Princess Anne’s “Love Your Library” is an ongoing event that takes place most Fridays in the library and launched on October 3. The program provides students with opportunities to take a break from learning and unwind through fun and engaging activities with friends. It has become a big attraction for students to hang out and spend time with their PA peers.
Love Your Library is run by Library Media Specialists Melissa Foster and Helen Sissel, as well as Library Media Assistant Christina Ste. Marie. Foster and Sissel say they came up with the idea for Love Your Library after looking at other high schools for inspiration.
“We were at one of our monthly librarian meetings recently, and there was another high school that did something similar, and we thought it was a brilliant idea and decided to implement it here and tweaked it to make it our own,” Foster explained.
She added, “When Ms. Sissel and I were at that meeting, we just started brainstorming ways we could have students come into the library. This is really the heart of the school.”
“There are students we would never see in the library if they didn’t come in and check out a book,” Sissel added. Foster agreed that attracting students who would never be in the library is one of the main purposes of Love Your Library.
Foster says she believes the students love the event because there is something for everyone. If you’re artsy, there are create-your-own bookmarks; if you want a quiet space, there are coloring pages to use. Students also find friends there who are in different classes, so they see each other at Love Your Library. She adds, “I think they just enjoy stepping away from their classes and screens, being kids, and having fun.”
Foster says her favorite activity is diamond painting, and she is always at that station during Love Your Library events. Sissel, however, explained she likes engaging with the students and seeing them talk and compete with each other rather than manning a specific activity.
The PA librarians confirmed that the program will run on Fridays. Foster explained, “We find that Fridays have worked, [and] we are most comfortable keeping it on Fridays. It is a fun way to end the week, and it’s something fun to look forward to.” They have also discussed the possibility of offering the program during lunch for students who don’t have a study block or are not excused from their classes. They agreed that they are both very excited that Love Your Library will be coming back this year and are hopeful that it will become a permanent event within the school from now on.
All three librarians agreed that setting up Love Your Library takes a long time, even with help from the library’s student volunteers. However, according to Foster, they are getting more efficient with the setup every time.
The library staff brings decades of experience. While Ste Marie has been at PA for two years, she has worked in the library for five years in total. Sissel has been a librarian at Princess Anne for two years, and a librarian for 28 years total. Foster was a librarian at a private school before coming to Princess Anne and has been at PA for three years.
Love Your Library has become a massive hit for a lot of students and teachers, who agree that the program provides a great time to relax and take their minds off stressful things.
