After years of delay, the library’s atmosphere is being updated and improved.

According to librarian Kayse Corrieri, the library has looked the same for about 35 years, and both she and library clerk Sandy May have been brainstorming remodeling strategies for several years. It wasn’t until outside assistance stepped in that the dreams of a more modern library could come true.

Corrieri and many others are grateful for the contribution from surrounding organizations.

“Things were breaking,” said Corrieri. “We just didn’t have the money. That’s when Student Council stepped in and offered to buy a certain amount of stuff for us, so we got really lucky that they thought about us.”

The council has been very effective in their efforts to update furniture. New chairs and tables have already been organized into a comfortable study area. While there are some new and more modern pieces added to the library, larger items like bookshelves and the circulation desk have been moved to create a more open environment.

May believes a spacious floor plan will help create the the atmosphere they are looking for.

“We are opening up the space, and we are replacing some of the older furniture with new furniture. So we’re hoping to make it more student friendly, more of a welcoming kind of space,” said May. “The comments so far have been very positive, so that’s nice to hear.”

Sophomore Student Council representative Kelsey McCullough has been an influential student in selecting furniture and moving already existing items.

“We’re moving all of the bookshelves, so it’s angled differently…Then we’re having a bigger area for chairs and studying, and we’re not having couches,” said McCullough. “We’re having individual chairs, and we’re trying to brighten it up with different colors,…paintings and murals.”

Student Council isn’t the only organization pitching in to give the library a face lift. With the hopes of brightening up the room, Corrieri and May have looked to the art department for assistance with murals.

Sophomore student council representative Phillip Karpouzie has been teaming up with the art department to liven up the library with a series of colorful paintings.

“It’s [the mural] supposed to be with life, and it’s supposed to be able to be expanded,” said Karpouzie. “I have some ideas of some sort of lotus flower bomb…to start one place and expand out. So we won’t be able to get the whole entire room filled, but we’ll be able to give it a starting point and enough to build off of in the future.”

New furniture and murals are only the beginning of the library’s transformation.

Corrieri sees the current changes as phase one of many.

“Next year there will be a lot of changes put in place,” said Corrieri. “We’re working at it now, and I think that, according to Student Council, the way it sounds, we could work at a little something each year just to keep up with it…”

Some of the plans, other than the open layout, new furniture and murals, include changing the lighting for a more intimate, relaxing feel, creating a writing center and a quiet work room, and utilizing the courtyard located adjacent to the library. The use of courtyards has been something that the high school has been missing for a while.

Corrieri looks forward to pairing with junior Will Moskow to clean up the courtyard, giving students yet another environment for study.

“Kids need to be outside,” said Corrieri. “I think that it changes their whole demeanor.”

Providing another opportunity for student involvement, Corrieri looks forward to eventually handing the model of the courtyard over to architecture teacher James Rayburn. His classes could then provide designs for the courtyard. The library envisions the courtyard to eventually include benches, tables with umbrellas and maybe even a garden.

The primary goal for the transformation is to cater to students’ individual preferences. There will be a learning environment to attract a variety of students.

Corrieri expresses that all of the changes are made with the students in mind.

“I wanted to make sure that we do things that attract them [students] rather than turn them off,” said Corrieri.

With changes occurring every year, it is difficult to predict when the library will be considered complete.

May believes libraries should never be considered complete.

“I don’t think it will be [completed],” said May. “I think it’s always going to be evolving. This is kind of like the first phase of what we are envisioning for some changes. I think that’s a big part of libraries. They constantly evolve.”

While the library may be constantly updating, the purpose will stay the same. The library will continue to be a place to work and easily access information whether for research or pleasure.