Action Research Project—TE893

Jill W.

Action Research Project

Action Plan:

I chose to do my Action Research Project in N-O middle school library. The librarian is

Linda K. The library is a light and airy room due to wall of windows along the outside wall of the

school. Linda keeps her library neat and tidy. The two of us discussed what we would like to see

changed in our libraries. We discovered we both had similar ideas on the changes we would like

to pursue. After reading the article “Action Research: Your School Library, Your Timetable, Your

Local Challenge” (Keller, 2017), we went through the “School Library Evaluation Checklist” from

the textbook AASL National School Library Standards (2018)—pp. 169-181 to evaluate N-O

library. Together we settled on making the library a more inviting, welcoming experience for

stakeholders to promote reading, research, and discovery. This project was “based on

reflection, data collection and analysis, and planned action” (Keller, 2017). I searched

databases and read website articles until I found the information that pertained to this school. I

researched through quantitative and qualitative data. I wanted to bring student ownership to

the space, such as student projects relating to reading and research. I gathered information by

surveying teachers, staff, and students about their vision of making the library a more usable,

welcoming space. I decided to focus on 8 areas of improvement to the middle school library.

Therefore, I set out to see what some stakeholders thought of the 8 areas of improvements.

Students and teachers were given a survey regarding the improvements I deemed important for

my mission. The surveys included questions about the design and organization of the library
needs and wants. When all the data and criteria was gathered, I made a list of feasible changes

to be made and plan to continue to create.

9 Target Areas for Survey:

1) Rethink your library space

2) Remove Obstacles and clutter: I took a look at circulation results for the middle

school. Observation and one-to-one conversations will also play a role in my data

collection.

3) Add color

4) Movement and Flow

5) Variety of seating

6) Interactive spaces (maker spaces) I will Implement makerspace from research ideas.

7) More power stations, devices, and computers

8) Aesthetic décor (paint, lighting, and ceiling tiles)

Background information:

The upper elementary and junior high students don’t use the library often due to time

restraints. Teacher confide that they don’t have time for the library. There doesn’t seem to be a

big push for middle school students to use the library, nor do they want to go to the library. We

are hoping the welcoming spaces will lure them in and they will find the library an inviting,

resourceful place to study and read for pleasure.

Literature Reviews:

I was pleasantly surprised to see many articles on library makeovers. Once I began reading the

articles of interest to me, I realized they all basically had about the same message. I realized we

could do this for the cost of the paint with the janitor’s help. These articles helped me

formulate the questions for my surveys. The article “6 Ways to Rethink Your Library Space”

(Rendina, 2015) was my biggest inspiration. The library began massively weeding the collection,

paring it down to the books that were being used, She created displays within the shelves with

the empty space. She had the same plan that I had to the compile books and she removed the

extra shelving to declutter the space. The extra furniture they weren’t using was removed to

help the flow. They added colorful, modern furniture through a grant program. A white board,

K’nex, and Legos were added to create a maker-space. There were many other articles in her

collection that were very information and helpful. Another article “5 Ways to Make Space for

innovation”, (Redina, 2015) gives creative ways to make your space interactive. She has

discussions about weeding more than just books and how less is more.
Organization and Interpretation of Data:In order to gain insight from students and teachers, I

created a list of options from articles that may be right for a survey. I looked up the circulation

of the middle school for October. It is all over the place depending on classroom projects. The

many highs and lows were intriguing to me.

I considered measurable data in the form of resources and books that were listed for weeding.

The next step was to turn to Mackin for an updated list of books to be weeded. I printed a copy

of the 2019 breakdown by Dewey of non-fiction books for weeding considerations shown in this

graph, along with the list of older titled books to consider.

I then surveyed the middle school students and middle school teachers.
Survey Data:
Please rate the following information on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being “strongly agree” and 1
being “strongly disagree”.

Results from the seventh grade student survey:

Question 1 2 3 4 5
Do you think the high school library has a welcoming, inviting 1 2 8 5 0
design?
Do you believe adding color will make the library a more 0 0 1 6 9
modern, inviting library?
Do you think the library has good flow and movement to 0 1 6 7 2
reach the materials you want to reach?
Do you think moving obstacles and clutter (old books, 1 0 4 7 4
shelving, etc.) would help?
Would creating study spaces around the library with colorful, 0 0 0 3 13
modern furniture make it more welcoming?
Would interactive spaces, like maker-spaces, encourage 0 0 5 6 5
students to visit the library?
Would having more power, devices, computers, etc. make 0 0 3 6 7
the library more useable?
Would new lights, ceiling tiles, carpet, and brighter paint help 0 0 0 3 13
make the library more vibrant and welcoming?
Does the library have adequate resources (tables, chairs, 0 2 5 5 4
computers, etc.)
0 0 2 8 6
Does the library appear to be clean?
Does the library have a variety of seating options, different 4 3 9 0 0
colors and styles of seating?

