Key

Tall Bookshelves Magazine Rack

Short Bookshelves Tables and Chairs

Hannah Frady
MEDT 6461 4-seater Individual
Computers and Student Carrels
Facilities Project Printers
Friday, July 14, 2017
Figure 1 Comfy Chairs Circulation Desk

Secondary
Laptop Teacher Entrance
Storage Oce Oce
Carts Computer

Windows
Windows

Conference Room
Main Entrance
 Figure 2

Secondary
Laptop Entrance
Storage Greenroom Oce Oce
Carts

Windows
Windows

Conference Room
Main Entrance
 The media center I visited is the Troup High School Media Center in LaGrange, GA. The original layout is shown in Figure 1.
The THS library serves about 1,400-1,500 students in grades 9-12. When students enter the library, they first see the double-sided,
short bookshelves and student computers. The short bookshelves host the reference materials and most of the fiction collection. The
double-sided, tall bookshelves to the right of the entrance contain the leftover fiction collection, graphic novels/manga, and the
nonfiction collection. Students have access to the computers and printers located in the middle of the media center. There are about 25
computers, so enough for a whole class. There are three four-seater, individual student carrels located to the far right of the entrance.
These have high walls for isolated work. There are eighteen four-seater tables in between the computers and the student carrels. This
space is used for classes and for faculty meetings. There is also a retractable projector screen located behind the round table at the top
of the meeting area. In the farthest corner from the main entrance is a small reading nook with comfortable chairs and a magazine
rack, next to the secondary entrance. The offices in the back are used by the media specialist and the behavior specialist. The walls to
the left and right of the main entrance are open windows. The windows to the left look into the hallway and student court yard. The
windows to the right look out to a small, outdoor enclosure. The two walls of floor-to-ceiling windows allow a lot of natural light into
the media center.

Proposed Changes/Renovations

I personally like an open layout. I do not want the library to look too crowded or limit the activities that can be done there (Woolls,
Weeks, & Coatney, 2014, pg. 147). I also think an open space allows for easier supervision. The changes I made reflect that as seen in
Figure 2.

Circulation Desk: When a student enters the media, the first thing I want them to see is the circulation desk. This gives them instant
knowledge of where books can be checked out, serves as a reminder as they leave, and shows them a friendly, helpful face as they
come into the library.

Makerspaces/Collaboration Areas: The short bookshelves will be weeded to create space and will then be moved to create divisions
among the round tables (Darty, 2016). These tables will serve as makerspaces and/or collaborative group stations so that there is a
designated space for these activities (Moorefield-Langa, 2017). Because makerspaces will require more access to electrical outlets,
renovation will be needed to provide more outlets than what are already there. The shelf divisions around this area will hold reference
materials and makerspace equipment.

Greenroom: The teacher computer located in one of the offices will be moved and a greenroom will be created. This can be as simple
as painting one of the walls (Darty, 2016) or putting up a green cloth. This room can be used in conjunction with makerspaces for
picture and video creation and editing. It is conveniently located near the makerspace stations and the computers.
Individual Student Carrels: I will move the carrels more towards the front. This is mostly for space and noise reasons. In their old
location, the carrels were located right next to the tables, so if a class came into the library, it would be hard for individual students to
focus. Moving them towards the front, they are away from the busier areas of the media center and near the quiet reading area. I
originally considered getting rid of the carrels altogether, but it is important that there be places where students can individually work
quietly, either on homework or projects (Woolls, Weeks, & Coatney, 2014, pg. 156).

Tall Bookshelves, Magazine Rack, and Quiet Reading Area: The tall bookshelves will be moved to be perpendicular with the right
window wall. This is mostly to allow for easy supervision down the aisles of the shelves. This also opens up an area among the
shelves for a quiet reading area, with the magazine rack and shelves acting as natural barriers (Darty, 2016). The quiet reading area
will include comfortable armchairs to reinforce one of the main focal points of a library: reading (Woolls, Weeks, & Coatney, 2014,
pg. 148). It is also important to move the quiet reading area away from the secondary entrance to reduce distractions. These shelves
will also be weeded. The fiction collection will be moved near the reading area and the nonfiction collection will be moved toward the
back near the tables. I would also like to add some devices such as tablets in the magazine racks. This will give students access to
digital magazines and ebooks in the reading area (Bergman, 2017).

Tables: Instead of one large chunk of tables, I will split the tables into two different sections. This will allow more students/classes to
have access to the media center at one time without causing too much of a hassle with each other. This also keeps the space available
for faculty meetings. Students will also be able to use the smaller group of tables in the scenario that a class is using the larger group,
ensuring more students have access to the media center when it might otherwise be occupied (Woolls, Weeks, & Coatney, 2014, pg.
149). The tables are also in easy proximity to the nonfiction section and the computers for research.

Computers and Printers: The computers and printers will be moved to place them all in one area. This will ease unneeded noise and
traffic if students need to travel from one area of the computers to another. This also places the computers in close proximity to the
tables for class use and the makerspaces.
 References

Bergman, D. (2017). Libraries, cybraries, learning commons, makerspaces, and more!. School Library Connection.

Darty, K. (2016, April 28). More thrifty school library design tips. School Library Journal. Retrieved from http://www.slj.com/
2016/04/budgets-funding/more-thrifty-school-library-design-tips/#_.

Moorefield-Lang, H. (2017). Making, libraries, and literacies. School Library Connection.

Woolls, B., Weeks, A. C., & Coatney, S. (2014). The school library manager (5th ed). Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.