SMP 4: Facilities

Jessica Horton and Megan Koerner

FRIT 7331

Dr. Stephanie Jones

October 20, 2019

 While observing the Esther F. Garrison School for the Arts Media Center, it appears that

in general, the learning climate is welcoming and conducive to learning. However, there are

some areas for improvement in the media center. The temperature of the media center is

generally out of the control of the media specialist. The thermostat can only be set between 70

degrees Fahrenheit and 74 degrees Fahrenheit. On particularly warm or cold days, the media

center can either be too warm or too cold, with little that can be done to adjust it. Additionally,

the operation of all heating and cooling units in the Savannah Chatham County Public School

System is controlled remotely by the maintenance department. The units all turn off and on at a

certain time. If heating and cooling is needed outside of regular school hours, a request must be

made a week in advance to have the unit turned on.

Overhead lighting is via fluorescent lights embedded in the ceiling. The lighting is

sufficient for all media center activities during the school day. Task lighting is provided,

however, on the circulation desk, where the media clerk prefers not to turn on the overhead

fluorescent lights on most days. This means the circulation area, which is approximately ten feet

by five feet, uses a table lamp for lighting, along with four recessed lights. The light coming

from the main areas of the media center, along with the table lamp, make the lighting in that area

acceptable for most students, but not ideal for students and staff with low vision. They may find

the check out process difficult due to the limited light allowing them to see barcodes.

Signage in the media center is large and descriptive, but some necessary signage is

missing. For example, there needs to be a sign that directs students to the middle school section.

Also, in the computer lab area, there should be signage to indicate station numbers, and printer
identification. All signs that are present are also written in Braille for our three Visually Impaired

students.

The entry area to the media center has several comfortable chairs and a bench that

students typically use while waiting for the rest of their small group to finish with checkout so

they can return to class together. There are two entrances to the media center. This entrance is

the main entrance, and there is a secondary entrance that is only used in case of an emergency.

The shelves across from the seating area are used for magazine display and to feature certain

books, occasionally with a unifying theme. Immediately visible upon entry to the media center,

is a cart containing several rolls of bulletin board paper, which would perhaps be better placed in

the workroom/storage area in the back of the media center.

 This is the circulation desk at Esther F. Garrison School for the Arts. As you can see,

there is a bit of open counter space to the right of the computer, but this side of the desk is

slightly cluttered. It is hard to tell, but behind the circulation desk there are shelves that store

books and other materials temporarily. One suggestion for improvement is to de-clutter the desk

area, and organize the temporary shelving, so that it can be used in a logical way throughout the

school year. There could also be a set of overhead lights placed up above the circulation desk, so

that students and staff can easily see what they are doing when they are at the desk. The

circulation desk, too, can also have the function where they allow students to check their books

in and out, so that the librarian is able to help students throughout the day.
 This is a view into the media specialist’s office. It is a relatively small space, but

the media specialist keeps it well organized. It has been noticed that the media specialist stores

the most expensive, newest technology in her office for safekeeping when the library is closed.

The one suggestion that could be given is that she may be able to find another place to store

these items so that she has more space to maximize her working time in her office. The clutter of

the technology in her office may possibly come to being a burden, and it is noted that it is

important that the media specialist has space for her work.
 In the picture above, the view is from the circulation desk looking into the computer lab

area of the media center. Previously, there were 18 desktops for student use, but that number

appears to have been reduced to 12. However, there is a permanent Computer Lab on Wheels

(COW) that can be utilized by students sitting at the wooden tables. This allows teachers enough

computers/laptops to have 1:1 devices for a full class. Traffic patterns in the media center flow

well, and there is sufficient aisle space for students with special needs to navigate easily. The

only exception is when the COW is parked over the floor outlet to charge. The traffic patterns are

also established in such a way our Visually Impaired students are able to walk through with

plenty of room to sweep their probing canes. One positive regarding the computer lab, as shown,

is that there is enough space for the students to sit at the desks so that they are able to maximize

their instructional time when they are at the media center.

 In the center of the space, there are several wooden tables and chairs. These are available

for students who are using a laptop from the COW, or who are viewing their teacher’s lesson on

the SMART board. The space as shown is this picture, allows for the whole group instruction in

the media center in a variety of ways. It is mentioned in ​The Indispensable Librarian,​ that there

should be enough tables in the media center to support whole group instruction (Johsnon, 2013).

