The Wheels on the Bus Go to the Library

Over half of the class raised their hands when the library tour guide asked them if this was their first time at the library. So over half of the fifth-graders learned about the library for the first time on May 18, 2017 when their class from Chestnut Grove Elementary School took a field trip to the Decatur Public Library. The field trip was funded by the Foundation’s Strong Schools Strong Community Campaign to increase student achievement.

Throughout the tour, the class learned how to use the catalog system, the Dewey Decimal system on the spine of books, and even learned a few new words like genre, nonfiction, genealogy, and fantasy.

Friendly tour guides told the class about all of the free library resources at their fingertips. From e-readers, to movies, books, music, and audio books, countless forms of educational entertainment are available for free use in the children’s department of the library.

And just in case any of the fifth-graders is interested in cooking, Star Wars chapter books, learning Spanish, or math tutoring, they know right where to find it!

Together, the class walked through the library to learn staff member’s names and ask them about working at the library. But best of all, the children learned how the staff could help them find just what they were looking for.

Upstairs in the Alabama History Room, students browsed among rare books crammed full of historical significance and even inspected a microfilm reader. By cranking the spinning handle, students revealed a light underneath the table to illuminate projected images.

Eyes roamed towering cases of documents, young fingers brushed against cracked, dry book spines, giggles swept across the silence between the shelves, and expectant ears listened as they learned just how fun it is to read.

So I’m pretty sure that if the tour guide had asked the class for a show of hands at the end of the field trip asking if they were excited to come back to the library, more than half would have been raised that time.

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