9 Awesome Tips for Using the Library

Using the library effectively can make a huge difference to you and your students. Whether you are starting a teaching position at a new school or you’ve been at your school for several years, there are a few things you can do to make sure you are getting the most out of your school library.

How long has it been since you spent time in a library?

Perhaps you are a regular visitor with weekly or monthly trips to your local public library. Or maybe you haven’t been to a library since you were in primary school. Either way, you must spend some time getting to know your school library.

At the schools where I have worked, it has been common for ‘new to the school’ teachers to assume they know what happens in this library based on the library at their previous school. I get it. They are busy settling in, getting their classrooms set up and planning for their class. All libraries are the same anyway, aren’t they? The simple answer is no, they’re not. So here are my tips for how to use the library effectively in your school.

Tip 1: Introduce yourself to the library staff

Get to know your school library’s staff. This may seem obvious to some, but it can be overwhelming getting to know everyone at the start of the year. You may be tempted to skip this and wait until you take your class over for their allocated library time.

Find out if they are library assistants, qualified librarians, teacher-librarians or volunteers. All library staff are valuable, and if they have been working in the library for a few years, they will have lots of important insights to offer you. Teacher-librarians also have classroom teaching experience and can help with navigating the curriculum.

Tip 2: Explore the collection

The library collection is all the resources (things) that are available for loan from the library. The collection may include physical items such as fiction and non-fiction books, picture books, readers, robotics kits, games, puzzles and teaching resources. Many libraries also have digital items as part of their collection. Digital items may include audiobooks, online encyclopaedias and subscriptions to electronic magazines, newspapers and databases.

Find out what’s available and how you go about loaning physical items and accessing digital items. Ask questions about loaning items in bulk for your classroom and how long you can borrow items for.

Tip 3: Collaborate with library staff

Now that you've met the library staff and explored the library collection, it's time to book a meeting with the library staff to talk about what you are planning to do with your class this term. Let them know what your unit is, what things you are considering doing with your class. You can also ask what previous teachers in your grade level used for their resources. This is especially important if it’s a new unit of work you have found.

I love looking for resources and suggesting them to teachers, but I do need some time to be able to do that, so make sure you plan ahead. Don't do this on a Friday when you want to start the new unit on Monday.

Tip 4: Find out what the most popular books are for your great level

Most libraries have library software for loaning and returning resources and books. Your school library staff can use this software to generate reports that show statistics for the most popular books for the year level, the most borrowed books for the calendar year and even the least popular books, the ones that kids don't borrow.

So if you're looking for ideas on what books to have in your classroom library, the most popular book reports can be very interesting. This is particularly useful if you haven't taught this year level for a few years or if you’re new to this year level. If you’re used to teaching early years and now you're in the upper years primary, it can be difficult to know what books 11 and 12-year-olds enjoy reading. Are the Secret Seven even a thing anymore? (Hint: Yes, they are for the right students!)

Tip 5: Library Opening Hours

Find out when the library is open for students to use. Can students use the library before school, after school or is the library only open at break time during the day? At some schools, teachers can send students over in small groups to work independently in the library. Is there homework help in the library before or after school? Are extracurricular clubs held in the library?

Libraries are often safe havens for students who are finding the school environment difficult. Whether they are victims of bullying, have problems making friends or just have difficulty coping with the loudness and the craziness of the playground at lunchtime. The library can offer a more structured and predictable environment where there are often cosy reading nooks to escape to or set activities to do.

Tip 6: Investigate the library during your planning time or at lunchtime

What is the library like when it is not your class using it? As Jackie Child explains in her article on School libraries enhancing student wellbeing, the library is less likely to be a quiet, academic workspace anymore and is more likely a creative, noisy, active space.

Most librarians try to provide both quiet spaces and more social spaces. I find that kids come to the library mainly for social reasons, but they also come because they know it is a safe and predictable place. I try to offer different activities each day. Students can use Lego and other building kits one day, complete puzzles and games on a different day, and sometimes I set out craft activities. I always have colouring-in sheets for students who want something calming, and of course, students can come and read in the library every day.

Tip 7: Use the library spaces as often as possible

Can you book in to use the library for other times, not just your library borrowing time? If there are spaces available, include the library as part of your literacy rotations, for maker space activities, for robotics projects or design technology units. This is a great way to reinforce to your students that libraries are essential to learning and everyday life.

Tip 8: Observe your students during library borrowing time

Look for those students in your class who look busy but aren't actively looking for books. Take note of those students who always have an excuse for not being able to borrow, or the students who never bring their library satchel. Some students will try the easy cop-out of not being able to find anything they like. They might be your struggling readers, but they can also be high-performing readers that just need a new challenge or a new direction and don’t know where to start. Talk to your library staff about different books to suggest to these students.

Tip 9: Set up a classroom library and incorporate regular reading time into your daily schedule

Make sure one of your daily helper jobs or classroom duties is the librarian. The students can ensure the classroom library is kept neat and tidy, swap out books for new titles and suggest books to add to the classroom library. Talk to your library staff about using school library books as part of your classroom library. Make sure you get a good mix of fiction and non-fiction, magazines and graphic novels.

Now, do you need to do all of these at once? No. But I do hope you get to try at least one of these tips for how to use the library effectively in your school. Libraries need students, and students need school libraries. Your students will benefit, and you, as a teacher, will benefit from working with and in the library.

If you are looking for more,

Read more on the ways school libraries are good for students’ well-being in this article: A place to get away from it all: 5 ways school libraries support student well-being.

Read Make Better Use of the School Library to Get Students Excited About Books for more ways to use the library.