DISD Book Club

At DISD, there has been a book club for frequent readers at the secondary school library BiblioThopia since the beginning of March. This is a great initiative to promote reading. The club has a number of benefits for frequent readers and has been enthusiastically received by many student*innen. The number of frequent readers has already increased noticeably in two weeks.

We invited our librarian and club founder Jessica Scherneck for an interview:

What was your motivation to start this book club?

Jessica Scherneck:
We have some enthusiastic and motivated young library users who read a book away for breakfast and have lively discussions about the subject matter with other student*ers during the break. This word of mouth is the best reading motivation for weaker readers. The enthusiasm of the strong readers carries the others along. This observation led me to the idea of the book club. In order to support this active and lively reading promotion, it is important to create structures for it and, at the same time, to provide incentives in order to maintain a sustainable reading pleasure, which also survives some boring passages. I am firmly convinced that once immersed in the deep pleasure of reading, the secret worlds or the fantastic boundlessness, an intrinsic reading motivation, even addiction, arises in everyone.

Here I would also like to reproduce Rainer Maria Rilke:
"Suddenly the pages are covered, and instead of the anxious word confusion it says: Abend, Abend... all over them.
I do not look out yet, and yet the long lines tear, and the words roll away from their threads wherever they will...
Then I know it: above the overflowing shining gardens the heavens are wide; the sun has come once more. - (....)
And now, when I lift my eyes from the book, nothing will be strange and everything will be great.
Out there is what I live in here, and here and there everything is boundless; only that I interweave myself with it even more,
when my eyes fit to the things and to the serious simplicity of the masses, - there the earth grows beyond itself.
The whole sky it seems to embrace: the first star is like the last house." (The Reader, From: The Book of Pictures)

What are the requirements to become a member?

Jessica Scherneck:
First you have to be a library user, which means you have to be enrolled at DISD, then the mandatory basic requirement is to read at least four books a month. Comics are an exception to this. The number of books borrowed is checked by our internal system. Sporadically, the librarian may ask questions about the content of the book to ensure that the books are read from beginning to end. If the four books per month are not reached, the membership is converted to inactive. The user may then still keep his card, but has no right to use the club benefits.

What are the club benefits for members?

Jessica Scherneck:
The allowed borrowing amount increases from 10 to 20 media per month.
Preferential access to the BiblioThopia - Library during breaks and afternoons,
invitations to our readings and events and participation for the annual BiblioThopia Club Members Party.
Also available is priority participation for book launches and promotions on our BiblioThopia Instagram channel.
Once per school year, it is possible to print yourself a character with our 3D printer.
We also grant preferential consideration for acquisition requests.
However, the greatest benefit works invisibly and settles like a blessing on the user through good grades, improved expression, good spelling and an inexhaustible imagination. Foundations for success and happiness.

Will there be events with the members? If yes, which ones?

Jessica Scherneck:
Exquisite and for members only is the annual club party with buffet, billiards, reading quiz, music and games on our virtual reality glasses.
We are also planning to participate in various competitions in the UAE (Montegrappa Letter Writing Competition, Emirates LitFest Writing Prize), etc.

The first three members are the winner of the DISD reading contest Moritz from class 6a, as well as the second and third place winners Laiba from class 6b and Hala from class 6c.