrates. Maria is also incredibly passionate about the library and her work in support of the students and school community. She even helped me find a book in Spanish appropriate for my son’s 1st Grade unit of inquiry when I volunteered to read to the class. When I arrived, she had some options waiting for me to decide between to make the process more efficient for me. Needless to say, the selection process was simple, quick, and 100% aligned with what the class needs were for my session with them.”
As our Library program continues to gain momentum, we have already outgrown our tiny space at the Annex. Our current Library cannot house all of the resources our community needs, and the distance from the West Building limits students’ access to those that we currently do possess. The ISB Learning Commons is a necessary next step in our Library’s evolution, and it will allow our program to continue expanding for our students.
This larger space, to be constructed this summer in the Lower Level of the West Building, will offer a welcoming, student-centered environment that inspires independent learning, creativity, and collaborative projects. As Lower School teacher Lauren Cantor explains, “Having a centralized space where both teachers and students can collaborate will help fuel the inquiry cycle, the essence of ISB. The Learning Commons will provide the space, both literally and figuratively, for the community at ISB to continuously grow.”
This hub is crucial for fostering cross-divisional work, encouraging deeper inquiry through print and digital resources, strengthening literacy skills, and creating flexibility for special programming such as book clubs, author/illustrator talks, technology projects, coding clubs, writing groups, and much more. According to Technology Integration Director and Middle School Design Teacher Pat Hough, some of the many educational benefits of the new Learning Commons will be, “To allow students and teachers to work more directly with the Librarian to research and write reports, better understand and practice digital citizenship and information literacy, and use technology to enhance and expedite learning.” These achievements not only bring us closer to satisfying the PYP and MYP Library criteria, but also to the the creative, collaborative, and community-focused ideals that are central to ISB’s mission.
“I am so excited to hear about the new Learning Commons and to think of the endless opportunities that it will offer both teachers and students! The Library we have is great, and Maria has done a fantastic job working with us teachers and of course with the kids in the classroom, but it would be great to have our Pre-K students be able to visit the Library and learn about what a Librarian does! Knowing Maria and her love for books, she could organize displays of books for us according to current unit – the kids would be so proud to be able to check out books! They could really get a sense of responsibility and control when choosing unit-related books for the classroom. We teachers could also choose this library time to work with one child or a small group in a quiet place to record a story, to read a book to children who need support, etc… The opportunities are endless, and I’m really looking forward to seeing this project become a reality!” -Nathalie Trovato, Pre-K French Head Teacher.
Anchoring the Library in this new Learning Commons will make it easily accessible to our entire community, particularly to our Middle School students who currently have very little opportunity to use it. The new central location in the West Building will give all students the chance to use the space and resources our Library provides. Reflecting on one of the winning app ideas from this year’s ISB App-a-Thon, Head of School Rebecca Skinner noted that, “Of all of the problems that our Middle School students wanted to solve to help make ISB a better place, they chose ‘Book-A-Book’, an app that would allow them to have an online book checkout and review system. Because there is no ‘library period’ for Middle School students, and because of its off-site location, they are unable to access the Library; for the voracious readers in ISB’s Middle School, this constituted a major problem to solve!” Our new Learning Commons will give all students, including Middle Schoolers, the space and resources for quiet research, lively group discussions, peer tutoring, and engagement with younger and older students — all of which are important to cultivating community and a creative, intellectual learning environment.
“As our Middle School program continues to expand and new classes enter, we are realizing how much contact the students had with our Library in the PYP. I often hear the Middle Schoolers ask, “Where is our Library time?” They are voracious readers, and in keeping with the culture of ISB and its learning goals, inquisitive. As teachers, we never want to deny their quest for learning. Bringing them to the Library when we can, every 4-5 weeks, seems to have been too little. I’ve witnessed the students engage in quiet study once they enter the world of books in ways that can be more challenging in our multi-tasked classrooms. Our MYP program is about engaging in self-study and learning about the resources that are available to keep each of the students’ learning goals satisfied.” -Miriam Butterman, MYP Coordinator and MS English Department Head
I’m looking forward to the Library’s move back to the West Building, and I can’t wait to share with you the wonderful projects and stories that are sure to come when the new Learning Commons opens in the fall. The work of the Library is at the heart of ISB’s philosophy, with its ability to foster a collaborative community and dynamic learning environment. Thank you so much to the generous parents and community members who have and will donate to the ISB Capital Campaign – the Learning Commons is not possible without your support!
