Libraries

AASL Post: Why You Should Weed More Than Just Books at the End of the Year

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Why You Should Weed More Than Just Books at the End of the Year | The end of the year is a time for reflecting, cleaning up and getting ready for a new school year. It's a great time to re-evaluate not only your collection, but the other physical objects within your library

Click on over to AASL Knowledge Quest to read the full post, or scroll down to read a summary. [W]e can create more space in our library by getting rid of un-needed shelving, tables, and other furniture… [T]he space can feel cleaner and fresher by changing up the decor. But sometimes, making these changes in … Read more

AASL Post: How to Create a More Flexible Seating Environment

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How to Create a More Flexible Seating Environment | Creating a diverse array of flexible seating options in our libraries improves student learning. Here's some advice on how to get started.

“[I]magine how your students feel when they walk into your learning space. Are there comfortable seating options available? Is there a good variety to support both groups and individuals? Or are all the chairs uncomfortable and crammed tightly together?” In my post for AASL Knowledge Quest, I share the stories of two different airport experiences. … Read more

AASL Post: How to Build a Maker Culture in Your Library

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AASL Post: How to Build a Maker Culture in Your Library: A positive maker culture is the foundation of a successful maker program. Here are some ways that you can build and grow a maker culture in your library.

School libraries are starting makerspaces all over the world. It’s an exciting time in education as we rediscover the power of creativity. But many schools rush to start makerspaces so quickly that they neglect building the maker culture. Developing a maker culture is a lot like developing a love of reading, it takes time and … Read more

AASL Post: 6 Amazing Books to Inspire Your Library Space Design

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AASL Post: 6 Amazing Books to Inspire Your Library Space Design | Want to change up your library space? Check out these books for some great recommendations.

I’ve been studying library space design a lot the last few months.  I’m currently working on a book for ISTE, tentatively titled Reimagining Library Spaces, that will be out sometime in the fall.  As I’ve been going through research, I thought it would be great to share some of my favorite learning space design books … Read more

Demco Post: 5 Makerspace Projects for Teen Tech Week

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5 Makerspace Projects for Teen Tech Week | In my post for Demco Ideas, I go over five different makerspace project ideas for ALA's Teen Tech Week, with the 2017 theme of Be the Source of Change

ALA’s Teen Tech Week will be upon us before we know it (March 5-11).  To help get ready for this event, I’ve written a post for Demco Ideas with 5 makerspace project ideas to tie in with this year’s theme, “Be the Source of Change”.  It was hard to limit it to just five ideas, … Read more

AASL Post: 3 Reasons Why Making and Literacy Aren’t Mutually Exclusive

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AASL Post: 3 Reasons Why Making and Literacy Aren't Mutually Exclusive: Starting a makerspace in a school library does not mean abandoning literacy. Here are three ways that making supports literacy in a school library

My post last month on Why a Makerspace isn’t a Magic Cure-all for Your Problems gained a lot of notice.  I’ve seen a vibrant social media conversation take off since then.  I have heard many people say in the conversation about making and libraries that they have reservations.  Many are worried about sacrificing literacy or reading when they … Read more

AASL Post: Why a Makerspace is Not a Magic Cure-all For Your Problems

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AASL Post: Why a Makerspace is Not a Magic Cure-all for Your Problems | Starting a makerspace can be a wonderful thing for your school library. But sometimes, there are problems in place that need to be dealt with first.

I realize that this title is going so upset some people. That some might accuse me of click-bait. But I think this is a topic that is often being left out in the discussion about makerspaces. Many school librarians have beautiful visions of putting out some arts and crafts supplies or LEGOs or robots and … Read more

AASL Post: The Magic of Tidying Up Your Library

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The Magic of Tidying Up Your Library : Like our homes, our libraries need tidying up as well. This post offers suggestions and advice for how you can tidy up your library and make it awesome.

Just as our lives need tidying up from time to time, so do our libraries.  Decluttering the library can be daunting at first, but it’s totally worth it.  Here’s some more on why we should tidy up: The Magic of Tidying Up Your Library: An AASL Post I read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying … Read more

How to Create a Floorplan of Your Space in Excel

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How to Create a Floorplan of Your Space Using Excel | In this tutorial, learn how to hack Microsoft Excel to create a floorplan of your space. This is an excellent tool for rethinking and redesigning learning spaces, including classrooms and libraries.

  (Post contains affiliate links.  If you make a purchase using them, I get a small commission that helps support running this blog) How to Create a Floorplan in Excel Confession time: I’m a slight spreadsheet nerd.  My dad worked for IBM and I remember seeing him working on spreadsheets on our home computer at a … Read more