In the past, libraries have been seen as quiet places where lovers of books can go to read in silence. Now, they are changing into something much greater than a bibliophile’s get away, starting with our own school library.
This year’s changes to the Hamburg High School library have a huge impact on student life. The library has several work areas in which students are no longer shushed at to be silent. The library is now seen as a place where students are invited to come together and work on team projects together.
Miss McCarthy is now located there and has all her classes there. She has had 24 years of experience of working in libraries at her alma mater, DeSales University, so the change is nothing new to her. Also, there are computers that the students can use, and Dr. Ryan has also moved her computers into the library, which are music lab Macintosh. People are welcome to use them for Garage Band, which makes music.
The library is seen as a collaboration of work areas which are located throughout the library, such as the book shelves, the tables, the smaller tables for group projects or hangouts, and the computer sections. Students are working on different projects all in the same room.
Another cool feature is that Mr. Hetrich’s Business Entrepreneurship class is making plans to create a coffee shop in the library. The class said that Mr. Spohn, the principal, and a few students came up with the idea. They want the library to have a college feel to it. The coffee shop would be selling coffee, tea, hot chocolate, snack items, and more possibly in the future. All in all, there are many news and upcoming updates to the library. It is still a library, full of books, but it is seen as a place where students can work on projects and still have easy access to the needed materials.