Friday, July 9, 2010

Library Club @ Kinbu, Part 2

This week, junior mentors have been working on a proposed action plan to implement the Library Club at Kinbu. Yesterday, we held a meeting for a presentation and a discussion in order to fine tune the action plan and make some final decisions as to how everything was going to work. The presentation turned out to be incredibly detailed (kudos to you guys, you did great), so there wasn't as much to discuss and decide as we had anticipated. Nevertheless, we had a discussion and threw some ideas around. Here are some of the main points:

> We have been working closely with Kinbu in the formation of the action plan for the Library Club so that implementation can be as smooth as possible. We are waiting on the school to release their schedule for next term so we can fine tune our schedule and ensure nothing clashes.

> We also want the students of Kinbu (not just mentees) to be involved. We are waiting for their suggestions by way of a patron. Divine Akortsu (whom we have been working with) has been suggested by the assistant headmaster, and he will be suggested to the students. We will also present them with a list of recommended activities, books, etc to choose from.

> We toyed with the possibility of having the library open to students during the holidays, but this did not seem likely. Instead we decided it would be a good idea to take students to public libraries as part of their Library Club trips. This way, they can learn how to use their local libraries and reading would become much more accessible to them.

>We'd like to sensitise students to their Ghanaian and African heritage, including literature. We agreed that it would be good to look into having groups visit the school to perform books or plays they might be reading (e.g. Efua Sutherland)

> A rough schedule was put together (this will be fine-tuned after we receive a schedule from Kinbu). One key factor was that reading competitions take place after exams. This means that students can be given a recommended list of books to read during the holidays on which the competitions will be based.

> The plan of action included key performance indicators and critical success factors as a means of ensuring we are on track. In addition to these, the Library Club will be required to submit regular reports both to the headmistress and to Databank.

> You might remember from a visit to the Kinbu library a while back that there was a large stack of books that were not being (and would not be) used. It was pointed out that the Ministry of Education buys old books and recycles them - this could be another way we could use to generate funds for the refurbishment of the library. We could also approach the Rotary and Lions Clubs.

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