LIBRARY LOVERS

Library Lovers CCPL renovation reflects libraries’ attempt to meet changing needs of students

LEAH TAN STORY

espite the common misconception that libraries are silent spaces for those who wish to solely read books, today’s libraries have transformed significantly to provide a wide array of services and resources for people of all ages. For students like Nicole Segaran, Teen Library Council (TLC) and senior, the Carmel Clay Public Library (CCPL) has been a vital part of her life, so the announcement of its renovation, which is currently underway, has had a significant impact on her.

“Libraries have worked hard to cultivate an atmosphere that can be versatile,” Segaran said. “It can either be a quiet place for studying and academics or be a fun community hangout place.”

The versatility Segaran mentioned is evident at the CCPL. In fact, according to a 2019 report released by the CCPL, the facility offered 1,869 academic and non-academic programs, ranging in target audience from children to senior citizens.

But regardless of the wide range of demographics, Jamie Beckman, young adult department manager, said the primary focus of the library is to target student needs specifically. D

The library has a lot more to offer than just books, we have audio books, movies, access to databases and other research tools.

In fact, the CCPL announced its renovation and expansion in 2019 to better serve Carmel’s growing needs by focusing on five key areas, one of which is the expansion of the teen space. Beckman said she attributes this to the lack of focus on the teenage demographic in the past, which has prompted an opposite reaction. “When I was a kid, libraries failed to have teen departments,” Beckman said. “However, now, we are able to gear towards teens and assist them in their schooling career.”

A 2016 Pew Research Center survey found that while the percentages of people who use libraries for traditional activities like checking out books has dropped—from 73% in 2012 to 64% in 2016— other areas have expanded.

For example, according to the Pew Research Center, 27% of library users have attended classes or lectures at libraries in 2016, an increase from the 17% who did so in 2015.

Even at CHS, the media center has transformed to cater to the needs of its students through the offering of new programs or simply serving as a social space. For media specialist John Love, catering to students has always been the top priority.

“We pride ourselves in wanting to be a center of activity and to have students be excited to come to the library, whether for curricular or non-curricular reasons,” Love said. “Sometimes, we can have over 200 students during SRT, so I think it’s important to realize that the media center is trying to adapt to the needs of its students.”

Segaran said she especially encourages other students to utilize the library’s free academic services that are specifically geared toward students.

“I found a lot of resources that the library is unique to have, all at

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Read a story on the specifics of the new renovations and other changes coming to the Carmel Clay Public Library

a free expense,” Segaran said. “You have free SAT practice tests you can take, and a bunch of other non-traditional things like tutoring that are of extreme help to students.”

Despite this shift toward other non-traditional services, both institutions emphasized they still try to maintain traditional services.

“There’s still that curricular need for your traditional library, and I’m proud to say that we have a very healthy collection of these academic resources.” Love said.

website resources Take a look at some of the resources shown on the CCPL website

Teens

Attend Research Digital Lab ccpl2go

Attend

Research • Tax preparation and filing • Genealogy Lab • Shred Day Teens • ACT/SAT Exam Prep • Scholarships • Scrabble Championship • Adult Winter Reading Challenge

ccpl2go • mobile library with 2,800 items • visit ccpl2go.info or social media for stop schedule The Digital Lab • five 27’’ iMac computers • WhisperRoom sound isolation booth • Equipment for podcasting • Software to edit graphics, video and music • Three 3D printers • Gallery space featuring art by local artists

But perhaps most significant is the CCPL’s opportunities for student volunteering and other community events. For Ella Joliet, TLC member and sophomore, the library has provided a wide array of opportunities to get involved in the community via the student organization Teen Library Council.

“TLC is an organization made up of Carmel teenagers from eighth grade to seniors and we plan as well as attend events or programs at the library,” Joliet said. “In a sense, we just try to get everyone involved in the community because the library offers so much more than just books or things like that. But in more traditional ways, we recommend books and spread awareness among students.”

According to Beckman, the focus on teen leadership provides benefits for not only the students themselves, but also the library, showcasing a symbiotic relationship.

“For students, it helps them hone skills for college and life, and for libraries we can get better feedback and better serve their needs based on the leadership’s suggestions.” Beckman said.

Overall, Beckman, Segaran and Joliet all said libraries are being underutilized by the target demographic despite the many different services and programs offered for those targets.

“The library has a lot more to offer than just books; we have audio books, movies, access to databases and other research tools,” Beckman said.

Joliet said, “Libraries have a purpose more than a space just for people who wish to study. It offers so many other things that are inclusive and benefit everyone like volunteering.”

The sense of community and opportunities gained from simply using the resources offered at the CCPL led Segaran to reflect on its importance in her life as her high school career comes to an end.

“The place I will miss most is the library; the people I’ve met and worked with have become some of my closest friends,” Segaran said. “It’s a great place with so many different opportunities for different focuses, so take advantage of that.” h

LIBRARY QUEST: (LEFT) Ella Joliet, Teen Library Council member and sophomore, volunteers in the QUEST Lab at the CCPL. The library offers a variety of volunteering opportunities for teenagers. (RIGHT) Joliet sorts a play kit used for making circuits. This is one of the many fun games available in the QUEST lab and is another thing the library offers other than books.

