The Shoestring Library

An organized collection of budget saving methods, materials, and strategies, these tips are all tried-and-true examples of ways to stretch the media specialist's budget and time, and change even the drabbest library into an inviting oasis of learning.

The Shoestring Library offers hope, incentive, and direction to librarians who lack everything but passion. The book is organized around 300 hints--more than 114 of which are green alternatives--for administering a library in tough times. The book is divided into two parts, Support Functions and Physical Plant. The support section investigates such topics as how to best use volunteers and how to get free materials for your library. The physical plant section, amply supplemented with dozens of photos, helps a librarian identify and fix problems with dismal walls, ceilings, windows, shelving, desks, seating, and lighting, proposing low-cost or no-cost solutions to all these woes.

Instructions are practical and thorough, concentrating on reuse, re-purposing, and recycling, and each idea is reversible. For quick access, chapters sport distinctive icons; time-management tips, for example, are distinguished by an alarm clock. Designed for institutions from preschools through college, The Shoestring Library proves that there is no expiration date on learning.