We had two days, 300 donated books, and absolutely no shelves. Here is how we figured it out.
The books arrived in cardboard boxes on a Friday morning. The school had cleared out a small storage room but had no furniture. By evening, our volunteer team had sourced wooden planks from a nearby carpenter, painted them green and white, and built four basic shelves. We sorted and labeled the books by Saturday afternoon. On Monday, students walked in and quietly ran their fingers across the spines. A boy pulled out a picture book, sat cross-legged on the floor, and started reading. The library has been open every day since.