An overview of the kinds of changes that school libraries have to make in order to maintain a focus on the future.

1. School Libraries in the
21st Century:
Implementing Change
Liz Gray
September 2018

3. The Change Mindset
Institutions that adapt well to change
• are closely connected to their
environments,
• value innovation and experimentation,
• and are constantly learning about new
practices and technologies.
(Lawler & Worley)

4. Change Challenges
• All change involves loss
• Resistance to change means people are defending things
that they value and respect
• Inside-the-box thinking
• Emotional repellers that create a negative environment
for change: fear, anger, mistrust, impatience, hate,
disdain, forced compliance, resentment & jealousy, stress
& anxiety
• Emotional attractors that create a positive environment
for change: hope, joy, compassion, calm, safety, love
respect, growth and learning, excitement & challenge
• Peter Drucker: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

5. The Change Process
• Make it a big-picture discussion
• Generate ideas in a way that involves the whole faculty,
not just the librarians and a select few
• Blue sky it so people will think creatively
• Request time at a faculty meeting and get people out of
their chairs and moving around
• Use technology to help you reach everyone
• Revisit ideas as the priorities and budget evolve
• Kick the tires
• Adapt at every step of the process
• As soon as you think you’re done, start over

6. Sugata Mitra’s Hole in the Wall, Delhi, India
(Trucano)

7. 21st Century
Educational Architecture
20th C 21st C
School/habitat fixed place global place
Teacher one expert Expert teacher + coaches,
mentors, peers, self
Knowledge finite unlimited
Curriculum limited by cost, textbook-
driven
open platforms, research-
driven
Literacies reading, writing & math + info, media, visual,
digital, global, emotional,
physical
Technology print is dominant;
interactive/static
multiple media; adaptive,
dynamic

8. Dana Hall’s Vision Statement
• A 21st-century education cannot truly exist within the
confines of a brick-and-mortar school that offers a
limited number of courses at specific times of day. Given
those constraints, however, there is much that a school
can do to promote and develop the characteristics of a
21st-century educational mindset:
• a research-driven interdisciplinary curriculum that draws
from a range of sources rather than being textbook-
dependent;
• a focus on developing multiple literacies--information,
media, visual, digital, emotional and physical, as well as
reading, writing, and math;

9. • engagement with global issues;
• use of adaptive and dynamic technology whenever
appropriate;
• an appreciation of process and skills, as well as content; and
• collaborative and creative students whose achievement and
passion drive the learning process.
• In a 21st-century school all learning styles are normal; as
much time and energy is devoted to synthesis, analysis
and evaluation of information as to memorization,
comprehension and application; and the goal is to
cultivate lifelong learning in both students and teachers.

10. Library as Third Place
• First Place: home & those you live with
• Second Place: work or school—where you spend most of
your time
• Third Place: an anchor of community life that facilitates
and fosters broader, more creative interaction
• Hallmarks of a true third place:
• Free or inexpensive
• Food and drink typically play a role
• Highly accessible
• Regulars habitually congregate there
• Welcoming and comfortable
(Oldenburg)

11. The New Yorker, October 18, 2010
One year after Cushing Academy divested itself of 80% of its print collection.

12. What is a Mission Statement?
A statement of purpose that briefly explains the reasons
why you exist, a mission statement should answer these
questions:
• Who are your clients?
• What is your purpose?
• What are your core functions?
• What methods are used to achieve your purpose and
carry out your functions?
• Where are you headed?
In a school, the library’s mission statement should build on
the school’s mission.

13. School Mission Statement
What are the key words that inform the library’s role
within the life of the school?
Dana Hall School is committed to fostering excellence in
academics, the arts and athletics within a vibrant, caring
community. With emphasis on diversity, integrity,
leadership, and service as well as on respect for self and
others, Dana Hall provides its students with a unique
opportunity to prepare themselves for the challenges and
choices they will face as women and citizens of the world.

14. Helen Temple Cooke Library @ Dana Hall School
Built in 1998; photo taken in 2007

15. Library Mission Statement
The Helen Temple Cooke Library is a complete
information resource center designed to serve the students,
faculty and staff of Dana Hall School. Its primary goals are
to support the diverse academic curriculum, to meet a
wide range of student interests and abilities by providing
multiple resources for learning, to develop the skills and
self-confidence of students so they can operate effectively
in any library, to provide a comfortable and caring
atmosphere for individual and group study, and to foster a
lifelong appreciation of reading, viewing, and listening as
sources of pleasure and personal growth.

16. Ask These Questions
• What information do I need?
• Learning styles of my users
• Instructional models, curriculum & tech tools being used in
classrooms
• Appropriate content
• Appropriate formats
• What problem am I trying to solve?
• New learning goals
• Ubiquitous access to information
• Users who want & need to work in new ways
• What do I already know?
• Data and statistics are your friends
• Document your past successes
(Salant & Dillman, p. 25)

17. Needs Assessment
• Survey all constituencies online with mostly close-ended
questions (multiple choice, ranking, rating that offers an
even number of choices)
• Conduct focus groups with mostly open-ended
questions; have a facilitator and a recorder to document
• Observe use patterns
• Where are people working in groups?
• How is the furniture being moved around?
• Who is not using your space and why?
• Visit other libraries
• Look for examples of specific elements
• Pay attention to details (light fixtures, door handles,
window shades, casters, outlets, table edges, open space)
• Take pictures and be inspired!

