Introduction
Bridge Elementary School Library is considered to be an integral part of Bridge School allowing students and teachers to have access to the necessary academic sources. The principal purpose of the library is aimed at providing people with books, magazines, and records developing their intellectual, social and aesthetic skills, and widening their world look. Children, parents, and teachers have an opportunity to enlarge their knowledge or just enjoy reading the literature retrieved from Bridge Elementary School Library.
Bridge Elementary School Library Assessment
Library overview allows seeing the broad opportunities provided for its members. It should be noted that the library is very convenient for searching the necessary sources. The literature search section is subdivided into subsections according to the type, style, and genre of the required reference.
One should underline the fact that the library provides several types of searching:
- Standard search;
- Enhanced search;
- Visual search;
This aspect makes access to books and magazines fast and convenient; unskilled children can easily find the necessary book in the library by means of visual search type.
Special attention should be paid to material sections presented in the library. It is important to stress that the elementary school library is aimed at children that is why section division is presented in the form to be easily understood. Thus, books sections consist of the following parts:
- Arts (it contains sculpture, music, theater, television, painting, photography, painting, and movies); This section provides a number of books, magazines, and pictures related to the theme. One can have access to the well-known authors of the historical masterpieces who devoted their works to the description of world art and highlighted well-known art styles changing the whole epochs.
- Countries and Culture (it covers various parts of the world: Africa, Australia, South America, North America, Europe, Asia, Antarctica); This section discloses material devoted to the cultural development in different countries of the world. Most of the books provided are illustrated making them interesting and bright. The section contains the combination of old and new editions of well-known authors.
- People (subsections are the following: athletes, entertainers, writers, world leaders, presidents & first ladies, scientists & inventors, artists, and explorers); This part is devoted to the depiction of the most outstanding people of the world and their contribution to political, cultural, and social development. Political and literature parts are very interesting as they reflect the epochs and illustrations in the books for the children to be involved in the study material.
- Science and Technology (computers, plants, light & sound, health & medicine, space, and weather); This section contains scientific literature sources and specialized magazines disclosing data related to the chosen topic. It should be noted that this section contains little new information and editions; most books are 20 years old.
- Animals (birds, bugs & spiders, mammals, sea creatures, amphibians & reptiles, endangered & extinct); It is necessary to underline the fact that this part is very interesting due to the sources provided; some data is devoted to the animals which extinct from our planet. Besides, it is focused on the peculiarities of environmental protection making its books not only interesting but also functional.
- Sports (it reflects the following sport types: basketball, football, acrobatics & gymnastics, hockey & skating, swimming, and soccer); It should be noted that this part is not a successful one; its literature predominantly refers to the 90s and is few in number. Modern sports achievements are not thoroughly highlighted.
- Stories (the section is divided in accordance with the literature genres such as novels, adventure, poetry, science fiction, plays, mystery, humor, and fairy tales & folklore); The section is rich enough in interesting fiction and poetry; besides it provides all the necessary novels and plays to be studied at school in accordance with the academic curriculum. Nevertheless, it should be stressed that there are few books of modern authors being well known in world literature and translated from different languages into English.
Holidays
This section is not divided into subsections though it is considered to be one of the most functional and interesting for any reader. It contains the sources published by Crowell, Enslow Publishers, National Geographic, and others. Most books are comparatively new, though there are a lot of old editions. The section provides some websites with illustrated descriptions of holidays and traditions from all over the world. This part can be viewed as the guide to celebration culture being of great importance for teachers and parents as well as for school children.
The assessment of Bridge Elementary School Library and sections provided showed that the library is predominantly general being not specialized in one particular area of study. Books provided at the library refer to every aspect of social, art, literature, entertainment, politics, etc.
Pluses and Minuses
The great advantage of the library is considered to be the access to specialized magazines, video, and CD recordings related to different areas of study. A great choice of newspapers and magazines allows making researches and scientific analysis.
Evaluation of the opportunities provided at the library leads to the conclusion that it has its advantages and disadvantages. Minuses of the library concern the book’s dates of publishing. It should be stressed that most books are of 10-20 years; there are some sources referring to 60-70s. Besides, not all sections are sufficiently disclosed; for example, the “stories” section which is devoted to literature works, does not cover the books of modern authors and novelists; the section “sports” contains little data referring to the description of the great sport. It is important to stress that the library needs a renewal of the bases and enlargement.
The advantages of the library far outweigh the disadvantages; the books are easy to search for. Enhanced search gives an opportunity to find any book which is available at the library. It should be noted that the library is convenient and simple in usage, that is why school children can easily get access to the data required.
A Three Year Plan
Having a budget of $5000 would have to make some improvements in the library structure in the period of three years. Bridge Elementary School Library can be graded as middle level because of the literature stock and structure.
Taking into account the fact that the library refers to the Elementary School, improvements need to be made concerning schoolchildren’s demands in academic study. Most part of the budget would be aimed at ordering new books. The section “stories” is to be widened through the works of modern authors for the children to be aware of current literature development. New publishing companies are to be cooperated with in order to be informed about every new edition to be the outcome.
Besides, I would make the library to be more specialized and deep in one of the sections. For example, the part “Science and Technology” could be more filled with these articles and video recordings. The development of this section would require ordering new staff and specialized literature, though it would make the library deeper in scientific information.
One more improvement of the library would be connected with the structural organization of the sources; it should be noted that the books are not properly organized and the dates of publishing are completely mixed.
So, a three-year plan would give an opportunity to fill the Bridge Elementary School Library with new books and specialized magazines making its sphere more narrow and concrete; its books would show the world of modern literature in the USA and in the whole world through ordered books and journals.
References
Bridge Elementary School Library. (2009). Web.
Bridge Elementary School Library: Book Search. Web.