The student news site of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology

tjTODAY

The student news site of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology

tjTODAY

The student news site of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology

tjTODAY

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Library readies for move

Furniture and bookshelves stand ready for the library re-opening in the math hallway in January.

Head librarian Rebecca Applin stood by the library printer, reminding students that they would need to start printing from home. Until Jan. 2, the library won’t be able to guarantee students a morning hang-out spot, a quiet place to study or a convenient resource to print papers between classes.

The library officially closed its doors on Nov. 29, allowing time to pack books, computers and other materials before the library reopens in early January. Part of the math hallway was cleared in early November to allow room for the temporary library.

Students who used the library regularly are now looking for alternative locations.

“I used to go to the library every morning, and now I’m really lost,” said sophomore Stephannie Chen. “It was a nice place to sit down and all my friends were there, so it was easy to get the help I needed.”

The College Career Center is preparing for its move as well. The move is planned to be between mid-January to early February. College Career Specialist Laurie Kobick has already laid out a map of the room with the help of her parent volunteers.

“They have been amazing as far as clearing the room out and moving the books out,” she said. “I am extremely fortunate to have such dedicated parent volunteers.”

The College Career Center will be moved to room 243. Kobick, who has given out many of the older books to students already, doesn’t
expect to make many further changes to the resources she currently supplies.

The library, on the other hand, has already planned for many changes. The joined rooms in the math hallway will serve as the primary location for library services for a little over two years, until the Global Learning Center opens in the fall of 2015.

On Dec. 10, work crews moved over five-sixths of the library’s print collection into a warehouse. Applin and library media specialist Margaret Carpenter have decided to hold on to new releases and the classics, while finding other resources to make up for the books put in storage.

Among these resources is the expanded collection of electronic resources and databases. The librarians have been training students to use “E-brary,” which offers 80,000 new titles for research purposes, to help them in their research.

“We’ve continued to evolve our skills for online and digital research,” Carpenter said.  “This will really promote 21st century skills for research.”

The addition of databases and online resources did come with a high cost. Luckily, the Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) was eager to lend a hand.

“It was the perfect time to invest in the electronic databases to allow access for all students to the information they need for their studies while the books are inaccessible to them,” PTSA President Celeste Fritzson said.

While students have shown a preference for online research, Carpenter acknowledges the move does come with its disadvantages.

“Digital doesn’t answer all research needs. There are certain books that have never been digitalized,” she said, attributing this complication to strict copyright laws. To accommodate for the lack of print resources at Jefferson, the librarians are encouraging students to take advantage of inter-library loans.

The print resources were moved upstairs on Dec. 19 along with computers and furniture from the previous space. Though the moving process has been going smoothly, there have been a few complications.

For example, the bookshelves were placed against radiators in the new space, which would have had a negative effect on the books’ binding. For this reason, a work crew had to come in again on Dec. 17, drilling and sawing to ventilate the shelves.

Still, the librarians are satisfied with the current timeline. “Great planning has paid off,” Carpenter said. “Everything’s going to click into place very easily.”

(This article originally appeared in the December 21, 2012 print edition.)

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