When was the last time you visited the library? According to collected information, a whopping 35.3% of students never visit the library each week while 47.1% of students only visit the library once a week. This is often blamed on the basis that it gets too loud in the library during lunch or that the books you like aren’t available in the library. When asking the GAA secondary school librarian, Ms Parente, about the lack of desirable books, she shared that there was a simple way to see your favorite books in the library. “So on the library website, there’s book suggestions, and they have to click the form and just leave it there”. It’s as easy as Ms Parente tells us it is! The library website can be found on the library classrooms made for each grade at the beginning of the year. On each library google classroom, even more (crucial) information can be found!

Ms Parente often informs students of new and upcoming library activities on google classroom – such as the recent books into movies event or the book fair from November. These events are also advertised all throughout the school, they can be seen on the TVs throughout the hallways, bulletin boards, the library newsletter and your grade’s library google classroom.

When asked about the overall success of the activities, hosted by the library, Ms Parente shared that they have indeed been successful. “The library got a commission in books, I think it got a total of like, more than a hundred books for commission.” She stated. This was accomplished with the help of students from each grade level during the book fair.

Aside from having been deemed enjoyable and entertaining these activities could also bring together the GAA community. This is the reason behind Ms Parente’s encouragement of students to participate in the clubs held during lunchtime – such as the Reading Ambassadors Club or the Makerspace Club. 

By visiting the library regularly, one may begin to notice that little things are frequently altered in its decorations to accommodate events, like the book-tasting event for middle schoolers. Ms Parente aims to make changes to the layout of the library every once in a while, “add more things, add more furniture, add more seating, and move around furniture, you know, experiment.” She says. Check by often to see the changes around the library, maybe a quiet reading nook or study corner will catch your attention.

“If you are noticing it, every month I am sending out library newsletters, it’s posted on the library google classroom, it’s being sent to teachers. The newsletter contains all the library happenings, the library activities and new resources.” Ms Parente concluded by saying. The library newsletter is a great place to receive monthly updates on the library and everything related to it. Check regularly to see if any new activity piques your interest.