The Chronicle, Spring 2019

11 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

discovery. This means providing a variety of designated silent, quiet and collaborative spaces that can be used according to need. Most importantly it means engaging pupils in the Library in ways which make them want to be there so that later, when they have to be there, they feel confident. Activities such as filming for YouTube videos with the use of a green screen, using augmented reality apps, competitions, poetry slams and movie nights may become as commonplace as book groups and quiet reading time.

What excites me about being a librarian is that I get to share pupils’ enthusiasm about whatever it is that makes them passionate to learn. I’m not tied to one discipline or interest: if a pupil wants to know more about economic theories, or rock climbing, or coding, I have a book for that… and a magazine or two, and multiple credible websites, and access to academic journal articles. In preparing for the new building over the last couple of years the Library at Teddies has changed from a ‘Sixth Form space’ to

a ‘whole school space’. With some simple furniture changes, colourful and lively book displays and quirky additions such as neon- coloured earplugs, the physical space has become lighter, brighter and more congenial. Shells now regularly raid the fiction area for more books to read in the hope of winning the Reading Challenge and Sixth Form pupils often visit for help with research projects. As we move into the new Library it’s my hope and intention that we take this spirit with us and the Library increasingly becomes a place where pupils choose to be.