Cassie Koinzan

TE 893

Action Research Project

Description of Weakness or Problem:

Together, Linda K., the LMS, and I sat down and read through the “School

Library Program Assessment Rubric” determining the strengths and weaknesses with

Neligh-Oakdale’s library program. There were a number of areas that Neligh-Oakdale is

already very successful at, however there were also just as many areas that could use

some improvement. One of ours biggest faults is the staffing. Linda K. is the only

librarian for two buildings, Westward (K-3) and Eastward (3rd-12th). She has no para

help and when she is absent or at the other building, administration does not hire a sub

and choose to ‘close’ the librarian. This is a huge problem that needs to be fixed, but

after a lengthy discussion we agreed this is a problem that is out of our control. We

(among other colleagues) have confronted our administration numerous times and the

problem still remains the same. Because of this, Linda K. and I agreed to choose a

different area of weakness to focus on.

After carefully analyzing the rest of the weaknesses we decided the focus on the

improvement of the learning space. The leaning space was very clutter, limited for

activities, and was not a very welcoming environment. The organized of the library had

been this way for 20 years. In 1998, the school has furniture made by inmates in a

Lincoln facility. The circulation desk and book shelves are beautiful wood furniture

pieces, but they are so heavy that they have not been moved in 20 years. The

circulation desk was located right next to the door and has a large wooden shelve on
the left side to allow for storage and organization for the librarian. However, this large

wooden shelf is the first thing patrons see when they walk into the library which is not

very welcoming and is taller than most of the 3rd and 4th graders heads. It also

eliminates the librarian’s line of sight of who is entering and leaving the library. Linda K.

and I discussed how this is a huge safety concern. The book shelves were lined up in

three long rows which meant a patron has to walk the entire row to get to their section.

In between the rows of books and the circulation desk there were three tables. In order

to check out a book you had to weave around the table to reach the circulation desk.

This would constantly create traffic jams of people walking to and from the circulation

desk.

After coming to the decision of remodeling the library, we than had to research

what to do. We knew what wasn’t working well and we had to come up with a plan of

how to fix it. Because the shelving and circulation desk were so heavy we had to get the

janitors help to move them. Before moving them we had to be absolutely certain of

where we wanted them because they made it clear they would only be moving them

once. I began by conducted some research and reached out to a neighboring library.

Literature Reviews and Data Collection:

I found several helpful literature reviews that had suggestions of ways to

organize and redesign a library. One of the literature reviews I read was “Designing

Space for Children and Teens in Libraries and Public Places”, by Sandra Feinberg and

James R. Keller. Sandra Feinberg is director of Middle Country Library in New York and

James R. Keller is director of library planning and design for Vitetta Architects.
Throughout their article they discussed how to create a learning environment within their

library for children, teens, and adults. They pointed out that “many of the best ideas for

creating space are inspired by a completed project” (2010, p.36). They encouraged

librarians to contact other librarians and visit other libraries or children facilities (2010,

p.36).

For part of my data collection I knew that Lauren B., the librarian at Pope John

Catholic School in Elgin, would be the perfect person to interview. Lauren B. had

recently rearranged her school library, so I thought she would be the perfect person to

give me some insight about what worked well. Talking with her allowed me to learn

“what worked and what doesn’t” (Feinberg & Keller, 2010, p.37). She told me that she

has noticed a huge increase in the number of students coming in to work since she

created a workspace for the students away from the circulation desk. She felt that her

older students preferred working in their own area where they felt they had privacy away

from adults. She also stated the workspace is close enough that she can monitor what

they are doing, but yet gives them their own sense of privacy. I loved this idea! Another

thing Lauren mentioned was that taking off all the books and reshelving them was a

long process, but it was very helpful for the weeding process. She said it gave her some

great insight of books that needed discarded, taped up, or a new spin label.

