Your learning environment needs to be flexible to support technology, hands-on activities, small- and large-group learning, collaboration and individual study. Browse furniture that will help ensure your space meets the needs of your 21st century learners.
Research has proven that the quality of students’ learning environment contributes to their academic success. In this webinar, you’ll learn how learning environments affect student achievement, the challenges traditional learning spaces pose and how libraries and classrooms are evolving to meet 21st century needs. We’ll also walk you through the steps of a remodel or redesign to help you better understand how our interior services experts can help make the process less complicated, less stressful and more fun!
Deciding you want to create a makerspace is easy. Figuring out what it’s going to look like can be the tricky part. Read on for tips from Nicholas Provenzano, aka The Nerdy Teacher, about how to develop your creation space. Get advice on gaining more space in your library, considering instructional needs and choosing furniture for your space.
In this first installment of the Demco Master Maker blog series, expert Nicholas Provenzano, aka The Nerdy Teacher, shares his background, talks about the importance of makerspaces in schools, gives a preview of the topics he’ll be addressing in future posts, and invites you to join the conversation during the monthly #DemcoMakerChat on Thursday nights.
Join Learning Environment Designer Marci Milius as she discusses the changes taking place in today’s learning environments and how you can adapt your library space to fit students’ needs and new instructional models. You’ll also get tips and advice on how to choose furniture for your space that meets safety requirements and creates an inviting environment.
Your library users’ needs are changing and so is your library. Browse furniture that can help you keep your library spaces flexible by providing power and mobility and pulling double duty when you need them to.
In the same way that companies use data to target specific customers, libraries can use data to identify supporters and plan a targeted library campaign. Learn how EveryLibrary uses data to inform their messaging and rally support for libraries — and how you can do the same.
Media specialist and author Diana Rendina discusses the benefits of providing guided instruction through maker workshops and shares tips and ideas you can put into practice right away.
Global literacy heroes are working tirelessly to ensure books reach impoverished and remote areas around the globe. Award-winning librarian and SLJ Mover and Shaker Krista Welz shares ideas for introducing kids to these literacy heroes and inspiring learning opportunities through their stories.
Join Mover and Shaker Erica Freudenberger as she shares her experience of embracing community engagement to create a democratic, community-led organization and revitalize a library and community.
Learn about the numerous challenges the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County overcame to implement a mobile service model, how it positively impacted service and how you can do the same.
In this webinar, award-winning educator Mark Schreiber walks you through a step-by-step process for integrating making and maker projects throughout your library and classroom.
The role of the school library is expanding and it’s transforming the way students use your space and the services you provide. Learn from an award-winning library media specialist about what you need to think about when transforming your library to a learning commons model. From the services you provide to the instructional and study spaces you design, a little planning can go a long way.
Find ways to promote compassionate making with makerspace projects that connect students to their school, the community, the world and the environment.
From comfy seating options to powered tables for multi-media presentations, find out the hottest products for creating collaborative learning environments in your library.
After writing grants, garnering the support of the college foundation and finding community partners, St. Petersburg College’s Innovation Lab was born.
A cardboard building project turned into a successful library makerspace and countless opportunities for students to learn through making.
Celebrate our planet and promote conservation with fun Earth Day activities that will have your whole classroom or library thinking green!
This month’s calendar is jam-packed with April activities and book suggestions that will get kids excited to visit the library!
Give parents a full month of fun and simple early literacy activities that they can share with their kids to boost learning at home.
Libraries are known for offering equitable access to their services. To ensure that everyone, including the LGBTQ+ community, feels welcome in your library, follow Jessica Jupitus’s 10 tips for creating a welcoming and inclusive environment.
Measuring the impact of programs and services is a challenge, but it can be done. Learn how a library partnership and data sharing can get you started.
Teens are sure to find a topic to get excited about during the month of March, including women’s history, March Madness and Extraterrestrial Abduction Day!
Show the love in your library this February with heartwarming books, feel-good crafts and fun library activities from Matthew Winner!
Prepare to be fascinated by the 2016 Paralibrarian of the Year. Winner Brown Biggers shares how his IT role makes important connections with students and faculty at UNCG’s academic library.
