Enriching Education - Back to School Means Independent Learning Too

 Back to school time is here, which means new school supplies, a new routine, and the excitement and challenges of a new school year.

Back to school season should also be a return to independent learning, with the help of your local library.

Libraries offer an abundance of programs and resources for kids (and adults) who do well learning on their own. Librarians can help guide patrons to resources that best suit their needs and interests, and challenge independent-minded learners.

Here are 11 ways libraries encourage and support independent learning during back to school season and beyond.

1. Maker Spaces

Maker spaces, which often have 3D printers, circuit boards, computer aided design (CAD) tools, printing equipment and more, are an independent learners jackpot. These spaces provide resources and assistance designing and building any number of tools, toys, prototypes, artistic creations and more.

2. Topic Deep Dives

If your independent learner wants to know everything about a topic, the local library is a powerful tool. From books and multi-media to academic papers and help locating quality information online, libraries support independent learners in following their interests as far as they want to take them.

3. Extended Curriculum

Some libraries partner with local schools to provide extended curriculum aligned with what students are learning about in the classroom. For kids interested in learning more about particular areas of interest, these library programs which let them work at their own pace, can be incredibly valuable.

4. Information Literacy

The internet provides an overload of information about everything under the sun, but, as every good librarian knows, it’s important to get the right information. Libraries can instill information literacy skills in independent learners so they can take in information that’s not only interesting, but accurate.

5. Scholarship Research

If your independent learner is heading off to college, libraries can help lighten the financial load by providing scholarship research assistance. This way, independent learners can find and apply for all the scholarships and financial support they qualify for.

Visit EveryLibrary to find the full list.

This excerpt is published under Creative Commons License Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International and is free to edit and use with attribution. Please cite EveryLibrary on medium.com/everylibrary.