What do you do when you are bursting with ideas but lack space? I find myself considering this issue in my new position. There are three libraries at my school, and I am the middle school librarian. The middle school is a separate campus housed in what used to be a church. In fact, I just realized today that my library is situated in the narthex. Doesn’t that sound totally sci-fi?! (Well, the narthex or vestibule, but I like narthex better.)
But I digress. Since starting in August, I’ve added comfy furniture and reorganized the collection- which was not easy given the ladders (see previous post, lol). The students who regularly use the library come in to READ and find books. They self-police themselves and do the shushing, too. (I’ve tweeted several photos of students reading making use of the new comfy furniture, because wow.) Needless to say, I love my new space.
That being said, I wanted to jump right in to Speed Book Dating at the beginning of the year to ensure that every student could find a book. I knew the physical library was out, so I loaded up my books, made some amazing genre signs using Canva, and trucked into the chapel.
While the stained glass windows were stunning, it was a little difficult for the students to fill out their “Dating Cards.” It was also a tad awkward for them to peruse the books, essentially, single file. But, we made it work for the first few classes.
Then we tried the cafeteria which was a bit of a pain when we had to pack up and reset for lunches, etc. Finally, and now I feel like Goldilocks, we ended up in the teachers’ classrooms with a tour of the library after the activity.
The reality is that it all worked out. I could bring my laptop and scanner to check out books immediately, and the students still had the opportunity to come to the library. (For some of them it was the first time they had seen it as newcomers to the campus. I also felt like I was getting more familiar with the campus as I rolled my book truck around.) My colleagues were supportive as we tried to figure out what worked best for our campus, and our circulation jumped by almost 140%!
I’ll call that a win.
And in case you wanted to see and/or use the Dating Card, I’m including it as a download below:
I can tell you are someone I would love to hang out with! Way to be creative, willing to adapt, and make lemonade out of a gigantic bushel of lemons. Good luck in your new position.
Thank you so much. The next time you are in Orlando, coffee’s on me!
And should you find yourself in Santa Barbara, CA, you can look me up! The margaritas will be on me!