🌟 Activities Curated by Breege O'Brien,
Former ISLM Chairperson 📚✨

Breege O’Brien is a retired English and French teacher, teacher-librarian, and former Chairperson of the International School Library Month (ISLM) Committee. Based in Ireland, she has been instrumental in promoting the role of school libraries as vital community connectors. Her initiatives have fostered global collaboration and cultural exchange among students worldwide. Through her work, Breege has highlighted the importance of school libraries in enhancing literacy, creativity, and community engagement.

These activities aim to inspire students and educators to explore the transformative power of libraries in building connections, sharing stories, and fostering a sense of belonging within and beyond the school community.

📖 Connect with a Nearby Library

Connect with a nearby library (school, public, etc.) to organise any library event that focuses on school libraries as community connectors.

📚 Develop a Little Library

Develop a Little Library (long term or temporary) to share books with the community local to your school.

⏱️ Five Minute Reads Points

• Choose points around the school where students/staff often wait (office areas, reception, quiet spaces). Ensure supervision.
  
  

• Provide dip-in reading materials: newspapers, photography books, high-visual content books, Guinness Book of Records, poetry collections, magazines, non-fiction, etc.
  
  

• Provide seating so readers can comfortably sit.
  
  

• Use visible signage to promote the Reading Points.
  
  

• Involve student library committees to select points and materials.

✍️ Creative Writing

Organise poetry, short story, or descriptive writing activities. Use writing frames, modeling, and visual prompts. Arrange for students to read their work at an event for family or the community.

👵 Intergenerational Poetry Project

• Students connect with an older family member or neighbor to discuss a remembered or favorite poem.
  
  

• Students share a favorite poem with the older person.
  
  

• Collate all poems into a “Book” and display it in the library. Invite contributors to view it.

🎨 Posters

Invite students to create posters inspired by books or poems (A3 works well). Display outside the library or school to highlight community connectors.

📚 Themed Reading Assignment

Choose a theme and create a list of titles. Invite students to read them and imagine life in different circumstances (disability, diversity, LGBT issues, refugees, adversity, domestic violence, overcoming challenges, etc.).

🌈 Reading Activities

Reading broadens imagination and helps students explore communities beyond their own. Organise any reading activity of your choice.

🍽️ Book Buffet

• Set up separate reading points with different genres, especially ones students don’t usually choose.
  
  

• Students read at a point for 10–15 minutes, then rotate to the next.
  
  

• This exposes students to diverse genres and encourages further reading in their own time.

🎲 Book Bingo

• Create a bingo card with book types. Students earn rewards for completing rows or full cards (book token, greeting card, book, poster).
  
  

• Example book types: fantasy, refugee story, non-fiction, foreign country, cross-cultural relationships, animal story, pre-1980 publication, published since 2020, etc.
  
  

• Focus on books offering insights into different communities.

📖 Book Displays

Arrange displays in your library highlighting authors and books that depict different types of communities.

💬 Book Talk

Invite a writer to discuss a particular community in their book. Encourage students to share their thoughts on this or other books presenting a community.

🎭 Act Out

Senior students visit primary classes to read and act out stories using props. This fosters imagination for both performers and audience.

✒️ Author/Illustrator Visit

Invite an author or illustrator. Students can ask:

• Where do ideas come from?
  
  

• How do you develop ideas into books or illustrations?

🌐 Shared Community Reading

Partner with another school or local group. Everyone reads the same book, then shares their thoughts in an event.