GLEN Park Primary School has become home to one of five registered Street Libraries in Ballarat, encouraging children across town to borrow, read and return.<\/p>\n
Tony Shaw has been GPPS principal since 1997 and was inspired to create Ballarat\u2019s first school Street Library when he heard about the movement on television.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were showing how communities in New Zealand had \u2018rebelled\u2019 against the closure of their small local libraries by creating their own.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember them using old fridges as street libraries and I thought, that would be a good idea for us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe lost access to the Ballarat City Mobile Library years ago, so we made a concerted effort to make sure we had an excellent school library regardless of our limited budget.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s pleased the library will not only encourage his students\u2019 reading, but \u201clend to the wider community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat better way to engage locals than to open up our library to them?<\/p>\n
I\u2019m hoping it encourages literacy in a 30km radius of our school.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Shaw ordered the GPPS Street Library from the project\u2019s HQ in Erskineville, NSW where it was handcrafted by volunteers.<\/p>\n
Two weeks after ordering, it arrived as a fresh canvas for decorating, made from long-life marine quality plywood with a tough, Perspex window.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t want it to blend into the trees at the front of the school or look like a circus tent. I thought the yellow would stand out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe images of famous authors promote my commitment to using classic children\u2019s literature across the school to engage students with the world\u2019s best authors and to create – hopefully – life-long readers.\u201d<\/p>\n
The school has purchased brand new, classic children\u2019s books especially for their fresh Street Library.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve decided to have some months in the year where I put them into themes\u2026which might interest teens in the area or older brothers and sisters of our students,\u201d Mr Shaw said.<\/p>\n
There are over 850 registered street libraries across Australia and the coordinators of the broader Street Library initiative hope to have 5000 registered by the end of 2021.<\/p>\n
GPPS is a one-teacher school, set in the quiet, peaceful rural environment of Glen Park. The school currently has a single digit enrolment and has been in existence since 1871.<\/p>\n
Take a drive up to Glen Park Primary School this Summer \u2013 8.5km from Ballarat\u2019s CBD at 265 Ralstons Road, Glen Park – and \u201cborrow, read, return.\u201d<\/p>\n
Head to streetlibrary.org.au\/find to locate Ballarat\u2019s four other Street Libraries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
GLEN Park Primary School has become home to one of five registered Street Libraries in Ballarat, encouraging children across town to borrow, read and return. Tony Shaw has been GPPS principal since 1997 and was inspired to create Ballarat\u2019s first school Street Library when he heard about the movement on television. \u201cThey were showing how […]<\/p>\n