18. The New Yorker, c. 2010
In 2010 this was a joke; then it became
an airline directive; today it’s a non-issue.

19. Collection Assessment
• Weed regularly and systematically
• Question traditional classification schemes
• Absorb print reference into circulation
• Examine balance of print vs. digital reference
• Consider non-print formats—audio, video, databases,
ebooks—and their impact on collection of physical
materials
• Consider the possibility of moving parts of the collection
to increase use and make better use of space
• Determine what information in what format you are not
providing and why

20. Program Assessment
• Information literacy instruction:
--do you have a scope & sequence across grade levels?
--is instruction delivered on a fixed schedule or on an
ad hoc basis depending on teacher requests?
• How are you collaborating with teachers?
• What readers’ advisory initiatives have you developed?
• Do you advise any clubs or otherwise get involved in
other aspects of school life?
• Do you use social media?
• Do you include student voices in decision-making?

21. What Did We Change in the Dana Hall Library?
• Added flexible furniture
• Heightened tolerance by librarians for noise
• Allowed some food and drink (non-messy
snacks and drinks in closed containers)
• Adopted and used mobile technology
• Purchased new furniture that works well with
mobile technology
• Reorganized the collection and relocated certain
sections
• Continued refining our Skills 9 curriculum
• Named and advertised what we do

22. Program Document
• These four words should be at the forefront of your mind
at all times:
• Function
• Flexibility
• Collaboration
• Creativity
• For each area, consider:
• Activities that will take place in the space
• Equipment that will be needed
• Adjacencies to be considered
• There is no detail too small to be included
• Include images if possible
• You will have to work around some immovable objects

23. Key Design Elements
•Furniture
•Lighting
•Acoustics
•Finishes
•Technology

24. Yoga Blocks

25. Mobile Magnetic Whiteboards
Steelcase: $675 Clarus: $1800

26. Finish Considerations
• Ease of maintenance
• Continuous smooth surfaces on tables—no bumpy lips
• Matte finish preferable to shiny for cutting down glare and
reducing eyestrain
• Upholstery
• Avoid the harvest gold & avocado of the day
• Ask for bigger samples so you can see how a pattern repeats
(7” x 9” swatches rather than thumbnails)
• Look for a minimum of 75,000 double rubs
• Make color decisions with a committee of three, and try to
include an art teacher
• Find out what fire code standard (CAL 133 or 117; former is
more restrictive) is required in your state or municipality
• IdeaPaint is a wonderful thing but must be applied by a
trained professional

27. Finishes: Color

28. Technology Considerations
• Ubiquitous wireless is the dream but it’s not always
dependable
• Put outlets everywhere: walls, floor, carrels, above
counters, tables if they are fixed in place
• Manage your cords
• Schools considering BYOD, 1-to-1 laptop and/or iPad
programs need to enhance their infrastructure first
• Always include the IT people when planning for new
products or enhancements
• Have a technology line item in your budget
• Be the place that experiments with the new tech toys
• Mobile videoconferencing expands your reach

29. Ergotron’s Neoflex Monitor Stand

30. Makerspace Considerations
• Define your scope: 3D printer? Arts & crafts? Tinkering
with electronics?
• Designate a space
• Designate a manager of the space
• Offer as a library resource and/or collaborate with
interested faculty. Like every other school library
venture, it has maximum impact if tied to curriculum
• Creation is messy. Increase your tolerance and set up
procedures for managing the mess when (or before) the
bell rings.
• Consider the impact on adjacent spaces and activities.
Melting plastic can be smelly.

32. Sources
• Abarbanel, Elisabeth, et al. “The New School Library.” Independent School. Summer
2013. Web. https://www.nais.org/magazine/independent-school/summer-2013/the-
new-school-library/
• Gilbert, Natalie. “The Future of Public Libraries: Emerging Trends.” The Learning
Bird. 2016. Web. https://blog.learningbird.com/future-public-libraries-emerging-
trends/
• Gray, Liz and Nancy Rich. “A Revolution in Educational Architecture.” Wellesley,
MA: Dana Hall School, 2012. Print.
• Lawler, Edward E. and Christopher G. Worley. Built to Change: How to Achieve
Sustained Organizational Effectiveness. New York: Jossey-Bass, 2006. Print.
• McKee, Annie. Management: A Focus on Leaders. Saddle River, NJ: 2012. Print.
• Oldenburg, Ray. The Great Good Place. New York: Marlowe & Company, 1999. Print.
• Salant, Priscilla, and Don A. Dillman. How To Conduct Your Own Survey. New York:
Wiley, 1994. Print.
• Sullivan, Margaret. Library Spaces for 21st-Century Learners: A Planning Guide for
Creating New School Library Concepts. Chicago: American Association of School
Librarians, 2013. Print.
• ”30 of the Most Popular Trends in Education.” TeachThought. August 12, 2018. Web.
https://www.teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/most-popular-trends-in-
education/
• Trucano, Michael. “Searching for India’s Hole in the Wall.” World Bank. 2010. Web.
http://blogs.worldbank.org/edutech/searching-for-indias-hole-in-the-wall.