Before,
during,
and
after
the
school
day,
the
Benton
Middle
School
library
has
a
steady
stream
of
visitors.
This
is
due
in
part
to
the
innovative
activities
that
library
media
specialists,
Amanda
Babcock
and
Diane
Stinson,
coordinate
to
make
the
learning
space
more
engaging
for
students.
On
the
back
wall
of
the
library,
a
white
magnet
board
with
various
words
attracts
guests.
This
is
the
poetry
magnet
board,
one
of
the
innovative
activities
that
add
to
the
fun,
educational
atmosphere
in
the
library.
The
poetry
magnet
board
encourages
students
to
leave
inspiring
messages
for
themselves,
their
peers,
or
the
Benton
Middle
staff.
"We've
witnessed
students
leaving
notes
of
positivity
as
well
as
feelings
and
thoughts.
We
wanted
to
give
the
students
a
voice
and
a
safe
outlet
to
express
themselves.
The
poetry
magnet
board
satisfies
this
vision,"
shared
Babcock.
At
the
start
of
this
school
year
during
library
orientation,
students
took
a
"What's
your
genre?"
quiz.
Based
on
their
answers
to
a
series
of
questions,
students
were
matched
with
a
"reader's
personality."
In
the
quiz,
there
are
up
to
12
possible
personalities
that
match
students
with
reading
genres
that
they
may
find
more
interesting.
Stinson
explained,
"Students
were
each
given
a
bookmark
about
their
reader's
personality
that
summarized
the
personality,
listed
pet-peeves
of
the
personality
type,
and
it
suggested
genres
that
may
interest
them.
They
also
received
a
list
of
books
in
the
Benton
library
that
matched
the
genres
and
personalities."
Seventh
grader
Sebastian
Villanueva
has
enjoyed
reading
non-fiction
books,
but
the
results
of
the
quiz
suggested
that
he
may
be
more
interested
in
action
and
adventure
books.
He
was
surprised
by
the
results
and
appreciated
the
library
media
specialists
offering
the
quiz.
"It's
very
nice
of
them
to
help
people
learn,
read
more,
and
expand
their
minds,"
he
said.
The
results
of
previous
reading
personality
quizzes
suggested
that
Joseph
Carpenter,
also
a
seventh
grader,
would
be
interested
in
books
about
science,
technology,
engineering,
and
math
(STEM),
but
he
didn't
believe
those
results.
He
explained,
"The
"What's
your
genre?"
quiz
involved
more
thinking
outside
of
the
box,
which
I
liked,
so
I
think
it's
more
accurate."
He
received
the
same
results,
which
inspired
him
to
take
a
break
from
historical
fiction
and
biographies
about
historical
figures
and
check
out
some
science
fiction
books.
"I
think
it's
really
great
for
people
who
may
not
know
what
their
interests
are,
or
they
just
want
to
try
something
new.
Maybe,
it
just
gives
them
the
chance
to
read
different
books
from
what
they
are
already
reading,"
Erin
O'Loughlin,
a
seventh
grader,
added.