As school librarians we like to think that we provide a welcoming, friendly and helpful environment for all students, whatever their needs. Whether they are studying, looking for resources for assessments or for their next great read, we want to be their first port of call. And for the quieter students or those yet to find their feet, we hope that our Library provides a safe haven to chill out or find some like-minded friends.

But it doesn’t really matter what we think, what matters is how our students view the Library and how it makes them feel. So for International School Library Day we asked our school community to provide their thoughts on the best things about the College Library as well as any improvements they could suggest for the future.

In addition to the students who kindly filmed their comments for us (thanks to Caroline, Emersyn, Olivia, Minduli, Vienne and Gabby) we received a number of other responses via our International School Library Day Google Forms questionnaire. Our school community told us they love the friendly, helpful and kind Library staff. They love the variety of books and resources, they love the welcoming environment and being able to bring their food in to the Library during lunch and recess.

As to improvements our students, have requested more books and an even bigger library with more space, so even more students can enjoy hanging out in here – we won’t argue with that!

It is lovely to hear that we are on the right path and having a positive impact in our school community. The Library staff celebrated the day by unveiling our “Team Library” tshirts which featured a not so subtle message on the back, “Come to the Library, we have the answers”.

To see the videos from the day please check out the College Library Instagram page @saintpatrickscollegelibrary.

The College Library