Learn from a certified ergonomist how active learning environments can keep kids engaged, improve test scores and result in greater creativity and positive behavior.
You can enjoy big returns by adopting a rebranding strategy that presents your library as a key educational institution in your community.
Learn how you can harness new education strategies and transform your children’s library into an interactive STEAM learning environment.
Follow the lean startup process to makerspace success: start small, give yourself the freedom to fail and be willing to learn from your mistakes.
Learn how to evaluate your collection for diversity! Get diverse books and multicultural author suggestions, plus activities to help create a culture of inclusivity.
With less money in your budget and less time in your day, your marketing efforts may feel ineffective. Learn easy (and mostly free) ways to boost your library marketing.
Amy Koester, The Show Me Librarian, shares 8 exciting STEAM activities to help you celebrate Space Week (Oct. 4–10) in your library!
Learn how Skype can help create authentic, real-world learning experiences in the library. Plus, discover new ways to reach out for World Read Aloud Day!
Join the conversation! Madison Public Library staff reflect on the organization’s recent successes and plans for future community outreach programs and service.
The Maker Movement has hit the library! Watch this webinar and learn how to ensure patrons can pursue open-ended maker projects and enjoy playing to learn.
A feeling of solidarity resounded at ALA 2016 with attendees focusing on new ways to serve those in need and the community at large. Read the recap.
How well is your library meeting patrons where they are and understanding customer needs? Read this ALA session recap to check yourself.
Your physical space is one of your library’s biggest assets. Wi-Fi tracking technology can help you visualize how patrons are interacting with that space, as well as inform new library programs and space changes.
The teens involved in every step of the planning process for The Mix helped make this teen zone the place to be. Explore the results as Manager Cathy Cormier takes us on a virtual tour of the multiple areas of SFPL’s teen zone, their uses and the tools they feature.
Learn how you can use proven community planning strategies to engage and support underrepresented communities at your library. This webinar with Madison Public Library’s planner covers lessons learned, scaling this to your institution and more.
With the proper circulation, protection and repair (CPR) solutions for book care, your collection lives on and you get your day back. Check out strategies for reviving materials.
Even the most reluctant readers are drawn in by the excitement of extreme sports! Discover STEM project ideas that will kick-start kids’ enthusiasm and test their engineering skills.
As centers of learning, college libraries are reinventing their spaces to facilitate just about anything students may dream up. Hear from 2 academic librarians about higher education makerspaces and design labs.
Digital citizenship is a critical literacy for today’s students to master, and the library is a natural place to do it. With these online and print resources, you can create digital citizenship lessons that help students learn to act safely and responsibly, with courtesy and respect, in the digital world.
What will 2016 bring into the world of library technology trends? Get ready to have fun with your community and staff as you forge new ground with fitness trackers, robotics, coding and more!
Staff from The Mix at San Francisco Public Library share their experience in developing, funding and building their new teen library space, as well as how they engaged their youth and made it a community project.
With specialized furniture, convenient power access and equipment, any space can help people come together! Check out the latest and greatest solutions to make library collaborative spaces amazing.
From providing comfort and integrating technology to offering flexibility, learn about ideas to make library collaborative spaces great.
The majority of patrons (69%) engage with your library via a mobile device, so what are the best practices for providing an easy user experience? Join a panel of librarians and library technology experts as they share their experiences with library apps and mobile technology trends.
As 2016 winds down, what library predictions proved to be true? Get a read on the top 5 library trends and assess what will carry over into 2017.
With 69% of library patrons using mobile applications to access information, it is more important than ever for libraries to have a mobile strategy. Draw from the real-world experiences of our expert presenters and learn about mobile-user engagement and emerging technologies — important considerations in the development of your own mobile strategy.
Hear about how Boopsie is now a Demco affiliate and is taking technology further with library apps that link patrons to online library materials.
See how the Ann Antolini School Library is now a warm and welcoming place for students, parents and staff.
In an age of information abundance, libraries are a natural fit for creativity and innovation spaces. In this webinar, Traci Lesneski of MSR Architects will discuss creating a flexible, supportive environment and increasing your value to your community.
See how an expanded and refreshed library joined two spaces to create an aesthetically pleasing and fully functional design.
