For my school visit, I was fortunate enough to visit the library at North Stafford High School in Stafford, VA. I have a friend who is an English teacher and was able to give me a tour. The website for the school’s library can be found here. While browsing the website I noticed that it was pretty easy to navigate. There is access to an online catalog of the library’s physical books, an ebook catalog, and access to the EBSCO database. You can tell that the library website is definitely geared towards students and faculty based on its design and offerings.
Users can find the library staff on the Faculty page of the school’s website. The library has one library assistant and two librarians. They can be reached via phone, email, or in person. The library also has its own Twitter account as well. The website also has links to Canvas and a page for the library’s book club. Overall the website feels inviting, especially with the bit emojis of the library staff.
The library is a part of the North Stafford High School building. Outside the building, there are parking spots for teachers, students, and visitors, as well as handicap-accessible doors and ramps, bike racks, and lockers. Inside the library, there are “Collaboration” rooms where students can meet up to study or work on projects. The library also has a cafe space where students can eat their lunch, a lot of seating and tables, as well as quiet reading areas. The library also has a Makerspace and a Tech Lab.
While students have access to most of the things in the library they are restricted from using the printers and 3D printers in the Makerspace. They have to send the files they want to be printed to the librarians and the librarians will print for them. The space was just updated in 2016 and is incredibly welcoming, modern, and high-tech. The library also won the 2017 Best Design Award from the Virginia Chapter of the Association for Learning Environments and the Virginia Department of Education. The award is proudly displayed by the reference and circulation desk.
In addition to the 3D printers and pens, the library also had smartboards, smart TVs, a touch board wall, and virtual reality computers the students could use. Rubin and Rubin (2020, p. 152) explained that these “new technologies, when properly used, will be integral for exploration, self-discovery, and innovation,” in school libraries. For the most part, everything in the library is easily accessible except for the VR computers. They are placed on very high tables with very high chairs.
During my visit, I noticed signs for the school’s book club and services for research help, as well as flyers for the schools’ spring musical and prom. They also had two displays up in celebration of Women’s History month with books biographies of notable women in history and fiction books written by women. They also had signage up for new fiction books the library just received. The library catalog was accessible and located near the reference and circulation desk. While walking through the library stacks I noticed that nonfiction books were organized by Dewey Decimal System and the fiction books were organized by genre and then author last name. Based on the collections in the library it is clear that the main audience of the library is students, with teachers close behind.
While I didn’t get to see interactions between the library staff and students as I visited before school hours, you can tell that the library staff is also available to help the students. In this space the students can study, read, use the Makersapce, eat, and hang out before and after school. Teachers can also reserve the Tech Lab and the Collaboration Rooms for group projects. I did notice diversity in the design of the library. The Collaboration Rooms are all named after historical figures and have their pictures on the doors. Some of these figures are Maya Angelou and Jackie Robinson.
The fiction and nonfiction collections reflect that this is a school library. There are many YA fiction books and nonfiction books representing topics students are interested in such as sports, history, and biographies. With some of the technology, I can see there being a barrier for students and teachers if they are not used to the technology, especially the VR computers. In order to use these technologies, the faculty has to be up to date on the training in order to show the students how to use them.
On the library’s website, they state that “Our mission in the library is to create an environment that promotes information literacy and creates 21st-century lifelong learners.” With the number of resources and technology available I believe the library is meeting that mission. I was surprised by the amount of technology the library had to offer as well as the collaboration rooms. When I was in high school we didn’t have spaces like the collaboration rooms. We just had tables and chairs in the middle of the library. During my time in high school, our library also had about 10 computers. It was a shock to see all of this new and updated technology students have available to them today. With all these resources available to them, Rubin and Rubin (2020, p. 168) were correct in that “school libraries today focus less on the collection and more on the learners.” The school and students are incredibly lucky to have such a high-tech and up-to-date modern library.
References
Merico, C. (2022). Image of North Stafford High School Library Entrance. [Photograph]
Merico, C. (2022). Image of Virtual Reality Computers at North Stafford High School Library. [Photograph]
Merico, C. (2022). Image of Women’s History Month Display at North Stafford High School Library. [Photograph]
Rubin, R. R. and Rubin, R. G. (2020). Foundations of library and information science (5th ed.). ALA Neal-Schuman.
Wow! If my high school library looked like this, I would have never left the library!! How amazing is this library?! Truly, to have access to the EBSCO database and all the other technology available at the fingertips of these high school students…I wonder if they realize how privileged they are? The pictures that you provided show a place for real growth in the new and current technologies available. I can definitely see how they won an award for Best Design in 2017. Thanks for sharing!
During my tour, I actually asked my friend if she thinks the students realize how lucky they are to have all of these resources and technology. She said that normally if they come in contact with a new piece of technology they will make a remark about how “cool” it is but then move on like it’s nothing. While I was the opposite and couldn’t keep my jaw from hitting the floor in surprise at everything they have access to. It did make me think about how libraries will look 10, 20, and even 30 years from now!
I LOVE that circulation desk design, oh my goodness. I’m also in camp “if my library looked like this I’d never want to leave”. What an inviting entrance. And the technology sounds amazing, I have yet to encounter any virtual reality technology myself so to have it in school is awesome. No wonder this library is award-winning, the design team knew what they were doing here for sure! I agree, though, knowing how to use the technologies can be a barrier so training should be essential to ensure that everyone reaps all of the benefits.
That library design is awesome! The virtual reality computers…oh my, they are very fortunate to have a state of the art library like that. I can understand why the librarian is the one who actually uses the 3D printer, but it is available for students. I love the murals. The Women’s history month display is very diverse. This space is very welcoming . I hope the students appreciate this school library environment, but as you replied they are probably used to it now. I wonder if the nearby high school libraries have the same resources.
I really like the design and modern vibe the library has! The students are really lucky to spend their time in a comfortable place like this. I will have to agree with the statement where you quoted Rubin and Rubin regarding that school libraries focus less on the collection and more on the learners. Creating that space for students is better than having old equipment with a lot of resources available for them. It’s great to see some libraries utilizing the high-technology equipment as much as they can available for the students to use.
I again join the chorus of our groupmates in chiming in about how extraordinary this library is! What an amazing showcase for what a strong endowment with a tech-savvy advisory board can offer its students. (It hurts my heart a little to think of how quickly your friend says the students move on after their initial interaction with these gadgets!) You raise a great point about staff needing to be at least as up to date on these kinds of technologies as its users — that strikes me as a challenging prospect.
Also, you are either a Makerspace magnet or I have not been looking hard enough for Makerspace in the libraries I’ve visited — I can’t wait to spot my first one in the wild someday!
Thanks for sharing this report of such an amazing library! I’m so glad you had an opportunity to visit.
What a cool library!! I love that some of the collaboration rooms are named people of color and that the mural in the VR has two females. So often children of marginalized groups don’t see themselves reflected in academic environments, and therefore, can see themselves reaching high levels of achievement. This library seems to accomplish that goal!