After returning to the profession as a school librarian this year, I quickly realized a critical gap. In my previous positions, I had always worked with at least one talented adult paraprofessional who handled decorations and displays. Now, as the sole teacher librarian, I was concerned. Creative ideas came easily, but the execution—making it look professional, appealing, and polished—was rarely my strength.
I knew I couldn't ignore this essential component of library visibility and community engagement. I needed a sustainable solution that would turn my personal challenge into a programmatic opportunity. The answer, I soon discovered, was right in front of me: my students.
The Experiment: Putting Students in Charge
With several student workers lined up for the 2025-2026 school year, I immediately began assessing their talents. I noted that I had students with particular strengths in drawing, coloring, and digital design.
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| "Fall Ball" Display |
I began challenging the kids to come up with display concepts. Among the first was a Fall Sports display. We used items already in the library, and one student who was good with Canva designed vibrant, professional signage. It was an immediate success, drawing daily traffic to the decorated shelf.
Next, they decided to create a September 11th display. Since I am in the Army National Guard, I provided a folded American Flag for the centerpiece. The kids used the OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog) to find and curate appropriate titles. The display was another big hit, and we tracked an increase in circulation for the historical titles the students had selected. This showed me the power of peer-to-peer influence—students are often the best selectors for their peers.
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| September 11 Display |
Seasonal Engagement
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| Ghost in the stacks |
As we rolled deeper into fall, I challenged the kids to help decorate for Halloween. We found ideas for ghost cut-outs to place within the book stacks. Multiple class periods of workers created these ghosts daily beginning in mid-September, and they all seemed to enjoy it; some students would even come in at lunch to work on additional ghosts. My larger class designed a fun "monster" character for the book drop, and by October 1st, it was all installed. We even created a library promotional video skit featuring the book return monster!
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| The "Book Return Monster" |
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| White Board Art |
Our Halloween themed video skit featuring the book return "monster".
By this point, I noticed the kids were taking greater ownership of the space. When we looked through the stored November decorations, the kids wanted to make their own. One student's mother is very crafty, and he asked her to help make new turkeys, pumpkins, and other items, which turned out great! The students also designed a custom turkey for the book drop display and took the lead on building that.
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| Thanksgiving themed decor provided by a parent |
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| "Hunt for a Good Book" Display |
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| "Hunt for a Good Book" Display |
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| Book return "turkey" |
Once that was complete, we moved on to December. We made paper snowflakes, Christmas trees, and wreaths together. I bought a tree but purposefully didn't purchase ornaments. The students designed paper ornaments, colored them, and laminated them for longevity. The final touch was a fantastic student-designed gingerbread man themed book drop display that turned out perfectly.
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| Gingerbread Man themed book return |
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| Student made ornaments |
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| Decoration production line at work |
The Impact: More Than Just Decorations
Reflecting on this process, I realized that I had been missing huge opportunities for student buy-in during my 2008–2020 tenures as a school librarian. My perceived weakness became a catalyst for empowering my students.
I asked some of the students to tell me how they felt about decorating the library. Their responses seem centered on feeling proud, expressive, and being empowered to help others.
"It made me feel creative and proud of my work." - LC
"It helps me realize how much I can help people find a book just by putting a display together with genres they might not usually pick" -HH
"It showed me that we can be creative" - JE
"It (is) fun for me and it helps me calm down... I love to do art and I love to decorate..." - EN
"It allows me to see others' creativity... It allows me to express myself through my art and displays." -PC
The benefits of handing over this creative responsibility have been significant:
Increased Buy-In: I believe students now view the library as "their space," fostering deeper respect and a strong sense of community.
Skill Development: Students gain real-world experience in visual design (Canva), teamwork, project management, and theme selection.
Amplified Visibility: Student-led displays are more likely to resonate authentically with their peers, directly driving increased circulation and engagement.
Time Savings for Me: My time is now freed up some to focus on essential librarian duties, such as collection development, instruction, and managing student workers.
Moving forward, I will always look for opportunities to engage student creativity through library displays and decorations. It is powerful to give kids ownership in this way, and I believe other students see this and are inspired by it.
I am confident there will be more creativity blooming in the months ahead. What display themes should we tackle next semester to keep this momentum going? I can't wait to see what is next!
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