Doing some Furniture Shopping...

I need to spend some money.  As part of the grant, we were each given $1000 to be matched by our school.  In typical Frugal MacDougall fashion, I am having a hard time deciding on how best to spend the money.
As a long term goal, I would love to apply - and receive -  a renovation grant where I could gut the current library.  I would even delight in a minor grant that would mean a fresh coat of paint, moving some shelving units and creating more workspaces and flexible teaching areas.
However, this is in the future,
For the short term, here are my thoughts.

New Magazine Stand

Currently magazines are shelved on the bottom of our fiction shelves.  They are hardly circulated and barely noticeable.

The new stand will showcase magazines for the casual browse as well as entice patrons to check out these and other reading materials

Carr Mclean $675
















Fiction Shelves

At the moment fiction is shelved in two ways. Most books are located on the spinners (see above photo).  The remainder is on a shelf that we call oversized fiction.  As part of our Learning Commons model, the space needs to be more flexible.  Further, I think that having a disjointed fiction collection inhibits patrons from see all that is available to them.  In my time at Fleetwood Park, I have been encouraging students to independently find their own materials using the online catalogue.  It is very discouraging when students try and are unable to find their book because it may be in one of two places, in spite of the subcategories set up in Destiny.  The spinners themselves present a further problem.  While they are roughly shelved alphabetically, they do not really adhere to the system.  Students will often come to me unable to find the book they were excited to read.  I wonder then, how many simply give up and leave the library with nothing in hand.

The above photo is taken from the BroDart catalogue.  For the short term, I envision ordering 2 units to replace the spinners.  Clearly some further weeding will need to be done.  I would like to see the movable units flanking the reading nook, making the fiction books more visually appealing.  In addition, the books could be amalgamated, eliminating the need for two separate fiction categories.

Finally, in the long term, my principal and I are already planning to apply for a renovation grant.  I would like to have the bookshelves run horizontally rather that their current vertical position.  In this way, I could house the remaining fiction so that acts as the back wall of the reading nook.  Thus, all the fiction would be in one location.

Video Killed "The Same Old Boring Project"

Teacher and students rejoice as they explore new ways to tackle old projects.  Check out the iStop Motion project made by a group of grade 8 Science students:

And here is what the students had to say as they finished the project...

Dinosaurs

Weeding is an arduous task. As the first semester winds down, I am taking the opportunity to attack another part of my collection; one that clearly needs some attention. So long VHS and Yabba Dabba Do free space!

Getting Tied Up ... in Indecision...

I understand that there are systems in place.  But I just really want to get things going. 
A confession: I am pregnant.  As a result, I so often feel that I am pressed for time.  First, all I want to do is sleep, so that significantly reduces my number of productive hours in a day.  And secondly, I know that I have only a few short months until I have to leave the library to the capable hands of someone else. 
I have been working to wittle away at my collection, weeding out the unused, unecessary, and the unwanted materials.  Thus, I have freed up some shelving that will have to be removed. This needs a work order.  We have received our new TV which will go on a cart so that I can move it around.  The cart needs to be assembled.  This needs a work order.  There are pictures plastered to the walls, that are hiding chipped drywall, which should also be removed and repainted. Once again, a work order is required.  Further, I am awaiting a new principal's arrival to discuss rennovating the library to better fit the learning commons model.
All of this is to say that I am so fequently feeling on the one hand a push to get things done - and to get it done quickly - and a logical reluctance to make any sweeping moves knowing how quickly things may have to change.