Learning Commons

The Caldwell Learning Commons
Welcome to the Caldwell  Elementary Learning Commons (formally known as the Library Media Center.)  Today’s Learning Commons is designed to serve all members of the Caldwell community and is very different than the library you or I may have experienced in our schooldays.  Students still visit the Learning Commons to gather reading and research materials, however, the environment and way our students use the library has changed in many ways.  This orientation will introduce you to the philosophy behind these changes and also show how daily instruction can be supported by the Learning Commons.

Learning Commons Mission:
The mission of the Caldwell Learning Commons is to ensure that students and staff are effective evaluators, users, and communicators of ideas and information, enabling them to be literate life-long learners.

Click here for the Learning Commons Google Site. 

Learning Commons Staff:

• Holly Cohee – Library Media Specialist
• Erica Watson – LMS Aide

Learning Commons Hours
Monday through Friday 7:35 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Checkout Limits
Student Loan Period – 2 weeks
Student Checkout Limits –

• Kindergarten –  2 items
• First Grade – 2 items
• Second Grade – 3 items
• Third Grade – 4 items
• Fourth Grade – 4 items
• Fifth Grade – 4 items

Parent Loan Period – 2 weeks
Parent Checkout Limit – 4 items

The Vision
“Twice in this century, school libraries have undergone a major redesign.  The first was in the 1960s when book libraries had to be rethought to include a new wave of audiovisual devices and software.  The second began in the 1980′s with the proliferation of the microcomputer, computer networks and finally the Internet.  The first redesign required only a shift in contents.  The second requires an entire rethinking.” – Reinvent Your School’s Library in the Age of Technology

This statement describes the changes that have occurred in school libraries well.  When school libraries were first established they were a storehouse for circulating books and reading material to students and staff.  At this time, students and staff went to the library to gather materials.

Then, after inventions such as the overhead and tape recorder, the Library became a central location to checkout and find support for “technology” or AV equipment.  Again, students and staff went to the library to gather materials.

Then suddenly (and very recently) the Internet and computers became a common daily tool for instruction in the library AND in the classroom.  Today’s Learning Commons is still a standard “hub” where staff and students visit to use a wide variety of materials. BUT….now the Media Resource Specialist is one who welcomes visitors to the Learning Commons and also makes trips to classrooms where collaboration, teaming, and instruction can take place.

We are very fortunate to be working for a district which embraces this philosophy.