If there’s one thing that makes a librarian feel worthwhile,
it’s seeing children excited to use the library! At the moment I have one
bookcase dedicated to children’s fiction. When I was young and naive early on
in my church library career, I had big plans to create a children’s corner
complete with a miniature table and chairs and a book sling display case.
However, it soon became apparent that not only would my budget stretch that
far, the dimensions of the room wouldn’t either. So, once again, I must live
vicariously through my wish list. (For the time being…)
Nothing says cozy like a nice blue beanbag chair. A few of
these would make a great little reading circle where the youngsters could
gather after Sunday School with their favourite Bible story book.
Not everything in the library has to be about books! It’s also about encouraging creativity and opening new avenues of discovery. These felt animals plus a well placed felt board would lend to that experience with no muss and no fuss!
*All these items can be found at www.brodart.ca
Book Return Wishes.
When one is operating out of a humble 10 x 14 foot room that is shared with a photocopier and a large meeting table, one has to think small. Compact small. Crammed in small. Form-fitting small. Superfluous embellishments have no place in a limited space, even if one thinks it will lend the church library a certain sense of style, never mind the intensified degree of pizzazz. Despite this, I find myself drawn to library furnishings that are practical, presentable and, unfortunately, pricey. Due to space constraints, our church library makes use of a very sturdy and reliable clear plastic container as a book return. This, of course, is an upgrade from the previous book return, an old box that was ready for the recycling bin. Although our good old container gets the job done, I’ve often dreamed about how nice it would be to have a real book return. One that looks professional. One that is not made of clear plastic. One that could be closed so that patrons couldn’t rifle through returned books and take away materials that hadn’t been checked in yet. Yes, my friends, a real book return would be a wonderful thing indeed.
Clicking through the Brodart website, I found a few that,
though they will never rest on the floor of my illustrious church library, I
will dream about all the same.
This first one is simple, elegant and portable. So handy! The little pillow feature to provide the returned materials with a
soft landing is also a nice touch.
This second one is cute with its little roof-shaped top (attractive to kids)! Also, the multi-purpose nature of this return is very interesting – you can choose another book to check out as you’re making your returns! (It wouldn’t surprise me, however, if some found this to be a little confusing…)
This final return receives a functional grading of 10 and a
creative grading of 3. Let’s face it, it looks boring. Compared to the others,
which depict returning books as an exciting adventure, this one has industrial
written all over it. Speaking of writing, a really nifty sign would really jazz
it up and boost its creative rating to at least an 8.
*All of these can be found at www.brodart.ca
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