A Cracking Start

During new teacher orientation at ABA, a huge crack appeared in the floor of the Secondary Library. We had to close the space whilst structural engineers were called in. The cleaners had to move all of the books and shelves away from the crack, and failed to use any sense of organization in doing so. So the first day of school for students the library was closed, cracked, and a complete mess! Not how I envisioned my introduction to the staff and students.

The standard convention for librarians is to spend a year with the library as it is, then start making changes. I usually stick somewhat to that, but having a broken, complete mess of a space changed that plan. I spoke with my veteran assistant, the staff, and library regulars and decided to go ahead and make some big changes. We decided to move the Middle School Fiction collection upstairs, along with the classroom space and non-fiction books, and tried to create a welcoming space for Middle Schoolers. Downstairs, once the crack was repaired, we focused on creating a High School space. We reorganized all of the YA / Adult books, bought smaller tables and chairs with laptop tables to encourage individual work during study blocks, and quadrupled the graphic novel collection. We definitely made the most of a terrible start, and the changes have been really well received.