The public school that I decided to report on was Smithfield High School in Smithfield, Virginia.
Space
With this library, I relied on a virtual tour of the space to observe it. The video that I watched was from June 2021 showing the library’s recent renovation. Some things that changed during the renovation were that the library got new carpet and furniture. Based on the before and after, the furniture looks more comfortable with couches, tables, and chairs with cushions all around for students to use. New rooms that the library made include a cafe area, makerspace, sound studio and green room for filming, and collaboration cubicles for small groups to meet and work on projects. There are signs above each bookshelf saying what the genre of books is.
Services
The students have access to filming equipment for doing videos, a makerspace that has flat surfaces for projects and an apple tv, as well as audiobooks. While I am sure the catalog is available in the library, when I went to the website in order to use it I would have to have an account. The library uses the Dewey Decimal classification system.
Patrons and Staff
The library serves both high school students and staff. When you go to the Smithfield High School website you will find two or three library staff members. To get in contact with the library, two staff members have work emails but there is also a library phone number. The library has its own social media but I am not sure how often messages there are checked but they seem to actively use Twitter and Instagram during the school year. There is also a YouTube channel that the school uses for the morning news.
Collection
There is a lot of new technology with the renovation as I have shared earlier. They also have audiobooks available as well as ebooks through the school website.
Digital Access
URL: https://shs.iwcs.k12.va.us/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=413029&type=d&pREC_ID=901397
URL: https://sites.google.com/iwcs.k12.va.us/smithfieldhighlibrary/home?authuser=0
I included two URLs as one is what I found through google search and one is what you are taken too if you look under the student tab. This website is very confusing to me and I had to google the library to figure out where on the school’s website information about the library was. There is also some confusion as depending on where you look, the website either says there are two staff members in the library or three. Once you get to the student/teacher library site it is easier to figure out. On the student/teacher site, there is library news, researching and reading, information about the Library Advisory Council, and the school report for students. For teachers, the website advertises that the library can help with collaboration, curation of resources, and co-teaching. The SHS library also has a Canvas with a variety of resources and how-to videos.
Other
The library has a Library Advisory Council made up of students that plan events and activities in the library, create book displays, promote reading, and share what is happening on instagram. Looking at the pictures, it also shows that the library is used for a lot of after school clubs and activities such as robot club and video game tournaments demonstrating one of the six core beliefs of school libraries that Rubin and Rubin (2020) talked about the school library being the “third place” between school and home (p. 122). Not only is the library for reading but socializing as well.
Reference
Rubin, R. E. & Rubin, R.G (2020). Foundations of library and information science (5th ed). ALA Neal-Schuman.
July 23, 2022 at 1:04 am
I feel like your experience with confusing websites and URLS for this school library is very comparable to what I found with Suffolk Public School’s websites. In one of the articles I reviewed for the future’s assignment there was a quote about the library as the “third place” being a type of living room for the community, and it seems to hold up for Smithfield’s High School Library as well. Student’s seem to be able to relax and utilize the space to meet their different needs together.
July 23, 2022 at 5:14 am
I think it’s interesting that a public school library had a virtual tour available, that’s really neat! If I was a parent, I would like the ability to see for myself what the library is like so it’s a really forward-thinking idea. I also love seeing clubs and activities taking place after school in the library. The school library I visited is trying to get that off the ground and it’s hard so I’m glad Smithfield has those opportunities.
July 25, 2022 at 2:49 pm
I’ve worked in this building and have been in that library many times. They have put a lot of effort into renovating this space. It’s neat to hear your take on a space I know so well. I’ve never had to use the website though. Sounds like they need to spend some time working on that next.
July 25, 2022 at 8:17 pm
The new rooms they added sound great. I’m sure all of them will get a lot of use. I like that they have a student Library Advisory Council that helps plan library events and promotes reading. This helps students feel that the library is their space.
July 27, 2022 at 11:24 pm
Any connections to Smithfield or the High School? I had to look it up on a map to know where I was going on this tour. Library renovations sound like a good thing! The school library I featured (also where I work) has no great info on their website. I am not surprised by the frustration you went through in trying to find what you need for this assignment. It often seems websites are left to the teacher librarian’s discretion and usually not mandated by the principal to have one. It’s generally an afterthought at the school level. It would be nice if they had hired stay just to work on school websites/pages.