Remember growing up during the ’80s and ’90s, when reading books was considered a hobby? Well, that’s changing for our kid’s generation with more rapidity than we expected. Children nowadays are glued to smartphones and laptop screens for both studies and recreation. While all of us have to move ahead with technological advancements, some habits are necessary for the overall development of children. The benefits of library in school will help us acknowledge the integral part it can play in a child’s life.

What is a library?

A library is a place to reserve and rent textual resources, primarily in the form of books. Libraries have collections of books based on genres and authors. It is an organized way to collect and store physical forms of data and open access for interested readers.

Libraries set up for commercial usage rent books to interested readers with membership. In schools, libraries create an opportunity for students to go beyond their academic knowledge to learn what interests them.

School libraries also come with membership that is included in the fee structure. Children who are interested in reading can choose the type of books they like and return them once done.

A library exposes children to books full of entertainment, general knowledge, and storytelling. It is a way to stimulate their minds from a young age and use it as a tool to relax.

Libraries create a safe space to nurture minds with imagination. As words turn into sentences, they grow imaginative ability among readers to visualize what they decipher from what’s written.

Role of a librarian in school

Here are the reasons why librarians are important for a school:

• They maintain the school’s library and keep track of the collection
• Helps students find the right kind of resources based on their interests
• Coordinates and organizes library classes where students spend time exploring each other’s interests and learning together
• Maintains genres and categories as divided within the shelves in a library
• Keeps the shelves organized to make all books easily accessible
• Solves queries related to authors, genres, and anything related
• Assist teachers in finding materials that they need for conducting classes
• Acts as a substitute for times when the teacher is absent while keeping students informed and engaged
• Contribute to administrative goals to improve students’ keenness towards books
• Follow policies for selecting credible resources and organizing them as per categories
• Managing the process of providing sources to students and keeping track in the register provided by school
• Help students and parents understand the importance of the library in education
• Understands the roles and functions of a library to promote its usage at best

Benefits of library in school

It is time to understand the benefits of having a library in school so students are encouraged to use it regularly:

Opens new avenues of learning

Academic books are necessary for children to study concepts they should know with each passing year. But learning from those books ties them to an inevitable desire to excel in their examinations. When they pick up a book from a library, they want knowledge that does not require sitting for a test. It is more likely to give them a sense of freedom and rely more on their interest.

Abundance of resources

One of the primary benefits of having a library in school is giving students an abundance of resources to learn from. Libraries have several genres of books that range from academic to fictional stories. Many scholarly books are either hard to attain or expensive to purchase. A student having access to such resources for free can learn without hindrances.

Empowers imagination

Most informational books don’t have pictorial descriptions. These make readers create a mental scenario based on what they read. It stimulates the mind and makes way for creativity. Avid readers often become great storytellers, writers, and dramatists. They can choreograph a sequence that comes from their minds and birth new creations.

Assist in academics

Someone who picks up the habit of reading from a young age doesn’t often refrain from academic learning as well. They are the ones who want to learn their subjects quicker so that they make time for storybooks. Their brains are sharper as they are easy to grasp complex educational concepts as they are eager to learn.

Builds analytic skills

Someone who has interests across genres would have different perspectives on life. Their curious minds will always ask questions and want to know more than what they already do. Such students imbibe critical thinking ability and look at concepts from different lenses. It helps them understand how the universe functions and what role we play in the process.

Enjoy own company

Children learning to enjoy their own company at a young age can prepare themselves for the course of life. While smartphones have isolated many of us, they often reduce usage to doomscrolling. Books, on the other hand, enrich our minds and enhance the sphere of knowledge. When children pick up the art of isolating themselves in the quest for knowledge, they develop great thinking abilities.

Libraries are quiet spaces

Children are hyperactive beings as they have the most amount of energy. Libraries are a quiet space and force them to keep themselves calm for a short period. It helps them develop the discipline required to master studies that eventually aid them in picking up their academic skills.

Conclusion

There are multiple benefits of having a library in school, but it begins with the interest of students. Parents must encourage reading during the formative years as it is much easier to pick up reading as a skill when children are small. Reading storybooks before bedtime is a fantastic way to grow their interest. It develops their imagination, and they feel eager to read by themselves as they become a few years older.

DWPS Barasat has an in-house library for a creative and quiet space for children. It not only has a stack of books across different genres but is updated with newspapers and magazines as well. We also encourage students to incorporate reading as a hobby and help them understand the importance of education through diverse books.