Reframing Design Problems in the Library

As a TTOC, I encountered some difficulties in gathering enough data for this post. Rather than take a quantitative approach, I did a qualitative study through informal interviews with staff (including the teacher-librarians) and sent out surveys to those who were interested. The questions I selected were also more open-ended, which were more fitting for short answers instead of multiple choice answers. Because of this method, I do not have graphs to present, but instead will be using what was discussed in interviews and shared through the five questions in my survey. My five questions were:

1. How is the library currently supporting your role as a teacher? What else can the library do to support you?

2. Are there any forms of support or resources that you would like to see in the library that would be available to staff? What are they?

3. What do you see students need support in at the moment? Do you imagine that the library could be involved with this?

4. What do you imagine the ideal school library to have or be able to do for its school community?

5. What are your thoughts on the library developing a makerspace for the school? (A makerspace is considered a space or set of equipment/tools that can be used independently or in conjunction with a classroom to encourage students to collaborate, explore, learn, and share through the act of making and building anything)   

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Problem 1: lack of shelving in the library means that shelves are cramped or that books do not get put out.

The shelving in the library is designed to be flexible. Each shelf has wheels and can be moved around to lock with other shelves if needed. The problem is that there is considerably less space for books since changing over to these shelves, which means the shelves are either cramped or less books are put out for students to have access. It also means that the limited storage space in the library area is taken up by boxes of extra books.

Reframe: students miss out on finding a book that fits them, limits choice for students to explore literature. 

By having limited shelf space, students miss out on having more choice and access to titles that they are looking for if more books are kept in storage. If the shelves are too cramped, students may feel it is too much of a hassle to pull out books and will not check them out, potentially inhibiting their exploration of literature. Hibner and Kelly (2013) address a similar issue in their text, pointing out that books that remain unshelved (or in this case, put in storage) for long periods of time is a form of waste. It not only wastes the money that was invested into the text, but it takes up unnecessary space in storage when it could be utilized by a student who is happy to take it home to read. 

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Problem 2: the library is relatively empty throughout the day, aside from standard book exchange and classes coming in for research every so often. The library is moreso used as a place rather than a resource. 

While the library does much of their work in the background, qualitative data from the survey indicate that teachers often feel they have what they need already. 

Example: "I am able to access Internet, You Tube videos etc from my classroom"

Reframe: the library needs to assess how it can become a hub that serves the needs of the community

Libraries are moving away from the idea that it is a place to study and take out books and moving towards a learning commons model where the role of the staff and space is diversified. Since teachers feel their needs are being met, their answers to question 4 seem to be most indicative of what they think the library can do to support their school community, which seem to echo the sentiment of Klinger et al. (2009) that the library needs to be a hub that supports students and teachers in their learning and engagement through multiple channels.

Example 1: "Bulletin boards with a variety of info from upcoming school to community events, job board for teens seeking employment, housing (rentals, roommates needed) for those going off to uni, mental health/economic/income assistance within the community etc"

Example 2: "Positioning the library as a community space, a space to gather....Focusing on ways for students to see the library as the hub would be ideal. Warm the space up"

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Which one will I focus on? Why?

I will be focusing on Problem 2 because it relates to the core of the library's purpose. While it is great that teachers feel they have the resources they need already, the library needs to find ways to make itself a relevant space for the school community to visit. With COVID to consider, this is a larger challenge, but definitely possible with some innovation. It is also worth noting that the entire school just got remodeled (including the library), so to ask for more physical change seems presumptuous. Problem 2 also seems more realistic to work on as the library adjusts to the new space and this time is a good opportunity to redefine itself as a hub for the school. Since the remodel, it is possible that many students have actually not been inside the library nor have they taken advantage of the services of the teacher-librarians. A similar story can be said for the staff. Throughout all these adjustments, many of them may not have had the chance to (re)connect with the teacher-librarians and see what they are working on for the school. 

The Design Challenge Template

A link to the document.

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References

Hibner, H., & Kelly, M. (2013). Chapter 2: Understanding Your Workflow. Making a collection count : a holistic approach to library collection management (Second edition.). Chandos Pub., an imprint of Woodhead Pub. Retrieved 24 April 2021 from https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/making-a-collection/9781843347606/xhtml/B9781843347606500023.htm

Klinger, et al. (2009). Exemplary School Libraries in Ontario. Ontario Library Association. https://accessola.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2006-Exemplary-School-Libraries-in-Ontario.pdf 

PBL Consulting. (2016). Design Brief Template. Retrieved 24 April 2021 from https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/bff196_4676408b084d4094b14e691ffc4e9320.pdf

Rendina, D. (27 April 2016). How to Identify and Reframe Design Problems in Your Library Space. Knowledge Quest, retrieved 23 April 2021 from https://knowledgequest.aasl.org/identify-reframe-design-problems-library-space/