Students and Faculty Balance Competing Uses of Library

by SONIA DHOLAKIA

Menlo students use the campus library in several different ways. Between studying, working with friends and even sleeping, the library serves many purposes apart from simply storing books. Sometimes these different uses can conflict with one another when productivity is minimized.

“It’s a really active library,” Head Librarian Brittney Otero said. “There’s a lot of engagement within the library and all the different spaces in it.”

Junior Derek Jain chooses to get to school early — around 7:45 a.m. — and does his work in the library until the school day starts. According to Jain, the space tends to get busy right before the start of school and during lunch. During these busy times, Jain finds it challenging to be as productive because of the various distractions. “I’m able to still get my work done, but it definitely does get crowded, especially when there’s no tables and I have to sit on a couch,” he said.

Goel, before the buses depart from school at 3:30 p.m., the library feels too cramped with students, similar to how Jain finds it in the mornings before class. “If someone is being disruptive and disrupting all that quiet space, it does get kind of hard to do your work,” Goel said.

Otero agrees with Goel that students can be distracting to others in the library. “If there is a student or group that is trying to be studious, and we can see that a group is being too loud, that’s when it starts to affect others,” Otero said.

According to Otero, the Class of 2026 in particular has encountered some difficulties with socializing too disruptively in the library. In an effort to combat these distractions, Otero asked Freshman Dean Sabahat Adil to host her history tutorials in the library classroom and encourage freshmen students to be productive.

Adrian Del Rio prefers to spend his free time in the Student Center, specifically in math teacher John Norris’s room. According to Del Rio, the environment of the Student Center is more relaxed and casual than the library’s.

Goel agrees that the Student Center is a more laid-back space. “For me, the Student Center is more of a place to spend time with your friends and talk about the week, and then the library is the place to actually get your work done,” Goel said.

According to Otero, the Student Center should be used as more of a socializing opportunity than the library. “We provide that Student Center space, so we’re able to sort of defer students down there that maybe just want to hang out and socialize,” she said.

Otero and the rest of the library staff attempt to minimize the noise level by walking around the library and reminding students to be quiet if they are being too loud. However, Otero believes the librarians’ goal is not to limit the collaborative environment of the space.

According to Otero, during the 2022-23 school year, students have been asked to leave the library a “handful of times,” mainly after school, due to their distracting behavior. Librarians only ask students to leave if the student has already been given multiple warnings or reminders by the librarians.

Freshman Ananya Goel stays in the library after school before her mock trial practices on Wednesdays and also finds it difficult to get work done. According to

Sophomore Avani Ganesan believes that socialization in the library can be beneficial at times. “I think it’s fine if [students] are chatting, as long as they’re not being actively disruptive to other people,” Ganesan said. “Being productive often means chatting with other people and sharing ideas.”

However, not all students choose to work with others in the library. Senior

“We’re not trying to take away any kind of social atmosphere in the library; people can definitely hang out as long as they’re not taking away from others’ experiences,” Otero said.

Jain also believes that if a student needs to be asked to quiet down three or more times, then they are likely serving as a distraction to others who are trying to use the library. According to Jain, while the library can sometimes be a balance of studying and socializing, it should ultimately lean more towards the studying side.

Like Jain, Otero believes the library’s first priority is to be a productive location and resource for Menlo students. “We do want, at the core of it, to be that [the library] is a place where students feel like they can get their stuff done, and that [the librarians] are here to help facilitate that,” she said.