A Modern School Library (reposted where it belong!)

The scholars are chosen by their teachers.  Each room has a different set of requirements - some must be respectful, others responsible, others are chosen by the line leader of the day.  Four scholars from each room walk together from the cafeteria, ring the bell at the door, and are let into the library by the smiling, sunny, happy to see them librarian.

It's a wonderful space.

The College in Classrooms for the library is University of Hawaii.  The librarian thought that hot air balloons looked Hawaiian, hence the hanging decor.

A volunteer painted murals everywhere.  Here are two of them.

The books are divided by difficulty, by subject, by author, and by the Dewey Decimal System.  There's a Pete the Cat corner, a graphic novels section, and a scary books section

where I joined that scholar in that chair to read a scary chapter from a scary book.  Why is there a school underground in a graveyard? she wondered.  I had no answer except It's scary.

Libraries aren't quiet any more.  There are no SHHHH signs. It's a place for computing without distraction when the outside world is just too much.  

There is construction to be done, using inside voices only, please.

There are giant Uno cards, which were really hard to shuffle.

We dealt seven cards and wound up with all greens or all blues or all yellows.

It made for a lot of laughter.

There were new games, too.

Chinese checkers took too long to set up, but regular checkers were a game my grandpa plays with me.  It was quite unusual to find it in a library, but that didn't stop us from having a good time while the next group of scholars were told the rules.

When the sun is out and the heat is unbearable, I now have a new place to hang out with the scholars.  The librarian says I'm welcome any time.