Reimagining Library Spaces: Transform Your Space on any Budget

Rechs, Catherine

Rendina, D. L. (2017). Reimagining library spaces: Transform your space on any budget. Portland, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.

Summary: This is a book written by a teacher librarian located in Oregon. She spent several years working on transforming her library from a dusty "traditional" book-cave to one that provides space for 21st century learning and learners. She details the steps she took in planning, getting buy in from stakeholders, securing funding and finally transforming her library. She also does a wonderful job showing the huge steps she took but then offering smaller, easier to achieve steps that one can take with less money and time. She discusses the importance of weeding and developing a good collection, making space for collaboration as well as quiet space, integrating technology and makerspaces.  

Opinion: I found this book to be incredibly inspirational. I've already implemented some of the smaller ideas she suggests, such as a lego wall and flexible seating and extensive weeding, and have a 5-year plan in place to achieve the larger goals like a technology lab and larger makerspace. The photos are helpful, although I would have loved them to have been higher quality, some of them were small and grainy. I also really appreciated how she addressed the wide variety of situations in various schools - like BYOD schools, 1-1 schools, Title 1 schools, private schools etc.  

Unnatural Selection: More Librarians are Self-censoring

Mathenia, Aimee

Jacobson, L. (2016, September 26). Unnatural selection: More librarians are

    self-censoring. Retrieved April 10, 2018, from https://www.slj.com/2016/09/

    censorship/unnatural-selection-more-librarians-self-censoring/

Summary:

“Unnatural Selection…” provides results from the “Controversial Books Survey” conducted by School Library Journal in March 2016. The article notes that 40% of librarians have dealt with a challenge on the appropriateness of a particular book in their collection. The article also reports that 90% of school librarians have avoided adding books to the library collection that might be seen as controversial. In effect, the librarians are self-censoring books whether they are doing so purposefully or subconsciously.

This article also reviews the differing policies and procedures that vary from one library to another to purchase books to add to a school library collection, with 44% of middle school and 32% of high school libraries reporting a complete absence of a policy to purchase books for a collection.

Evaluation:

Particularly at the middle school level, it is a challenge to purchase books to add to the library collection. Some students and their families show a lot of latitude in what to read and gravitate towards books like 13 Reasons Why or the latest John Green YA novel. At the other end of the spectrum, some students aren’t ready to read a Wendy Mass book that mention a girl wearing a bra for the first time.

What I take from this article is the importance of being aware of self-censoring books. It is also important to have a clear policy in adding books to a library collection. One librarian stated her library has a policy which requires two reviews from School Library Journal, Kirkus, Common Sense Media etc. for the appropriateness of a book before it is purchased and added into circulation.

Equally important is that libraries have a clear procedure for how to proceed when books are challenged. To have this policy established is a good step to proactively address any challenges that may arise.

Collection Managment

Smith, Cassandra

Engelson, L. (2015). Collection management [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qOxRIVr-aY

Summary
This 19 minute video explains that simply having materials in your collection isn't sufficient. It is imperative to be able to find and retrieve the information easily through Collocation and Differentiation. The five laws of library science are explained as:

1. Books (materials) are for use
2. Every reader his book
3. Every book its reader
4. Save the time of the reader
5. The library is a growing organism (garden)

It is further explained that each library should be unique. Or in other words, you don’t need nor should you have a copycat collection. The focus ought to be on the needs of the users, which can greatly vary from library to library, even within the same system.

Evaluation

More an more libraries are adapting to the needs of the users rather than just covering a little bit of everything. Some places have diverse communities that demand for materials in various languages. Other places have collections that are entirely digital. There are even libraries that circulate more than just books, such as tools, seeds, toys, musical instruments, and so on. The key is to find out what is needed by the users, acquire it into the collection, and get it into the hands of the community that needs it. Having like items grouped together makes it easier for users to find what they are looking for, rather than having to wander around and asking questions. A library must be user friendly.

Health Information Without Limits: A Print Collection for Consumers in the Heart of the Hospital

Vigil, Sharon

Leonard, K., & Earl, M. (2016). Health information without limits: A print collection for consumers in the heart of the hospital. Journal of Hospital Librarianship, 16(2), 132-144, DOI: 10.1080/15323269.2016.1150739.

