Inexpensive Shelving Ideas

Greetings!

This week I am going to tell you how to get stuff for cheap. Or at least I can tell you how we have been able to add furniture and shelving to our library for very little money.

When we moved into the new school facility seven years ago, I had little furniture for the library. The shelving along the walls was custom built shelving and exactly fit the space in the old school. There originally was some talk of taking down the old shelving and moving it to the new school, but soon we all realized that this was not an option. The school was able to purchase new shelving along the walls and two magazine units. I was very grateful. We chose a light wood to match some stand alone shelf units we brought from the old school.

A local retired carpenter was hired to help cover the old low bookcases. He put the old bookcases back to back and covered them with a new top. He also custom built two new cases on casters that exactly matched the old ones. These were built for much less that would cost to purchase them. We were fortunate that our builder was willing to do this for much less money that he could normally charge. I rescued four shelf units (approximately 36 w x 30 h x 15 d) that teachers did not want and brought them into the library. Two are in the library proper and two are in my storeroom space.

For a short while we had some brick and board shelving while we were waiting for new shelves to arrive, but this can pose some safety issues and is not recommended. The shelves could topple over and harm a child. Shelves should be affixed to the wall or made very sturdy to avoid this problem.

By having Scholastic Book Fairs, I saved enough points over a few years to purchase furniture that I wanted and I have four pieces this way. I have a four-sided unit that swivels, a wooden library cart with shelves, and a two-sided unit that has a slanted top on each side. We keep dictionaries and other reference books in it. I also have a rolling two-sided unit with a space for sharing books and small shelves. I use that at times for story time.

Over the last ten years our area has had two or three stores go out of business and liquidate their stock. Usually we think of the clothing or items that were sold in the store, but if you think of the furniture, you can get some great things for very cheap. We have gotten Lucite holders and stands, wooden furniture, and sign holders this way.

If you think outside the box, you can obtain what you need for not too much money. Do you have a retired carpenter in your church? It may be that for the price of materials he or she would be willing to make the items you need. At least you can get an estimate. Did you notice a display or a poster in your local bookstore that you like? When they are finished with the display, they might let you have it. Take a look at your local flea market or garage sales and see if there is anything that might work in your library. A little cleaning or paint can really spruce up an old bookshelf.

You can make your library space look nice without spending a lot of money. I would love to hear of the ways you have saved money in your library space.

Have a good week,
Audrey