Facilities Floor Plan MEDT 6461

Memorial Middle School

Media Center Floor plan Proposal

2019

Memorial Middle School serves students grade 6-8 with a population of just above 700

students. The media center is centrally located in the school and provides a setting for students

to learn and grow. In the last five years, few changes have been made to the actual layout of the

media center. These changes include providing an area with desktop computers for students,

adding shelves to accommodate books, and creating a docking station that allows for students to

charge laptops. There is one area to support large groups for research which is also used in

faculty meetings. This space supports the resources for students learning but does not provide a

varied productive working space. The current use of the media center is to house students who

take an online language class in the morning and whole-class research setting. Klein (2016)

explains school library should be a hub that encourages students to read, research, explore,

connect, and create The focus of this media center will be collaboration, building a strong

student community, and improved technology practices within classes.

Facilities Floor Plan MEDT 6461

1. Student entrance 7. Desktop work area

2. Circulation desk 8. Reference Materials
3. General meeting classroom work area 9. Fiction materials
4. Book storage/ office 10. Nonfiction materials
5. Testing room 11. High chair work area
6. Backroom exit

Unchanged items

Several components in the media center currently work well and require little to no

change. The diagonal direction of the bookshelves and that house all fiction and non-fiction

books provide plenty of space for the current collections and provide the needed space for other

areas of collaboration. The current media specialist will also like to keep the place of reference

materials, which is located along the walls of the media center. She wants to continue to support

the research with print materials. The storage room provides plenty of book storage for all books

and even has additional space for future collections. The classroom work area provides the

largest space for classes to work and provides access to projectors and workspace, the direction

of the desk will be altered to fit the new floorplan of the room. The circulation is located in front

of the media center and the best location upon further review. The location of the circulation

desk provides space to students to receive services and allows for the Media Specialist to view

all aspects of the library without disruption.

Facilities Floor Plan MEDT 6461

1. Student entrance 8. Reference Materials

2. Circulation desk 9. Fiction materials
3. General meeting classroom work area 10. Nonfiction materials
4. Book storage/ office 11. High chair work area
5. Testing room ** Converted to media/news 12. Small group/Maker space
room 13. High table work space
6. Backroom exit 14. Student Reading zone
7. Desktop work area ** Five additional
desktops added

Modifications/Additions:

The desktop computers will remain in the same general area but will be pushed to the walls of

the room to provide space for another working area for makerspace. Five additional desktops

will be added along with the change of configuration. The addition of these computers will

provide adequate space for students taking online language classes, provide an additional testing

area, and can be used for small group instruction. The placement of the desktop will allow for
Facilities Floor Plan MEDT 6461

one class to occupy the front of the media center and other groups can work separately and not

disturb the work progress of other groups.

The testing room, previously relocated, will be converted to a student media/newsroom.

Providing students with space and ability to create student relevant news and can ensure a future

interest of the media services with the student population. This room will be used for more than

just a daily news broadcast, it will be space for students to televise their learning and edit videos

for other projects. Bergman (2017) explains that a strong school library program and school

librarian can positively impact student learning through the use of technology. The media space

will provide a place for freedom and expression and hands-on experiences that can be used later

in life and lesson.

Several additional spaces have been provided for students to support work in maker

spaces, small group instruction, and free reading space for students. Three sets of tables and

chairs have been added near the permanent desktop stations. This area provides space for a

second class or small group that can utilize the desktops for technology instruction and the tables

to support differentiated work. This area can be supervised by a teacher or monitored by the

media specialist from the circulation desk. Two additional high-table work areas have been

added to the media center, one near the exit door and next to the general class working area. It is

necessary to provide a higher table and chairs near the back of the room to allow for the media

specialist to monitor student behavior and activity from all areas of the room. The additional

space next to the class working area will provide additional space to support larger classes or

create another space for small groups. Several upholstered chairs have been placed in the center

and rear of the media center to provide space for individual reading for students. The media

center is a place that embraces students and their freedom in reading. Providing these spaces
Facilities Floor Plan MEDT 6461

allows for the students to relax and just read. According to previous testing scores, less than half

of the student population was reading at or above grade level. Allowing students to choose their

reading material provides practice and increases comprehension of reading. All furniture will

have a modern appeal to the students and provide welcoming spaces for learning, research, and

community.
 Facilities Floor Plan MEDT 6461

References

School Library Connection: ABC-CLIO's Educator Support Community. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://slc.librariesunlimited.com/

Klein, M. (2019, April 03). 3 Secrets to Making Your School Library the Place to Be. Retrieved from

https://www.commonsense.org/education/articles/3-secrets-to-making-your-school-library-the-

place-to-be