The second article I read was “Practical Tips for Library Space Design” by

Melinda Orebaugh. Her article discussed the design of a new library space, moving to a

new location, or redesigning an old space. Something that stood out to me in her article

was the emphasis on the librarian being the project manager of the project and how

they must request good communication between all partners (Orebaugh, 2004, p. 96).
Orebaugh explains you must “never assume that those you partner with have the whole

picture. Communicate, communicate, and communicate with members of the project

team” (2004, p. 97). This helped me realize how important it was that we communicated

with the administration about what our plan was, communicated with the teachers about

what changes to expect, and communicated with the janitors about what to move and

the importance of getting it moved in a timely manner. Orebaugh also encourages the

librarian to be creative. She explained “use creativity to overcome design obstacles

such as structural support columns and oddly shaped spaces” (2004, p.98). Linda K.

and I definitely had to get creative when it came to the design. Only the west wall has

windows, so we discussed the importance of covering up the least amount of natural

light as possible. The east wall has little rooms which are great for storage closets, but

also took away from wall space. The library facility use to be the band room 20 years

ago, so the small rooms were sounds proof locations where the students could practice

their instruments. There also is a power strip with electrical outlets that comes from the

ceiling and straight down to the floor on the southwest side of the room. These

challenges ensured Linda K. and I had to be creative and led us to having numerous

discussions and sketching up a number of options before we agreed on a plan.

The final literature review I read was “From Library to Centre for Learning and

Innovation” by Deborah Ponting. Her three main findings from her data collected by

interviews were space, flexibility, and comfort (2016, p. 46). First let’s discuss the

space. Ponting points out that “the space was not seen as somewhere you came to

learn, but somewhere you came to do things quietly. The reimagining of the spaces

started with opening up the entrance to allow easier traffic flow” (2016, p. 48). This
confirmed Linda K’s and my discussion about the importance of opening up the

entrance of the library and moving the circulation desk to allow for easier traffic flow.

The first feeling the students get when walking into the library space guides their

perception of the library as a whole. My goal was for the students to have the same

thoughts as the students in Ponting’s results. Students felt “the new spaces were

inviting and were keeping pace with changing user needs and expectations” (2016, p.

42). Times have greatly changed over the last 20 years and it is important that the

library continues to change with the times. Next, let’s discuss flexibility and comfort.

Ponting’s results showed “the staff and students have identified the flexibility provided

by the furniture and the comfort of the furniture as reasons students enjoyed lessons in

the Centre” (2016, p. 46). Improving the comfort also seemed to increase the students’

visits to the library before and after school, as well as, improve the quality of the

students’ experiences. Ponting concludes, “the extra space and different furniture have

played a part in fostering student learning success and changing the institutional

reputation of the Centre” (2016, p. 49). Isn’t that the goal of every librarian, to foster

student learning success? It was clear that Linda K. and I need to find a way to open up

the front of the library and create some sort of flexible space for the students.

Finally, I conducted an anonymous 5 question Google survey that was to be

completed by students and staff members. It was completed by 127 staff members and

3rd – 12th grade students. The results showed that we definitely need to renovate the

library and create a student space. It also showed that we may need to put some more

thought into how to organize the resources. One person mentioned creating signs that

easily showed the different areas, I really liked this suggestion. There also was an area
 that had 5 computers for the students to come into the library to use. For the last three

years our school has been one-to-one with laptops. Since this change, the computers

are rarely ever used. This made us question whether having all computers were any

longer necessary? Also, a student in the survey requested a charging station. This gave

Linda K. and I the idea of only having one computer out and leaving the other locations

as ‘charging stations’. Most staff members and students didn’t leave a response, but the

ones who did really had some great suggestions!

Are you happy Do you think the Is the library

with the student library is a fun organized and Do you use the Is there anything you would like to

space in the welcoming easy to locate computers in the see change in the library?

library? location? resources? library? (response)

Yes 25 % 36 % 21 % 1% - Less clutter

- A student area with fun chairs.

