Flexibility is Key
We are so glad to be in a school and a location where people are willing to be flexible. While the Library Staff feels very proud of our beautiful environment, it sometimes can also be a bit of a curse. Everyone wants to be in the library at some point or another. We have classrooms, breakout rooms, a Green Screen/Poscast Room, VR rooms, and some of the most comfortable workspaces available on campus. What we have really noticed in these COVID times is that our space is a premium space for students, teachers, and classes. Again we are happy this is the case and we work hard to keep that way.
That being said, it is sometimes very difficult to accommodate all. Unfortunately, we had to limit the number of people in the library. We also had layout the workspaces in a different way. We also had to limit access to the top floor as well as our VR Rooms. While we were disappointed by this, the students and staff have been such good Panthers! Students are attending to our requirement of showing their student ids. One of the side benefits is that we are getting accurate counts of how many students are coming and going in the library. We see at least an MS and HS class every day and sometimes 3-4 in a day. We are also seeing 200 plus students come and go a day.
A quiet morning in the ISB Main Library.
This weekend we host our first-weekend event as the HS Tech Council is running the International Schools Technology Conference. As students are also working with us for displays, the LGBTQ club in the HS is prepping our first student-created display for next month. Highlighting books and information. While we are slowly getting things back that we lost during COVID, it has just been such a pleasure to see how understanding and FLEXIBLE when using the space. We have great people here at ISB and the way we interact and value our spaces is a reflection of the individuals on campus. Thanks for being flexible during these times and we will do our very best to continue to grow back out all of the wonderful things we do in the Main Library at ISB.
Bell’s Recommendation
The Farm by Joanne Ramos
This is a dystopic novel that is just a little too close to reality. In the very near future, people who have the wealth can hire an ‘agency’ to set up a surrogate mother for a couple. These surrogates go to what initially seems like a lovely place with exercise, food, sleep, and all of the needs a mother might have completely attended to and planned for. However, the immediate commentary begins around who these ‘surrogates’ tend to be, what the rich want, and the weird ‘proprietary-ness’ of this whole system could be used in some very none socially accepted ways. It links in a bit of human trafficking, mental abuse, and just scary ideas about how one’s life could be managed. As I said this one is just a bit too real for me, but great writing and a real page-turner.
Ms. Kehe’s Recommendation
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling (Middle Grade – Realistic Fiction)
Aven is a fun and vibrant 13-year-old girl who was born without arms, who was adopted by loving and supportive parents who have raised her to be a “problem-solving” ninja. When her father’s new job at Stagecoach Pass, a rundown western theme park, requires them to move to Arizona, her life is turned upside down. At her new school, Aven has to deal with constant stares and questions from strangers. At lunch she searches for a quiet place where she eventually meets Connor, a boy with Tourette’s syndrome, and Zion, who is very shy and overweight. They become fast friends and investigate a pile of junk inside an old wooden shed, which may hold the key to unlocking the mystery of the Parks’ origins, and so much more….. Am empathetic book about characters with a variety if disabilities and about the importance of friendship.
