The Penny Pinching Librarian

One side with foam, one without.  Our library got a new Kingston book drop about a year ago.  We love it, but we had one problem with the carts.  The gap between the movable bottom of the cart and the walls of the cart was too big and books kept sliding through to the ground.  When it rained or snowed, the bottom of the book drop was wet, so the books would get ruined.  Once I figured out what was going on it was an easy fix.  I purchased some foam door/window insulation stripping from a local hardware store. It is a self adhesive kind, 1/2 inch thick.  I cut it to length, carefully stuck it right to the movable cart bottom facing the cart wall.  Voila, no more books can slide down the side.  All the needed tools.  One side installed.

Last year our library did a children's event called "The Fairytale Ball." I wanted it to be a real experience for the kids, one that would transport them into a fairy tale world for an afternoon.  To do that I needed great decorations, but I didn't have a big budget to work with.  I wanted to make our city's council chambers (We don't have a big program room) into a ballroom, so I turned to tulle.  Tulle, you may say, is not that cheap.  Actually it is, if you get it at the right place.  The Tulle Shop is an online store that has 40 yard bolts of 54in wide tulle in a variety of colors for about $6/bolt.  They also have great prices on other widths of tulle and on both satin and cross grain ribbon.  They do charge shipping, but even with that added in it is a great buy. In my experience they get you your order in about a week.  Here is what I did with 3 bolts of tulle and 2 rolls 1 1/2 in. satin ribbon, total price less than $50.

When I became a new library director, I found some unused shelves in a storage room and decided to install them.  They were cantilever style shelves but I didn't have any end panels for them.  I looked on the standard library supply websites and was staggered to see that they charged $200-$400 per shelf end panel!  As far as I could tell they were just press board with laminate coating.  I walked around my local hardware store to see if there was something I could use instead.  No real luck there.  Then I was cruising on Amazon and found Lorell Utility Table Tops .  They were the right width, 24 inches, for my cantilever shelves and had the cherry finish I needed to match the other shelves in my library.  They had different lengths, longer for my tall shelves and shorter for my shorter shelves. The lengths weren't exactly right, but I am handy with a jigsaw, so I ordered them.  When they arrived I was pleased with the quality and look.  Here is how I installed them. I me