While completing my professional experience at the libraries one of Brisbane North’s primary and secondary school, I was astounded at the variety of spaces available for students.
The senior library opens to the reception desk on the right-hand side and to the left a conference room which can be used by both teachers and students alike. There is strict rules involved with the use of the conference room such as students must have a pass given by the teacher and the use is for assignments or school council related activities (meetings). This area I believe is a good idea but I do believe that the rules could be relaxed to allow more students to access the area for their group assignments and presentations.
Another area is the magazine space which provides the senior students with a wide range of magazines and newspapers to read. The area provides tables and chairs for students to sit at and students have been observed having quiet discussions in this area. This area is a good idea in theory but during all of my visits to the library I had not seen any students reading the magazines or newspapers. During lunch time there is students sitting at the tables completing study and during class time the students are often in the computers labs or borrowing books than reading the magazines. To encourage students to use the space there could be a media club who discuss the current magazines, the articles, how they are displayed in the magazines and their opinion of the magazine/article. This group would need to be advertised in the school but I think it could get more students using the space for it’s intended purpose.
One other area I would like to highlight is the study area. In this space there is multitude of desks and chairs set up for the students and classes to use for both lessons and study. The students were often seen using this area during class time and lunch time to complete study and school work. The space was also used for clubs like the chess club which would then close the area off to other students at lunch time. This area was productive but if they want it to be a set study area the library may need to find another area for its club activities to ensure that all have equal use of the space.
Overall there is a variety of spaces for students to interact with one another and the world around them in this library which also had multiple computer banks for students to use. This change shows how libraries are changing to meet new technology and cultural needs.