This year, LHS is getting an upgrade. Along with a new field house on the way, there are other major changes coming to improve the high school.
One of the biggest changes is happening in the library. There is a lot to look forward to second semester, as The Nest, the school’s coffee shop, will be moved to the library and there will be new furniture for students to sit and work or just drink coffee. The LMC staff, and a few volunteer students, helped over the summer to organize the books in a more user-friendly fashion.
“There’s not so much remodeling or construction as there is re-organization,” library media specialist Glory Fagan said.
The changes were not quite as large as some might have thought.
“We’ve gone to a genre arrangement of our fiction, so that we have removed several of our books that are not highly circulating to a satellite location, which we can get to, so we have fewer books on the floor, but they’re arranged in a much more user-friendly system,” Fagan said.
The Excellence in Education grant, given by The Liberty School District Foundation, provides for the upgraded arrangement and other changes.
“[The new furniture] is what the grant is paying for.”
The Nest, which opened in 2011 in the mornings before school, will now be available to students all day.
“I think it will bring a lot more traffic through, which is an advantage in many ways,” library media specialist Christine Anderson said. “I think people who don’t normally come to the library, or don’t make it a stop, will find that we have a lot to offer. It’s great for us and also for those just looking for a coffee refreshment.”
Many students are excited.
“I’ll like it better,” sophomore Samantha Bennett said. “It’ll be easier to get to [the coffee shop] than before. Last year, I had to get up from the library in the morning, walk to the cafeteria, get coffee and go back to the library and sit down.”
The coffee shop in the library was the idea of a few students looking to improve their school.
“One of the most exciting things for us is that we had five students who came up with this vision,” Anderson said. “It was in our Digital Information class, and it went from this very tiny idea that grew and grew into a grant and then support from Dr. Adams. It’s been amazing to see that. I think that everyone in the school should know that this was a student led initiative.”
The project was planned by students, for students to enjoy.
“They volunteered their time this summer too,” Anderson said. “Senior Kaleb [Kramer] came, as well as junior Clarissa Stewart. They were very, very helpful [in reorganizing the books].”
For the seniors, the feelings are somewhat bittersweet.
“It sucks [only being able to experience it for a semester],” senior Kaleb Kramer said. “Like Mrs. Anderson and Mrs. Fagan said, I helped out during the summer, and I do wish I could spend more time with the library, but the knowledge that I’m leaving something behind in the school makes me feel good.”
The changes were made to accommodate to a student’s technological and educational needs, while also appearing more attractive and enticing to students.
“I think it’s the atmosphere that it creates. I think the new format will draw people in,” Anderson said. “We really want to support the blending [of technology and education] but I do think our goal is also to increase reading and to entice people in to get books and read more often. We just want to keep people focused on reading books and enjoying reading, including eBooks.”
The new changes give library lovers a chance to relax and unwind in an improved setting.
“I think it’s my favorite place in the school, honestly,” Bennett said.