great (free) way to snaz up your library

[cara delia]

I inherited a library from a librarian who had been in the same spot for 30 years!  Needless to say it is still stuck in the 1970's, including ancient Disney paintings, and asparagus green counters.  So the first thing I did was decide IT HAD TO GO!!!  I searched and searched for great asthetic libraries and couldn't find quite the idea I was looking for.  And...since I have NO wall space (literally, the school was an "open concept" school in the 70's and has no walls!)  I really had to think out of the box.  After cleaning everything out including an entire file cabinet with records from before I was born, I came across a cabinet that had every single jacket cover that the library had ever processed!  It was like an art museum in my hands!  I'm talking hundreds of beautifly preserved children's literature illustrations.  So, I laminated them and made beautiful mobiles to hang from the ceiling over the book cases.  They included Curious George, Tomie De Paola, Patricia Polacco, Little Critters, Dr. Seuss, and Henkesm to name a few.  Just thought I share this great idea, it really has come out cute.  It looks as if there are tons of art pieces "floating" from the ceiling.  And honestly what else do you do with a billion book jackets?

[Lisa B.]

Let's see photos! Sounds wonderful.

[Lisa Seaberg]

Pictures please! :o)

[Paula Daubert]

Cara, sounds great! I did a similar thing on a much smaller scale. I printed out book covers from the public library and hung them above our tables. It does snaz up things. I need to change them soon!

[Keith Schoch]

What a great idea! Book illustrations are truly as beautiful as any art hanging in any museum. The "wow" effect must have been awesome when visitors first saw these.

[cara delia]

Thanks everyone, I'll have to post pics soon.  The children love it!  i also had a used book fair where the children donated the books, and then we sold them for a $1.00 each.  We made about 350.00 in pure profit, so I've spent some of that on new decorations.  I've also splurged on a couple of rugs (can you believe there were NO rugs in a k-5 library?).  It's looking up!  Does anyone have any ideas on painting a plastic countertop?

[Beth Kiger]

Cara, it sounds beautiful.  I have painted furniture with laminate/plastic tops and use Grip from Home Depot to prime or BIN.  Sanded first.  It has been abused by my daughter..the paint has stayed on.

[cara delia]

Thinking about painting over the summer.  Was is a really messy process?  Unfortunately the circ desk is not coming out of the library to be painted LOL.

[Kirsten Gallagher]

What a great idea! I would love to see the photos.

[Jeannine Brown]

I am sure it is lovely, but does it pass fire code?  Our community's fire marshal inspects our school several times each year and nothing is allowed hanging from the ceiling.

[cara delia]

lol, that is the big "if"!  So far no one has said anything.  I think because it is laminated it might make a difference.  Also we have no walls, so the "only 35% of your walls are allowed to be covered" doesn't technically apply.  Cross your fingers!

[cara delia]

here are the pics I promised.

[Brenda Minter]

Thanks for the pics. I also have an excess of the jackets and would like to liven up our library. I'm going to check about the fire code and alarm system (someone told me that it might set off our alarm); but I hope that I am able to do something similar. Thanks again for the ideas.