I started by finding some left over money to buy bean bags, end tables and a couple of rugs. My thought, put a little effort in to make it comfortable. I made a small sitting area near the circ desk that was a hit immedaitely. I decided getting a small area started and then progress to more demo later was key to success.
After the year started, I went on a rampage with shelving. I brought the husband's drill (sorry, I broke some bits, dear) and took apart my particle board shelving and relocated it to a more uniform location. No more hidden corners in my library. I redid the layout of the fiction section, weeded a lot and mingled reference books into non fiction. (I had some thousand dollar sets of books that had never been cracked because they couldn't be checked out.
I spent the first year moving shelves, weeding books and formatting the layout to where I was a little happier. (I still dream of short shelves that I can see over and not the floor to ceiling shelving of years past.) I have moved a lot of things around. This was just the beginning. Wait til you see what I did next....
As you are a willing participant in this process, as an administrator I have a question: How would you suggest convincing an less eager participant on big change in the library?
ReplyDelete** I am excited to see what comes next!
Not sure how to answer that one. Offering help, ideas, school visits where the library has been transformed from a place to go get a book to a place to socialize and utilize. My predecessor had 23 years in the library. My takeover was an overwhelming task for me and others, but I got a lot of volunteers when I shared with them my plans and ideas. The admin was on board, so were the kids. I wish you luck!
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