A New Look in the Library

I was lucky enough to pick out some new furniture for our library. There were definitely a few hiccups along the way and we are still working some things out, but the students and I are loving the new look, especially the soft seating!

The furniture is from Steelcase. The bin shelving is from Library Furniture International.

One of the issues we are having with the Steelcase Verb table is some inconsistencies in the edge. The gap between the side and the top is larger in some places than others. For example, here is a picture:

Steelcase is working with us to fix this problem but it is definitely not what we expected. I also had the wrong order get placed by my district. I didn't actually keep the couches in my final order since we wanted things to be easy to move around. I ordered all narrow (18" tables) and more chairs to go in our lab space, but ended up with some wide tables and only 30 chairs instead of 53. My district is working to fix this problem. 

Finally, when I ordered the bin shelving I was worried that the top shelf would be too high for my young students to browse through. The representative gave me measurements and assured me it would be fine, giving me examples of other places that had it, including public libraries. Now that it has finally arrived, I am finding my fears were correct. My young students cannot flip through that top shelf. I asked for a quote to see how much it would be to replace the top shelf with just a display shelf. Otherwise I will be removing the top shelf and just keeping the bottom two and filling them fuller. 

Even though overall I am happy with the results and so are the students, I definitely have some regrets about the process. I was surprised that several different big name vendors started working with us and then seemed to "vanish" around February - March, and that some representatives have proved to be difficult to work with. Mistakes were made by vendors, our district business office, and me. I should have been more careful, insisting that I see samples of the product (even if it meant me driving out to another library or school). I will be working to fix some of these mistakes throughout this school year. Meanwhile, I'll enjoy the colorful, inviting look in my new space.