Thursday, March 27, 2014

Check Out Our New Look!

For at least the past 10 years, the DCG Middle School library has retained the same look with very little variation: fiction on one side of the room, nonfiction on the other; desktop computers running the center of the room essentially splitting the room in half.




It was time to "walk the walk" with our school theme and Dream Big in the library! In the past month, we've been talking with the principal and IT director--as well as the custodians--about reconfiguring the furniture and desktops. One of our goals was to allow more students to easily view the projection screen. (Can you see it hanging from the ceiling in the picture above that shows the "nonfiction side" of the room?) Another goal was to improve traffic flow, both of people and of mobile laptop carts that come in and out of the library nearly daily. 

Our initial hope was to create 4 pods of 2 tables each. Below are pictures showing our progress toward that effort:




Remember that expression about "best laid plans?" Well, that was us when we discovered that the length of power cords and the placement of floor outlets weren't going to allow for the arrangement we'd hoped for. And that's when the principal strolled in and offered what became Plan B--rather than pods, why not form the tables into a "V" shape? This allowed us to make the most of our outlet placement and cords, as well as equalize the size of the two sides of the space. Here's the work in progress:



So after 4+ hours plotting, dragging, pushing, pulling, crawling, and scooting, we have a new arrangement for our many tables and desktop computers. We couldn't be happier with the setup, and every student and staff member who came to see what we'd done had only positive things to say! 





Many, many thanks to our wonderful library associate Mrs. Howard who helped move everything and plan our furniture arrangement! Also, a big thank you to Mr. Hlas who suggested our now-in-place Plan B, and to our custodians who helped with vacuuming and who provided a quick zip-tie lesson!

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