It's A Fact (or Things I Learned From the Nonfiction Un-Dew)

Now that I am a seasoned pro (with weeks of experience- haha!), it is time to reflect upon the nonfiction transformation much like I did for the fiction un-dew.  So here are some lessons learned:

1) It was a lot of work.  Let me repeat that.  IT WAS A LOT OF WORK! It was valuable work.  It was rewarding work.  It was needed work.  But it was a lot of work.  If I had it to do all over again (or if someone asked), I would have them schedule a longer period of time ( or more warm bodies) for the physical moving, reshelving and labeling of the books.

2) Again, pregrouping the books into their respective categories saved a lot of time.  This step helped to speed things up or we would probably still be working.

3) This is an EXCELLENT time to weed.  I thought I knew my collection really well but I really only knew the high traffic areas (sports, military, animals, fairy tales and such).  The lesser checked out areas had many books that were either too sophisticated in language/content or outdated or just plain uninteresting to my population. (Hope you didn't fully erase my name off that Librarian Wall of Shame!)

4) With no disrespect to Mr. Dewey, some of the Dewey classifications made us scratch our head.  Why are the Star Wars Clone Wars novels in 791?  Hmm. Based upon a movie? So looking at every book was important as was trying to think like my students (to some degree).

5) Some books never seem to have a clear home. These books needed to be put to the side and explored further as time permitted.  If not, the flow and progress we were making would have been stymied. 

6) Some books are going to get mislabeled.  This can be because we were moving so fast that we accidentally picked up poetry books and labeled them as jokes (Yes this really did happen and was discovered by a student looking for joke books after they had all been checked out but 6 books were still on the shelf) or it could be because we labeled it in the most logical way we, as adults and educators, thought best at the time.  But, after living with the collection, the book needs to be recategorized.

7) In regards to thinking like a student, things like choosing to group biographies with their corresponding sports and military vehicles with military books,  has produced many an exclamation of, "I didn't know we had this book" and "Look at the new book" and "Triple H book - cool!"  It is worth noting that these are books we have always had in our collection.  They have just been relocated to where the students would instinctively think of looking for them.

8) Speaking of thinking, students struggle with this.  I can see the part I will play in extending their critical thinking skills during book check out.  The exchanges go something like this:
Student:  Where are the cat books?
Me:  What section do you think has cats in it?
Student: Animals?
Me: Correct.
Student merrily goes to animal section and stands before starting to look at every shelf and exclaiming that they can not find them.
Me: What kind of animal is a cat?  Is it a wild animal?
Student: No. 
Me:  So which category (pointing to the shelves) do you think a cat would be in?
Students: Pets?  Oh here it is.  It's a pet.
Me:  Yep!

9) Subcategories (like the Pet subcategory within the Animals category) have been a HUGE hit and asset for finding books.  Our OPAC computers have been disconnected as we move some furniture and have some wiring completed and students have, unwittingly, been exploring the stacks and making new discoveries.

So the learning continues as I strive to keep The Five Laws of Library Science by S.R.Ranganathan in perspective. (See them here)  Today I feel like I am doing well with these!

And, as always, here's the REVISED REVISED REVISED revised timeline from this post:

1) Create classification headings for the FICTION section of the library based upon the interests of my students and DESTINY classifications.
2) Work with the library office to design spine labels that include a graphic and word for each section. A matching larger sign will be created to be displayed above sections.
3) Complete Fiction section re-do by Friday, November 14th. Just in time for American Education Week!
4) Create classification headings for the NONFICTION section of the library by Friday the 21st!
5) See #2
6)Complete the NONFICTION section re-do by December 3rd. That's right!  Just 2 short days!!!!!
7) Remember to run circulation reports and statistics before during and after the process.
8) Document, in pictures, the transformation.
9) Document, via this brand new blog, the transformation highs and lows.
10) Complete Common Ground proposal before December 21st.
11) Update library wiki (Ok, let's be honest, CREATE library wiki)
12) BREATHE!
13) Finish the signage for the Fiction section.
14) Get the subcategories in order and shelves labeled.
15) Get large signage posted.
16) Work on a plan for location field in Destiny OPAC.
17) Begin coordinating visits from librarians who want to come take a peek! (OK librarian ... only 1 has asked)

Tools of the Trade

This is a short week due to Thanksgiving.  That means just 3 short workdays of 6.5 hours each minus classes to teach equals AARRGGGHHH! Being the Type A, always need a plan, kinda gal means that this is freaking me out a bit. (OK- a WHOLE lot!)

So I gathered up my "tools" to plan an attack on the project today.

Tape, my beloved Post-Its, tape measure, pens, paper and markers - a genrefication go-to kit!

I know what you are thinking - she's finally gone over the edge.  But there is a method to my madness.  The shelves in my library are not all same sized.  Depending upon their location, they range from @25 inches wide to over 50 inches wide.  Enter the tape measure.  I needed a rough idea of how much shelf space each category would require.  This meant physically walking around and measuring the existing real estate being occupied by books in different categories.  Armed with these numbers, I began to write the new categories on Post-It notes so I could start labeling the shelves and working out the anticipated amount of space each category would need.

Initially I followed the layout of the library; aligned as closely as possible to the Dewey classifications. And then, I had an epiphany!  I was not bound by this any longer.  I was free to organize as I saw fit. 

First round of organization was trying to create a logical "flow".  But when I sat back and looked at it, I realized I was not really meeting the needs of my students and of myself as a librarian.  Back to the proverbial drawing board.  I had a really hard talk with myself and dug deep to find out what I wanted to achieve.  Here's my answer:

1) I want to incorporate relevant biographies and poetry into each category.  Looking for a wild animal book and you might pick up a biography of Jane Goodall or a book of poems about elephants.  How about finding a biography of Neil Armstrong with the Space books?  Could be life changing for some student.

2) I wanted to separate "high traffic" areas to create better flow and visibility of under utilized sections of the library.

3) I wanted to put frequently accessed topics within a quick visual range to be able to assist the youngest patrons.

So I pulled off the Post-Its and repositioned them yet again.  Tiresome?  Yes.  Worth it?  Yes. I feel like I have a loosely planned idea of how many shelves each category will need and how I want them positioned.

I also took the opportunity after school today to quickly peruse the poetry section and pull books that I wanted to include in other categories and relocate them to that category.  I also did a very quick perusal of the biographies to pull any immediately obvious connections (like sports biographies) and relocate those.

I know I have only scratched the surface of what needs to be done in preparation for Monday's start to the genrefication of the nonfiction section.  So incredibly thankful that I have Kelly, Chimere and Fran working on labels and ordering and printing. 

Tomorrow's goal is to look at the layout again with fresh eyes and see if it still feels "right".  I might even ask a few students what they think. 

But for now, I am one tired librarian!

58 and Counting!

The time crunch is looming so I spent my planning today condensing the student suggested categories into one cohesive list.  I took their categories (some of which were really interesting) and my rough list and combined those.

Tonight I sat down and typed the list and we are at 58 categories (so far)!  I've emailed the list to Fran, Kelly and Chimere to get feedback.  I know there will be more additions but I have looked at it so much that I can't see it any longer.  I'll share the list later when we have finalized it.

2 weeks until the crew comes to transform the Nonfiction.  YIKES!