A NEW CHAPTER FOR THE BLUE RIDGE SCHOOL LIBRARY

After years of research, planning, and fundraising, the School opened the new library last fall and it has been a hit with students and faculty alike.

Ricky Cortines Rama ’23 of Spain says, “The new library is amazing. Not only is the space more comfortable, the entire attitude of the library is more approachable. Clubs meet here. Students study here during free time. And the resources, though the same as before, somehow seem more accessible. The old library always seemed a little out of the way and stuffy. This library is in a familiar place, the old dining hall, and the furniture is cool and modern. I really love it.”

This is Cooper’s fifth year at Blue Ridge School. She says that when she first started at the School she was encouraged to determine what a new library might look like. “So, I did a lot of research into what makes an effective 21st century library. What I decided was that we are moving towards a ‘learning commons’ and that mentality of providing a variety of individual and shared spaces, more opening and more welcoming. That is exactly what our boys need. The only time boys came into the former space was when they had to for a class or when they wanted to get on the internet - because we had the best wifi. I wanted this to be a bigger draw.”

For the boys to feel comfortable in the library and to take ownership of it, Cooper created a space that is bright, comfortable, and flexible. The design mixes recognizable elements of the old dining hall – the exposed beams, stone fireplace, large windows, and array of flags – with new bookstacks, individual study carrels, modular tables and chairs, and soft couches.

The library features leading technology, not just physical hardware like giant touchscreen Promethean Boards and the aforementioned wifi, but also copious electrical outlets to recharge laptops and mobile phones and access to numerous online research databases for students to use for research projects and papers.

“When the former library was built, it was a leader. They had so many digital possibilities. Having the study carrels around the perimeter and the low bookcases, that was the style of the time. Now libraries strive to create a community, shared space. The furniture now is mobile and modular so students and teachers can arrange furniture to suit their needs. You couldn’t do that in the former space.”

The location of the new library could not be much better; it creates a natural extension of the academic hall just beyond Matt Bennett’s history classroom and the MakerSpace. It is more connected to the daily academic experience.

To provide students with a new dining hall and library, the Board of Trustees determined it would be most cost effective and efficient to switch the locations of the facilities. However, that meant building the new dining hall while students continued eating in the old dining hall, so Cooper needed to move the contents of the library to a temporary location: the NYA Student Center. She had already completed an exhaustive analysis of the print collection and reduced it by half, removing extremely damaged and out-of-date books. She then put two-thirds of the remaining collection in storage - carefully organized so she could retrieve books requested by teachers and students. Cooper worked out of the temporary space for about a year and half until the new library was ready.

Furniture was ordered and assembled while new windows, lights, floors, and wireless internet were installed and walls were painted. Then Cooper had to move the library collection again, from storage into the new space. While most of the books were moved by professionals, the entire school community gathered to move the final volumes from the temporary space to their new home in a “bucket brigade” stretching nearly the length of main campus.

Joe Corrigan ’23 of Northern Virginia says, “Moving the books from the temporary library to their new home made everyone feel like a part of the project, and even though we didn’t move all of the books, it reminded us of what a great resource the library is for us.”

The new library is fully operational, but the work of the librarian is far from over. Cooper is an advisor for the School’s chapter of the National Honor Society and working on creating a Library Club so students can play an active role in selecting new additions to the collection. She and Art Teacher Dave Welty are preparing a space in the library to showcase student art. But her biggest challenge may be improving the collection database so our students can find more relevant information. Cooper is going through the collection – book by book – to update the database beyond title and author to contain relevant keywords. For example, if a student is researching the Declaration of Independence, they would not have found relevant books in BRS’s collection unless “Declaration of Independence” was in the title.

There is much to talk about concerning the new library. When you stop by to chat, Ms. Cooper won’t shoosh you. Rather, she will gladly tell you all there is to know about Blue Ridge School’s exciting new facility.