Library vs Media Center

What is a Library?

What comes to mind when you hear the word library? Most likely a quiet place where someone shushes you if you speak too loudly. I know for me, it conjures up images of card catalogs and long hours spent combing through shelves and sitting at a table with a notebook.

Most people think of quiet places and quiet voices when they think of libraries. But even public libraries today aren’t the quiet places that even I remember from my childhood. They are hushed yes, but there are moments of loudness.

I think one of the main differences also is that public libraries are still, for the most part, quiet spaces. There is more interaction in a school library, not just between the librarian and the students, but also between students. This means that many times even if a school centered area is called a library, it functions more as a media center.

What is a Media Center?

Believe it or not, media centers have been around since the 1960s and 1970s. While a lot of people tend to think it’s a more modern invention, they aren’t. Although the first media centers were called that because they held media (films, etc).

Nowadays, media centers are so much more than storage places. While a school might call their center a library, it often has so much more. Library media centers may hold robotic meetings or trainings. In addition to books, the center might hold computers, STEAM activities, or even a Makerspace. Instead of a quiet place of contemplation, it could be a place where students learn, explore, and grow.

Media centers, like libraries, are the heart of the school and often change with the climate of both the school and the community. Although both media centers and libraries hold events, a media center may draw more on the community for its events.

What does this look like in today’s schools?

Media centers in today’s schools are thriving, warm places. They are often considered the heart of the school. Instead of just storing books, they are places that students go to hang out and engage in activities, not just check items out.

My library has the requisite books, but also a makerspace. It’s still in the beginning stages, but next year I’m hoping to start an afterschool club which will draw students in and teach them the skills they need to navigate it. In addition, I’m in charge of Chromebooks for the school and store them there.

Teachers visit the media center for advice or to borrow books. I’m hoping to encourage them to use the collaboration tools I’m setting up.

Lessons in the media center aren’t quiet. I engage the students in movement in addition to ‘library lessons’ and they are often chattering as they work. While we do try to keep the noise to an inside roar (my library sits right across from the office and I don’t want the students to disrupt the work going on there), we also have our moments when we’re loud and raucous.

I use a variety of techniques to keep my students quieter. We watch Bluey study or listen to instrumental or classical music. I also taught my classes a call and response (“Library” “Books”) which generally takes a couple of times to get them quiet (they really enjoy saying “Books!”).

In the end, a media center and a library have the same purpose. To instill in students a love of learning and give them a safe place to explore their interests.

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