The Isthmus: The Metropolitan School of Panama Library

No more dog-earring pages of books. Yes, Yes, we know that you need to remember where you stopped reading. To solve this dilemma, on your birthday, come to the library and receive a birthday bookmark. Your bookmark is customized with your name and a special literary quote.

  The Isthmus grows and evolves each day, and Ms. Meadows and The Bookends are always here to help you find what you need. In general, resources for elementary students are on the lower level, and those for secondary students are upstairs.  Here is a visual guide to help you get to know what to find, where: Our Picture Books are arranged by author’s last name: Many of our Early Readers books are gathered near our cozy reading nooks: The curved shelves near the entrance contain Level A-M books, many in series, and featured picture books. The Circulation Desk is surrounded by featured books for both elementary and secondary students: Upstairs on the secondary level, bookshelves lining the walls contain non-fiction resources arranged by category, and Level W-Z fiction books. the library has both dynamic shelving, and makes use of the Dewey Decimal System. And to accommodate long hours of reflective thinking and rigorous inquiry, we’ve recently added two multi-port charging stations: Stop

  The Design Vision When you climb the stairs, you are greeted by a tactile rope separation that lets you know that you are about to embark upon something special. In visualizing the library, I wanted a material and design that is both beautiful and inspiring. The metaphor of the rope is a powerful one: tiny strands of different materials bound together and intertwined. "A good rope has many strands, which must be woven together tightly in order for the rope to be strong. The strands and the technique of weaving the rope can be compared with the skills learners begin with—their own special talents, their pre-existing related knowledge—as well as new skills they are developing and strengthening. But the rope won’t weave itself. Many strands or few, good technique or poor; what is perhaps most essential is the time and effort of weaving it all together. And once complete, the rope is a useable thing, a tool." I am a firm believer that learning spaces must support student

                                                                   Welcome to the Isthmus Isthmus:  narrow strip of land connecting two large land areas otherwise separated by bodies of  water . Isthmuses are of great importance in plant and animal  geography  because they offer a path for the  migration  of  plants  and  animals  between the two land masses they connect. Thanks so much for your input in naming the school library. By popular demand, the MET library will be known as The Isthmus.    Bridges are inherently symbolic.  In selecting the name, we  suppose that you all knew that we envision the library as a bridge between PYP and Secondary, between ideas and action, between reality and the imagination. It is human nat ure to seek connection and union and  we simply love the idea of crossing between the gaps and uniting with someone or something.    So, now that choosing a name is water under the bridge, come to The Isthmus and check out a book. Regards, Tisha Meadows