In the recent WAPL session, Flip the Children’s Space: A Face Lift for Kids?,
Patricia S. Becker and Susan Queiser from Barron Public Library shared
how they transformed a 103-year-old Carnegie library into a space that
would welcome children and families to stay and read. Before their
transformation, families would stay at the library only for
approximately 15 minutes. Now, they regularly have families in the
library for an hour visit.
Their project included
transforming their picture book collection into a hybrid system of both
subject bins (using freezer crates), and alphabetized shelves. For
non-fiction, they used a version of Dewey Light that was driven by the
question, “Why are we using decimals in our non-fiction collections when students do not learn decimals until 4th grade?”
Wanting to make the space more intuitive for kids, they did away with
the numbers altogether and instead organized their non-fiction books
into subjects.
They also bravely added
new shelf tops in a fun style, a new desk, weeded a substantial part of
their collections to showcase their best books (and to reveal holes in
their collection) and also created a tween area. No additional staff
time was used for this 13-month project, and all the weeding and
re-cataloging happened during regular staff hours. To make the project
more interesting, they began the project the same day as their summer
reading program opened. The results have been substantial, for both
patrons and staff. Now, families are staying in the library longer
because they have places to sit and read, thanks to new furniture
purchased through Wayfair. Also, the children’s librarian can how
shelf-read the non-fiction books in 25 minutes. Before this
transformation, that project took two days.
Throughout the process,
the history of the Carnegie building was preserved, with the original
shelving, colors, and layout still represented. This respect to the
library’s heritage, while having the courage to re-learn everything we
have been taught about how to shelve books, has allowed their library to
thrive as a destination in their community. Both speakers welcomed
questions for any librarian considering a similar project.
Check out other WAPL youth program reports from the April 27-28 conference (links will be highlighted when published):
- This is a Not a Hit Zone: Promoting Healthy Kids and Safer Communities at Your Library - Dawn Wacek, Dana Johnson
- It's Not Just the Facts, Ma'am!": Creating and Marketing a Dynamic Youth NF Collection - Marge Loch-Wouters
- Teach and Be Taught- Teens in the Library - Emily Sanders
- STEAM Programming on a Budget: Planning High Interest Programs to Engage Families and Youth - Emily Zorea
- YSS Leadership Meeting
- Return of the Notable Books Report - Leah Langby etal
- Sound Learning: Read-Alongs Enhancing Literacy Development - Sharon Grover, Jamie Swenson
- All Play Literature Engagement for Public Libraries - Ashlee Kunkel, Valerie Edwards
Stop here at the WAPL conference website for all the session handouts and slidedecks.
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