International School of Ulaanbaatar

About Our School

The International School of Ulaanbaatar opened to meet the demands of the growing international community in Mongolia in September of 1992. In 2004, the same year we were authorized to offer the IB Diploma Programme, we had our first graduating class of three students. Steady growth from that point onward led to the move to a new purpose-build campus in 2007 but it was not until an extension was built and opened in 2016 that we had a purpose-built library centrally located on two floors to target the needs of Primary (PreK to Grade 5) upstairs and Secondary (Grades 6 to 12) on the ground floor. 

The International School of Ulaanbaatar Library

Our library has the largest and most current collection of books in English in all of Mongolia. Our administration understands the importance of keeping our collection fresh and relevant in order to encourage reading engagement throughout our community 

We also provide access to trusted digital resources, helping students understand and apply reliable information. Our library is deeply integrated into the IB PYP, MYP, and DP programmes. Some of the ways we support learning include:

• Hosting an annual Human Rights Human Library for Grade 5.
• Supporting the MYP Personal Project and DP Extended Essay.
• Publishing ISU Writes, our annual Secondary writing magazine.
• Coordinating a student-led Writing Centre.
• Guiding Grade 5 students as they prepare for the PYP Exhibition.

Our librarian also serves as both the MYP Personal Project Coordinator and the DP Extended Essay Coordinator, further embedding the library into the fabric of teaching and learning.

I love being in a whole-school role because I know every child in the school. I love the variety in my day and the opportunity to connect through books, stories, research interests, and skills development. I’m pretty sure I have the best job in the school.

What Our Students & Teachers Say

Students love the fact that the library is comfortable and welcoming. They frequently make use of the Secondary Library meeting rooms for study or group work, they meet in our library for lunch, and they come in before and after school to chill, read, or do homework. 

Teachers appreciate our flexible scheduling and the amount of collaboration from the library staff. We are always willing to support, co-plan, co-teach, and assess for any research-based unit or inquiry.

Why We Chose Oliver v5

We were using Follett Destiny and became increasingly frustrated by the lack of support. Our Follett system was not available online at the beginning of one academic year and it took them two weeks to coordinate with our IT department over something that turned out to be an easy fix. That was the last straw for me. I had always been frustrated by the dated interface and the difficulty of running reports and several librarians I respected were big Oliver fans, so I made the switch. It was an excellent decision!

How Oliver Helps Us Every Day

Oliver has made a real difference in our day-to-day library services.

• The student interface is intuitive, and our self-checkout is used right across the school.
• Integration with Sora makes our collection more accessible.
• Reporting is clear and easy to run.

Most importantly, the support is exceptional.

My favourite thing is not a feature but the service and support. Softlink replies quickly, always ready to assist and problem-solve. The Softlink Community Support is excellent.

Looking Ahead

At the moment, we use Oliver reports to show how students are engaging with the library. We’re excited to explore even more ways to use this data to highlight reading progress and celebrate student growth.