The CHS library is a safe haven for many students. With Wi-Fi, textbooks, computers and an effective climate control system, the library has been home to the perfect combination of relaxation and intellectualism. The library loses its purpose, however, when the doors slam shut.
In recent years, the library has opened at 7:20 a.m. and closed at 5 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and it has closed at 4 p.m. on Thursday and Friday.
Though these hours may seem extensive, students have conveyed a number of reasons why longer hours would be beneficial to the student body. Such reasons include late sports practices, transportation issues and the abundance of school resources that are compiled in the library.
“It would be really nice to have longer hours, especially on Thursdays,” sophomore Niki Panahizadeh says. “My practice is done at 4:30, so I have over 30 minutes before I get picked up. I wish I could make good use of that time.”
Panahizadeh is not alone in her opinion. Thursdays certainly seem to be the biggest concern among students regarding library time.
“I have an hour and a half between water polo and when the library closes on Thursdays,” senior Benek Robertson adds, “and I wish we could stay here longer so we could work. It’s pretty disruptive getting kicked out.”
But school librarian Elena Loomis offers insight as to why it would be difficult to lengthen the library’s hours.
“The reason we close earlier on Thursdays is mainly because of office hours. We need both Miss Stack and me here at the same time to help and monitor students. We can’t come in late on Thursday, so if we stayed later, we would be working way overtime. This same concept applies to every other day of the week.”
Even so, Loomis agrees that if enough students feel the library should be open longer, it would be something to consider.
Students explain that sports practices aren’t the only reason the library should lengthen its hours. Transportation issues often leave students without a place to go after school.
If students who rely on the bus want to stay after school to get help from a teacher, they have no choice but to wait for the late bus until 5:30 p.m. Freshman Vicki Perez points out that having the library as a place to wait for the late bus would be advantageous.
Some students even request an earlier start time, claiming that 7:20 isn’t early enough.
“I get to school at seven, so it would be nice if they’d open a little earlier in the morning,” freshman Emily Lazarus explains. “I’d like a relaxing place to sit down and get some homework done before school starts.”
Loomis notes that the best way to effectively extend hours would be to bring in another faculty member to help the librarians, although there are no current plans, involving extra faculty or otherwise, to lengthen hours.
–Anna Gumberg