JCSP Library

JCSP Library

libraryTMSCSTerence MacSwiney Community College is the only school in Cork to have its own JCSP Library. The library has been in operation since 2004 and it has put reading at the core of our school community. The library is staffed by a full time librarian and is open each morning at 8.30 before the start of the school day. It is also open after school for those students who wish to take part in after school study. The library is a wonderful extra resource available to students and teachers and the entire school population.

The library has become the heart of our school. It is used daily for a range of classes, for lunchtime and after school activities and for facilitators visiting the school. The library is very busy before school starts each morning. Students stop in to catch up on the latest Match magazine or the Daily Newspaper, or to finish off some homework, or to simply chill out before they start their day. There are books, magazines, newspapers, computers and board games available to students. Chess is a very popular activity during the busy lunchtime period. We look forward to hosting another chess tournament this year.

We loan out hundreds of books each year from a stock of over 5000 books that have been specifically chosen to suit the needs of our students. The stock is current and constantly updated to ensure that student’s requests are met

This year we hope to ensure that there is a book in every first year student’s bag at all times. Our ethos is very much about matching the right book to the right student. We are passionate about encouraging success and progression in reading from the moment students join us in first year.

Our school library is different from the traditional library is an active learning centre where we try to promote academic excellence by equipping students with the skills they need to be successful in school and beyond.

In our school success is very much a team effort between teaching staff, support staff, parents and students. The library provides a base for the literacy and numeracy programmes that extend from the library throughout each classroom in the school and further into the homes of our students.

Students who develop their reading skills and the habit of reading on a regular basis, are far more likely to bring the love of reading to their own families later in life.

We can only imagine the difference such school libraries can make to our communities in ways that may never be quantifiable. The students of our school are proud and respectful of their library and use it to the maximum benefit.

We look forward to many more years of reading and library programmes which will promote independent learning in a fun way, which will bring variety, innovation and richness to our student’s educational experience and develop their confidence in learning.