Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
TE 893
Together, Linda K., the LMS, and I sat down and read through the “School
Library Program Assessment Rubric” determining the strengths and weaknesses with
already very successful at, however there were also just as many areas that could use
some improvement. One of ours biggest faults is the staffing. Linda K. is the only
librarian for two buildings, Westward (K-3) and Eastward (3rd-12th). She has no para
help and when she is absent or at the other building, administration does not hire a sub
and choose to ‘close’ the librarian. This is a huge problem that needs to be fixed, but
after a lengthy discussion we agreed this is a problem that is out of our control. We
(among other colleagues) have confronted our administration numerous times and the
problem still remains the same. Because of this, Linda K. and I agreed to choose a
After carefully analyzing the rest of the weaknesses we decided the focus on the
improvement of the learning space. The leaning space was very clutter, limited for
activities, and was not a very welcoming environment. The organized of the library had
been this way for 20 years. In 1998, the school has furniture made by inmates in a
Lincoln facility. The circulation desk and book shelves are beautiful wood furniture
pieces, but they are so heavy that they have not been moved in 20 years. The
circulation desk was located right next to the door and has a large wooden shelve on
the left side to allow for storage and organization for the librarian. However, this large
wooden shelf is the first thing patrons see when they walk into the library which is not
very welcoming and is taller than most of the 3rd and 4th graders heads. It also
eliminates the librarian’s line of sight of who is entering and leaving the library. Linda K.
and I discussed how this is a huge safety concern. The book shelves were lined up in
three long rows which meant a patron has to walk the entire row to get to their section.
In between the rows of books and the circulation desk there were three tables. In order
to check out a book you had to weave around the table to reach the circulation desk.
This would constantly create traffic jams of people walking to and from the circulation
desk.
After coming to the decision of remodeling the library, we than had to research
what to do. We knew what wasn’t working well and we had to come up with a plan of
how to fix it. Because the shelving and circulation desk were so heavy we had to get the
janitors help to move them. Before moving them we had to be absolutely certain of
where we wanted them because they made it clear they would only be moving them
once. I began by conducted some research and reached out to a neighboring library.
organize and redesign a library. One of the literature reviews I read was “Designing
Space for Children and Teens in Libraries and Public Places”, by Sandra Feinberg and
James R. Keller. Sandra Feinberg is director of Middle Country Library in New York and
James R. Keller is director of library planning and design for Vitetta Architects.
Throughout their article they discussed how to create a learning environment within their
library for children, teens, and adults. They pointed out that “many of the best ideas for
creating space are inspired by a completed project” (2010, p.36). They encouraged
librarians to contact other librarians and visit other libraries or children facilities (2010,
p.36).
For part of my data collection I knew that Lauren B., the librarian at Pope John
Catholic School in Elgin, would be the perfect person to interview. Lauren B. had
recently rearranged her school library, so I thought she would be the perfect person to
give me some insight about what worked well. Talking with her allowed me to learn
“what worked and what doesn’t” (Feinberg & Keller, 2010, p.37). She told me that she
has noticed a huge increase in the number of students coming in to work since she
created a workspace for the students away from the circulation desk. She felt that her
older students preferred working in their own area where they felt they had privacy away
from adults. She also stated the workspace is close enough that she can monitor what
they are doing, but yet gives them their own sense of privacy. I loved this idea! Another
thing Lauren mentioned was that taking off all the books and reshelving them was a
long process, but it was very helpful for the weeding process. She said it gave her some
great insight of books that needed discarded, taped up, or a new spin label.
The second article I read was “Practical Tips for Library Space Design” by
Melinda Orebaugh. Her article discussed the design of a new library space, moving to a
new location, or redesigning an old space. Something that stood out to me in her article
was the emphasis on the librarian being the project manager of the project and how
they must request good communication between all partners (Orebaugh, 2004, p. 96).
Orebaugh explains you must “never assume that those you partner with have the whole
team” (2004, p. 97). This helped me realize how important it was that we communicated
with the administration about what our plan was, communicated with the teachers about
what changes to expect, and communicated with the janitors about what to move and
the importance of getting it moved in a timely manner. Orebaugh also encourages the
such as structural support columns and oddly shaped spaces” (2004, p.98). Linda K.
and I definitely had to get creative when it came to the design. Only the west wall has
light as possible. The east wall has little rooms which are great for storage closets, but
also took away from wall space. The library facility use to be the band room 20 years
ago, so the small rooms were sounds proof locations where the students could practice
their instruments. There also is a power strip with electrical outlets that comes from the
ceiling and straight down to the floor on the southwest side of the room. These
challenges ensured Linda K. and I had to be creative and led us to having numerous
The final literature review I read was “From Library to Centre for Learning and
Innovation” by Deborah Ponting. Her three main findings from her data collected by
interviews were space, flexibility, and comfort (2016, p. 46). First let’s discuss the
space. Ponting points out that “the space was not seen as somewhere you came to
learn, but somewhere you came to do things quietly. The reimagining of the spaces
started with opening up the entrance to allow easier traffic flow” (2016, p. 48). This
confirmed Linda K’s and my discussion about the importance of opening up the
entrance of the library and moving the circulation desk to allow for easier traffic flow.
