Now that the first assignment has been submitted, I think it is time to reflect on my memories of school libraries.
I vividly remember the library and librarian, Mr Arthur, from my first school.
It was in a separate building of its own, joined to the rest of the school via closed tunnel. It was split across three and a half levels with walls covered by student artworks and displays.
The upper floor was a large open space, surrounded by the fiction shelves, sorted into junior and senior books along the walls. Along the open balcony were a number of soft benches and each class’ book pockets. These book pockets were still used to hold the book cards with the title and due date of any books that you currently had borrowed, despite the fact that on the middle entry level of the library was the computer based cataloguing system that was used with every loan. I can remember the joy of being the library monitor for a session where you got to either scan the other students names and books onto the computer or got to date stamp their book cards.
The lower level of the library was the non-fiction reference section. This floor had books along all of the walls and a number of desks clustered on the main floor. As a class we used to come in to research for assignments, making particular use of the encyclopaedias. At the end of this lower floor were two small rooms with giant windows. If I remember correctly, these contained a few computers which were the schools only computer labs.
There was also a mini mezzanine level above the upper floor that contained a class set of personal tape decks and headphones and acted as a language listening lab for our Italian lessons.
I remember that we had a few visits from well known Australian authors. The one that sticks out the most in my mind was Margaret Wild.
I don't remember much about the library at my second primary school. I remember that there were stacks for the non-fiction books and I think the fiction books were around the edges of a small open space. There were also a number of tables scattered around.
My high school library and librarian, Miss Gershon, also stick in my memory.
It was a large space with the fiction books around the outer walls and the non-fiction books in tall stacks. Around the fiction books were small circle of comfortable lounges and there were a collection of computer "nook" clustered in the middle of the library, effectively dividing the fiction and non-fiction. Popular paperback fiction was also stored on rotating wire stands and there were a few small study rooms along one wall as well as a number of study carrels along the back wall. To enter into the library, I can remember lining up as a class in front of the electric gateway in a small dark passageway where everyone had to leave their bags. There was never enough space for everyone's bags on the shelves so people were always tripping over ones scattered on the floor.
