Like most school libraries, we end up with past copies of newspapers. Staff or students may not collect the papers they've paid for, plus there are the papers the library receives, and which we don't stockpile forever.
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These spare papers have a variety of uses around the school - the Visual Arts people use them for table protection, papier maché etc, other subjects use them for content. We've evolved a system to make it simple for the papers to find new homes, and simple for others to use.
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Herewith, the newspaper tubs.
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They are located in the library foyer, for several good reasons. Easy to find. Clear to see. Don't need to be pointed out by library staff (although we still do that, regularly). It's not the most elegant feature of the foyer, but it's functional, and works for our clientele and us.
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We separate out the two main papers, the broadsheet Herald and the tabloid Telegraph, because people sometimes want just one or the other, either because of size or content. We got two different colour tubs (they came from Bunnings Hardware, at around $13 each, from memory) so it was easy to say, if you want the Tele, it's in the red tub. It's worth buying reasonably durable tubs, as less durable ones tend to split/break. The labels include the mastheads as another visual cue as to which paper is in which.
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Sometimes the tubs get full, and we take papers to the paper recycling dumpster; but usually, we'll check with Art, and they'll want papers, getting another use out of them before they leave the school. The tubs have been working well for us - it's so much easier, when someone comes in search of newspapers, to say, "See the red and blue tubs by the door? You can take whatever you want from them."
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What you need: durable tubs, and a place to put them. Easy!
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Cheers, Ruth
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