AI generated image of a dragon sleeping on books in a library
A Web Toolkit for Maltese School Librarians
At the tender age of 49, I will be graduating with a master’s degree in Library and Information Sciences from the University of Malta.
After 14 years of teaching, and another 8 years of building websites while being a stay-at-home dad, I finally found the dream job that I somehow never realised I wanted.
Voracious book reader: check ✓
Have a personal library of over 3,000 books: check ✓
Studied 4 optional credits in librarianship in my bachelor’s degree: check ✓
It FINALLY dawned on me that I would love being a librarian. Go figure!
As a school librarian for these past three years in an independent senior school in Malta, I have been responsible for revamping the school library and what it offers. I am fascinated by the concept of enhancing student engagement in the middle and secondary school library, and made it the topic of my dissertation.
My research involved a questionnaire set to 300 students from Year 7 to Year 10 (11/12 to 14/15 years old), asking them about their experiences with the librarian, the school library and their engagement.
This web toolkit for Maltese school librarians takes existing literature, insights from my research and practical examples and considerations and presents them on this platform as a package for school librarians to consider. While most issues apply to all school libraries, some are specific to Malta, with a few even affecting different types of schools on the islands in different ways.
The Knowledge Base pages give an overview of the items in the paragraph above. The News & Social page highlights a few upcoming course and events, and invites you to like and follow the iLibrary Facebook page for more dynamic updates. The Resources page presents some files freely available for use. The Calendar pages show annual events and anniversaries, allowing school librarians to create displays and Featured Tables commemorating them should they wish to do so.
I am always happy to receive feedback, and would love it if other school librarians, in Malta or abroad, could also share their practices and experiences.
Happy librarianing!
Ivan Mifsud Bons – Malta