The school library as a physical place is a learning environment and information hub, providing its users with integrated access to print and digital resources, ICT facilities and support for its users from library and teaching staff.
Contents:
Library as place: introduction
The planning process
The library project planning team
Developing a shared vision
Property planning, management and property entitlements
Funding for library building projects
Design principles
Learning Commons
Designing specific areas as quality learning spaces
Information gathering for a building or refurbishment project
Tips for moving your book collection
Suppliers of library-related equipment
Developing an architectural brief
All school libraries with the right design, layout and location can actively promote, facilitate and enhance student learning by supporting different learning and teaching styles, inspiring curiosity and encouraging collaboration and interactivity. Check out the Critical Success Factors under Place, in The School Library and Learning in the Information Landscape: guidelines for New Zealand schools.
The culture, community and “special character” of a school are able to be uniquely reflected in the school library’s physical environment.
School libraries with flexible, multi-functional spaces have the ability to respond to changes in curriculum, technology, student numbers and the community. Doing your research into current and future trends will be an important part of pre-planning: for instance, the concept of school libraries as Learning Commons.
Remodelling or building a new school library creates opportunities to ensure that its design and facilities are innovative and sustainable and, most importantly, contribute to student achievement by being planned as a learning space, with the needs and preferences of your users as drivers for your planning.
Remodelling or building a new school library requires a school-wide planning and review process. This begins with a shared understanding of the role and vision for the library, and concludes with mechanisms or tools to evaluate the impact the new library environment has had on student learning, from an agreed period of time after opening.
Steps in the planning process - in summary
Establish a library project planning team which represents the staff, students and school community and includes a Library Adviser at key stages of the project. Decide upon and document each member’s role and responsibilities to maintain clarity and encourage effective communication.
Membership includes:
Allocate specific responsibilities to team members for information gathering on library design and examples of good practice, and researching current and future trends. See the Image Gallery for examples.
Consult with staff, students and your wider school community to develop a shared vision of your library’s physical environment which will meet current and future needs and is closely aligned with your school’s mission statement, values and strategic plan.
Having a common understanding of your library’s role and purpose will help to determine its location, how best to allocate space and create an atmosphere that is welcoming and inviting, stimulates creativity and provides for social, cultural and intellectual activities.
Conducting a needs assessment will also provide a useful structure from which to develop a vision by keeping the focus on learning outcomes while considering functional and aesthetic elements of design.
Flickr image by Todo-Juanjo
As a teaching and learning environment, your library needs as much space as possible in order to benefit all its users. Here are the links to use, to ensure you are fully aware of your school’s property entitlements.
Your Board of Trustees or Principal can check whether your library building development is documented in the 5-10 year Property Plan on the Ministry of Education’s website under Property Management. Here you can also find out your school’s property entitlement and funding, including eligibility for a furniture and equipment grant.
Integrated and independent schools will need to consult with their School Proprietor to determine their property management policy and processes.
Contact the Ministry of Education and your local authority for guidelines on legislative requirements, including resource consents, building regulations and health and safety requirements.
Other useful Ministry of Education online publications include:
Property Management Information System (PMIS): Using the PMIS you can locate specific property information, obtain asset update forms, view budgets allocated, download 10-year property plan templates, access 5-year plan information and view the latest property maintenance grants.
State Schools Property Management Handbook: For all property policies and processes for the management of state school property.
Financial Information for Schools Handbook (FISH): Outlines financial information about library, curriculum and teaching resources.
School Property Guide Calculator: Calculates a school’s property entitlement in accordance to school roll.
Contact your local Ministry of Education Property Management Group for advice on school property management including funding. Funding information is available under the Property Management Policy.
If necessary, explore additional funding opportunities, for example, your Parent Support group or community trusts. Some online avenues to possible funding sources include:
Fundview: Fundview details over 500 sources of funding available to community groups. These include local bodies, philanthropic trusts and other sources.
CommunityNet Aotearoa: Internet resource for NZ communities: How to guides - Funding
Department of Internal Affairs: Community Organisation Grants Scheme (COGS) and Lottery Grants
The National Library information guide, Building or remodelling the library (last updated 2007) will be revised as part of Phase 2 of this website development. Although available under Tools and Guides, we are aware that some aspects of its content need to be updated. However, much of the content will still be very useful in guiding your planning team. You are welcome to use it, bearing these limitations in mind.
Every aspect of the design of your library helps to fulfil its role as a learning space. It is important to keep your focus on the way in which that space is used, and how you envisage it facilitating the different kinds of learning and teaching activities in your school - both now and into the future.
It is not uncommon for a newly remodelled or purpose built library to be given a name change to reflect its new environment. Some school libraries are now called “Library and Information Centres”, or variations on this, to reflect the key role that ICT plays in the change from school libraries as traditional book-based facilities.
The term “Learning Commons” (sometimes referred to as “Information Commons” or “Knowledge Commons”) denotes not only a physical environment that is flexible in its design and encourages collaboration, but the underlying principles of a “commons” being the integration of content, technology and services to support learning - enabling its users to access, manage and create information / knowledge.
