In grade school, there was a place that I used to love to go to after school when my parents could not pick me up. A small library with two tables and rows of books on shelves.
Reading for fun is something I do not do often, but when I found that one book in the library, I got lost in it. With a quiet room where it was just me and that book, I could just imagine everything that was happening.
When I was in eighth grade, I started shadowing at several high schools. The one thing I personally noticed when I shadowed at a school was the library. Some were massive, some were small, but each still had that quiet atmosphere that I loved.
When I shadowed Mount Carmel, I didn’t see a library, which seemed a little weird, but I did not go to every floor, so I assumed that maybe it was located off the beaten path.
When I finally made my decision and decided to go to MC, I was excited. One reason was that it was high school, but I also wanted to see where the library was. After searching for the first few weeks, I found something out.
MC does not have a school library.
There is no quiet place to read, study, or do some research. Adding a new library would give both MC students and teachers a quiet place to focus.
“It would be much quieter, less distractions for most students,” says MC junior Derrick Rucker.
Having a quiet place to relax and do their work is beneficial. Having a quiet place also lets teachers work and have time to relax from the students. Students use it as a way to stay focused, and the principal sees it as a way for students to use the library to work or study after lunch.
“A lot of guys like to use this lunch period,” says principal Mr. Scott Tabernacki. “They eat quickly, and they still have thirty minutes left to really go ahead and do some stuff.”
Students, after eating, have time to do their work and want a quiet place to do it. When MC used to have a library a few years ago, English teacher Mr. Brooks Nevrly remembers having a library at MC.
“I recall how we would sometimes send kids from lunch to the library,” says Mr. Nevrly, “so that they could have that quiet space.”
A library open throughout the school day can help students and teachers relax and do work. Students believe that it can be used for studying and doing work for classes.
“I would use the library to work on all my homework,” says sophomore Gavin Bell, “so I had a quiet place to study for quizzes and tests.”
Students can wait around and use the library if they have nothing else to do. Usually waiting for a game to start or a ride. Time is also a big problem for student-athletes, who do not have time to complete their homework or study.
“Two students might not be able to go home due to rides,” Rucker says, “so it’s a place to stay.”
Rucker’s after-school commitments, such as football in years past, mean that he often does not have much time to focus on his studies when he finally gets home in the evenings.
“I would be getting home late,” he says. “It doesn’t help that I was limited on time.”
Many at MC are student-athletes and are pressed for time to do all their work. It would be helpful for there to be somewhere they could work quietly before, during, or after school so they can do better academically in their classes.
Students who have time to do work and study improve their academics. School libraries also often function as hubs to help both students do research and teachers show students how to properly do so.
“Medical enrichment club, depending on what they’re doing,” says Mr. Nevrly. “I’m also thinking about Mr. Scheuring’s new environmental club.” Research does not have to be for a certain group; it could be for a person’s own benefit, whether a teacher or a student.
“They could learn new things, things that they take an interest in,” Rucker said.
Having somewhere for students and teachers to read and learn about a subject, either doing research or for fun, is beneficial for a school.
According to Mr. Tabernacki, plans for a library are in the works, but of course, they have complications. Although the MC once had a school library, it needed to be repurposed.
“It wasn’t really being utilized, and we also needed to create a couple different classrooms out of it,” says Mr. Tabernacki. “So we multi-purposed the space.”
Since then, though, that space has become part of the expanded wrestling room. There have been discussions about re-incorporating such a space elsewhere on campus.
“Now we’re starting to identify some areas,” says Mr. Tabernacki. “So, you know, I definitely would love to try to look at that this year and see, okay, where can we move some of that stuff, especially out of the back and where it’s easier for you guys to get to.”
The place to put such a space creates a challenge, but MC also has to deal with other problems.
“We just haven’t really re-instituted it somewhere, or, I guess, designated a place,” says Mr. Tabernacki, “because with us expanding enrollment-wise, we’ve needed it to really capitalize on the classrooms.”
Money problems are something that can’t be avoided. In the end, Mr. Tabernacki wants what is best for the students.
“We’ve done a lot of important improvements to sports teams that we need to give our facilities and everything else like that an opportunity,” says Mr. Tabernacki. “But I think that whatever area we would figure out would be probably, I would say, permanent home.”
Giving a space for both students and teachers to focus, study, and have access to resources not only supports learning but also helps out the school community. A library lets people explore their own desires, and the library’s uses make it more than a room with books.
