About Us

One Up Library, Book Studio and Learning Lab is a unique entrepreneurial venture that aims to revitalize the idea of libraries from a traditional, quiet, cobwebbed repository of knowledge to a dynamic, inviting and child-centered learning space designed for the 21st century child.

Our endeavor is to offer the best literacy practices based on current research in education, neuroscience and developmental psychology.

Founded by educator and reading enthusiast Dalbir Kaur, our first Centre opened its doors in Amritsar, India in April 2011. We are excited to launch our second centre in New Delhi, India in August 2017. Strategic and guided reading is critical to the success of any individual and we envision creating an India of readers, thinkers, artists, scientists and inventors through our library. We offer a rich web of linguistic, social and cognitive experiences to ages ranging from toddlers to teenagers to realize this ambition.

Our centre consists of a Children’s Library, a Learning Lab, a Book studio and School programs. We offer library services and books to individual parents and school systems, where we help create curated collections of books and reading programs. Our Learning Lab curriculum is designed for the whole child and provides equitable physical and intellectual access to the resources and tools required for learning in a warm, stimulating, and safe environment.

One Up prides itself on its collaborative relationships with international and national publishing houses, educators, libraries and authors.

Why Choose One Up Book Exhibitions:

‍

The One Up exhibition is unique because it is curated to your school’s needs. After the exhibition is confirmed, a One Up representative meets the school librarian, and assesses the existing resources in the library. We offer three benefits:

Library Enrichment- We provide a wealth of books as an incentive for the school library, based on our survey.
Complementary parent interaction- We provide a short information session for parents, who are important collaborators in the child’s reading journey. This includes practical and easy-to-implement strategies to help their children read and tips on book selection.
Teacher workshop- On occasion One Up offers schools a complementary teacher training session, sharing current literacy research and classroom strategies to encourage reading.

Why Choose One Up’s Literacy Approach:

‍

The One Up Literacy approach does not just rely on phonics strategies or reading fluency alone, like existing programs in the market. Our scientifically developed programme is based on international best practices and research in reading pedagogy.
Our emphasis is not just for the child to learn to decode but on comprehension and thinking. We encourage children to think, talk, have conversations, raise questions and gain new information by reading. The invisible parts of thinking becoming visible. Thus, we are reading to learn not learning to read.

Who we work with:

Schools

The Shri Ram School, Vasant Vihar & Aravalli Campus
The Heritage School, Gurgaon
Lotus Valley International School, Gurgaon
Lotus Valley International School, Noida
The Step by Step School, Noida
Vasant Valley, New Delhi
The Heritage School, Vasant Kunj
Sri Venkateshwar International School, Dwarka
Nehru World School, Ghaziabad
The Cathedral & John Connon School, Mumbai
Oberoi International School, Mumbai
Universal School, Tardeo, Dahisar, Ghatkopar, Thane and Aurangabad
Ebenzer International School, Nashik & Bangalore
Nahar International School, Mumbai
St Savio Dominique High School, Mumbai
Don Bosco International School, Mumbai
Miri Piri Academy, Amritsar
Springdale Senior School, Amritsar
N.H.Goel School, Raipur

Authors

Prof Sugata Bose for the Book – “His Majesty’s Opponents”
Prof Ayesha Jalal – “The Sole Spokesman”
Mark Tully – “Mrs Gandhi’s Last Battle”
Manju Kapur – “Home”
Shekhar Gupta – “Anticipating India”
Sonora Jha – “Foreign”
Namita Devidayal – “The Music Room”
Khushwant Singh – “Fauja Singh”
Pavit Kaur – “Stolen Years”
Paro Anand – “Wingless” & “No Guns at my Son’s Funeral”
Roopa Pai – “The Taranauts” & “The Gita”
Natasha Sharma – “Ashoka & the Tricky Traitor” & “Rooster Raga”
Priya Kurien – “Illustrator’s Workshop”
Shabnam Minwala – “The Six Spellmakers of Dorabji Street” & “The Shy Supergirl”
Rukhsana Khan – “Wanting Mor”
Himanjali Sarkar – ” The Stupendous Superdog series”
Anushka Ravishankar – Moin & The Monster
Suranya Aiyer – The Mango, the ant and the Bucket of Wat

Our Team

Dalbir Kaur Madan

Founder and Literacy Specialist

Dalbir Kaur Madan is a lifelong learner, supplementing her masters in education and undergraduate degree in political science, with regular courses in reading, brain development and teaching methodologies.
In 2011, she created the first state-of-the-art One Up library, Bookstore and Experience Center in Amritsar. Dalbir believes that 21st century children need spaces beyond schools that specifically centre around critical reading and thinking, and promote curiosity, collaboration, conversations, and community-building. To nourish more children with these opportunities, she is inaugurating the second One Up library, book studio and learning lab in New Delhi in August 2017.

Vidushi Chaudhry

Curriculum Design and Operations

Vidushi is a special educator, curriculum developer teacher trainer and entrepreneur who has over 13 years of work experience in two countries. In addition to a Masters in Psychology, she has certifications in learning disabilities, creative writing, grant writing and entrepreneurship. While she works on an Arizona teaching certification, she writes short stories and articles about education.
Vidushi was a popular workshop leader in our Amritsar center, and continues training adults and teachers in the US. She also co-founded the Mindsprings Enrichment Centre in Mumbai, and brings entrepreneurial expertise to hiring and management at One Up, Delhi.

Deepika Mannan

Library Operations and Literacy Facilitator

Deepika has been with One Up since its inception 6 years ago, and remains the heartbeat of our centres. She started as an intern, progressed through the ranks and currently manages all library operations. She has multiple degrees including an MBA and triple Bachelors in Education, English and Commerce.
Deepika uses her Trinity Certification to teach communication to children. She is an expert in selecting children’s books and guiding both parents and children towards the best programs for them. She leads both group and individual sessions, delighting in the progress of children and the diversity of the human mind.