Trickin’ out the library

You can search far and wide, but it’s hard to find more ambitious librarians than the ones we have at Albany High. They have wanted to upgrade our library for quite some time, but lacked the funds to do so—until now. When a state grant of $70,000 came, the librarians and the site council did not hesitate to use it. Part of the money went toward remodeling the back section of the library and the rest to purchasing new electronic equipment.

Librarian Rosalie Gonzales firmly believes remodeling the back room was a necessary step in the library’s overall improvement. “Before the library was remodeled, it sometimes didn’t work well when teachers brought their students to the library. They would have to shout, and it was hard for classes to keep their focus. Other students in the library were distracting,” Gonzales explained. “Now teachers can bring their students into the back room, avoiding those distractions in a more efficient teaching space.”

Space has become even less of an issue due to the 30 new iMac flat panel computers being housed in the back room. The original order was for PCs but was delayed, so Principal Barone decided that the space savings created by switching to flat screens in combination with the availability of educationally superior programs was enough reason to switch that overdue order from PCs to Macs. Any diehard PC fans should be relieved to hear that 12 of the old PCs are being preserved for quick printing.

Libraries are more than rooms filled with books. They have always stood for access to information. The information delivery systems are changing and Albany High School librarians are not to be left behind. They’ve recently purchased Microsoft Office (including Excel, Word, Power Point and Access), computer science software, regular Mac programs such as iPhoto, iGarage and iDVD, and even a new French accompaniment program that goes with the French textbook.

Our Librarians have given us better usage of space and upgraded our technology, but they are not done yet. Future goals include a Wiki page attached to the library home page where we can share what we’re reading. Leave it to the librarians to get you back to basics: the books.

2 Responses

1. 11:23 AM on November 8th, 2007baller08:

   well written…gotta love those librarians lol

2. 11:55 AM on November 10th, 2007eric:

   why is it that the overdue order is the fault of the whole category “PC”s and not the specific company that was to provide them? what about the staggering price difference between the new imacs and much more cost efficent pc’s?

   it is decisions like this, ones involve $70,000, that needs take input from the student body in addition to faculty. i mean if something like 88% of computer users are PC users, is it the best idea for the large majority of library computers to represent technology frequently used by only 12% of the public?

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