The school library is a beloved place for all GZAAT students. It was set up in 2002. Since 2005, the library has carried the name The Donald Thomas Library, named after the first principal of the school, Mr. Donald W. Thomas. The library holds an approximate amount of 13,000 physical items, and more electronic and audio materials. The library is also a host to numerous events, lectures, social gatherings, and so on.
As years go by, the GZAAT team grows. This year, a new member of the library team, Anamaria Sukhitashvili, joined the school. She’s a graduate of GZAAT, studied cognitive psychology for her BSc in Jacobs University and education policy for her MA in UCL.
In an interview with her, Anamaria said that “Since I graduated from GZAAT, I have always been nostalgic about its culture, so it feels great to be back in a different role. For the first few days, I used to stay late, sit in front of the Harkness table in the library, and remember how I used to enjoy that as a student.” What she loves most about the library is “... for now my favorite part is the early morning here. I imagine that the library is helping the school wake up during that time. Lot's of students come by, and the buzz it creates energizes me for the day.” She also added that she enjoys seeing the regular visitors come by, so pop in to the library and grab an interesting book when you can!
Anamaria started working in the Donald Thomas Library about three months ago, and her thoughts about it are positive - she’s loving it. “I am loving it! Even though there are many things we are planning to do in the future, the current daily rhythm is somehow a perfect balance of very active but peaceful tasks. During the same day, I get to interact with students and teachers, which is very rewarding and learn cataloging books, which is extremely interesting, more of an individual type of work. You can't imagine how welcoming my coworkers have been, and I am so happy to see them every day.”
As for the question - What made you want to work in this library? “... I never actually thought about working in a school library until last summer, when I heard that the library was looking for a new team member. As a student, I always loved this place, so I gave it a thought, and it was during that process of imagining my time here when I realized that was what I wanted. I genuinely believe that the library is a fantastic resource and a space which unites the whole school community and has a great potential to be the heart of learning and creating. Sadly, the current covid situation doesn't let our students thoroughly enjoy it.”
Because of the COVID situation, the library has single tables, and students aren’t able to study together. This doesn’t take away from the amount of interesting resources and books the library offers students. The Alexandria program even lets you search books and let you know if the it’s is available or not.
Anamaria also says that “All in all, every Sunday evening, I am thrilled that Monday is on its way, so that must mean that I am in the right place.” GZAAT Gazette encourages you to visit the library and see many “interesting gems hidden on the shelves”, as Anamaria told us!
Edited by Kato Ambokadze