Flip the Switch

New research reveals blue light may not be as harmful as previously portrayed

hen sophomore Sophie Zhou arrives home from school each day, she takes a nap for a couple of hours before starting on her homework and then finally goes to bed around 1 a.m. Depending on how much homework she has, she may stay up even later. This routine means she has to look at blue light-emitting technology before she finally goes to sleep for the night. She said, “(Since) I have more online homework, I tend to spend more time on the computer and do homework later at night, so I would get less sleep that way.” Zhou said she does not think exposure to blue light before sleeping impacts the quality of her sleep and said she hasn’t noticed much difference between using blue light sources right before she goes to sleep and not using them.

This anecdotal evidence supports a recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Manchester which found that in fact, yellow light negatively affects sleep more than blue light. This confirmed the researchers’ hypothesis that darker light, like blue light, would mimic the darkness of UMA KANDALLU STORY W ANGELA CHEN PHOTO

twilight, and warmed-toned light, like yellow light, would mimic the brightness of daytime, ultimately causing yellow light to disturb one’s sleep more than blue light.

Despite these findings, blue light is often treated as more of a concern to our health than other colors because it contains more energy per photon of light. This means blue light is more likely to damage our bodies when absorbed by cells in higher doses.

Unlike Zhou, freshman Taehee Kim said he started actively trying to avoid contact with blue light before sleeping about two months ago. Scan this to read about the effects of smartphone use on eyes waking light Take a look at modern sources of blue light and its effects on the human body Retine shrinks, lens is clouded, tissue growth near cornea

Blue light suppresses the release of melatonin in the brain Our brains are naturally programmed to respond to blue light from the sun, which signals us to feel awake BLUE LIGHT AND SMARTPHONES These are the different night shift settings on an iPhone and the intensity of different colors of light for each setting relative emission intensity 0.5 0.0 1.0 1.5 Night Shift Max Night Shift Medium Night Shift Off BLUE LIGHT AND THE BRAIN SLEEPFOUNDATION.ORG, UV MEDICINE.ORG SOURCES NATHAN HUANG, WENDY ZHU GRAPHIC

wavelength (nanometer) 0 150 300 450

1:23 AM

EXTREMETECH SOURCE

BLUE LIGHT AND THE EYES

Light causes tissue growth on the cornea

Light is absorbed, creating cloudiness

20/20 vision

Learn about what blue light glasses are and how they work Prices can range anywhere from less than $20 to over $100

Special lenses may have a pale yellow tint and block or absorb blue light to reduce eye strain

Kim said, “I read some articles and studies that show that blue light causes disturbances in my sleep, and I wanted to try it out to see if it really will help me get better sleep.”

Kim said he found he has been able to fall asleep much quicker and get a better night’s rest overall since trying to avoid blue light.

Derek Moser, health and wellness education teacher, said for him, being on his phone before trying to sleep is a major factor in the quality and amount of sleep he gets each night; however, he said that may be more due to it being a distraction than the type of light it emits.

“I try not to spend too much time on my phone before when I’m in

Trying to avoid blue light is not really something that I think about. It’s more that I end up doing (online) homework at night, so I end up using sources of blue light (late at night).

Meant to be worn during both day and night when using any device with blue light

WENDY ZHU GRAPHIC ALLABOUTVISION, WEBMD SOURCES

bed. I think for me it’s more because I can spend an hour on my phone when I should be sleeping,” he said. “So it’s kind of just getting rid of it and putting it down and away from me so I can’t grab it.”

Like Zhou, Kim said having more online homework leads him to stay up later at night in order to complete that homework.

“I believe that the more homework I have online—since I do homework later in the night—affects me since I try to stay away from it, but I can’t since most of my homework is online, so I have to reluctantly look at the blue light,” Kim said.

Additionally, Zhou said she believes reducing the amount of online homework could potentially help students’ sleep schedules.

“I get mostly online homework, and that’s changed a lot from last year, but I think that online homework is beneficial in some ways. You’re less likely to forget something at home, so you’re more accountable for having (the homework) done,” Zhou said.

Moser said that regardless of whether or not students view blue light before going to sleep, the overall impact that lack of sleep can have on a teenager’s developing body is immense.

“(Sleep deprivation) causes more stress, physical ailments, illnesses and has a huge effect cognitively,” Moser said. “It’s just not healthy; you really need sleep.”

Personally, Kim said even if the new study debunks blue light’s effect on sleep, he will still continue to avoid it, as he said it works for him and his sleep schedule.

“In the end, it’s just how my brain perceives it,” Kim said. “If it really doesn’t affect me that much, but I believe it does, I trick my brain and get a good night’s rest.” Zhou said she normally ends up using blue light sources later at night due to procrastination and has not found any significant effects of blue light on the quality or amount of sleep she gets. “Trying to avoid blue light is not really something that I think about,” Zhou said. “It’s more that I end up doing (online) homework at night, so I end up using sources of blue light (late at night).” h

LAPTOP LIGHT: Sophomore Sophie Zhou uses her laptop in the dark. She said she often gets online homework, which forces her to look at blue light at night.