Over the past two weeks, I have continued to assist the lead librarian with various tasks, including the Follet - Destiny collections platform and wrapping hard back books in covers. In addition, I have started the process of weeding through old and new items in the Makers Space, which before had looked like a space full of random stuff. There was a sense of attempted organization but when one really started to look closely at what the inventory looked like, it was easy to see that it was quite disorganized.
I began with consolidation of items, cataloging (inventory) what was on hand, how much, and started setting aside items that were either outdated or needed to be thrown away and recycled. One of the big takeaways from this process was identifying what items could have potential to bring in students and foster creativity on a daily basis. After musing on this for a few weeks, I decided that there should be a framework-like curriculum developed for the Makers Space, which would ultimately be managed by designated students and a few parent volunteers. One idea I have is to utilize the space and materials to host a "craft of the week" which would be advertised to students. Students often already pop into the library for one reason or another, but this activity could engage them to create something for themselves, with quick to no instructions or guidance. Students could make things such as pencil cases, pillows, jewelry, ipad sleeves, book bags, knitted washcloths, or other creative things using embellishments and glue.
Another project on the horizon is a collections assignment that I have with a class. I will be weeding out old, outdated non-fiction books, collating, and adding in relevant and more diverse literature. There will also be non-fiction subsections of literature. For example, all of the books related to social justice will be in one place together, not spread out throughout the library's non-fiction section. We're planning to play with the concept of reorganizing Dewy's idea of collection organization.
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