1. Where the Library Lives:
Questions of Space and Relevance for
Scholastic's Corporate Library
SternPracticum.wordpress.com
Amy Stern
LIS 698 Seminar & Practicum
May 1, 2012

2. My Role at Scholastic
Cataloging
Corporate reference services
Shelving/paging/circulation & assisting with
archival maintenance

3. Project Identification
Where the Library Lives: Questions of Space and
Relevance for the Scholastic Library
Space is a crucial issue for libraries and can
reflect struggle to show value.
The Scholastic Library has suffered a loss of very
visible space within Scholastic’s corporate
headquarters.

4. Project Identification
Where the Library Lives: Questions of Space and
Relevance for the Scholastic Library
I examine where their current physical
collections are located within the Scholastic
building, as well as their own physical work
spaces, and explore the extent of their presence
on digital mediums.

5. Project Identification
Where the Library Lives: Questions of Space and
Relevance for the Scholastic Library
I look for examples of how they have adapted.
I also examine how their situation relates to that
of other corporate libraries and what strategies
for the future these libraries might employ.

6. Loss of Space
Previous space was highly visible and acted as a
showpiece within the building

7. Loss of Space
Previous space was highly visible and acted as a
showpiece within the building

8. Physical Space
Need better work space for library services and for
interacting with other Scholastic employees
Second floor library office
Second floor collections
Sub-basement archives

9. Digital Presence
Company Intranet
Catalog
On Our Minds @
Scholastic Blog

10. Digital Presence

11. Digital Presence

12. Digital Presence
BookPrint

13. Some Strategies
Weeding
Visibility through space that you have
Align goals of the library with those of the
company

14. Thoughts for the Future
Libraries are losing space: libraries need to
adapt in order to stay relevant.
If collections are not visible, librarians and their
services should be.

15. References
Fletcher, A., Franklin, M., Garcyznksi, J., Gilbert, G., Mathis, S., & Wang, P. (2009). Saving special
libraries in a recession: Business strategies for survival and success. Information
Outlook, 13(5), 37-43. Retrieved from http://www.sla.org/pdfs/sla2009/SavingSL.pdf
Guill, K.L. (2009). Arguing for space in an user-focused environment. Library & Archival
Security, 22(2), 115-123. doi: 10.1080/01960070902869733
Niegaard, H. (2011). Library space and digital challenges. Library Trends 60(1), 174-189. Retrieved
from http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/library_trends/v060/60.1.niegaard.html
Simon, C. (2011). An examination of best practices and benchmarking in corporate libraries.
Journal of Management Development, 30(1), 134 – 141. doi: 10.1108/02621711111098433
Zeeman, D.; Jones, R., & Dysart, J. (2011). Assessing innovation in corporate and government
libraries. Computers in Libraries, 31(5), 6-11, 13, 15. Retrieved
from: http://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/jun11/Zeeman_Jones_Dysart.shtml
Pictures from On My Mind @ Scholastic (oomscholasticblog.com)