Students may have been surprised upon entering the library for the first time at the start of this year to find it substantially rearranged.
The librarians implemented changes after receiving feedback from a survey of last years seniors.
The survey, consisting of 21 questions, asked seniors what they use the library for, how they feel about the accessibility to its resources and if they had any suggestions for improvement, among other questions.
One of these changes, the expansion of the “silent section” over the “talking section” engendered mixed feelings.
Junior Ellie Flammia welcomed the enlarged silent area.
“I like it personally because I’m not usually here with a bunch of other people,” Flammia said. “I get socializing in the library because I’ve been there, but as someone who’s trying to get work done, it doesn’t help having a lot of people talking in the library.”
But senior Ezra Coopersmith is not too thrilled to have this preferred section reduced to roughly one-third of the library.
“I know that the staff probably didn’t like the set-up last year because it got really loud, but personally I think it was fine,” Coopersmith said. “The fact that students will sometimes chat and the volume might get a little out of hand is always something you will have to deal with in the library. It’s not worth going to great lengths to rearrange everything.”
Librarian Shelly Mains explained the change. According to Mains, some survey responders said that they wanted the freedom to talk all over the library as much as they wanted. However, many more preferred a quiet library, and that is the direction the librarians decided to go with.
“It was always supposed to be quiet study in the library, but we’re just sort of saying ‘silent study’ just to make his clear to students,” said Mains.
In addition, the librarians have made and will make adjustments in the hopes that all students can have an overall better library experience. Already, the fiction section shifted to long rows in the middle of the library and the textbooks have been moved to actual shelves, both for easier access.
Many hard-copy books have been replaced with electronic versions. According to librarian Ann Collins, additional computers will be put at the large table in the silent study area, and the library will be getting a new printer that doesn’t jam so frequently.
Furthermore, students can now check-out one of the e-reader Kindles that the library purchased at the end of last year and even request books to be put on it.
According to the librarians, it is in their best interest to offer as many improvements to the library as possible. They think an increased level of silence is one of them.
However, Mains made it clear that the librarians and other monitors are not trying to act the part of dictators of silence.
“If two students are going over an assignment together, that’s fine. People don’t have to have their lips zipped for the entire time,” said Mains. “But it is really aiming to be an environment where kids can work quietly to get their work done.”