One compliment to this area is that it allows for not only whole group instruction on the laptops,

but it also looks to be conducive to being a maker space or a place where small groups can

collaborate on a project.
 The picture above is our story time area. This is the location of Pre-Kindergarten,

Kindergarten, First Grade, and Second Grade story time with the media specialist. The area has

a nice, large rug and a lamp that can be used for additional lighting if needed. At the time the

photo was taken, the area was being used for an occupational therapy session instead of story

time. While the story time area is cozy and comfortable, there can be a bit of distraction if story

time and a class are occuring at the same time. When there is a class in the media center during

story time, the instruction of the classroom teacher can easily be heard by the students who are

listening to story time. In addition, the younger students attending story time can clearly see the

students in the main area of the media center. As the picture above shows, there is no sound or

physical barrier between the story time area and the tables that classes use when their teacher

signs up for media center use.

 The Computer Lab on Wheels (COW) is seen in the photograph above, plugged in and

ready for use. While it is beneficial to have the laptops to supplement the desktop computer lab,

the cart is right next to a shelf and very close to one of the wooden tables in the center. One

aspect of this that has been noticed is that it tends to impede the flow of traffic in the media

center. Technology is a very important aspect within the media center and it is very beneficial to

have the laptop cart, but there should be another place for this laptop cart so that it does not

interfere with traffic. A suggestion that could be great for this cart is to park the Computer Lab

on Wheels (COW) up against a wall and use one of the wall-mounted outlets. The outlet on the

floor, then, could be used for temporary items that needs plugged in such as a tablet or a laptop.
 Near one of the large windows that looks out into the hallway, our media specialist has

set up two cafe style tables with tractor seats. The space, as shown, would be an ideal setting for

students to come in and eat their lunch while they learn, however, there is no food allowed in the

media center. Another activity that could be done at these seats is that they could be used for

peer tutoring in the mornings. One note, as well, is that these tables and chairs cater more

towards the upper elementary and middle school students. A suggestion for the media center is to

also have a spot that is cozy for those younger students so that they are able to use a space for

independent or small group time. There is also a two chair/end table unit directly under the

window. In this photograph, there is an empty cart pushed next to a shelf, blocking access to

books. Perhaps a better location for this would be the media center storage room, so that there

would be more space for something else to support the instructional setting of the media center.
 The media center work room is located behind the circulation desk. The workroom is

overcrowded with items on tables, and there is not much workspace unless you are utilizing the

Ellison letter cutting machine. The media center has a nice poster printer donated by the

Savannah College of Art and Design, but only a few teachers received training on it. Therefore,

it sits there mostly unused. It also impedes the flow of traffic from the main area of the media

center to the workroom, and teachers must go behind the circulation desk to access the

workroom. While this is good to have this technology and the supplies in this workroom, it is

very problematic that the large machine is taking up so much space and only a few teachers are

able to use it. One suggestion would be to remove the machine into another location, or to train a

variety of more teachers on it, so that they are able to use the technology.
 As shown above, this is another part of the teacher workroom and it is one of the parts

that is utilized by our three Special Education (Visual Impairment) paraprofessionals. In this

space, they have equipment that allows them to do Braille work and prepare for their one-on-one

lessons with our visually impaired students. The area in which they work is not spacious, and

they need more room. A priority is to find them a better place to complete their work, so that

they are able to meet the needs of their students.

 The media center storage space has plenty of space and shelving, as shown. The space in

the shelving could be utilized in another way that would be beneficial to all teachers and staff.

The space shown is not used for meetings, therefore the tables and chairs could be relocated, to

allow additional seating within the media center and in turn, this would allow for more space to

store items. One suggestion for this space is to use it to store all of the new technology in here so

that it does not have to crowd up the office space. Depending on additional space, this part of the

back workroom could also be used as another area where items could be placed for teachers and

staff to use as a work space.

 The direct link to the Esther F. Garrison School for the Arts Media Center is

http://internet.savannah.chatham.k12.ga.us/schools/gvpa/mc/default.aspx​. The photo repository

is currently empty, so photographs of media center events should be added. The Announcements

tab has announcements posted, however, there has not been a new announcement posted in

nearly 6 months. It would be beneficial to update the page with current bulletins. Likewise, the

Calendar link does have a calendar posted, but there are no current dates to refer to. On the right

side of the page, there are links. The six links are: Georgia Library Online (Galileo), Safe

Search Kids, Live Oak Public Library (our area’s regional library system), Destiny Online
Catalog, a Media Center Survey, and a link for students to check out an e-book. Unfortunately,

students cannot check out an e-book from our media center, so this link is not active.

