Colour and comfort in a compact library space

Buninyong Primary School is situated in an area filled with history on the outskirts of Ballarat in Victoria. The school’s main campus even incorporates some historic buildings, including the original Buninyong Police Station, which is now used as a breakaway space for students.

Buninyong Primary School Library

Over the years, the school library has been moved several times to allow for renovations and experimentation with different learning approaches, such as open learning. Despite these changes, one feature of Buninyong Primary School library has remained constant: its Library Technician, Kathleen Cassell, who has been at the school for 24 years.

In recent years, Kathleen has taken charge of the library on her own, introducing many new resources and overseeing the school’s transition to the Oliver v5 library system.

Kathleen justifiably takes great pride in her library, not only because of its impressive (and growing) collection, but also because she has put a lot of effort into beautifying the library, making it an attractive and functional space for the whole school community to enjoy.

“Since taking over the library, I have tripled the number of books available and am increasing constantly.”

Kathleen has painted one wall of the library a bright, sunshine yellow, which the children love. She has also put in a tree display, where children can sit and read quietly on a bright red futon.

“I am always on the lookout for colourful displays to have around the area,” Kathleen said.

Colour and Comfort in the library

Beanbags and cushions take the place of tables and chairs, which weren’t practical given the limited library space, and the children enjoy using these while reading or being read to.

“There is always a contest to see who can grab the beanbags first,” Kathleen told us.

Kathleen’s preference for bright colours is also evident in the way she has chosen to organise the collection on the shelves, using different coloured spine labels for each book category, so students can easily find suitable books for their interests and reading level.

Working alone in the library with help from parent volunteers, Kathleen finds using this system in conjunction with the cataloguing features in Oliver v5 saves valuable time. This means she can spend more time supporting teachers, helping students, and creating attractive displays that really enhance the library.

“I am very proud of the fact that when the Principal shows prospective parents around they comment on how nice and bright the library looks.”

2019 Updates to the Buninyong Primary School Library

As these photos go to show, the love continues in the Buninyong Primary School with Kathleen finishing a complete overhaul of the Fiction spine labels.

She’s tackling Non Fiction next! But one of the most popular additions to the library are the new rocker chairs for students. They are so popular with every grade there’s a rush to get one. Kathleen started with eight but quickly purchased another eight. Now it’s not just colourful bean bags that draw students to the comfort of the library but rockers as well.

In this case study, Kathleen shares with us some of the ways Oliver v5 makes managing the library easier, as well as benefiting teachers, students and parents.

To see more inspirational school library displays, read this blog which shares pictures from the 2017 Softlink Library Display Competition.

Editors note: This post was originally published June 2017 and has been updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehension.