The Ridge - Winter 2020

A PLACE TO LEARN

The Library at Blue Ridge School

By John Dudley

Information is everywhere, but libraries are not obsolete.

For most of us born during the 20th Century, libraries were the definitive source of information. They housed books, magazines, newspapers, and document archives. We traveled to libraries to write research papers, to keep current on events, to discover new hobbies and skills, and to borrow materials so we could use them at our convenience. Libraries kept classic novels and works by new authors. We traveled the world through the printed pages of National Geographic, marveled at human achievement in The Guinness Book of World Records, and ensured fair play with Hoyle’s Rules of Games. If all of this can now be accomplished on a mobile phone at nearly every point on the planet and during any time of day or night, why do we still need libraries?

School libraries are experiencing a period of massive change as they strive to meet the shifting needs and demands of students and faculty in the 21st century. The internet has provided students and teachers with access to more information than ever before. One student’s smartphone can access more information than has ever existed within the entire physical holdings of the Blue Ridge School library. However, rather than make libraries obsolete, this proliferation of information has made them more necessary and more relevant than ever before as our students must now learn to locate particular information in an ever-increasing landscape. Not only must they learn to find what they are looking for but they must also be able to recognize a reliable source in our world of sophisticated political disinformation campaigns, alternative facts, and social media echo chambers.

Author Neil Gaiman sums up the need for modern libraries with this: “Google can bring you back 100,000 answers. A librarian can bring you back the right one.”

Blue Ridge School’s current library has resided in Williams Hall since it was constructed in the early 1990s. Prior to that, it was in the lower level of the Academic Building. Until very recently, the library was bordering on a hodge-podge of digital and print resources that still included bound encyclopedias and microfiche. However, changes in personnel and technology proved a good time for the School to examine the role of the library in the 21st Century and beyond. Headmaster Trip Darrin commissioned a task force comprised of members of the faculty, including Katie Cooper, Blue Ridge School’s new librarian.

As we prepare students for the modern world as well as a future that is likely beyond our imagination, now is the perfect time to consider how Blue Ridge School’s library should function. As the administration prepared to draft the next Strategic Plan, Headmaster Trip Darrin looked forward to reviewing the Task Force’s findings. The task force conducted interviews with students and faculty—both at Blue Ridge and at other independent schools— and conducted research on best practices for modern libraries. The task force then wrote a report that was presented to the Headmaster and the Board of Trustees.

At that time, plans to renovate the dining hall were already underway. During that planning process, Williams Library was recognized as a possible location to build a new, modern dining hall, and the current dining hall could easily be converted into a newly imagined library and research space. The task force report is being used as a guide for creating a facility that will benefit Blue Ridge students for decades to come.

The task force determined that the rise of the internet actually has fueled the need for libraries. In their report, the members wrote, “This proliferation of information has made them more necessary and relevant than ever before as our students must now learn to locate information in a seemingly endless abyss. Not only must they learn to locate information, they must also become skilled at assessing its credibility in a world where the very concept of a fact is under assault.”

A qualified librarian is a necessary guide for the growing digital information landscape all students must learn to navigate. They need a wide variety of skills, including knowledge of many literary genres (classical and emerging), database management, technology, and research. In addition to managing the physical space of the library, Mrs. Cooper works with classes conducting research, teaching students how to navigate comprehensive online databases and properly cite sources. She is constantly evaluating the needs of the students and how Blue Ridge School can accommodate them.

Katie Cooper, Blue Ridge School Librarian

She says, “The role of the modern librarian merges a love of books with a desire to educate socially responsible researchers. Developing a love of reading in our youth runs parallel to understanding the use and meaning of words as they pertain to our social platforms and their influence in our research materials. The modern library is becoming more well-known as the learning commons. In a time when a lot of our learning is research and project-driven, especially with our Project-Based Learning focus, it’s crucial that our students understand that the library is more than just books. I’m here to assist with research, help students broaden or narrow their topics, find the right print and digital sources, and push them to ask the right questions.”

Studies show pleasure readers still predominantly utilize print materials. History, biography, and autobiography sections of Blue Ridge’s non-fiction collections are the most utilized materials at this point.

However, the task force recommends removing a large portion of the reference section as most of these resources can now be found online, and a large portion of them are now out of date. Our collections of National Geographic and American Heritage have been enjoyed by decades of students, but they are in poor condition, and most of this information can be found in other sources.

