Lotus Valley International School, Noida

LVIS LIBRARY – A Fulcrum of Learning

“Books are a uniquely portable magic.Somebooks should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly.” ― Sir Francis Bacon

LVIS believes in fostering a thirst for knowledge and a voracious appetite for reading by providing a plethora of books, interactive events, workshops, and other programmes.In this regard, students can access the library as per their allotted timetable and issue books as per the school policy. Our objective is to assist students tap into their latent talents and help them actualize their potential. Our library manifests unrestricted access to information from an array of sources - print media as well as digital.

Our state- of- the-artinfrastructure comprises of ample space for students/facilitators. The comfortable seating arrangement helps the readers focus and concentrate while reading. Its ambience facilitates their physical, mental, spiritual, aesthetic and ethical growth. It has been designed in such a way that it not only accommodates but also fosters growth by providing myriad resources, be it print or online. The library rules, policies, and curriculum are displayed for everyone to read.Students and staff, having unrestricted accessto the library, are encouraged to gain knowledge for learning and personal development.

The librarian, Ms. AlkaKapoor, supports all curricular by emphasizing on Interdisciplinary learning. Through personal interaction, at all reading levels, by way of recommendations, discussions on new literature, movies related to prolific artists, and suggested reading lists, the librarian tries to broaden the horizons of the students. We encourage non-readers by finding simple books for them and try to get students excited about reading through literary events, celebrations, and interactive sessions with renowned authors. The Golden Book Award is awarded by the librarian to a class which reads the maximum number of books in a month. Similarly, a ‘I Love Reading Badge’ is given anyjunior class which exhibits maximum enthusiasm in reading and helps its peers in reading.To encourage students to try new books,a Golden Ticket is hidden in books of genres which have not been checked out in a while.

The Library Council, comprising of the librarian, students and teachers, brainstorm new ideas regularly. A list of recommended books keeping in mind diversity in genres, writing styles and age-appropriateness, is prepared. A wish list of students is maintained and reviewed at the time of procurement of new books. Authors are invited to visit the school and interact with students, share their journeys with students, motivating them to read more and delve into the world of imagination.A dedicated time and space (Makerspace) is provided to encourage students to work on projects and creative constructions.

To promote Media Literacy, the Library is equipped with an array of newspapers, journals and publications. Students are encouraged to use the in-house computers to read and research on topics of interest.Special occasions and events such as ‘World Book Day’, Literary Festivals, etc., are celebrated with great enthusiasm, where students participate in various activities. Dedicated Writing Programmes such as the Scholastic Writer’s Club provide an opportunity to budding authors toenhance their imagination and writing skills.School magazine and newsletters containing poems, stories, and articles written by students, are published regularly. A Lexile based One-Up Classroom Library provides a set of 60 books,kept in each classroom of grades 3-5, which are issued to students during the READ period, ensuring that they have access to books of their interest and comprehension level. Following an Integrated Curriculum, the work done under each unit is supported by a story book explaining the concept.

The LVIS library boasts of a prolific collection of over 18,500 books. Several magazines, newspaper, reference books, etc., have been subscribed to, cater to the needs of readers. These books along with other print resources, are segregated with the help of shelf markers. In the age of digital media, the students explore educational movies and short films available in the library, to expand the realms of curiosity. They also use the desktops in the library to research on authors their works. The digital resources in the library are used by the students to enhance their knowledge by garnering more information on subjects of interest.

Innovation is the key to growth and our library aims to keep pace with the Information age by introducing interesting factoids and trivia related to new authors.The students are thus enthused with the spirit to find out more. To stimulate the minds of the young learners, the students are encouraged to create games by making ‘Author Cards’.An ‘author of the month’ is selected to introduce new authors to students. On special occasions, such as, Independence Day, Gandhi Jayanti, etc., books and posters related to the event are prominently displayed to emphasize the significance of the occasion.

The Lotus Library - A Creative Sanctuary for Young Readers

Research has proven that reading becomes a more productive creative activity when unfettered by constraints of where, what and how to read. The Lotus Library, organised incorporating students' inputs, deploys strategies such as outdoor reading, group reading, activity-based reading, and storytelling to enhance the reading experience!

Awards

School library was awarded Bandana Sen Library Award in 2019

Alka Kapoor was awarded the Global Librarians’ award in 2021