Library & school cooperation

The parties to the cooperation plan are the Ikaalinen City Library and schools.

The library staff, primary school teachers and middle and upper secondary school native language teachers are responsible for implementing the plan. The aim is to develop children's literacy skills, increase their enthusiasm for reading and library use, and improve their information retrieval skills. The plan serves as the framework for this work.

Teaching library use and information retrieval to different grades

Library instruction aims to support independent library use and encourage students to ask questions and seek help when needed. The goal is also to inform students about the opportunities offered by the library and to develop students into library users. The teacher is always involved in the library teaching situation.

1st grade – Welcome to the library

During the visit, the children will get to know the library, its materials and facilities. Children will receive a library card and be taught how to use it and how to behave in the library in general. Where possible, children will be given a hands-on library experience.

4th grade – Seek and find

We review previously learned basics of library use and, through playful activities, we get to know the library's departments and materials. We learn how to find fiction and non-fiction books in the youth and children's departments of our own library, and we learn the basics of information retrieval using the PIKI online library.

7th grade – Taking control of information retrieval

The two-hour visit will review the basics of library use and introduce students to the online library and information retrieval using library classification and keywords. The goal is for students to deepen their knowledge through functional information retrieval tasks.

1st grade of upper secondary school – Foundation for independent information acquisition

The student is guided to independently plan and search for source material for their information needs. They become familiar with the library's material database and other available databases. They are also introduced to various search services on the Internet and adopt a critical attitude towards the information they find.

Activities related to reading and literature

The librarian at the Ikaalinen City Library will give tips to all 3rd graders at Ikaalinen schools during the spring semester and will agree on a more specific time with the teachers of the classes in question. Tips for other grades can be arranged if possible, for example with the help of paid visitors. The library will invite classes separately for tips or arrange for a tipster to come to the school.

Author visits will be arranged where possible and schools will be informed about them separately.

Reading diploma

Other library services for schools

Classes are always welcome to visit the library to borrow books, regardless of whether the library is able to offer separate guidance. You can visit the library during opening hours to borrow and return materials without separate notice. Visits that require guidance must be arranged well in advance.

Teachers can submit requests to the library. The library can act as a forum for school projects and exhibitions. It is also possible to invite the library to participate in various school events, such as parents' evenings.

Book packages on various topics can be ordered from the library. Requests for book packages should be made well in advance.

The role of the library liaison in library-school cooperation

Each school has its own contact person, through whom library-related messages are also forwarded to other teachers. Messages aimed at a specific grade level are sent directly to the teachers of that grade level. Contact persons participate in meetings organized by the library, where cooperation with the library is developed.

Library and school cooperation plan (pdf)
   

Roope Lipasti as a guest author for 4th-6th graders.