As construction comes to a close, librarians Alanna Graboyes and Judith Watson enjoy their new library, complete with features for exploring both the past and future.
As an archive room preserves dated copies of LIFE and TIME magazines, the 4-C room looks to the future, with plans to enhance hands-on learning with 21st-century technology.
As Graboyes and Watson explained in an email, the archive room is designed like a courtroom library and intended as “a tribute to the book and the printed word.”
In addition to the magazines, the archive room also houses classics, a selection of George C. Marshall biographies and a print copy of the latest edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica.
Meanwhile, the 4-C room looks to help students “step into the future,” according to a pamphlet Graboyes and Watson produced. Also a pun on the word “foresee,” its name refers to collaboration, communication, creativity and critical thinking, skills the librarians hope to prepare students to use in the future.
The room will be equipped with new, state-of-the-art technology that will allow collaboration and communication with students around the world.
According to the Graboyes and Watson, the new library’s layout is based on that of a college library, with a primary focus on academics.
“If you create a higher-level environment, students will rise to meet those expectations,” Graboyes and Watson said.
In addition to the 4-C and archive rooms, the library features areas for group and individual study, as well as lounge seating.
The group study area features five interlocking puzzle tables with ample room for partner work. Both the individual and group study areas were based on student requests.
“I like the openness because you don’t get cramped and you can study,” sophomore James Bietz said of the group study area.
The new library also has a larger browsing area than last year’s space.
”Last year, I had a lot of trouble finding the books I wanted,” sophomore Abbey Garver said. “The library only had a select amount.”
The library may look different this year, but one thing about it has not changed: the positive attitude it brings to the school.
“We walk in every day with a smile,” Watson said.