How to Decorate a School Library

Tap to Read ➤ Puja Lalwani

Here are some simple ideas that will transform a school library from a perceived boring space to a vibrant, warm one. Take a look.

Libraries are often associated with dingy, quiet spaces, where there is only pin-drop silence and nothing else to look at apart from books.

However, over time, people have realized that libraries have to look warm and welcoming in order to make students want to go there and enjoy any kind of work they wish to carry out in its premises, be it leisure reading, completing an assignment, or studying for an upcoming test.

We all know the difference a pop of color or any minor change makes in a room and on our mood. It makes us want to work and achieve something. Yes, if there is too much decoration, it is obviously going to distract us, but if it is just the right amount, it could do wonders to the general old perception of a school library. Let's see some ideas...

School Library Decorating Ideas

Now, not everyone has an over-the-top budget to go and decorate a school library and change its appearance completely. However, there are still some very simple ways in which it can be given a refreshing look and made bright. Here are some decorating tips and ideas that will help.

✒ If there are movable book racks in the library, shift them around and change the layout of the library. A little shifting can make a whole world of a difference.

✒ Stand-alone book racks can be used to carve out specific reading or study areas, by arranging them in say a circular shape. This idea would work best if there were half-height book racks to make say a circle or a square, within which tables and chairs could be placed for working.

✒ Rearrange books in the bookshelves so that their covers are visible, instead of their sides. This will take up a lot of space but you could definitely have one or two sections designed in this manner, so that the covers add the much-needed dash of color to the library.

✒ Near bookshelves, on colored paper, print out lists of must-read books, whether they are educational or fiction/non-fiction. These lists will not only inform students and reduce time spent looking for books, it will also make the space vivid and bright with the use of color.

✒ Increase the amount of light used in the library by hanging lamps and placing floor lamps. These are available at low costs in flea markets and the like, and can be beautifully used to give the library a whole new look.

✒ Libraries should be able to refresh students' minds, and to do so, a great idea is to place plants. Even if you place artificial plants, the refreshing green color will breathe in some freshness into this space. Further, artificial plants are available in bright orange and yellow colors so you could create a beautiful melange of colors in the library.

✒ Make signage that guides students to different areas in the library. Use names of popular authors for different sections, or of terms associated to specific subjects. These signs could be in different shapes and colors that hang from the ceiling, or may be placed on stands with arrows pointing toward those sections.

✒ Paint the floor to demarcate different sections and areas such as reading areas, book sections, etc. An interesting idea is to paint a pathway on the floor that will guide students to different sections in the library, with the signage painted on them.

For instance, an arrow from the entrance to the mathematics section could be painted in red with mathematics written across it.

✒ Finally, add bulletin boards, rugs on the floors, and other such things in the library to decorate it and keep it looking lively and inviting.

Of course, libraries can be decorated in terms of big events coming up in the school or by the season or festival. These however are temporary changes, and for slightly permanent changes, the aforementioned ideas will definitely help you out well.

Try them out and get a little more creative to come up with some wonderful ways of decorating a school library, and see how students throng to it. Good luck!