When da Vinci Academy staff decided to move and remake the library, they didn’t look past the front doors for ideas.

Fourth- and fifth-grade students were part of the process from start to finish at the elementary school in Academy School District 20. Volunteers are busy this summer finishing the vision that blossomed as they shift books, set up furniture and decorate.

Students measured the old library and shelving, planned how best to use the new space and worked out decorating schemes, including colors, furniture and other accents.

“It was really fun,” said incoming fifth-grader Luke Wieland, 10. “It was cool to see how everything turned out.”

The da Vinci staff started thinking early this year about moving the library from a classroom space to a larger, open loft area in the center of the school.

The loft area was a little-used teacher lounge. The library is now adjacent to a large collection of computer stations, pulling together book research with online tools, she said.

“The library is in the center — the hub — of the school,” Vickie Morrissey, technology coordinator.

The involvement of students was aimed at strengthening the skills of students in a talented and gifted math class, said Principal Cindy Fesgen.

But it wasn’t presented to the students as a math project, said Stacy Guerin, intermediate talented and gifted teacher. The task was to create a new library that everyone in the school would enjoy, she said.

The 17 kids were given some guidelines, such as including a check-out station, computer space, instructional area and plenty of shelving for a growing book collection. They worked in teams of six, and there was a lot of brainstorming during the weeks of the project.

“We tried to give them a lot of freedom,” Guerin said.

Students used blueprints of the upstairs loft space, and spent a lot of time measuring details to be used in a computer design program.

“That was not the fun part,” Luke said, talking about measuring.

“Probably the best part was designing the space,” said 10-year-old Kevin Barone, incoming fifth-grader.

Elements from all teams are being incorporated, Morrissey said.

Social and communication skills were also part of the lesson plan, since the students gave presentations to a committee and the D-20 school board in the spring.

“If you use more teamwork, it definitely goes faster,” Luke said, adding that group work forced them to work out problems together.

Most students in the school helped in some way, if only by spending a portion of recess inside boxing books.

Tracy Schneider, teacher-librarian, is looking forward to using the new library.

“There are all kinds of ways they can use the library and the space,” she said.

Colorful chairs and stools are scattered around the three “wings.” In the center, a colorful rug and chairs are in front of the gas fireplace. One student team suggested the arrangement so teachers could relax.

The school’s parent-teacher organization gave about $3,000, which has covered materials used thus far, and some money remains, Fesgen said.

Students, parents and staff are working on the new library space this summer. A grand opening event is planned for an evening in the fall, so older students can return to see the fruits of their labor, Fesgen said.

“It’s a bigger space and it’s new,” Kevin said. “People usually like new things.”

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