Top Things to Consider When Updating Your School Library

Updating a school library can feel like a daunting task, especially if the space is new to you. Library “glow ups” happen for a variety of reasons. Maybe you’ve been in the space for a while and it just needs something different, or maybe you have a brand-new library (brand new or just new to that space) and you need to make it your own. 

I’m currently revamping a school library for the second time in my career. The first time I updated a 30+ year-old middle school library as a brand-new media specialist. This time I’m updating a 60+ year-old high school library. Because I’ve done this before, the process is less scary the second time around. I feel a lot more confident in my plan, my skills, and how to move forward. 

Create a Plan Before You Begin.

When updating a space, there are several things that you should consider before you change anything.  I recommend answering this set of 10 preliminary questions, which you download and fill out here. This is what I like to think of as step one.

If you are already working in that school or that space, this data will be readily available for you. If you are coming as a new employee, it might be a little trickier to gather the information, but it’s not impossible. In my situation, I’m staying in the same district but switching schools. I have friends who work at that school, neighborhood students who go there, and my own daughter goes there. This has given me the opportunity to look at the space as a parent visiting the campus but through the eyes of a trained media specialist. 

As part of my interview process, I developed a five-year plan to help provide a vision and an organized way to work. My vision for what the space and program could be lined up beautifully with the administration’s vision and we were able to come up with a plan of action. Once hired, I was able to request data such as school demographics and the principal sent out surveys for me for the staff and students. These surveys were invaluable because it helps me see if what the school community wants lines up with my plan and vision. Since the school year ended, I’ve been able to get into Follett Destiny® Library Manager to run reports to see what the checkout data says, run a collection analysis, and see a more detailed picture of what I have to work with. 

My data tells me that there’s a very low level of student and staff usage, but they want more. My data tells me that the collection is very outdated, and that nonfiction engulfs the fiction section. The space itself is oddly set up having a lobby in one room and the library space in a completely different room. The library is a sea of beige and computers. The school recently got brand new flexible seating tables and chairs but there’s no soft seating…yet. The priority of the administration is to get books into the hands of kids and increase access. The support is there, and everyone seems excited for coming changes.  

Data Informed My Starting Point.

Based on this information, I’ve put together a plan to give this space and program quite the glow up. First on my list: Paint! Adding lots of color will make a huge difference. Next on my list is to begin the lengthy task of collection updating. Currently there are over 2,000 reference books alone taking up some premium real estate. My plan is to weed like crazy only keeping what gets used and shift the books so that the fiction books are in the most noticeable area. I’m also going to genrefy the fiction books and utilize dynamic shelving to stretch out what we have and make it much more student-friendly. LED light strips have been purchased and will be mounted to make this area a focus spot. We are removing one of the computer labs in the open space which will help open up the space a lot more. There’s so much more that needs to be done, but this is a great starting point because it will make a very noticeable difference almost immediately. 

Remember: No Matter the Project, Don't Stress.

Whether you are doing a small revamp or a large scale one like me, it can be intimidating and get overwhelming quickly. I’ve found it is best to prioritize your to-do list and then just keep working on the next thing on the list. Focus on the changes that will make the biggest impact the soonest and march forward.

You can do this! We can do this! I hope you will continue to follow along on my journey as I update my new space and if you are on this journey too, let’s connect! We can conquer this together. 

CARRIE FRIDAY
Media Specialist/Librarian
Melbourne High School, Melbourne, FL

Carrie Friday is the Media Specialist at Melbourne High School in Melbourne, Florida, a 2018-2019 Teacher of the Year Finalist for Brevard Public Schools, a 2019-2020 Space Coast Public Service Heavy Lifter award winner and was named a 2022 Woman Who Rocks for her community. She isn’t afraid to take risks and will do just about anything to encourage the love of literacy and learning in students and teachers. 

She is a co-founder of the #swms20bookchallenge. Carrie is a Follett Community contributor and has presented best practices at the district level, FAME, AASL, FETC, and the Future Ready Librarians® Summit. She’s hosted webinars on Makerspace, the #swms20bookchallenge, and advocacy. Mrs. Friday’s library program was awarded the designation of a Florida Power Library School by the Florida Department of Education and she has appeared on the Librarian Influencers podcast and School Librarians United podcast. She has served on the Florida SSYRA Award committee, FAME Conference committee as Author Chair, and currently serves on the Florida Association of Media in Education Board of Directors and Florida Teens Read Committee. She believes in innovation, collaboration, and the power of really good books. 

She is also a wife to a rocket scientist and mom to the sweetest two girls you’ll ever meet. She loves Gilmore Girls, Pinterest, coffee, and porch swings. She is a proud graduate of Auburn University. War Eagle!