When I think of school, libraries are part of the picture that comes to my mind. They contain so many resources that can be useful to students, yet in all my time at Park, I have rarely used the abundance of resources that the libraries can provide, nor do I know anyone else who utilizes these resources regularly.
One specific time that I remember using the library was in ninth grade, when we frequently went down to visit and check out books. That was when the library was going through renovations, so it was moved to a different room. My friends and I developed a close connection to the school librarian, Alison Tsuchiya Theiler, and we were able to go a lot to check out and return new books. After that year, I never went with my class to the library and stopped checking out books because I could never find the time to stop in to return my books.
A resource at the library that I think is used a lot is the student printer, and occasionally classes will use the meeting rooms in the library. I think that these things are used simply because they are necessary for students, but resources like just checking out books a lot of times is not a requirement for students; therefore, it is not often done by students. Lots of money and time have gone into the opportunities and books presented and displayed for students, so this comes across as disappointing.
Something that I associate with libraries is the computer lab. In elementary school, that was a part of the library that was highly used since each student did not have their own personal device. Now, every student has an individual Chromebook. With that being said, many students heavily depend on the school library when they are dealing with technology troubles such as a broken Chromebook battery, a lost charger or a cracked Chromebook screen. That goes to show that while many students say that they do not use the resources at the Park library, there may be times when it is important for those library resources to be there for the students.
The Park library is one of the newly renovated areas of the school, and it disappoints me that it seems as though it goes to waste. Many times, students will be sitting in the link and they get kicked out due to strict rules. I also think that the library is closed at odd times and does not allow students to be in there, which makes it difficult for students to find a time to go check out a book. The study spaces in the library are ideal for catching up on studying, but there is never a super good time to use the spaces.
I personally love going to the public library to study and I find that I lock in the most on my work when I am there. I also have study hall in my schedule and it would be really nice if I had the opportunity to use the library space during that hour of my day but many times students get in trouble for just sitting in the link doing homework and it is preferred by the school that students are in their study hall classroom over the library. This can be frustrating because a lot of times, study hall volume levels can get really loud and obnoxious, making it difficult for students to focus. The library volume levels remain calm and quiet, which makes it the perfect study area for students.
Overall, I think that the Park library has many hidden gems and opportunities that can really help students out but, many students don’t jump on the chance to use these resources that could highly benefit them. I think that in the future, more classes should be able to go down to the library; and there should be more opportunities for students to go to the library instead of just a two-minute check-in to use the student printer. While there is not currently much use made of the school library, I think that there should be in the future.
