If We Didn't Have a Library...

As we enter National Library Week, it is time to reflect on just how the school library enriches the lives of our students.  Without the library here at Meadowview Intermediate, our students would not have such a wide variety of materials to read for pleasure and for information.  They would not have access to computers every day.  They would not have magazines to read that support their interests.  They would not have audiobooks and specialized reference materials, like the encyclopedias of the Native Americans, Mammals, and The Civil War.  They would not have expert help while learning to navigate the Internet.   They would not all be taught the same process for accessing and using information.  They would not all have the opportunity to explore and create using the available technology.  The gap between the haves and the have nots would only widen.  There would be no safe and comfortable place to work alone or in a group.  Their exposure to the vast and ever-increasing amount of information available to them would be dependent on the knowledge, interest, and comfort-level of their classroom teacher.  They would never know the joy and wonder of browsing through a large order of new books and deciding what to read first.  Without libraries, their learning would progress...but it would lack the depth and variety offered here at the Meadowview Intermediate LMC.