My first year as a librarian, I
walked into a library that was a mess. I laugh about it now, but at the
time it was horrifying (and it’s still sad to me that any school would treat
their library that badly). I don’t have a problem with libraries being
used for some storage over the summer, but that wasn’t the case with mine: it
had become a dumping zone. People hadn’t been putting items there to pick
up in the fall; they were putting items there that nobody wanted.
Tons of old podiums, old computers, AV carts--things that I couldn’t
discreetly throw away and that I was being encouraged to keep because “someone
might want them.” Um . . . no.
I was also given an “office”
that wasn’t an office, but a sort of cubicle constructed out of temporary
walls. This was also so full of old stuff that it was unusable (I’ll
write more about constructing an office space later--that was something I chose
not to tackle at the beginning of the year).
In other news, the books
themselves were not organized at all. Melvil Dewey would have
passed out (I nearly did). I remember that first day, there were a few
unshelved books, and I thought, “There’s an easy, basic task I can do and cross
off my list.” It seemed so easy.
That was when I realized that any organizational schema had long been
thrown out the window.
Agh! That's not how numbers work! |
The circ desk was also gross.
It was PACKED with old stuff and so, so dirty. I didn’t have
anywhere to put my stuff!
Finally, I could tell I was in
a library that hadn’t gotten a lot of love. I wanted to turn it into an
exciting space that teachers and kids would want to visit, but I was given no
supplies.
I also had no budget.
I’m not writing this to
complain--I’m writing it to tell all of you walking into a disaster-zone
library that you absolutely have what it takes to make it better. You
don’t have to do it all at once, and you don’t have to spend a lot of
money. Here are some ways to improve
your zone:
1. Break it down. Rome
wasn’t built in a day, and neither will your new-and-improved library be.
Write down the three most important things for you to do and go from
there. Is there something that
needs to be done before everything else? For me, that was clearing
out the clutter from the main part of the library, because it was really
hard to navigate the space with all that old furniture. I had help
from the custodian and the tech facilitator there (and if all else fails .
. . just stick it in the hall and say, “I’m new. I didn’t know” if someone blames you.
:-)). It drove me crazy that the books were so out-of-order, but that wasn't affecting how I could use or navigate the space, so I tackled that later in the week.
2. Delegate! I
was really lucky to have an assistant (so, so lucky) two days a week, and while
she had never been in my school before, she’d been in the district for several
years. She was so calm and helpful.
It was only later she told me, “I honestly didn’t know if we could get
everything done. I nearly had a panic
attack when you were showing me everything.” If you don’t have an
assistant, don’t worry: you’ll still get done what you need to. Asking friends to come in and volunteer is
another great option.
3. Dress appropriately.
Most schools are pretty lax on dress code during your work days, and I
basically wore workout clothes that entire week. It was hot, and we were
shifting a lot of heavy furniture and scrubbing dirt.
4. Just get through the day. Don’t
overwhelm yourself by worrying about everything all at once. When I
cleaned out my desk (which took about 4 hours--I threw out so much stuff and
this is where the scrubbing came in. There were loose thumbtacks, old, dirty coffee cups in
the desk and half-eaten candy bars.
Ew.), I just went bit by bit and reminded myself how much happier I’d be
when it was done.
Circ desk or natural disaster site? |
5. “Reward” yourself.
I wanted to make a big poster to welcome people to the library, and since
I really enjoy crafting, I held that as a reward for when my desk was clean and
let myself spend as much time on it as I wanted. And it was worth it--it
looked so bright and happy!
6. Don’t worry about everyone else.
Easier said than done--I felt like I had no idea of what I was doing, and
I was afraid everyone was going to look at the mess in my library and, I don’t
know, think it was my fault? Or that I was crazy for wearing workout
clothes and changing everything? It sounds silly to write it now, but
everything those first few weeks is so overwhelming. Just do what you have to do.
7. Focus on you have.
When I started, I felt like I had nothing. No experience, no
budget, no help (except on the days when my assistant was there), no supplies,
nothing. I woke up in the middle of the night after that first day and
made myself think about what I did have. Which turned out to be
- Lots of craft supplies
- My professors from grad
school and other mentors who I could email for help/advice/support
- 3M strips
- Cleaning supplies
- Enthusiasm
- A work ethic
- My brain
My box of tricks |
Just remember: you can do it.
You don’t have to do it all at once, and you don’t have to do it alone. Take a few deep breaths, and know that soon this will be the first major
challenge you’ve conquered.
What’s been your biggest
challenge in setting up a space? How did you tackle it?
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