The shelves are open again at Hemlock Middle School as students are returning to the HMS Library to find books, explore new interests, and use the space as part of their classroom learning.
The library has recently been reorganized and prepared for regular student and classroom use. HMS Dean of Students Dr. Chad Inabinet has worked to reactivate the library by organizing and inventorying the collection, updating the school's Alexandria library management system, establishing checkout and return procedures, and developing resources to help students use the library effectively and efficiently.
That work was recently put into action when current sixth-grade Writing classes visited the library to select a novel or book for an upcoming class writing assignment.
Before students began searching the shelves, Inabinet provided a brief library orientation designed to give students the skills they need to use the library independently and successfully. Students learned how the library is organized, how to understand call numbers, how to locate fiction, biographies, and nonfiction books, and how to use the Alexandria catalog to search the school's collection.
"We don't just want to open the doors and tell students to go find a book," Inabinet said. "We want to teach them how to use the library so they can walk in with confidence, search for something that interests them, understand where to find it, and ultimately leave with a book they are excited to read."