Spotlight On...The Loft

One of the coolest things that has happened here at the MSJH Library during my short tenure so far is the creation of the Loft.

View of the Loft from the bottom library space.

This reading space for the students used to be a small meeting room, that was enclosed by flimsy, particle board walls.  This space was used for some mentoring meetings, team meetings, and a lot of storage.  When I was first hired the principal told me she wanted to convert it to a reading loft.  She wondered if I'd be OK with that?  Um...OF COURSE I was!  When I first saw the space I thought it would be awesome to tear down the walls, but I didn't know if the administration would be cool that, but apparently we were all on the same page.

The Loft from its entrance.  This used to be a totally enclosed space.

Some teachers were worried and hesitant about this at first.  I can understand that: it's been converted into a comfy space, and when students get comfy, they can get lazy and not want to follow expectations.  It is true that the students do like to talk up there, but so far, with the appropriate and timely reminders of what they are to do in the READING loft, it has been quite manageable.  I think the students love it so much that they don't want to ever lose it.

Oh, the couch...THE.  COUCH.  Already a student favorite.

During the summer, I moved some popular reads up to the Loft.  The couch is flanked by the graphic novel collection and the short stories/nominees collections.

The Graphic Novel collection, with the comfy rocking chair next to it.

Students here are crazy about reading the Rebecca Caudill nominees, and there is also an in-school group called RAMS (Read Across Mahomet-Seymour) that reads nominated books and then picks one for the whole community to read.  

Students also love, love, LOVE short story collections...especially those of the horror ilk.   

There is also a Little Free Library within the library that is housed in the Loft.  Many of the returning 7th and 8th graders had no idea that there was a Little Free Library, so I've been trying to pump up the LFL, so students can enjoy and appreciate it.  So far a lot of books have been taken from the LFL!  (Now, we just need to have a few more given, but we can work on that as time goes by.)

The Library's Little Free Library!  I LOVE it!  After doing a research paper on LFL's last fall, it was a dream come true to find a LFL in a dusty corner of the library.  I dusted it off, of course, and put it in a highly visible place in the Loft.

I also put several lamps in the area, and all of the furniture is brand new from IKEA.  This is also thanks to the generosity from the administration team wanting to make the library a Destination Location for the MSJH student body.  Thanks to the Loft, the library is definitely quickly becoming a place where students want to be, and we are quite busy during study halls.  This, my friends, is WONDERFUL news!

The view of the library from the Loft.