Diana Rivers and I visited the school library at Parkmead Elementary School in Walnut Creek to observe library lessons and review their space. It is always refreshing to see how another library program is managed and how the space fits the patron needs. The library at this public K-8 was organized in a fashion that allowed the students to access the books easier than our space. It also allowed them to browse and find materials on their own in a manner much smoother than our space. In particular, this librarian used a lot more subject baskets such as a basket just on raptors and clearly identified with a sign "Raptors". It is a much better method for non-fiction in the lower school, and I think we could benefit from transitioning our LS non-fiction to a subject matter based organization. Additionally, the Parkmead library had a lot less picture books--a lot LESS--and this is something we should consider weeding. Lastly, although their collection was smaller, every student still picked out a book. There seemed to be much more choice and much more accessibility.

There was so much information to gather on this visit. In the future, I think we should visit another school library yearly for professional development and new, fresh ideas.