The Garrison Media Center website is not abundant in resources for users. There are

convenient links to our local library, Safe Kids and Galileo, however, that is the extent of

resources available. Students can access the Destiny Online Catalog from any device, but must

wait to check out the materials when they are in school. Students and staff can access the media

center site from their own devices at school, or anywhere else. The media center has e-books

and e-readers, but these can only be used within the media center; they are not available for

student check out.

When reflecting on the different areas of Garrison Media Center, there are a lot of great

qualities along with a few recommendations to support student learning. The high top tables that

the library has can be a strength for the library, as there need to be “conversations that are

genuine” when reflecting on student collaboration (Johnson, 2013, pg. 9). The high tops do allow

the students to have the feel of the social learning space that is mentioned in ​Indispensable

Librarian.​ The areas of the library has flexible furniture which is very important to have for the

social learning space (Johnson, 2013).

The technology in the Garrison Media Center looks to be abundant in that there are a

wide variety of tools that the students and staff are able to utilize. One aspect of the library that

stood out was their SMART Board technology that is in front of a set of desks. The technology

in that area is a great resource to have for 21st century learners and the support of that instruction

(Johnson, 2013). One recommendation is that there be a carpet in front of the technology so that

the librarian can use the space for a mini-lesson and then the tables for activities and making
different learning projects. When reflecting on other aspects of the technology, there was also a

place where there was a rolling cart of laptops in the center of what looked to be book shelves. It

would be suggested that the cart is moved to another location, as that it is not pleasing to the

layout of the library and that it could get in the way. The advantage to this cart location,

however, is that there is an outlet that is on the floor which could be helpful for students

plugging in other electronic devices when they are working on research projects.

Students can access the internet with their own devices, through the “SCCPSS Hotspot”

wireless network. In order to access the wireless network, students must enter their username

and password. When signed in to the wireless network, the filtering software that is in place on

district devices also applies to their personal devices. For example, when students use a desktop

computer in the media center, they cannot access social media. Likewise, when they are signed

in to the wireless network, they cannot access social media.

Students may bring their own devices to use, but only after they have passed a digital

citizenship test at the beginning of the school year. Websites that are blocked can be unblocked,

but only when a faculty or staff member submits a technology request. Requests typically take

one to two days to process.

In summary, there are several suggestions we have to make the media center more

conducive to learning. First, we recommend that the media specialist eliminates any unnecessary

clutter, and organizes materials that are needed, but aren’t properly shelved or stored. We also

recommend a better process for controlling the temperature. Ideally, the media specialist will be

able to adjust the temperature in the media center in more than a four degree range, and have

more control over when the air conditioning and heating units are turned on. Further, we
recommend that the ceiling lighting above the circulation desk is used, and that additional

signage is added to indicate where the middle school books are located.

A larger-scale consideration is to move the story time area away from the area that

teachers use for whole group instruction. There are cafe tables that are in front of a large interior

window that could be relocated to the current story time area, and the story time area would be

located where the cafe tables are. Often, when students are using the cafe tables, they are

working independently, and less like to distract the class at the wooden tables. Further, we

recommend that the school invests in more modern, comfortable seating. Students are allowed to

bring their own devices, and many students would enjoy and work more productively if they had

options of where to sit. For complete ease of traffic flow, we recommend moving the COW to

an outlet along a wall, so that it doesn’t block anyone while it’s charging. Additionally, to

support the school’s mission of engaging learners through artistic expression, we’d recommend

changing some of the art in the media center from professional artists’ work to student work.

To conclude, there are a lot of positive qualities to Garrison Media Center in that it holds

a lot of technology for students to engage in different learning tasks, a variety of seating to

support different ways of collaboration, and a lot of different areas where students are able to

learn.
 Works Cited

American Association of School Librarians. (2013). ​Empowering Learners: Guidelines for

School Library Media Programs.​ Chicago, IL.

Johnson, D. (2013). ​The Indispensable Librarian: Surviving and Thriving in School Libraries in

​ inworth Publishing Company.

the Information Age Second Edition. L