Content: Community Engagement

Type: Podcast

Length: 1 Hour

Level: Library Professionals

Organisers: School Librarians United

Presenters: Amy Hermon, Suzanne Banwart and Stephanie Wilson

Format: A one hour podcast

Reflection

Objectives: This episode of School Librarians United was focused on student engagement and promoting the school library. The episode talked about a distinction between lunch in the library and lunchtime in the library. It made a distinction between the library simply being an open area for students to eat, but creating a structured environment for students to spend time in during lunchtime.

Reasons for attending: I listened to this podcast after listening to the first school librarians united podcast, which I found fantastic, and decided to continue with some random ones. As I am heavily involved in clubs and activities during lunchtime at the school library, I figured I’d get another insight into school lunchtimes in the library.

Relation to studies and learning outcomes: This further explores concepts of engagement and user experience particularly in terms of school libraries. From the podcast I got a new look at lunch in the library, especially considering the foreign school structure of American schools. THe guest speakers each spoke on different sides of lunch in the library, one speaking for lunch and one speaking for lunchtime, and I found the distinction strange at first, but it was explained in a clear way, and gave new insight into how to promote the library space during lunch.

Future Uses: The considerations given to allowing students a space to eat during lunch, and allowing students a space to do more than eat were heavily influenced by the layouts and concepts of the school libraries, and this can help inform any future choices I might make regarding lunch in the library based on the type of school and structure of lunchtimes; a school with split lunchtimes will run differently to a school with a shared lunchtime due to student numbers, classes using the library and so on.

Evidence: Screenshot during podcast

Screenshot during podcast

Link: https://schoollibrariansunited.libsyn.com/184-lunch-in-the-library-71422-1044-pm