Out with the old and in with the new.

To make room for newer books and more advancements, the librarians continue to fulfill their main initiative of the year – weeding out old books – while also planning other changes for the library.  

This year’s new head librarian Barbara Johnson said “weeding” – the school’s method of choosing what books have to go – began at the beginning of the year. Any books falling apart or containing out of date information get tossed out so newer and more up-to-date books can take their place.

“You have to get rid of the old and ugly stuff for the good stuff to thrive,” Johnson said.

After getting rid of about 5,000 books, the librarians continue their search for new books to introduce. Most of the money spent this year went toward fiction books. The librarians completed many book series and introduced many new books, but they still struggle to fill the spaces of all the weeded books since the prices of books has risen.

“It’s not a one-for-one like we get rid of a book now we’re buying a new book,” Johnson said. “It’s a little bit more of a struggle.”

Even though the main initiative of the year still remains to dispose of old books and revitalize the library with new material, Johnson has other plans to make the library a better learning environment for all students, starting with her reorganizing the shelves and seating areas.

“We’re changing from a traditional library setting to what we call a ‘learning common setting,’” Johnson said. “Our goal is to provide environments for all different types of learning and all different types of work while students are in the library.”

Johnson has already changed the way the fiction books are organized to make it easier for students to find a book and check it out quickly and conveniently.

“High school students are very busy, and it’s difficult to even stop by at lunch. [Students are] busy with friends or busy finishing an assignment,” Johnson said. “So reading tends to lag; we’re hoping to make [the library] more accessible to students and make it easier for them.”

Johnson also hopes to add new computers in the library. Regulars in the library like senior Precious Thomas agree the change to increase computer areas for students would benefit everyone in the school.

“Adding computers [is] great,” Thomas said. “People come in and there’s no computers to use a lot of the time and kids have homework to do, or they don’t have a computer at home. So this is really helpful.”

Some additional changes Johnson hopes to see in the library within the year involve adding phone chargers available for students to check out on a regular basis, purchasing a 3D printer and even adding a green screen area into a corner of the library.

“We’re just going to keep up with what is required for projects and what students will need to check out on a limited basis,” Johnson said.

No matter what changes the library will encounter in the future, they always welcome new students to discuss and recommend new books to purchase. At least once every other month the librarians go to Barnes and Noble to purchase the new releases in order to keep the library updated.

“We buy the latest and greatest [and] we would love to put your books on the list and get them the next month when we have extra money,” Johnson said.