Summary:

This article describes how the Health Information Center (HIC) at the University of Tennessee Medical Center developed a print collection primarily for patients, family members, and community visitors, in order to help improve health literacy. The print collection was used in-house and circulated to patients, family members and the hospital community. The authors provide details about the selection criteria for the consumer health collection, the relationships formed between the Centers of Excellence leadership and librarians, and the success of the HIC membership and print collection. The authors infer that while many libraries are weeding and decreasing their print collections, there are still many patrons that prefer a print collection over electronic resources.

Evaluation:

This article is a good example of why libraries should not eliminate print collections altogether. Although the current trend is to weed out print collections and focus on electronic resources, it really comes down to the library’s needs and preferences of the community. It is important to consider the individual needs of the patrons and other factors such as the percentage of the population that has below basic literacy skills and technology skills.

The Art of Weeding

Smith, Cassandra

Chant, I. (2015). The art of weeding. Library Journal, 104(11), p. 34-37.

Article can also be found here: https://lj.libraryjournal.com/2015/06/managing-libraries/the-art-of-weeding-collection-management/#_


Summary

This article explains the importance of weeding and explains criteria, steps, and tips of successful weeding to maintain a healthy collection. Similar to a garden, a library needs regular maintenance to flourish. Nuggets of wisdom in the article include:

“Those shelves hold a lot of junk that has to make way for the new titles getting published every day.”

“When people can browse the shelves without having to sift through older material they’re not interested in, they’re more likely to find something they are looking for.”

“When ordering material, having an end-of-life-plan for it is essential”

The article also suggested doing continual weeding everyday rather than one big project once a year. One person referred to weeding as “selecting for the book sale.”

Evaluation

Many people are nervous when it comes to pulling materials from the collection. But this article helps puts many of their common concerns at ease. There isn't enough physical space to continually add to a collection. People will have a better experience browsing the shelves if it isn't cluttered with outdated, battered, or irrelevant information. Make room for the new stuff by clearing away the old. Sometimes books are still in decent condition, but aren't (for various reasons) circulating any longer. These titles would be better off sold or made into art than taking up precious realty on the library shelves.

Weeding Handbook: A Shelf-By-Shelf Guide

Vigil, Sharon

Vnuk, R. (2015). Weeding handbook: a shelf-by-shelf guide. The basics [Chapter 1]. (pp. 1-20). Retrieved from https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/lib/sjsu/reader.action?docID=4531556&ppg=90

Summary:

The Weeding Handbook: A Shelf-By-Shelf Guide is published by the American Library Association and was written with the goal of giving the reader a “good grounding of how and why to weed library collections.” The first chapter of this book provides a basic overview of the weeding process and includes a detailed step-by-step guide. It also includes frequently asked questions about weeding and retention and weeding guidelines that can be adopted and adapted to fit the needs of any library. This chapter offers a lot of good information about weeding and is a great resource for library staff who are unfamiliar with the weeding process. I did not have a chance to read the remaining chapters, but I plan on doing so in the near future.

Evaluation:

I don’t have any experience yet with weeding, but after reading this chapter, I have a much better understanding of what weeding entails. This book appears to be very comprehensive and concise. I also found this book to be rather humorous. For example, in response to the following question, “How do you justify weeding to patrons when they complain that your budget is going up?” the author refers to the “Cart of Shame,” which is “literally, a bookcart you use to store some of your worst discards.” She gives some examples of specific books that obviously needed to be discarded. One of these examples was a book on housekeeping, circa 1960, which points out the advantages of having a dishwasher so that the “lucky housewife” will be able to save time. In the future, when I am tasked with weeding a collection, I plan on using this book to guide me through the process.  

Weeding and Collection Management in Youth Services

Smith, Cassandra

Library ProKits (2015). Weeding and collection management in youth services [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SCLhFcmS_Y

Summary

This 13 minute video offers suggestions for increasing circulation through weeding and other methods. One librarian explains how to use Web Dewey to find how other libraries are cataloging books so that like-items can be grouped together. They recommend having bookshelves only ⅔ full, allowing for ample room for “face outs.” Shelf ends highlight “If you liked [title of book], try one of these” posters with read alikes on display. Similar to a book store, they also recommend stacking multiple copies of books under a display copy.

Evaluation

The two ladies in this video offer great insight into how to increase circulation. Once a collection has whittled down to what users are truly interested in, circulation will increase because they won't have to sift through old or uninteresting materials. Their creative methods could prove beneficial to many libraries. Many people gravitate or shy away from books based on their covers, so it's important to showcase covers as much as possible. With fewer books on the shelves, that frees up more space for outward facing books.