If your school decides to plan a Learning Commons, the design principles will reflect a major reinvention of your library space, patterns of use, technologies, staffing required, and many other issues. For further information, we highly recommend the following:
Loertscher, David V., Koechlin, Carol, and Zwaan, Sandi. (2008). The new learning commons: where learners win! Reinventing school libraries and computer labs. Hi Willow Research & Publishing.
The authors invite you to join the discussion on the book on their School Learning Commons wiki.
For an explanation of the differences between a library and a learning commons, see:
Linking the Information Commons to Learning, by Joan K. Lippincott.
The story of one school library’s journey in evolving from a library to a learning commons is described in:
From Library to Learning Commons: a Metamorphosis, by Valerie Diggs with editorial comments by David Loertscher
The following design principles apply to all types of school libraries, and may be modified according to the size of the individual school and identified needs.
Designing quality learning spaces: Introduction and interior design, function and aesthetics. (PDF).
These guidelines have been developed by the Building Research Association of NZ (BRANZ) for Boards of Trustees, principals and teachers to help them understand the importance the internal environment plays in the design of quality learning spaces. It will also help boards of trustees brief consultants and tradespeople with their school’s requirements when planning alterations or maintenance.
The physical location of the library will impact upon its usage and functionality. A highly visible and easily accessible library that is literally at the hub of the school will enable the whole school community to use it.
An interesting and welcoming exterior to your school library building and its surroundings will enhance its appeal as “a place to be” as well as providing external spaces for social interaction and recreational reading.
The design of your library building’s exterior may be used to symbolise any historical significance in the origin or location of your school as well as reflect its culture and community.
A space with multi-functional purposes such as security, storage and displays, an inviting entrance can attract potential users and make a lasting first impression about libraries being exciting and dynamic places with a strong sense of personal and group identity.
The internal layout of your library facilitates and extends learning opportunities by providing separate areas for independent and collaborative learning. See references to Learning Commons, if you are planning this kind of development.
The interior décor can also affect the way in which your users perceive and approach their learning, as shape, colour and texture in furniture and furnishings can instil an inherent sense of fun and excitement and also calm or challenge.
You will want to be able to adjust lighting (natural and artificial), temperature, airflow and sound in response to changes in climate, other external factors such as foot and motorised traffic. Environmental controls need to accommodate different usage patterns through the day and night throughout the library’s physical space. This will help to increase work productivity and learning in social situations by enhancing comfort levels.
Library staff are more accessible to library users if their work areas are located adjacent to the entrance. There are several factors to consider when designing this area, including:
Centralising teaching resources into a well-organised resource area adjacent to library and staffroom makes it easier for school staff to access them. Teaching resources are able to be better used across a number of curriculum areas, and by different levels within the school. Including an area designed for teachers to undertake lesson planning and preparation can be a popular and well-used feature.
Conducting research can be both an individual and collaborative activity. By providing different spaces designed to encourage these different functions, you will help students to undertake research in ways that they feel comfortable.
These areas can be separated from the main library space by folding doors rather than fixed partitions, to cater for large or small groups. Glass partitions, as another option, would enhance supervision from within the library.
You may need to design separate areas adjacent to the library for specialist-related teaching, for example, ESLL, Reading Recovery and Careers. However, if library space is being allocated to provide for these services, ensure that library functions are not compromised.
By providing a comfortable and relaxed reading zone, the library sends out positive and pleasurable messages about reading. This is an area where you can shelve and display your fiction, picture book and magazine collections in such a way as to be inviting and interesting.
Your chosen style of seating will reflect the tone of this part of the library - comfortable, colourful, and inviting.
For more ideas on creating an inviting area for the enjoyment of reading, see Reader-friendly environments.
To reflect the cultural and ethnic makeup of a school community, consider shelving, display and signage requirements for resources (fiction, non-fiction, magazines and newspapers) in Maori and other languages.
He Puna Taunaki – Te Reo Maori in Libraries is a Maori language resource for librarians. See also Maori signage
Imaginative displays can be used to promote your library and its collection through a variety of themes and special events and involve the wider school community. Display areas can be positioned throughout your library and in the most unlikely places. For inspirational display ideas, see:
A combination of adjustable wall and mobile shelving to store and display resources will maximise the use of library space and help create flexible areas to accommodate different activities.
Your planning team will need to decide on the balance between face-out and spine-out shelving for your book collection, as well as shelving for specific item types, and for displays.
Refer to the Wall Shelving Requirements chart for recommended heights and depths of wall shelving, and for guidance on how to calculate your shelving requirements.
Here are some effective ways to gather information and good practice examples to gain ideas, inspiration and knowledge :
Tips for moving your book collection
If you have to move out of your library to enable a major refurbishment to take place, or have to move your entire library and its book collection to a new location, here are some practical tips from Karen Bonnano, Australia, entitled Library renovations - tips for moving the stock.
For a useful guide to suppliers of library-related equipment such as shelving, security, furniture and furnishings and general materials, see our Suppliers’ List (DOC).
Requests for recommended suppliers can also be made on the School Library Listserv, an online forum for school library teams to share their knowledge and experience.
The planning team, having gathered information through research and consultation, produces an architectural brief to provide guidance for the architect / designer / project manager, specifying design requirements in keeping with the role of and vision for the library.
Our Architectural brief [PDF] template will ensure you cover all the key areas in preparing a preliminary document for your architect.
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