Revitalization is the current term for restarting a church library. Many of our churches are in the revitalization mode for all of the church ministries. Most of our new CLN members respond that they their church is revitalizing the library. Let's share our revitalization stories. What is happening with your church's library?
Who will be first?
Comments
Hi there! Peggy, I'm curious as to any update you may have. Here's my experience.
PURPOSE ◇ Visualizing the end result for each section & the library as a whole helps me tremendously because it seems like a daunting task. As you (in the generic sense) complete each section, you can see the progress made. I can say now, the whole library has been gone through, but tweaking areas is very much part of what I now do.
WEED◇As painful as it semed when needing to build up the library, I weeded out so many books. First, I started with weeding out worn-out & tattered books. Then next I considered content for weeding out books, especially in the children's section, that does not fit the focus of our library as a whole.
FORUM ◇ I read almost all the content on this forum at the time I began service in our library, because "I don't know what I don't know". All the while I kept in mind the uniqueness of our church library & what it has to offer those attending & the community.
NEW ◇ Adding in new books/media by donations & with a desinated budget is fun. I'm thankful for any budget, no matter the slim size.
I really like the Dewey Decimal System, but my suggestion is to make it work as a helpful tool. Books organize by Dewey Decimal sections, and yet someone walking into the library will see areas marked in subject areas such as Bible, Life Stations, Christian Life, and Church & Worldviews and need not focus on DDS numbers alone.
May God bless you! Hopefully, this is an encouragement. Nodding my head in an agrrement with others on this thread, I hope you found encouragement.
Linda,
Your comment about how to mark subject areas while organizing by Dewey caught my attention. I'm just starting the process to get our books properly labeled using Dewey, but do want to plan some way for marking the shelves to help people find things visually too. Do you have any photos of how you've done this that you would be willing to share?
Some suggestions - make the library look different and new! Do some weeding if you have old books, maybe move sections to be more accessible, some colorful signage for topics, maybe some decorations (we have old books and plastic greenery on top of the shelves), floor pillows for kids if you have room. Yes, streamline the cards and dots and topics so that they work for you. Ask for some money to get current books, and then keep statistics to show how circulation grows. If it is seen as an effective ministry, you will get more in your budget. And pray that God would bless these books to grow lives, people would come and spread the word about the 'new' library.
Peggy, I wish you the best as you serve Jesus in the library. Take your time and ask God for wisdom in each step.
Last year was an exciting one for us. We finally finished recreating in our date base more than 1100 items (added during a 30-month period) that were lost when a virus struck the church server. The church library finally made it onto the church website and they started mentioning our monthly book sales on the church's Facebook page. Because we're not inclued in the church budget, the sales are a principal source of income for us. They also added a library flyer to the bags for visitors.
I've wanted to do something to update our signage for some time and finally began working with a very talented staff member after the first of the year. Hopefully the new signs (a large A-frame one, a magnetic one for the door, and a small one beside the door with our days and hours of operation) will be up soon. At the same time we changed our name to Media & Resource Center to more accurately reflect our ministry and holdings. Our next project is some serious culling, particularly in our adult fiction and nonfiction. I find that aspect of library work particularly challenging and I'm always praying for wisdom when I tackle it. That will be an ongoing project throughout the year. Another project? Recruit library volunteers! Over the last few years we've lost several due to moves, death, attendance at other churches, etc. These days it frequently feels like a one-woman operation, but the Lord continues to bless us mightily.
Yes, this is the year for our church library to revitalize. First of all, the board increased the library budget for the year. Secondly, my goal this year is to get a presence on our church's media - Facebook, app, etc. I am not very techie in those areas, so will need some help. Last Sunday we had more people come in the library and take out books - a real encouargement. Since I am not working full time now, I have had time to weed books, do an inventory, sort out people who no longer take books out, and delete books that have been lost for quite some time and will not be returned.
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