The first feeling the students get when walking into the library space guides their
perception of the library as a whole. My goal was for the students to have the same
thoughts as the students in Ponting’s results. Students felt “the new spaces were
inviting and were keeping pace with changing user needs and expectations” (2016, p.
42). Times have greatly changed over the last 20 years and it is important that the
library continues to change with the times. Next, let’s discuss flexibility and comfort.
Ponting’s results showed “the staff and students have identified the flexibility provided
by the furniture and the comfort of the furniture as reasons students enjoyed lessons in
the Centre” (2016, p. 46). Improving the comfort also seemed to increase the students’
visits to the library before and after school, as well as, improve the quality of the
students’ experiences. Ponting concludes, “the extra space and different furniture have
played a part in fostering student learning success and changing the institutional
reputation of the Centre” (2016, p. 49). Isn’t that the goal of every librarian, to foster
student learning success? It was clear that Linda K. and I need to find a way to open up
the front of the library and create some sort of flexible space for the students.
completed by students and staff members. It was completed by 127 staff members and
3rd – 12th grade students. The results showed that we definitely need to renovate the
library and create a student space. It also showed that we may need to put some more
thought into how to organize the resources. One person mentioned creating signs that
easily showed the different areas, I really liked this suggestion. There also was an area
that had 5 computers for the students to come into the library to use. For the last three
years our school has been one-to-one with laptops. Since this change, the computers
are rarely ever used. This made us question whether having all computers were any
longer necessary? Also, a student in the survey requested a charging station. This gave
Linda K. and I the idea of only having one computer out and leaving the other locations
as ‘charging stations’. Most staff members and students didn’t leave a response, but the
with the student library is a fun organized and Do you use the Is there anything you would like to
space in the welcoming easy to locate computers in the see change in the library?
different books.
After completing some research and collecting some data, Linda K. and I sat
down to discuss what would be best for when rearranging the large furniture. We both
agreed it needed to be a priority to make the entrance more welcoming. Linda K. and I
decided it was important to open up the front of the library and create a larger student
study center. We ran into a problem with how flexible our library could get because of
the weight of the current furniture. We knew it wasn’t likely that we would be able to buy
new furniture, but still felt it was important to reach out to the superintendent. He
confirmed our prediction, letting us know that new furniture is not something we would
be able to budget for anytime in the near future. Because of this, we had to get creative
with the current furniture. After much discussion we decided to put the tables and
student area towards the front to create a more open and welcoming environment when
you walk in. This meant we would move the book shelves and circulation desk to the
back of the library. As mentioned above, there are four closest on the east wall. We
decided to make the bookshelves run horizontally between the doors with the circulation
After drawing up a plan we contacted the custodians to meet with us and discuss
the plan. Before moving anything we measured the space and made sure it would allow
for enough space for patrons to walk on both sides of the shelves and ensuring it will
also meet ADA requirement of 36inches. Before the custodians moved anything Linda
K. and I removed all of the books from the shelves. We placed the books in alphabetical
piles around the room. We knew it was going to add a lot of work to reshelf every book,
of every book enabling us to weed, relabel, and rebind the books along with doing a
Once the large furniture was moved, Linda K. and I spent a lot of time reshelving
books, weeding, and organizing the library. We created a student center with supplies,
shelving markers, clipboards, and IPads. We now have an open area in the front with
tables for lessons or students to work. If needed, the tables could be moved to the
sides, thus creating a flexible open space. We took out the computers and create a
work center/ charging station. Linda K. and I made sure that all areas of the library
would allow for the patrons to remain visible to the Library Media Specialist. We also
created a shelf with quick pick AR books, a biography section, and a shelf right in the
front with some of the students’ favorite series. We created colorful labels for the
different areas and for the nonfiction books. I also spend a lot of time going through
three of the closets and organizing, labeling, and weeding the Reading Mastery supplies
and Novel Studies. One thing that we were not yet able to do was get some comfy
chairs for the student area, however, Linda K. is budgeting for them and hoping to get
them with this year’s budget. We also wished we could have bought new furniture to
allow for the library to become more flexible. Hopefully someday this wish will become a
reality.
We worked so hard and are very proud of the end result. The library is still not
perfect, but we did our best to work with the space and equipment provided. We tried
our best to meet all of the suggestions from the survey results. Linda K. and I feel we
did a great job eliminating some of the clutter, opening up the entrance, creating a
student center, and making the library more welcoming. It made all the hard work worth
it to see the end result and hear the positive comments from the staff and students
Biography section,
Golden Sower
pick AR books.
Feinberg, S. & Keller, J. R. (2010). Designing space for children and teens in libraries
and public places: How to carve out a niche that epitomizes service. American
Orebaugh, M. (2004). Practical tips for library space design. Journal of Hospital
Ponting, D. (2016). From library to centre for learning and innovation. Australian School