Where the Library Lives:Questions of Space and Relevance for

Scholastic's Corporate Library

Amy SternLIS 698 Seminar & Practicum

May 1, 2012

SternPracticum.wordpress.com

My Role at Scholastic

Cataloging

Corporate reference services

Shelving/paging/circulation & assisting with archival maintenance

Project Identification

Space is a crucial issue for libraries and can reflect struggle to show value.

The Scholastic Library has suffered a loss of very visible space within Scholastic’s corporate headquarters.

Where the Library Lives: Questions of Space and Relevance for the Scholastic Library

Project Identification

I examine where their current physical collections are located within the Scholastic building, as well as their own physical work spaces, and explore the extent of their presence on digital mediums.

Where the Library Lives: Questions of Space and Relevance for the Scholastic Library

Project Identification

I look for examples of how they have adapted.

I also examine how their situation relates to that of other corporate libraries and what strategies for the future these libraries might employ.

Where the Library Lives: Questions of Space and Relevance for the Scholastic Library

Loss of Space

Previous space was highly visible and acted as a showpiece within the building

Loss of Space

Previous space was highly visible and acted as a showpiece within the building

Physical Space

Second floor library office

Second floor collections

Sub-basement archives

Need better work space for library services and for interacting with other Scholastic employees

Digital Presence

Company Intranet

Catalog

On Our Minds @ Scholastic Blog

Digital Presence

Digital Presence

Digital Presence

BookPrint

Some Strategies

Weeding

Visibility through space that you have

Align goals of the library with those of the company

Thoughts for the Future

Libraries are losing space: libraries need to adapt in order to stay relevant.

If collections are not visible, librarians and their services should be.

ReferencesFletcher, A., Franklin, M., Garcyznksi, J., Gilbert, G., Mathis, S., & Wang, P. (2009). Saving special libraries in a recession: Business strategies for survival and success. Information Outlook, 13(5), 37-43. Retrieved from http://www.sla.org/pdfs/sla2009/SavingSL.pdf

Guill, K.L. (2009). Arguing for space in an user-focused environment. Library & Archival Security, 22(2), 115-123. doi: 10.1080/01960070902869733

Niegaard, H. (2011). Library space and digital challenges. Library Trends 60(1), 174-189. Retrieved from http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/library_trends/v060/60.1.niegaard.html

Simon, C. (2011). An examination of best practices and benchmarking in corporate libraries. Journal of Management Development, 30(1), 134 – 141. doi: 10.1108/02621711111098433

Zeeman, D.; Jones, R., & Dysart, J. (2011). Assessing innovation in corporate and government libraries. Computers in Libraries, 31(5), 6-11, 13, 15. Retrieved from: http://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/jun11/Zeeman_Jones_Dysart.shtml

Pictures from On My Mind @ Scholastic (oomscholasticblog.com)