Summer Decker-Poe

MEDT 6461
Dr. Johnston
Facilities
July 24, 2016

For this assignment I visited a middle school media center and interviewed the media
specialist. The media center is found within an older building and the media center seems small
in proportion to the student population of 1,600. Upon observation I noticed a wall of windows
providing a source of natural light but the light was blocked by bookshelves. The library
collection is divided into fiction and non-fiction. The non-fiction takes up a majority of the floor
space in addition to the window wall and the fiction is located on the opposite end.
Upon interviewing the media specialist, she had concerns of being able to supervise
students at the far end of the library and the couch from the circulation desk. She expressed her
dislike of the projector placement and pull down screen as students were walking in front of the
projector screen interrupting the whole-group lesson. In addition to this, the line at the circulation
desk crossed in the path of the projector screen prompting students to duck down under the
screen while waiting in line at the circulation desk. The school media specialist also expressed a
desire for smaller, moveable tables and a desire to create more quiet reading areas.
According to Woolls, Weeks, and Coatney (2014) the library primarily exists to support
teaching and learning. For this assignment I redesigned the library floorplan to better
accommodate a variety of teaching and learning styles including whole group instruction, small
group instruction, individual learners and readers, and create a flexible space. In regards to
library design and attractiveness, Woolls, Weeks, and Coatney state that

Flexibility in the space design is the second most critical consideration. The library
should be designed to support the range of activities that can be identified and yet be
flexible enough to be easily reconfigured as programs, priorities, teaching practices, and
technology change. (p. 147)
To create a flexible learning space, I replaced the large rectangle tables with smaller trapezoid
tables on wheels that can be easily moved, put together, and taken apart to adjust for group
activities, computer use, and special events.
In a desire to meet the needs of all patrons and create an aesthetically pleasing
environment I placed bench seating by the windows on the far left in the non-fiction section and
moved the existing set of reading chairs by the windows to create a new quiet reading area while
taking advantage of the natural light. I relocated the existing couch closer to the circulation desk
for easier supervision and also near the periodicals to create a comfortable spot for teachers and
students to browse and read.
In consideration of new technology I felt the large rectangle computer tables were no
longer needed since the retrofit replaced the desktop with 25 laptops housed in a computer cart, I
brought in round tables to be used as need for computer work, individual workers, and small
groups. Two groups of six desktop computers and the catalog computers will still remain close to
the circulation desk for additional student needs.
Most importantly, the overhead projector and screen were moved to the other end of the
library so that the lines and the conversation at the circulation desk do not block the view of the
projector screen or distract from the whole group lesson area.

My new flexible floorplan adjusts the library layout to accommodate new technology and
all groups of student learners and modes of instruction while creating better traffic patterns
within the space limitation of an older facility.

References
Wools, B. Weeks, A. C., & Coatney, S. (2014). The school library manager. Santa Barbara, CA:
Libraries Unlimited.