| My dream library, especially for boys, (though not exclusively for boys, as many boys, at a certain age, actually go to the library to see the girls!) 
Open the door! Firstly this dream library would not have a locked door! If it really needs to be locked, then I would have a clearly written notice of opening times posted outside the library and details regularly announced in Assembly, to remind pupils of library opening times. And I would make sure that those times are strictly adhered to, even in Dominica, where time keeping is a big challenge! 
Staff it! This dream library, would have the library staffed with volunteers, adults or older children on a rota basis. I would certainly always have the library open at all breaks and lunchtimes and after school. With enough volunteers it would not be difficult to do this. Certainly volunteer librarians would have badges and certificates and a desk name label to show the school and visitors that their work is of high status and truly appreciated.They would be trained to help evoke an atmosphere of welcome and they would be ready to help in any way. They would try to maintain a light and airy, comfortable and well organised library space. No Special Needs Groups here! I would NOT use the library as a teaching area for Special Needs Groups. It gives everyone the wrong message, sadly stigmatising the library, no matter what the teachers do to try not to avoid such a stigma and making the Special Needs Group feel lacking in status, feel like an add on! And anyway, if the library is properly used, there is no timetable space for other subsiduary groups to be constantly in it anyway! Not just shelves of books! This dream library would not be a space for just books on shelves. For example: 1) For the readers, there would be slightly private areas to sit or stretch out and forget where you are. I'd avoid the sort of arrangement of only having high backed chairs at tables. Many boys and girls have had enough of that in the classroom setting. Readers don't always want to sit on chairs to read. Neither do they always want to be in a sunny spot, or in a shady spot. Let them choose and there will be more likelihood of them settling down and quickly getting lost in their pages. 
2) Because some pupils, especially boys, often prefer non-fiction, my dream library would have a large selection of attractive, non-fiction reading material...coffee table books that have a high percentage picture content, boxes and boxes of comics to help improve reading text that are in capital letters, newspapers, mail order catalogues, tourist brochures, company advertising fliers of motorbikes, sports gear, charts and posters, scanning style books where there is no text, but where the reader has to find something in an overcrowded illustration e.g."Where's Wally" books. 
3) There would be frequently changing displays, which would include things alongside subject appropriate books and/or comics. Model cars and trucks beside books on transport, fish in a bowl beside books on fishing or on pets, a spiderman suit by Spiderman comics. I think, these non-book objects in a library display, catch the attention of the reluctant reader, who, if there were just books, would probably not notice the display in the first place! The display would stimulate the interest, make the prospective reader take notice, and hopefully tempt him or her to lift a book and open the pages. I'd include subject appropriate jigsaws too, so there might be a jigsaw of the ocean with books on Oceanography 
I have seen boys, previously reluctant to enter, rush through the Library doors to try to put in the next jigsaw piece. Remember also that jigsaws encourage, amongst many other learning skills, skills involved with shape awareness and shape awareness helps reading and spelling skills. 4) The shelves would not be overloaded and too full. These below are definitely overloaded and uninviting, no forward facing books and no labels! There is no wonder the boy has not been tempted to choose a book and read! 
My dream library shelves would be easily recognised for the subjects or the reading ages they held, so it would be quick to find what the boys and girls might be looking for. Think of a supermarket promoting their goods. Customers hate not being able to find what they need, but conversely these same customers like a regularly changing new display to alert them to a new idea. Librarians are promoting books and can use similar supermarket techniques to "sell" reading! 5) I would avoid the silence stress felt by some library visitors by playing light, background music in my dream library. 6) My dream library would have special events: The Library Week for Boys only. The girls would need to be compensated for this arrangement of course, but it worked brilliantly at my last school, with displays of reading material (particularly magazines) specially collected and selected over the previous weeks for boys and with other items on display to subject compliment the reading materials. The total number of boy visitors that week, far exceeded the total number of boy visitors of any other previous months. Library Competitions with a prize for a girl and a prize for a boy, and a big announcement and publicity to advertise the event in the first place and to announce the winners at the end, as well as to tell the date for the next competition. The questions could be about the lay out of the library, the authors of certain books, the date a certain book was published etc. Visiting speakers or authors to talk enthusiastically about their personally selected books from the School Library, making sure that the arrangements for a good percentage of such activities catered specifically for the interests of boys. This timetabled so it does not conflict with thoseother school activities which already engage the reluctant readers. Class events, where a child or group of children is invited to be an expert at his chosen subject and uses the library resources to build a book box, set up a display and give a talk or answer questions on his improved expertise. Drama shows in the library on a specific day, promoting book borrowing or promoting a specific book, or promoting reading. 7) There would be computers in the library for reading research. It seems that computers are too often used only in computer classes, and so boys are often limited when they want to follow their own interests. They complain that if they do have access to computers, it is only during a computer lesson. Some pupils, but especially boys who do not like reading books, often feel differently about reading computer screens! (Along with this, of course, my dream library would have technicians to keep the library computers in full time operation! Oh the dream!)  ALL THIS IS MIGHT BE DIFFICULT FOR SOME SCHOOLS TO ACHIEVE, BUT AT LEAST SOME OF THE LIST COULD, WITH WORK AND IMAGINATION, BE PUT INTO PRACTICE. CERTAINLY, IT WOULD NOT ONLY ENCOURAGE RELUCTANT READERS TO LOOK AT BOOKS, IT WOULD ALSO ENCOURAGE THEM TO WANT TO READ THEM. MY DREAM LIST, BUT DREAMS CAN SOMETIMES COME TRUE, EVEN IF ONLY IN PART!
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