If you are looking at library furniture suppliers, look at those suppliers who will help you in not only fitting out a new library, but also in refurbishing old libraries. Libraries are meant to be places of comfort and warmth. A library should be welcoming. If you are building a new library, then absolutely you go with new and beautiful library furnishings. But if your library is just a little shabby around the edges, there is a lot you can do to uplift the look and feel of the library. Here are a few suggestions.
Paint and label the bookshelves
If bookshelves are wooden and you think your library needs a bit of colour, paint the bookshelves. You can use one colour or you can use multiple colours, it depends on the library furniture that you currently have. Bookshelves can be brightened up so easily with a splash of paint. Add decent labels to the bookshelves, with titles like Mystery, Thriller, Drama, Romance, Science, Literature, Poetry, etc, and make the titles big so they are easy to see. Ensure that the bookshelves are sturdy and cannot fall over, and also, that all the books are easily accessible.
Recover sofas, chairs or beanbags
If you have sofas in the library that are old and shabby, remember, they don't have to be perfect. You can recover old sofas, quite easily, or you can just add a bunch of brightly coloured scatter cushions. Scatter cushions are always a good idea as kids like to take cushions and read on the floor, and another brilliant idea is bean bags. Bean bags are not expensive and a few bean bags that kids can take into any corner of the library, sink into the beanbag and read, to their heart’s content. And note, even an old armchair is a good thing to have in a library. Reading should be encouraged, on the floor, in a beanbag, on a sofa, or curled up in an armchair. Anything goes, as long as it is comfortable.
Tables or desks
A library should always have tables or desks so that kids can sit and do their homework, write things, draw things, create things and read things. It’s nice to have some solo desks and desks that are grouped together for group work. Again, it’s okay if you don't have new tables and desks. If yours are old and wooden, sand them down for a new and shiny look. Add a lick of paint. Or even, use plastic tables or desks. Colour is good and as long as the student is comfortable doing whatever it is they need to do, and as long as it is practical too.
Chat to school furniture manufacturers about your library, tell them your plans and ideas and ask for their plans and ideas. School furniture suppliers are generally also library furniture suppliers and have a fabulous range of furnishings available, at wholesale prices.
