At what point did you feel there was a need for re-inventing your school’s library?

“The re-inventing process started from closely observing students- what needs and desires they expressed, what was missing from their classroom experiences- and from an inner urge to transform a traditional library into an active learning space focused on exploration and discovery.  

When I was a classroom teacher, I wished the school library could be a more dynamic place for students to learn, not just a place to check out books. I was also frustrated at how certain books, such as biographies were organized. I wished they could be organized by topic, not by person’s last name.  As a high school library media specialist, I paid attention to what the students were asking for, such as biographies on athletes, and immediately began re-arranging books to serve their needs.  This turned into a genrefication project of the whole library, where books were grouped by genre and topic.”

What were your biggest obstacles?

“In setting up the Launch Pad Library, the biggest obstacle was the physical moving, rearranging, and grouping of the book collection and the shelving into the six learning portals.  We took several weeks in the summer to do this.

One of our current biggest obstacles is managing time during Library Specials to train students on our different pieces of equipment (recording, filming, sewing, 3-D printing) so they can be successful in creating their projects.  Since I don’t have an assistant, I am trying to develop a system of training student leaders to help with the management.

 The other current biggest obstacle is having the funding we desire for moveable bookcases, book collection development, and engaging visual aspects.”