Intentional Spaces
Our spaces are intentional all right! We have purposely planned every piece of furniture in our space, moved it, and moved it again. We bought a few desk lamps to create some calm spaces then went out and bought twenty-five more and threw in some high watt bulbs for more intense work areas. We have turned, twisted, taken down and put things back up just to get the best use from the space. It is nearly perfect right now but might not be next month because we know that what works right now might not continue to work as needs and wants of our population changes and shifts. A Library Learning Commons should be flexible, fluid, have options galore and support every patron. We do that, whether you are here to read, research, sleep, innovate, decompress, eat, ride a bike, create, print or color. Or, whatever else you might come up with.
1. Inviting spaces
We put an emphasis on maintaining a comfortable environment here at the Hillgrove Library. Our space is appealing, comfortable and can accommodate almost any need (sports meetings, staff meals, scavenger hunts and sleepovers included!). We've got bookcase lighting, task lighting, colorful rugs, and often there is zen music playing. Formal seating, soft seating, group areas, solo spots, tall tables and short ~ it is pretty hard to not make yourself comfortable here.
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2. Multipurpose spaces
Our library layout is one large room that is flanked with smaller open spaces on both sides and some separate side rooms scattered throughout. The architecture is beautiful but it has still taken some creative thinking and a lot of labor to move things around to make the most out of the space. A few years back the library had computers all over the center of the room and there were lots and lots of bookcases. We started running out of seats and no room for more tables but you know what we had plenty of? Bookcases. We weeded some books and converted the the bookcases to tables. It seemed a bit strange to weed brand new books (our library and our collection was less than 10 years old ) but once we got started we realized about a third of the collection wasn't even suited to our high school level and the classes offered here. So we kept weeding. We made a lot more 'bookcase tables' and still gave away over forty bookcases.
More chairs meant more people and we noticed how challenging it was to teach a class of students on computers when they were so spread out in the middle of the noisiest space here - the large center room with the tallest ceilings. Our second major renovation came when we contracted electricians and technology specialists to move our computers into one group near our projector and meeting space. (And wow, did that make it even easier to teach technology!) Want to use a computer but not sit with your class? We have some extras scattered throughout the library, as well as our 'mobile desktops' ~ laptops that can be checked out and used anywhere in the library. After that we were on a roll. Bookcases became walls and made our larger space better able to accommodate the increased number of guests by breaking up the stretch of open space. It is visually more appealing and our mobile furniture can still move around the spaces. We took bookcases out of a small storage area and made it our Gold Room - used for meetings, green screen access, testing and a cozy student area. We've got another storage area that is larger and houses items that are teacher accessible so we repurposed with more 'bookcase walls' and it can now accommodate student use as well as teacher use. This new Magazine Room is outfitted with our bookcase tables and is popular with students doing group work. Our third and final multipurpose space is the Student Production Room. It is a maker space that can also be used for small group work, meetings (this is where we host our book club), and, like the other two separate rooms, has a door that can be closed for loud or quiet work depending on what else is going on in the library. |
3. Maker space
Our Student Production Room is a favorite here with our students. Markers, crayons, colored pencils, glue, tape, string, die cuts, binding machine, colored paper (rolls and sheets), coloring pages, random craft supplies.....this area helps out with all those class projects that high school students probably don't have the supplies for at home anymore.
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4. Flexible furniture
We've got a variety of furniture that can be repurposed for any need. Things here move around easily so that groups and individuals alike can find the proper niche for any needs they might have.
* rolling desks that are height adjustable for sitting or standing * rolling chairs * small square tables that can be rearranged into larger work spaces * collaboration table, mobile, with screen that will cast any electronic device * height adjustable stools * rolling white boards *large mobile electronic screen that can be moved around the space or school |
5. Flexible schedule
The only space here at the Hillgrove Library that has zero flexibility in scheduling is our Magazine Room. For 10 minutes of every day (immediately after 3rd block) our Muslim students use this room to pray. We invited the group to use this space our second year open and the arrangement has never caused us issues.
Our library is reservable on a first come first served basis. We are a block- schedule school and have set up 8 times a day that our class set of computers can be reserved by classes. Table space can be reserved as needed as well as our Gold Room. The Student Production Room and Magazine Room can be scheduled if there is a special circumstance but we try to keep those spaces open and accessible to all. Overall, we can have multiple groups schedule with us at the same time and still always be open for individuals. Our administration works with us so that school testing does not default to the library space. We still have days we need to close but it is not often and testing is the only reason we close. The library opens on the first day of the year, closes on the last, and even opens in summer if requested. We place as much information as we can online, and give our students the ability to text us if they have questions so to say that we are open 24-7 isn't really a stretch! |