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from library

to learning commons

Valerie DiggsChelmsford High School

Chelmsford Massachusetts

questions and challenges for today

defining the future of school librariesin the times of:

educational changetechnological change

funding reductions

Valerie Diggs 04/07/2023

In times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the

learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer

exists. - Eric Hoffer

why learning

commons and not library?


learning commons as defined by

program

facility

school community


a learning commons… is a place of

teaching and learninggroup work

collaborationprofessional development

creativitychangeinquiry

communicationcommunity


and is not… a place designed primarily for

finding informationa place where students only come to

use the copy machinea place where the “librarian” is in chargea place where students are greeted with

rules as they enter a place where bookshelves with outdated

material fill open spaceValerie Diggs 04/07/2023

build your program

first


teaching and learning


events

Listening LunchesValerie Diggs 04/07/2023

Poetry Slam

Java Room


just hanging outValerie Diggs 04/07/2023

Participatory culture shifts the focus of literacy from one of individual expression to community involvement. The new literacies almost all involve social skills developed through collaboration and networking.

Jenkins, Henry. Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century. 2006.


facility designdriven by program


biblioTECH Consulting

library renovation committee

in-house expertise

plan …. plan …. planValerie Diggs 04/07/2023

04/07/2023 Valerie Diggs

books everywhere


putting it back together


from the old to the new


from “keep-out”



to welcome…


http://www.bretford.com/_includes/asp/enlargeImage.asp?alt=San+Francisco+Circulation+Desk&file=

http://www.bretford.com/_includes/asp/enlargeImage.asp?alt=Library+Traditional+Reading+Tables&file=

our programs continue


Common Grounds Café



ListeningLunches

inauguration january 2009


poetry slam


wellness fair

professional development


the learning commons

beyondspace

with Senator Fargo


Library Legislation Day at the State House in Boston


changes in technology Before After


and in communicationValerie Diggs 04/07/2023

learning commonsand

community


faculty and student buy-in


letting go . . .

and, most importantly, have fun

encourage student contributions

partner with teachers and administrators

create a true learning environment

build community


from library to learning commons

vision

voice

plantake risks

build


Tomorrow’s library will not be literally a library without walls and, for the foreseeable future,

it will certainly not be a library without books.

—John RayoaValerie Diggs 04/07/2023

Thank you

Valerie Diggs


http://www.chelmsford.k12.ma.us/chs/library/

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Education

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