Setting Up a School Library: A Resource Guide
ALA Library Fact Sheet Number 16b
"How do I set up a library?" is a question the American Library Association receives from people in a wide range of situations. In some cases, the need is to organize a large personal or office collection; in others it is to set up a library where there is, at the beginning, only the desire to have library service where there is none, such as in a village where a Peace Corps volunteer is working.
Establishing a new library, or developing an existing collection of books and other materials into a library, involves several functions: creating the oversight or governance structure, defining the mission and purpose of the organization, securing funding, planning, developing a collection, securing or building an appropriate space, equipping the space, and marketing services. In all cases, planning for the collection should come first:
For information on starting a school library, begin with the AASL Essential Links: Resources for School Library Media Program Development Wiki compiled by ALA's American Association of School Librarians (AASL, a division of ALA <http://www.ala.org/aasl>):
AASL Essential Links: Resources for School Library Media Program Development Wiki
- Starting a School Library Media Program from Scratch
- Collection Development - General
- Standards and Guidelines
- Facts and Figures
- Facilities
- Library Funding
Additionally, each state will have specific resources available through governmental and library agencies, such as:
- Your state department of education, as they may have some guidelines
- Your state school library association (known as the AASL Affiliate Assembly)
- Your state library
- Your state and regional library association (which are chapters of ALA)
Selected books by ALA/AASL and other publishers
American Association of School Librarians. Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs . Chicago: American Library Association, 2009.
---. Standards for the 21st-Century Learner (Download the free Adobe Reader PDF from this page, available in high and low resolution). Chicago: American Library Association, 2009.
---. Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in Action . Chicago: American Library Association, 2009.
Bush, Gail (ed.) and American Association of School Librarians. School Library Media Programs in Action: Civic Engagement, Social Justice, and Equity . Chicago: American Library Association, 2009.
Coatney, Sharon (ed). The Many Faces of School Library Leadership. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Libraries Unlimited, 2010.
Downs, Elizabeth. The School Library Media Policy and Procedure Writer. New York: Neal-Schuman, 2009.
Farmer, Lesley S.J. and Marc E. McPhee. The Neal-Schuman Technology Management Handbook for School Library Media Centers. New York: Neal-Schuman, 2010.
Kerby, Mona. Collection Development for the School Library Media Program: A Beginner's Guide. Chicago: American Library Association, 2006.
Martin, Barbara Stein and Marco Zannier. Fundamentals of School Library Media Management. New York: Neal-Schuman, 2009.
Montiel-Overall, Patricia, and Donald C. Adcock. School Library Services in a Multicultural Society. Chicago: American Library Association, 2008.
Morris, Betty J. Administering the School Library Media Center. 5th ed. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Libraries Unlimited, 2010.
Nebraska Educational Media Association. Guide for Developing and Evaluating School Library Programs. Santa Barbara, Calif: Libraries Unlimited, 2010.
Rosenfeld, Esther and David V. Loertscher, eds. Toward a 21st-Century School Library Media Program. Lanham, MA: Scarecrow Press, 2007.
Santa Clara County (Calif.). Where Do I Start?: A School Library Handbook, Second Edition. Santa Barbara, California: Linworth, 2012.
Toor, Ruth, and Hilda K. Weisburg. New on the Job: A School Library Media Specialist's Guide to Success. Chicago: American Library Association, 2007.
Vance, Anita L, and Robbie Nickel. Assessing Student Learning in the School Library Media Center. Chicago: American Library Association, 2007.
Wasman, Ann M. New Steps to Service: Common-Sense Advice for the School Library Media Specialist. Chicago: American Library Association, 1998.
Woolls, Blanche. The School Library Media Manager. 4th ed. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2008.
--- and David V. Loertscher. Whole School Library Handbook 2. Chicago: ALA, 2012 [scheduled for release Fall 2012].
- See the complete list of AASL Books & Products.
- See the Books for School Librarians section of the ALA Online Store, which brings in a broader range of library topics.
Selected periodicals by ALA/AASL and other publishers
AASL Hotlinks. American Association of School Librarians (AASL). Published monthly. E-Mail newsletter sent to AASL members with valid e-mail addresses on file in the ALA member database. See AASL Hotlinks main page for more information, including AASL Hotlinks Advertising Rate Card (PDF) opportunities. Online archive of most AASL Hotlinks issues from April 2002 to the present available to AASL members only.
Knowledge Quest. Official journal of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL). Editor, Markisan Naso. ISSN 1094-9046. Published bimonthly, September through June. Sent to all AASL members as part of membership. Subscriptions for nonmembers: $50 per year for USA; $60 per year for Canada, Mexico, and all other countries. Single copies, including back issues, $12 each. Use ALA's online Subscription Order Form, or call 800-545-2433, press 5 or 1-312-944-6780, or send e-mail to subscriptions@ala.org. See the Knowledge Quest main page for more information, including the Knowledge Quest Media Kit for advertising opportunities available and instructions for registering with Metapress; online archive of Knowledge Quest issues from 2003 to the present available via Metapress to AASL members only.
School Library Media Research (SLMR). An official journal of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), AASL's online-only refereed research journal. Editors, Jean Donham, Carol L. Tilley. ISSN 1523-4320. See the School Library Media Research (SLMR) main page for more information. Online archive of all School Library Media Research (SLMR) issues from 1998 to the present available.
Additional school library print and online resources have been collected at the delicious account of this office, at:
http://www.delicious.com/alalibrary/schoollibs
Last updated: February 2012
For more information on this or other fact sheets, contact the ALA Library Reference Desk by telephone: 800-545-2433, extension 2153; fax: 312-280-3255; e-mail: library@ala.org; or regular mail: ALA Library, American Library Association, 50 East Huron Street, Chicago, IL 60611-2795.
