Worth Every Penny: Sound Investments for Your School Library (and Your Sanity!)
NOTE: This article was written in 2015, and the links have been updated or removed as of 2026. The writing style and verb tense reflects my experience at the time of writing.
In the 8 years that I’ve worked at my current school library, I’ve made some very intentional purchases to make the library and my teaching practice more efficient and student-centered. It didn’t happen all at once due to budget and time limits, but little by little, I’ve managed to build a collection of technology and management solutions that work together to make my life easier (and help me stay sane).
Though no single item is going to radically change a library (or school for that matter), the following list has some of the things that have profoundly improved our library because of how I’ve implemented their use:
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1. Android tablets or iPads for in-library use –
I know iPads are the favorite in education, but they are also very expensive. I recommend buying a few Nexus 7 tablets if you can still find them, or other small-screen Android tablets, and ditch the huge desktops for catalog searching. Destiny Discover works just as well on Android as on Apple devices, and there are LOTS of great Android apps that my students and I use every day.
2. Belkin headphone splitters and a class set of decent headphones –
Headphone splitters are excellent for sharing the Android tablets so that up to 5 students can listen at once, though the volume needs to be turned up as more headphones are plugged in. This is great for interactive ebooks and flipped instruction videos (see below). I like these headphones, and I use zip-ties to shorten their ridiculously long wires.
3. Durable storage bins from Gratnells/Demco –
These stackable, nesting storage bins were new last year, and I adore them! They make it SO much easier to stash my library centers out of sight when the library is needed for other uses (i.e. faculty meetings). They also come in handy when a teacher needs a pile of books, but not enough to lend out a book cart.
Adding the snap-on lids and/or tray inserts make them extra useful for library centers as well!
4. BIG signage on magazine file boxes –
Large, more colorful, image-centric signage is important because we teach elementary students under the age of 12…some of whom are just learning their letters, or are learning English, or don’t have / won’t wear their glasses.
5. A dedicated library Dropbox or cloud storage account –
Though this one is free, implementing it can involve a lot of time investment. To save time (and my voice), I recorded a video for orientation, another one about how to find everybody/fiction books, and another about how to find nonfiction books.
I uploaded those 3 videos to a “library use only” Dropbox account, and put the Dropbox app on all 12 library tablets. Voila! Instant tutorials for the units I teach every year, for new students, and for reviewing!
Do you have a can’t-live-without-it piece of equipment, technology, or organizational tool? Share it with us and why you love it!