Lunch in the Library

On her blog, classmate Kristi Arnold Estes shared a post on the lunch bunch she hosts in her middle school library two days out of the week. She provides knitting needles, lanyard materials and coloring tablets, so the students are able to create while eating their lunches and chatting with friends. I think it’s lovely that these students have found a safe place to decompress. Kudos to you, Kristi.

I’ve gone back and forth about what to do with the library during lunch. Thirty minutes goes by quickly so I know it’s not enough time to delve into anything too deep. When I started last year, it was empty during lunch time. I had heard rumors of the former librarian being unfriendly. I hosted some activities just to make students feel like they were invited. My rationale was to hook them with popcorn and a (book-based!) movie, then show them what the library and I have to offer.  It worked…to a certain extent. Now the library is bustling during lunch, but more on the social end than the academic one. Students do come in to check out and return books, use one of our twenty-four desktops for homework assignments, and take advantage of school-related printing. But most come in to enjoy a reasonably quiet (and clean!) place to eat and meet with their friends.

Am I not making the most of the opportunity to engage with them academically? Perhaps. Should I get moving on creating a makerspace? Probably. But it’s usually the same students that will come to me with a school-related question later, knowing that I’m a friendly face they can trust. I like having lunch time to mingle with them, without either of us feeling the pressure to pursue something scholarly.

Estes, K. A. (2017 February 28). Info 233 – PLN Post 43 [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://ischoolblogs.sjsu.edu/info/kristiarnoldestes/