# Team Library Launch

Participants catalog shared books or digital resources, agree on borrowing etiquette, and recommend titles to each other. The group establishes a functional checkout system for ongoing shared learning.

**Time:** 25 minutes. UWT suggested 25-minute launch session based on Teampedia open-ended resource setup guidelines.
**People:** 4 to 24. Whole group introduction, subgroups of 2 to 4 for cataloging, and whole group norms alignment.

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Assemble a shared collection of learning materials and establish an agreed process for tracking checkouts and returns.
**Use it when:** Use when a team wants to pool physical books, manuals, or digital reading resources into an accessible shared collection.
**Skip it when:** Skip when the team lacks storage space or a shared file repository, has no interest in reading materials, or already maintains an active lending system.

## Materials and tools

- Shelving unit, bin, or designated table for physical books
- Index cards or sticky notes (one pack per subgroup)
- Pens or markers (one per participant)
- Printed or digital checkout log sheet (one copy)
- Initial collection of contributed physical books or digital resource printouts (minimum 1 to 2 items per subgroup, up to 24 items for full capacity)

## Before participants arrive

1. Place contributed books and resource printouts on a central table, ensuring at least 1 or 2 items per planned subgroup.
2. Display the checkout log sheet and set out index cards with pens next to the storage area.

## Say this to open

Today we are opening our team library. We will catalog our materials, agree on basic borrowing rules, and spotlight titles worth reading. Contributing and borrowing are optional.

## How to run it

### 1. Introduce the collection (4 minutes)

Deliver the opening script. Point to the central table of books and digital resource sheets. Explain that anyone who does not want to borrow or contribute is welcome to help index items or quietly observe.

### 2. Catalog and tag titles (8 minutes)

Form groups of 2 to 4. In-person groups take 1 or 2 items from the table. Write an index card using the Review Tag format (title, key topic, recommender) and tuck it inside the front cover. If physical items run low, in-person groups write cards for digital titles to place on the table. Remote groups enter their titles and tags directly into the shared log.

### 3. Agree on checkout norms (7 minutes)

Gather the whole group around the checkout log. Decide together on standard loan duration, such as two or three weeks, and how to mark returns. Record the agreed duration and return rule directly at the top of the log sheet.

### 4. Showcase recommendations and debrief (6 minutes)

Invite up to three volunteers to give a thirty-second pitch on a title they brought or want to read. Anyone ready to borrow fills in the date borrowed, resource title, and borrower name on the log. Ask one debrief question to close the session.


## Debrief questions

- Which of the showcased titles seems most relevant to our current work?
- What missing topic or skill should our next library purchase cover?
- How will we make sure borrowed items return reliably without nagging?

**Finished output:** A cataloged collection of tagged physical or digital resources paired with an active checkout log containing agreed loan rules.

## Remote

Use a shared spreadsheet with columns for Title, Format or Link, Topic or Key Reason, Recommender, and Current Borrower. Split participants into breakout rooms of 2 to 4 to enter their titles and brief summary tags directly into rows. Reconvene in the main room to agree on loan etiquette and take recommendations.

## Hybrid

Host the master checkout log in a shared online spreadsheet projected on screen. Assign in-person subgroups to physical books and remote participants to digital resources. In-person participants write physical tags and add their items to the projected sheet, while remote members populate spreadsheet rows directly so all items sit in one central list.

## Access and participation choices

- Include digital links, e-books, and audiobooks alongside physical print.
- Participants may opt out of speaking, contributing personal items, cataloging, or borrowing without giving a reason.

## If the session gets stuck

**Participants did not bring any books to the initial session.**

Provide 5 to 8 core company guides, handbooks, or seed books from team funds so the cataloging step proceeds.

**Books are borrowed but never returned to the shelf.**

Assign a volunteer library custodian to check the log and send a brief monthly reminder to current borrowers.


## Terms used here

- Checkout log: A shared sheet or digital document tracking resource titles, borrower names, checkout dates, and return dates.

## Participant material: Team Library Checkout Log

TEAM LIBRARY LOG
Standard Loan Period: [  ] Weeks
Return Process: [Check off returned date on this sheet and replace item on shelf]

Date Borrowed | Book / Resource Title | Borrower Name | Returned Date
--------------|-----------------------|---------------|--------------
              |                       |               |              
              |                       |               |              
              |                       |               |              
              |                       |               |              
              |                       |               |              

## Participant material: Short Review Tag Template

SHORT REVIEW TAG (Index Card or Sticky Note)
Title:
Key Topic / Why Read This:
Recommended By:

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in Teampedia as an ongoing team setup under CC BY-NC-SA 2.5.

Teampedia outlines 'Library' as an ongoing background concept without meeting steps. UWT structured the launch into a 25-minute participatory session with small-group cataloging, collective borrowing agreements, and explicit hybrid support.

[Teampedia](https://www.teampedia.net/wiki/Library)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/library/