Dessert and a Movie at the Frenchtown Branch

White chocolate and dark chocolate truffles, cherry cheesecake, chocolate jelly roll cake with whipped cream, chocolate sorbet, and heart shaped whoopee pies: these dessert options (all of which were prepared by Frenchtown High School’s Culinary Arts IV class) lured library patrons from their homes last Thursday night to the Frenchtown High School, where the Frenchtown Branch Community Library “Dessert and a Movie” night was in full effect. As most know, the Frenchtown Branch of Missoula Public Library is the product of a partnership between the Frenchtown School District and the Missoula Public Library, and so the Branch is actually located in the High School Library. Consequently, while the location of the Branch provides, in the main, library services to the Frenchtown Community, we public Branch librarians also have unique opportunities to collaborate with Frenchtown librarians, teachers, and students on school/library related projects and events… and in this case, the event was, I must say, wildly successful: over a hundred people showed up to eat whoopee pies and watch “The Lady and the Tramp.”

The subject of school/library partnerships has lately become quite the hot-topic in the library world, as such partnerships make library resources accessible to populations that might otherwise be library-less. Additionally, librarians see gaining a foothold in schools as a key way to encourage kids to explore their environments through reading, research, and community, all of which are basic values/activities that public libraries seek to uphold. And, from the perspective of teachers and school administrators, partnering with a public library increases the reading/research resources available for student/staff use. So, a school/library partnership is basically a win/win situation for everyone, and one that’s relatively easy and cost-effective to put into effect.

It’s important to note, too, that school/library partnerships like the one between the Frenchtown School District and the Missoula Public Library are only one example of this type of partnership. There are a myriad of ways in which schools and libraries can collaborate for the purpose of benefiting students. In some cases, public librarians work directly with school librarians and teachers to provide students with learning materials and to promote in students focused but entertaining educational inquiry. A teacher who’s teaching Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” to her sophomore English class might, for example, work with a public librarian in order to actualize a “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” tea party at the Library. Which would be totally awesome: it goes without saying that should such a party ever come to fruition, I’ll be there...