RHS media center receives upgrades
Library media specialist Alana Swinney said the changes – visually and technologically – were much needed in the media center, and she is excited about them.
“We want to make this a place where the students want to come – make it more inviting,” Swinney said.
Visually, the media center has seen a big change. The carpet was removed, and wooden floors now adorn the space. A new couch and set of chairs grace the front of the media center before it opens up into a work area. The space once contained several bookshelves that are now being utilized elsewhere in the room; it is now filled with tables and chairs where students can relax, study, read or participate in peer tutoring.
“A big thing in libraries right now is makerspaces, which allow students to embrace their creativity,” Swinney said.
On some of the tables in the work area are large checker board games and a Rubik’s Race Game that Swinney said students love. She explained they provide something different for the students to do creatively – something besides just reading books.
Much to Swinney and the students’ joy, their technology is also getting an upgrade. All of the computers will be replaced, and they are receiving a classroom set of Chromebooks.
“It’s going to be more modern, and the technology will help the students with things like peer tutoring,” Swinney said.
Peer tutoring is an important service at the media center, Swinney said, especially when it comes to the bilingual students who help Spanish-speaking students.
One grant the media center received that will help with peer tutoring is the Lowe’s Toolbox for Education Grant.
“It’s a big grant. It’s helping us upgrade our technology so our students can have more learning tools,” Swinney said.
Swinney said all of these upgrades and changes, including the new coffee bar, are the media center’s way of creating an inviting yet still educational space for the students.
