School Librarian Austin Independent School District
The large craft area that I made for free has made the library a more useful resource to the school community. Now, students do not need to rely on their family's finances or availability to produce impressive work for school projects. Teachers spend less of their own money, coming to the library first before they go to the grocery store. In the library, students can make posters, sew, do origami, or string a necklace (to name a few). The best part is that I created this resource for free by clearing shelves through weeding, pulling together unused school/office supplies from around campus, and asking my community for donations. Most people donated nothing, but a few people donated a lot! Frequent users of the space (often crafty people), replenish it themselves by bringing their own unused craft supplies. A sign above the craft area provides all the instructions one needs to use the space: "Give what you can, take what you need."