Summer Serres, Ella Josias
eSomethin Staff
Why doesn’t Perrysburg High School have a library?
Janice Ray, the Dean of Students, said, “We got rid of it about 5 years ago because it was not being used for research purposes and was used as a hangout. We needed space in the school, and it was a good idea to put the STEM lab in. It is more beneficial as the STEM lab than it was the library.”
While Ray feels this way, Trudy Nagy sees this differently.
Nagy, Receptionist and Ex-Librarian, said, “It was not beneficial to replace the library with the STEM lab; it was a nice space for students to unwind. The library is a quiet space.”
Jessica Liao, a senior at Perrysburg and Book Club President, states “There are pros and cons to the STEM lab. It is sad to not have a library but the STEM lab is nice.”
Perrysburg still has a form of libraries. Classroom libraries have taken over.
Ray said, “I like having English teachers making them [libraries] in their classrooms. If students ever need any resources, we partner with the Way Public Library.”
Nagy said, “Some teachers have classroom libraries, but I was supplementing them. If the teacher did not have a book, but I did, I could give that book to the student.”
Will there ever be a library at PHS again?
Ray said, “I think there is a possibility that there could be an addition to the school for a library.”
Nagy said, “No, there will never be a library again. Students should have access to libraries in their own school. When they [the school district] purposely built HPI without a library, I knew my library would be gone.”
Liao states, “Recreating a library would take too long to plan.”
Nagy has a solution for dying libraries.
Nagy said, “We could have added computers and video editing equipment to a corner of the library. We could have made the library more technologically advanced.”
“A public library is the most enduring of memorials, the trustiest monument for the preservation of an event or a name or an affection; for it, and it only, is respected by wars and revolutions, and survives them.”
Mark Twain
Though the administration took out the library, some students wonder if a school-wide library is a good idea.
Nagy said, “I had to find a place to get rid of all of my books. A lot of them I had to throw away. Students often ask me where the library is.”
Having a library is beneficial to students for many reasons. These reasons include access and knowledge of different resources, ability to have quiet time for learning, and being able to develop your mind with the learning done in a library.
Liao says, “A library would be useful for general resources, reading, resources for school, and to learn more about subjects that you like.”
According to iLoveLibraries.org, “Libraries are community hubs. They connect people to information and connect people to people. They are safe havens for kids, providing after-school homework help, games, and book clubs. They offer computer classes, allowing older adults to stay engaged in a digital world. And library bookmobiles and community outreach programs help those living in remote areas and those who are home bound to remain connected to the world.”
Some people think that libraries are outdated, but they provide free educational resources for those who can not afford or have access to educational resources.
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