Catalyst Grant Final Report
“Accessible and Engaging Book Displays”
Please provide a brief narrative explaining your project and its outcomes.
After assessing our budget and needs, our library opted to create a new first phase for our accessible shelving project. This included the purchase of 3 sets of acrylic, forward facing shelves, allowing 6 of the 10 primary shelves in the Children’s Room to be adapted first. It was a prime opportunity to evaluate what book sections were most often shifted through by patrons, so we could start with the areas that were the most difficult to obtain books and/or desirable to patrons. We were also able to work with a nearby library to acquire wooden floor bins to display additional books in an easy to flip, forward facing manner at child height. Now, with several months of assessing the effects of the bins in this first phase, we feel confident to continue adding more sections as funding and time for transition allows. This leads us to one of our greatest challenges, which will be the financial constraints of upgrading as quickly as patrons wish we could. As these bins allow ease of access to the books within, patrons have expressed great appreciation for the bins and are now more vocal about how frustrating it can be to browse the traditional shelves. However, we are grateful that this is our biggest hurdle, and that the bins have been so positively received and used. It sets the library up well to include additional phases in our budget and grant work.
What is the most remarkable accomplishment or finding of your project?
We wanted to wait several months after the installation of these bins to truly watch how they are used, and it has been compelling to see how they impact a patron’s visit. Patrons of all ages not only visit these books first (which we realize is also impacted by location), but they spend more time with them, and most importantly we see fewer needs for assistance to access them. These signs of assistance are still highly evident elsewhere including: needing to ask another for help to pull thin books, disrupting entire shelves to access a single book (pushing books backwards, forwards, or off), pulling large chunks of books out to access one, climbing to reach a forward facing book, and losing interest in a book because it cannot be easily pulled out. Our staff has been amazed at the difference a more dynamic shelving style can make, and our patrons have been vocal about it as well. As improving patron access is one of our main priorities, we are thrilled that such a seemingly small shift can have such a significant impact for our community.
How did your project differ from what you originally proposed?
As a fairly straightforward project, the greatest difference and challenge was the shift in budget. However, that also encouraged us to reevaluate how to make a smaller budget the most effective for our patrons, and how to break the total project into phases. Starting small has also made for a great trial period to experience the ways the large acrylic bins best transform a whole shelf.
Please provide a brief summary of your evaluation activities and/or results, if available.
Throughout the past 7 months, staff monitored statistics on the frequency of checkouts from different areas of the Children’s Room, as well as monitored usage by watching patrons interact with the books, tending to shelves, and receiving feedback from patrons (verbal and written). With the exception of highly notable new books, the library’s most frequently checked out books have consistently been within forward-facing bins. This was evident enough that we felt we skewed our top circulating books of the year, as they became more about placement. Patrons of all ages have also expressed their overwhelming preference to browse bins. Yet despite the higher usage, these areas also require the least amount of maintenance by staff as they are easier to use. Overall, the only tiniest of grumbles that we have heard were merely from staff adjusting stubborn metal shelves to better fit, which is hardly a grumble at all. So we are all looking forward to the next phase which will occur in the Easy Reader section.
Jillian Kervin
Executive Director, Waterville Public Library
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