The marvelous Peg Sullivan of Smith read yesterday’s post about libraries really focusing deeply on creating conducive learning spaces for students with disabilities. Peg is a great thinker about how library spaces can be used to promote deeper thinking, and as a long-time member of the AASL Standards and Guidelines Implementation Task Force (yup, that’s a mouthful), she has a deep commitment to the AASL Standards that we now refer to as L4L (Peg coined the term).

She said:

“One comment: if I ruled the world, we would be burning traditional carrels. I always find them dark and lonely, sort of like a “time-out.” I would only use them for privacy in the school office or something. There are better ways to “nest”; for example a small table by a window. People need light to think. Carrels are the sleep pod for overworked college students.I had a friend who purchased a number of rockers and put them into a quieter area of her library for the autistic students.  The rocking motion helped them focus, calm down and near by windows and picture/coffee table style books gave them something to look through during bad times.  It seemed to work extremely well.”

She added that she has an upcoming article on study rooms and will give a heads-up when it’s published.

The conversations of the past 24 hours reminded me of something else (really, people, even though I had a Major Birthday this year, did I have to get a sieve where my crackerjack memory used to be?).

One of my former students got her principal to agree to remove the tops of the carrels and open up her space. A very clever repurposing from a very clever librarian. (See her detailed information in the comments below.)

Addie noted on Twitter last night, “Maybe we need to create study carrels 2.0 - focused spaces that don’t feel like detention.”

I’d love to hear from you about Addie’s thought. What IS a study carrel 2.0? Is there still a need for individual learning zones in a school library or learning commons?

A few weeks ago, I shared our facilities homework assignment for school library management class.  I asked for your feedback and promised that I’d share some of the students’ clever makeover ideas.  Here they are!

• Add accordion-style movable walls to subdivide the space into smaller, more intimate learning spaces as needed.
• Move the tech assistant’s office so it adjoins the two labs.
• Get rid of periodical storage!
• Eliminate one of the two circulation desks. Move the circ desk closer to the front door.
• Add comfortable, upholstered furniture for pleasure reading and socializing. Position this furniture close to the door so the library looks more open and inviting.
• Remake the empty classroom into a multimedia mini-auditorium or audion.
• Keep the staff work/copy room as part of the library so you have constant traffic from your classroom colleagues.
• Weed and consolidate reference.
• Add a bank of computers on high counters for quick come-in-check-your-email-and-leave use that is separate from computers used for projects or research.

And here was my red herring when designing the project …  The original floor plan below shows two offices: one for the librarian … and one for the clerk.  Pray tell, does the clerk need a private office?

A few weeks ago, as we were discussing facilities in our school library management class, the students were curious to see some before-and-after renovations or rearrangements. What a great idea!

Thanks to folks on AASLForum, LM_NET, and MAME, we’ve got some great befores-and-afters to share with you all in this and upcoming blog posts.

First up, Deb Logan, who endured a lengthy renovation in Mt. Gilead, Ohio.

Here are three images of her library BEFORE. Note the dark woo, mismatched computers, and overflowing bookshelves.   The veneer on the circulation desk is chipped and small. It’s clearly a library that wasn’t built to accommodate the digital age. 

And here are the AFTER shots. Wow - so light and bright.  Chairs with sled wheels move much more easily to help the library staff straighten up and to help students quickly and quietly move their seats to accommodate group works or flexible seating. Light laminate table tops brighten up teh space, as does improved lighting and more windows. The library has real computer tables that disguise more of the cables and cords. A projector hangs from the ceiling. There’s more breathing room everywhere - including behind the circ desk!

Thanks for sharing these, Deb!

What do you see in these photos that you’d like to try in your own library?