|
The school library is composed of a space around which the collection is built, and from where a variety of services stem. These are the three pieces of the machine that moves and motivates a team of persons responsible for each of them. The space and the collection are the key elements of projecting an image of openness and constant availability of the school library to students and teachers. Therefore its layout should be aimed at facilitating access to the materials and information.
Our users will be more comfortable in the library if...
· it is a cozy place, comfortable, attractive and accessible where they can move freely and in an independent way.
· the sections are successfully located, distributed in areas with or without noise -it depends on what they need- and with appropriated titles and furniture.
· the collection’s layout is logical and user-friendly. It allows users to have direct access to different materials and makes it easy to find what they are looking for.
· there is a good signage that is visible, clear and helpful in locating the different sections where the collection is located
· the collection is shown in a dynamic way: shelves which are combined with occasional furniture, and different materials which are shown in display stands.
There are several options for grouping and providing the library’s collection to students and teachers. These ones are usually used in a combined way.
· The Universal Decimal Classification (UDC): it is useful for arranging nonfiction materials by assigning a numerical sequence from a systematic table which groups the materials into categories from 0 to 9. To make the classification more intuitive and adapt it to different ages, each number can be accompanied by an icon and a representative slogan.
· Collection classified by genres: This option is suitable for fiction materials. An alphabetical code is used: (S) stands for stories, (N) stands for novels (P) stands for poetry (T) stands for theater plays. We can introduce variations in the indicators to adapt them for other materials, for example (DC) stands for detective comics. In each section works are arranged in alphabetical sequence by author / title.
· Collection classified by subjects: This option is accommodated to children’s and young people’s preferences, arranging books in order to provide an easy and quick access to the materials of their interest. For examples works can be organized by humor, mystery, fantasy, adventure, etc. and informative works by thematic blocks such as computer science, natural sciences, astronomy …
· Collection classified by year: It gives readers guidance on the most suitable books for each level, taking into account their ability to understand, their interest in certain topics, etc. The coloured labels on the spines are a very effective way to mark the different reading levels.
A very useful option to draw user attention to a particular kind of books is the interest centres. It is a complementary alternative to conventional classifications that consists of putting a certain group of materials together related to a particular interesting issue, to a current event, to a kind of works or to other aspects that should be highlighted:
· They break monotony and take a series of works out of the anonymity of the shelves, offering them more directly to the reader.
· They allow subjects to be simultaneously offered in different media; printed, electronic and audiovisual materials, under a common thread.
· Some of them can be fixed and remain permanently, because they are related to age, genre or academic interests, (picture books, animals, stories to read aloud, rhymes, games and leisure, books in their original languages ....)
· Others will be temporary, to meet to a temporary demand: a current event, during a season (Mushroom Season), a celebration (Bike day) or an event (Theatre Week, Painting Exhibition, a writer’s award, etc.).
· It is important to have equipment which is movable and functional such as boxes, tables, trolleys, exhibitors..., to provide mobility to books, magazines, DVDs, CD-ROM and other materials in the collection.
Definitely the value of school libraries depends on how students and teachers make use of it, its areas, its resources and also on the services it provides.
Opening the spaces and breaking down the barriers between the users and the collection will help us to build a better library for the entire educational community.
|
