Using Inquiry to Rebuild a Library from the Ground Up

I started the 2025-26 school year in a new role as the District Librarian for the Jefferson Union High School District. As District Librarian, I would be covering five schools. In this role, the Library Media Technicians are looking to me to bring everything together across the district and make their individual school site libraries work. 

My inquiry, in the 21CSLA and Lead by Learning Librarian Leader Community of Practice, at the beginning of the year started with wondering how I could make the five different sites the same. The same process, the same events, the same books. I thought that supporting the different sites in my district equitably meant supporting them in the same way. However, I changed my focus to one school site mid-year because I realized that this was not going to work. My “ah-ha moment” was during one of the Library Community of Practice meetings with Lead by Learning in December. I realized I needed to focus on restoring library services at the one site that needed it most. I realized that equity in time or site visits did not mean that each site was served equally.  

When I first began to focus on my highest need site, I realized I needed to put together the puzzle of what had happened there and what needed to be done to provide structure and library services. At the onset, there was no data and no traditional library. I found myself organizing the catalog, instituting a check-out process, and relabeling and weeding out the small number of books that were left on very small shelves. The school site in focus serves close to 1,300 students. The ratio of library books to students was roughly 0.5 books per student. The challenge was:

• Students were not coming into the library,
• There was no preexisting data for checkouts 
• I was only at the site one day a week
• The library space was being used for purposes other than a library:  advisory, testing, meetings, and even a Biology Failures study group. 

Everything and anything was happening in the space, but a traditional library. 

I was curious to know: What were students reading? What did they want to use the space for? 

I shifted my inquiry question to this focal site as a way to start building a new library. My goal was to find a way to increase circulation and library visits, even if only a small amount. I wanted a grand opening, but the problem, as I saw it, was that this space was not really a library at all and had not been for some time. I wanted to restore and reimagine the space as not just a library but a safe space for all to enjoy. This matters to me because the three other school sites in the district have supportive library spaces. I want the same for this school and these students. From the sessions with the other librarians alongside Lead by Learning, I have discovered that I should look for one thing that I value the most in previous libraries and try to support that one goal, versus trying to do too much all at once. For me, this was access to books and authors. I love books, and I love connecting students to them. 

Once I identified my focus with the support of my librarian colleagues from different districts, I hit the ground running, and I tried:

• An author visit
• Increase our Graphic Novel collection
• Moving bookshelves near the door for browsing and access
• Adding a self-checkout station

As a result of my inquiry, data is growing. What started as 2 circulations became 25, and by the end of the year, 80. Progress is being made, and the small changes are working. I also began to observe more students coming to the library during lunch and brunch. 

What’s next for me and this reimagined library space?

I am wondering about spending more time at the site. Based on the momentum of the author visit, I can ask them back, promote more, and have a better turnout. My next steps are to collect a survey at the beginning of the year and attempt a grand opening. I am also thinking that now that I am better prepared than I was at the beginning of the year, I have more tools and support that I can use and rely on.  

The impact of this Community of Practice fills a gap that was missing in my library service. A former district had meetings quarterly to ensure that librarians were learning from each other and making connections that would improve their daily workflow. What I have found is that the gap has been filled by this community of shared ideas and thoughts so that I can rejuvenate myself and others. As a Librarian, I can validate that community matters first.

Karen Mackey is the Librarian for the Jefferson High School Union District, covering 5 Schools via magic. She has been in education for over 24 years, holding credentials in English and Librarian Studies with a Master of Arts in Librarianship from Azusa Pacific. Constantly learning, she has recently taken up photojournalism to refresh her aging undergraduate minor. She lives in San Francisco, CA with her husband and new puppy.

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