After being closed since the beginning of the school year to allow renovations to be made to the space, the school library is now back open for students to enjoy. With the adjustments that were made, such as knocking down and repainting some of the walls and purchasing new furniture, the library now has more room for more students to collaborate and study. 

Despite the challenges that she says were brought forth by the temporary library, school librarian Amanda Pata believes that more students have started to check back into the space. 

“I think just having the big space back we are seeing students who spent a lot of time here pre-renovation have started to come back,” Pata said. “They stopped coming when it was just a double classroom because they didn’t have as much of an open area. Being able to sit by a window and see what’s going on outside makes a big difference to some students.”

Likewise, library assistant Renee Borowicz also notices more students spending time in the newly renovated space. With the renovations also came a new entrance to the library, now located on the south side of the B-building, which Borowicz believes has contributed to an increase in student visitors throughout the school day. 

“I think a lot of students are stopping by to see the library, especially [since] we have the new entrance where everybody can see the library,” Borowicz said. “So a lot of students are stopping by and they are really impressed. They look around and they love the way everything looks.”

The new entrance has brought students such as senior Grace Korkmaz to view the changes. Korkmaz believes that the renovation was much needed and the new library will now be able to offer more services to students as well as a quiet place to take advantage of inside the building.

“The new library offers me a calm space to get work done, read a book and just hang out,” Korkmaz said. “It also allows me to have flexible seating options no matter what business I am there for. The library in general gives a space for student collaboration, as well as an environment dedicated to learning.”

Similar to Korkmaz, freshman William Murray also sees benefits in the new changes made to the library. Murray believes that the new renovation and open concept of the space allows for more students to have a relaxing place to reside during school hours. 

“The removal of the unused walls between the unused rooms allows for this more open plan for the library that I really liked,” Murray said. “It makes it a more comfortable space in the morning for doing work. It helps put me in the right mindset to do homework or take a test there.”

With the updated and open floor plan of the library comes the opportunity for additional tables and chairs to be added to the empty areas. This creates more space for seating that students can use independently or when working together as a group. Korkmaz emphasizes the benefits of these tables that she believes many students may overlook.

“Something that should be taken more advantage of is the white board tables that we have because they are a great way to illustrate ideas to everyone at the table, as well as try out certain ideas or thoughts for yourself,” Korkmaz said. 

Because of the features, old and new, that students are now able to utilize in the renovated library, such as books, quiet spaces and group work spaces, Borowicz believes that students will be able to receive tremendous benefits from the updated space.

“The library in general benefits the students,” Borowicz said. It can be a space where you can work quietly, or work as a group. We have technology and then we have lots of books where kids who love to read can do research projects from.”

Additionally, Pata also recognizes the benefits that students can receive through attending the library. Through the wide variety of services that the updated library has to offer, Pata hopes to see more students utilizing all of the new features in the innovative space.

“We want to make sure that we have students come in whenever they have open time,” Pata said. “I think students who have been here have started to use the spaces but not all students have been in to see everything yet.”

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