I Never Planned to Genre-fy my Library

If someone had told me a year ago that I would completely reorganize my fiction section by genre, I probably would have laughed.

That wasn't the plan.

Not even close.

My original idea was actually pretty simple.

I wanted to help students find more books they would actually enjoy reading.

So, I started putting genre stickers on the spines of my fiction books. Nothing major. I wasn't planning to move books around or create genre sections. Honestly, I wasn't even sure I ever wanted to do that.

I just wanted students to recognize what they liked.

"Oh...I love mysteries."

"Fantasy is my favorite."

"Do you have any more books like this one?"

If the stickers helped students find another great book, I figured that was a win.

Then...

Life happened.

Our superintendent announced we were getting a new HVAC system throughout the school.

Wonderful!

Until he said...

"You'll need to remove every book from your library shelves."

Every.

Single.

Book.

Sooooo...

There I was, surrounded by tables piled high with books, wondering how in the world I was ever going to get everything back where it belonged.

I knew I didn't want to put the books back exactly the way they had been.

If I was ever going to genre-fy my library, this was the perfect opportunity.

But there was one problem.

I didn't have the signs.

I knew exactly how I wanted the library to look, but I couldn't find genre signs that matched the vision I had in my head.

So...

I stalled.

For several days, those books just sat on tables while I sat at my computer designing shelf signs.

Once I finally had the signs looking the way I wanted them, I realized something else.

Now my spine labels didn't match the signs.

Well...

That wasn't going to work.

So I designed matching spine labels too.

Only then did I finally begin putting the books back on the shelves—one genre at a time.

As the library slowly came back together, one project kept leading to another.

I created shelf signs.

Then matching spine labels.

Then student activities.

Then library orientation resources.

Then organizational tools.

Then teacher guides.

It just kept growing.

Kind of like a snowball rolling downhill.

Looking back, I smile because none of this was part of the plan.

I wasn't trying to create products.

I was simply trying to build a library that made sense for my students.

The products came later because I figured if these resources helped me, maybe they could help another librarian too.

Somewhere in the middle of all of that, I had another realization.

Maybe I wasn't the only librarian sitting in their library thinking...

"There has to be an easier way."

That's really where Prairie STEM Studio began.

Not because I woke up one morning and decided I wanted to sell educational resources.

It happened because I was creating resources I genuinely needed myself.

And if they made my job easier...

Maybe they could make someone else's easier too.

Today, when students walk into my library, they don't just see shelves full of books.

They see Mystery.

Fantasy.

Historical Fiction.

Sports.

Adventure.

Science Fiction.

They know where to begin looking for the kinds of stories they already love.

And honestly...

Watching a student head straight to their favorite genre without having to ask for help makes every hour of moving books worth it.

If you're thinking about genre-fying your library—or maybe you're just trying to survive your own unexpected school renovation—I hope you'll find ideas here that save you time, make your life a little easier, and maybe even inspire you to take that first step.

You never know where one unexpected project might lead.

🌾 From the Prairie

Sometimes the best opportunities show up disguised as inconveniences.

I certainly wasn't thanking our HVAC project while I was moving hundreds of books onto tables!

But looking back, I'm grateful it forced me to stop, rethink my library, and build something better for my students.

Funny how life works sometimes.

What started as a building renovation became a complete library transformation...and eventually the beginning of Prairie STEM Studio.

I'd love to hear your story.

Have you genre-fied your library? Are you thinking about it? Or has something completely unexpected happened at your school that ended up leading to a great idea?

I'd love to hear about it.

This is me in the process of Genre-fying! Everything is covered for the HVAC project, and I am busy making signs on my computer.

Author's Note:

This is the first post on From the Studio. My hope is to share ideas, successes, challenges, and the occasional unexpected adventure from my library and STEM classroom. Thanks for stopping by—I hope you'll visit again!