Facility

Pictured above is the Media Center when the LMS arrived in the fall of 2021. It was dust-filled and had little natural light.

Outdated globes and busts of older authors were scattered around. Every surface of the library was covered.

The shelves were overfilled leading to multiple books falling off the shelf when a student attempted to retrieve one.

The Media Center was set up with a lot of blind spots and two long "runways" that the students regularly took advantage of.

The LMS took the summer to rearrange the library to avoid as many blind spots as possible. Anywhere blind spots occurred, safety mirrors were mounted.

Surplus furniture was removed and donated to another library, with district approval.

The Media Center was fortunate to receive funding towards new flexible seating in bright colors.

Blinds on windows are open whenever possible to allow natural light into the space.

Ample space is available between stacks of books to allow multiple students to book browse without interfering with each other.

Shelving is angled towards the circulation desk to avoid blind spots.

The "mushrooms" are used by students to read books while waiting for classmates to finish checking out.

Colorful seating is placed in book nook for independent and group reading.

The classroom space is very flexible. It allows tables to be rearranged regularly. Tables are also flexible in arrangement and can be pushed together to create larger tables.

To add to the media center atmosphere, the LMS and her niece painted a mural that matched the furniture that had been purchased. This added depth to an enormous wall that had been previously blank.

Upon arriving at Sabal Palm, the bookshelves were overfilled. The LMS quickly weeded obsolete and broken books and continued to do so until the average age of the collection was closer to what research dictates.

A student started kindergarten the following year, who was wheelchair-bound. This demonstrated the need for ADA compliance. 

While the shelving and seating were far enough apart to accommodate the wheelchair, books on the bottom shelf made book browsing more challenging. Except for two areas of the library (beginning chapter books and the 500 section of nonfiction) all other bottom shelves of bookshelves remain empty. 

The LMS will continue shifting books, as needed, to avoid using the bottom shelf as much as possible.