- Maybe a shelf will some quick pick AR

Somewhat 37 % 42 % 22 % 2%
books?

- Some more Dogman books

No 38 % 22 % 57 % 97% - More signs for students to show the

different books.

-Areas to charge phones and computers

Plan for Implementation of Changes:

After completing some research and collecting some data, Linda K. and I sat

down to discuss what would be best for when rearranging the large furniture. We both

agreed it needed to be a priority to make the entrance more welcoming. Linda K. and I

decided it was important to open up the front of the library and create a larger student

study center. We ran into a problem with how flexible our library could get because of
the weight of the current furniture. We knew it wasn’t likely that we would be able to buy

new furniture, but still felt it was important to reach out to the superintendent. He

confirmed our prediction, letting us know that new furniture is not something we would

be able to budget for anytime in the near future. Because of this, we had to get creative

with the current furniture. After much discussion we decided to put the tables and

student area towards the front to create a more open and welcoming environment when

you walk in. This meant we would move the book shelves and circulation desk to the

back of the library. As mentioned above, there are four closest on the east wall. We

decided to make the bookshelves run horizontally between the doors with the circulation

desk on the west wall.

After drawing up a plan we contacted the custodians to meet with us and discuss

the plan. Before moving anything we measured the space and made sure it would allow

for enough space for patrons to walk on both sides of the shelves and ensuring it will

also meet ADA requirement of 36inches. Before the custodians moved anything Linda

K. and I removed all of the books from the shelves. We placed the books in alphabetical

piles around the room. We knew it was going to add a lot of work to reshelf every book,

but as Lauren B. mentioned in my interview, it also would allow us to do a good analysis

of every book enabling us to weed, relabel, and rebind the books along with doing a

thorough cleaning of every shelf.

Completion of the Plan:

Once the large furniture was moved, Linda K. and I spent a lot of time reshelving

books, weeding, and organizing the library. We created a student center with supplies,
shelving markers, clipboards, and IPads. We now have an open area in the front with

tables for lessons or students to work. If needed, the tables could be moved to the

sides, thus creating a flexible open space. We took out the computers and create a

work center/ charging station. Linda K. and I made sure that all areas of the library

would allow for the patrons to remain visible to the Library Media Specialist. We also

created a shelf with quick pick AR books, a biography section, and a shelf right in the

front with some of the students’ favorite series. We created colorful labels for the

different areas and for the nonfiction books. I also spend a lot of time going through

three of the closets and organizing, labeling, and weeding the Reading Mastery supplies

and Novel Studies. One thing that we were not yet able to do was get some comfy

chairs for the student area, however, Linda K. is budgeting for them and hoping to get

them with this year’s budget. We also wished we could have bought new furniture to

allow for the library to become more flexible. Hopefully someday this wish will become a

reality.

We worked so hard and are very proud of the end result. The library is still not

perfect, but we did our best to work with the space and equipment provided. We tried

our best to meet all of the suggestions from the survey results. Linda K. and I feel we

did a great job eliminating some of the clutter, opening up the entrance, creating a

student center, and making the library more welcoming. It made all the hard work worth

it to see the end result and hear the positive comments from the staff and students

when they saw the new changes!

Pictures of the Finished Project:

New open entrance

Student Area with charging station on left.

Biography section,

Golden Sower

Nominees, & quick

pick AR books.

Nonfiction books organized by categories and labeled

Nonfiction books organized by categories and labeled

 References

American Association of School Librarians. (2010). School library program assessment

rubric. New York: Britannica Digital Learning.

Feinberg, S. & Keller, J. R. (2010). Designing space for children and teens in libraries

and public places: How to carve out a niche that epitomizes service. American

Libraries Magazine, 34- 37.

Orebaugh, M. (2004). Practical tips for library space design. Journal of Hospital

Librarianship, 4(2), 95-99.

Ponting, D. (2016). From library to centre for learning and innovation. Australian School

Library Association, 42-53.