Page Turner
M
any titles in our primary and
middle school libraries are available
in both languages...This enables students
to read the same book in both languages,
thus improving reading and comprehension
levels in both languages, and gaining better
academic and cultural cognition.
I
n a time without books, if one could fathom such a time, when information,
stories and histories passed from mouth to mouth, our libraries were only
thoughts. But today, libraries are the guardians of both our minds and
souls. Libraries are truly portals to the horizons of our imaginations and
beyond. They not only define our past as Ray Bradbury rightly notes, but
also hold the beacon to our collective and individual futures. At Keystone
we are conscious of this significance, and so our libraries form the core
of the school – academically, socially, personally and collectively. More
importantly, Keystone Libraries sits at the heart of the cultural crossroads
of the school, especially because we are a bilingual school – Chinese and
English – and we believe that both languages and associated cultures
are equally important. Because of this we have the beginnings of a truly
excellent library.
The bilingual foundation and nature of the libraries make them the one
and the only of their kind in Beijing, especially within a school setting. In
addition to consistently and consciously being bilingual, the Chinese thread
is also fundamental to the school’s ethos, and curricular and co-curricular
edifice. It was the foremost determining factor in conceptualizing and
setting up the Keystone Libraries. It recognizes, celebrates, and promotes
the Chinese thread. We do this through our collections, subscriptions, and
even staff members. We strive to balance English with Chinese in everything
we do. Most international schools have only a small Chinese collection and
English is the predominant language. Meanwhile, most Chinese schools
have a small English collection and Chinese is the school language. We
truly are attempting to do both at any given time – duality through language
immersion, and bilingualism through our resources, subscriptions, people,
and more.
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The Keystone Magazine