(Published in Delve Magazine, October 2023)
The School Library of yesterday is going through a metamorphosis. Teachers and librarians are struggling with how to make these spaces relevant to Gen Z and Gen Alpha, the children of the digital age. As they wrestle with how to attract and engage young users with a more engaging and experiential offering, they are adding maker space, multi-media, collab areas, and "peace corners" to a space that was once filled with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. But the "build it and they will come" approach to redefining media centers is not enough. What would happen if we adapted some of the same design principles used by the leading Gen Z/Gen Alpha retailers, based on the psychology of consumer behavior, to create inviting, functional, and user-centric library spaces?
This article examines some of those principles and proposes how they might be applied to K-12 media centers. Download the reprint below.