Please rate the following information on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being “strongly agree” and 1
being “strongly disagree”.
Results from the eighth grade student survey:
Question 1 2 3 4 5
Do you think the high school library has a welcoming, inviting 0 2 5 8 3
design?
Do you believe adding color will make the library a more 0 1 3 9 5
modern, inviting library?
Do you think the library has good flow and movement to 0 0 6 8 4
reach the materials you want to reach?
Do you think moving obstacles and clutter (old books, 1 2 4 6 5
shelving, etc.) would help?
Would creating study spaces around the library with colorful, 0 0 1 5 12
modern furniture make it more welcoming?
 Would interactive spaces, like maker-spaces, encourage 0 1 4 6 7
students to visit the library?
Would having more power, devices, computers, etc. make the 0 1 4 8 5
library more useable?
Would new lights, ceiling tiles, carpet, and brighter paint help 0 0 3 6 9
make the library more vibrant and welcoming?
Does the library have adequate resources (tables, chairs, 0 0 3 9 8
computers, etc.)
0 0 2 7 9
Does the library appear to be clean?
Does the library have a variety of seating options, different 2 7 4 3 2
colors and styles of seating?

Please rate the following information on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being “strongly agree” and 1
being “strongly disagree”.
Results from the middle school teachers survey:
Question 1 2 3 4 5
Do you think the high school library has a welcoming, inviting 1 0 2 3 2
design?
Do you believe adding color will make the library a more 0 0 0 3 5
modern, inviting library?
Do you think the library has good flow and movement to 0 0 1 4 3
reach the materials you want to reach?
Do you think moving obstacles and clutter (old books, 0 0 1 4 3
shelving, etc.) would help?
Would creating study spaces around the library with colorful, 0 0 0 0 8
modern furniture make it more welcoming?
Would interactive spaces, like maker-spaces, encourage 0 0 1 2 5
students to visit the library?
Would having more power, devices, computers, etc. make the 0 0 0 0 8
library more useable?
Would new lights, ceiling tiles, carpet, and brighter paint help 0 0 1 1 6
make the library more vibrant and welcoming?
Does the library have adequate resources (tables, chairs, 0 0 1 3 4
computers, etc.)
0 0 0 0 8
Does the library appear to be clean?
Does the library have a variety of seating options, different 3 0 3 1 1
colors and styles of seating?
Plans for Implementation:

--Weeding:

The plan will begin with the weeding and clearing out clutter. This plan will be an ongoing

process for Linda throughout most of the year. She has already begun to moving shelving and

furniture around to create a better workflow for patrons. She will continue in my absence.

Weeding the old, tired books would do many things to make the library a better place to visit.

There would be less clutter to sort through looking for resources that are current. When all of

these books, along with other resources, are weeded there will be more shelving and a less

cluttered look. The shelves are streamlined.

Although the plan is not fully completed, I will follow up with observations of circulation,

conversation, and feedback with Linda. This process will be an ongoing improvement plan into

the future.

--Rethinking the library space:

From the data collected it was determined that the action project should address:

Removal of clutter by weeding and moving shelving, tables, and computers that could obstruct

flow. Many agreed that clearing out clutter would make the library a more inviting space. The

survey showed that adding color and modern furniture would bring students into the library at

a higher rate. Overtime, modern furniture used for creating study spaces throughout the library

will be added. Stakeholders wanted more interactive space which include makerspaces, digital

devices, tinker areas, and added power hubs. It seems lighting, a new ceiling tiles, and vibrant

paint was one of the most popular choices for creating a welcoming, modern library. A light,
bright paint will transform a space at little cost. I am sure stakeholders will approve and find the

space updated and useful.

 References

National school library standards for learners, school librarians, and school libraries. (2018).

Chicago: ALA Editions, an imprint of the American Library Association.

Keller, C. (2017). Action research your school library, your timetable, your local challenge.

Teacher Librarian, 44(5), 8-11.

Rendina, Diana. (2015). 6 ways to rethink your library space and make it amazing. Retrieved

October 8, 2019, from

http://www.renovatedlearning.com/2015/01/28/rethinking-our-library-space/

Rendina, Diana. (2015). 5 easy ways to make space for innovation. Retrieved October 8, 2019,

From https://knowledgequest.aasl.org/5-easy-ways-make-space-innovation/

Rendina, Diana. (2017). AASL post: why you should weed more than just books at the end of the

year. Retrieved October 8, 2019, from

http://www.renovatedlearning.com/2017/06/05/aasl-post-weed-just-books-end-year/

Rendina, Diana. (2017). How to weed by the numbers and clean up your collection. Retrieved October 8,

2019, from

https://knowledgequest.aasl.org/weed-numbers-clean-collection/