My office is actually a shared workspace with my staff. We have lots of storage for supplies and counter space to spread out and work on upcoming projects. And at the very front of the room is a large window-great for looking out and keeping an eye on the department, but not so great when you’re trying to work of desk and patrons can easily look in.
My staff and I are always trying to come up with creative ways to utilize the windows and they’ve become a prime display space. During the voting for our state picture book award, we hang up a large poster of all the nominees and set up a voting box in front of the windows. One of the activities for the Summer Reading Program is to send a postcard to the library, so our windows display the postcards we receive.
When we took a storytime break and created a Cookie Club (inspired by Marge Loch-Wouters’ brilliant Cookie Club!) our windows became a display space for the decorated paper cookies. When the kids visited the library, they got to decorate a cookie and place it in the window. The kids loved it and it also worked as extra promotion for the Cookie Club. People would walk in, see the windows, and ask about the Cookie Club.
Credit: Sarah Bean Thompson
In February, we asked our patrons why they loved the library. They filled out the answer on paper hearts and covered our windows in library love. Our teen department created a similar display on a bookshelf. It was so much fun to read all the answers and I was thrilled when one heart read “the helpful librarians.”
Credit: Sarah Bean Thompson
Even though there are times I wish our office area was arranged differently, we’ve made the best of it by creating a fun display space that offers library promotion-and lots of library love.
Are you interested in reading more tween-related posts? The YALSA Blog and the ALSC Blog both offer information of interest to librarians who work with tweens.
Marge Loch-Wouters
Thanks for the shout-out. But thanks even more for the brilliant idea of using office windows!