My Library is…the heart of our school: a space for all students, staff and community members and filled with something for EVERYONE….readers, scientists, engineers, friends and so much more!

My school opened its doors in August 2021 and while the library opened with an adequate supply of books, curated to meet the learning needs of our students, I want it to be so much more than that! As the heart of our school, I want it to not only be a space for learning, but also a space for creating, caring, relaxing and collaborating with peers. No matter the student’s interests or abilities, the library needs to be a place where they feel welcome to explore whatever interests them!

Receiving this grant has allowed me to create a space that is the heart of our school…a place where students can feel comfortable reading and learning about whatever interests them. A place where our community can find books about themselves, their traditions, countries and cultures as well as their peers’ traditions, countries and cultures. A place where students can discover what interests them in our collection of books and MakerSpace materials - anything from pterodactyls to poems, grizzly bears to graphic novels, coding robots to crafting materials. A place that celebrates EVERYONE and encourages everyone to enjoy the space as we grow together in our new school.

I am grateful to the RAILS organization for selecting me as a grant recipient so my school’s library can continue to be the heart of the school!

Today's My Library Is... blog post comes from Judy Meier. Judy is the Media Specialist and Instructional Techology Coach at Wallin Oaks Elementary School in Plainfield CCSD 202. In 2022, Wallin Oaks received a My Library Is... Grant for School Libraries.