See how a downtown public library successfully walked the line between a city project and a library project with outstanding results. Read Slover Library’s story in their own words.
See how a collection of spaces allows children of all ages to “play, relax and feel safe” at a new domestic abuse shelter in Madison, WI.
From new ways to describe your library to how small spaces can have impact, get a first-person account of the top 5 takeaways from this year’s Library Journal Design Institute.
Browse the hottest teen zone trends that can help your library adapt as well as attract and empower teens.
The new Slover Library repurposed a historic former customs house and added a modern six-story addition. From a video gaming room to interactive digital displays, this library is moving forward. See the stunning results.
Collaboration is the word! View the Demco panel presentation that addresses collaborative library spaces and provides examples of spaces that can work for varying budgets.
Couldn’t make it to ALA MW 2015? Or, were you there and the details have become fuzzy? Demco’s Janet Nelson catches you up on the top 3 library takeaways from the 5-day conference.
On average, Americans have 3 electronic devices on them or near them at all times. Eventually those devices need power. See how libraries are supporting this trend with charging stations and more.
Ideas and inspiration on the latest technology products that provide power access.
See how the new library at Sioux Center Middle and High School shines as a 21st century teen space that allows students to read, study and collaborate.
Having trouble connecting with today’s teenagers? This webinar is for you! Join teen programming expert Sarah Flowers as she discusses what it takes to draw teens into the library, including budgeting, planning, marketing and more.
School libraries are going from book warehouses to multi-functional learning commons. How will you make the leap? This webinar answers how spaces can be designed to support multiple learning activities, goals, interests and individuals at once.
Find out what happened at the 2014 Library Journal Design Institute. Get the top 5 takeaways you need for any library building or renovation project.
Get library decorating ideas right this minute. See how an elementary school library stuck in the 1960s underwent a dramatic interior design makeover to become a modern and light-filled space.
View a clever infographic showing survey results from real librarians about customers’ needs for digital content, community engagement and programming and what librarians are doing about it all.
San José Public Library learned that customer experiences and wayfinding go hand in hand during their district-wide building and renovation project. Ruth Barefoot, Library Consultant, demonstrates the strategies and lessons learned in the journey to improve library service models.
Want budget-friendly library design ideas? Assessing what you have, rearranging furniture and applying a little creativity can go a long way to refresh your library. Guest bloggers, Dan Meehan and Renee Moldovansky with HBM Architects provide new insights into assessing the possibilities in your library.
View trending library furniture that offers flexibility, supports your visual merchandising and creates a recognizable brand identity in your community.
Find out how EDspaces 2014 reinvented itself, addressing emerging school needs in more visual ways and helping administrators envision flexible-use libraries.
Beginning an interior renovation project can be an overwhelming endeavor that might seem impossible to complete as a DIY project. However, by following a series of simple steps, libraries can feel confident in making interior space changes that will meet the evolving needs of their customers.
For many people, libraries remain synonymous with books. They are unaware of the innovative programs, services, resources and appealing spaces available for people of all ages. This article focuses on ways you can strengthen your position in the community and increase awareness about all you offer.
Looking to develop more engaging and interactive spaces for children of all ages? This webinar can help you utilize best practices for space planning, technology integration and design at your library.
Over the past ten years, planning and designing children’s libraries has shifted from being book-centric to multidimensional spaces that include imaginative play areas, guided explorations, gaming zones and media centers with a variety of technologies.
What does your dream library look like? Tune into this webinar to find out how you can turn your library of tomorrow into your library of today. Smart design solutions, real-life renovation stories and tips on how to revamp existing spaces.
Visual merchandising has become a hot topic in 21st century libraries. As the focus shifts from warehousing materials to creating spaces for people, a change in emphasis surrounding the visual impact of the library makes sense. We all like to feel welcome in the spaces that we frequent, and the visual appearance of each space often elicits an emotional response.
Designing active, flexible learning spaces that get kids excited about learning is important for engaging young minds.
Recent visits to several Chicago-area libraries demonstrated that innovation can take a variety of forms. Technology is the most obvious, but we also discovered many other ways the library is innovating to better serve their customers and remain viable long into the future.