Blue Ridge School is committed to preparing our students for college. It is necessary for them to be proficient in and comfortable with databases. Because many of the resources students need to conduct original research will be in digital rather than print form, it is essential that our library have access to a variety of databases, such as JSTOR, Readex, and ProQuest. Our task force sees ProQuest as “the best entry point for much of the research that students would conduct at Blue Ridge, at any level and in any discipline.”

The task force surveyed more than 130 students about what they would like to see in a new library at Blue Ridge School. Getting students “in the door” is the first step in ensuring that they are using the library’s resources, reading a variety of materials, and learning to conduct research. The top four student responses were: 1) having coffee or a juice bar; 2) comfortable chairs and couches; 3) faster wifi; and 4) the presence of a working fireplace. All of these amenities are under serious consideration for the new library. BRS is fortunate that the library’s future home already has a beautiful and functional stone fireplace.

Mrs. Cooper says, “One of the most important things for our library space is for it to be welcoming. Students should always feel like they can come to the library if they want or need to relax, to find quiet study, to have some down time, but I also want them to come to hang out with friends, to work as a group, and to truly incorporate being here into their everyday lives. The plan is for the coffee bar to be a way for teachers to recognize students for a special treat. The fireplace will play off the space’s charm and uniqueness by providing a cozy feeling with the comfortable reading spaces.”

She adds, “One thing we heard consistently as we visited other schools and talked with other libraries was that we had to have plenty of electricity and wifi. We’re planning to have accessible technology for casting, sharing, and presenting in the new breakout rooms, and there will be plenty of outlets everywhere. This year I brought in two new reading spaces with soft seating that have been a huge hit with the students, especially the couch that has three-prong electrical and USB outlets on each side. I’ve seen quite a few group projects gather in the space so one or two of theguys can charge up while they work.”

The new library will be designed to accommodate both quiet individual work and small groups.

“It will flow from quiet spaces at the entry to group work in the back, around the new classrooms,” says Mrs. Cooper. “We are looking at taller shelving near the windows to create small niches for our solo studiers with a lot more open space in the middle so the tables and chairs can be moved to create room for pairs, groups, and whole classes. We are going for functional, movable furniture and whiteboards, and brighter colors to encourage laughter and communication rather than the dark, stationary furniture many of us remember libraries as having.”

Mrs. Cooper has been working with dozens of representatives to test databases, eBooks, audiobooks, and more to find the best resources for our students’ learning styles. To accommodate different styles, our library materials should be accessible through multiple platforms.

One of Blue Ridge School’s goals is to develop in students a love of learning. To this end, the new library needs to encourage reading for pleasure. It can do this by offering the kinds of materials our boys want to read and a welcoming environment. The librarian has already begun adding more examples of popular genres such as graphic novels, biographies, 20th Century history, music, and young adult fiction.

Mrs. Cooper says, “We ordered a new book display at the end of last year, which I’m rotating out monthly. October was a Halloween display with ghost stories, some Edgar Allan Poe, and all things that go bump in the night. November was a “Nonfiction November” display in honor of No-Shave November – all of the highlighted titles have mustaches on them so they are fun and eye-catching.”

Her display of “Bookflix,” a play on the popular streaming service Netflix, highlights books that are being turned into movies or tv shows. She also connects with students by recommending books using Netflix-familiar categories, such as Drama, Sports Stories, and Binge-Worthy.

“Getting to know the students and talking about their interests and plans for the future is what I enjoy most about being a librarian,” says Cooper. “As they say, our kids are our future, and these boys bring a lot of hope with that idea. I love working with them on their projects, showing them something new: a new way to interpret a topic, think about their sources, push their opinions to question all perspectives, and then be called ‘dope’ for it all.”

To alter a famous quote by author Mark Twain: “the report of the death of libraries was an exaggeration.”

School libraries are alive and adapting to the digital world. They are helping students, teachers, and casual readers make sense of the sometimes overwhelming amount of information available at a moment’s notice. As curriculum promotes collaboration as well as individual study, libraries have supplemented study carrels with breakout rooms. As students have begun using more and more internet-connected electronics, libraries are installing charging stations and high-speed wifi. Librarians are becoming experts not just in literary genres but also in online databases and technological hardware. Libraries are transforming into spaces for personal growth, academic investigation, social studying, and quiet reflection. They are shedding a centuries-old chrysalis and emerging ready for the challenges and needs of new generations.