The new reference room has been moved farther back in the library and surrounded by windows. The room—which will not be completed for a few months, according to librarian Joanne Melinson—will eventually have tables that can flip down and nest against the walls.
The former reference room was a secluded room with bookshelves on the walls and a central table for studying.
But the remodeled room will be used for more than quiet study.
The remodel will allow students to use the library while Melinson teaches small classes in the reference room.
“If I am able to teach in there, high schoolers won’t be asked to leave as often because we’re too full,” Melinson said.
Students have mixed views on the changes.
“I’ll use the reference room more often if it actually cancels out sound,” sophomore Aidan Galati said. “Last year I used the reference room pretty much every free period because it was quiet and I could get work done.”
However, students fear the windows will get in the way of their studying, with people looking in constantly.
“I think I’ll be using it, not quite as much as last year, but a decent amount,” senior Grant Quattlebaum said. “What we do in there will be public, and people will have to deal with it.”
Meanwhile students have found alternative study spots, such as classrooms, the high-school quad and the tables in the main area of the library.
“I’ll study in the garden,” junior Erin Reddy said.
