ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
There have been many upgrades going on throughout USD 480, and among that work is a renovation project for the Liberal High School library.
As LHS Librarian Ashley Prosser tells it, the renovations have been needed for a long time, and there was excitement when the conversations about such work started.
“Last year, I got a phone call from our director of operations, Chad Mease, during the winter break. And it was one of the few times I've been excited about a phone call over break from an administrator because he was wanting to talk about renovations to the library,” Prosser said with a chuckle. “Last spring semester, we were working with Architect One and going through all the different things that needed renovated in the current footprint of the library. We're not expanding anything or making any changes like that. Then, this past summer, they started working on it – at the end of last year was when we had to move everything out, and then the crews got to work and have been going about everything pretty steadily since then. The year before, we'd had some big meetings with Architect One and different groups saying 'Here's some of our big ideas, what would you want to do?' and expanding the library was among all of that, but that is not something that is being done in this current scope of work. The renovations that have been completed so far are within the current library footprint, and we've renovated it while keeping in mind that if we ever did want to do some expansion in the future, it'll be easier to do so.”
“We'd talked a little bit last fall about the more big-picture work and what would need to be adjusted and/or looked at and/or reconfigured, and the library was definitely on that list of priorities,” Architect One Project Manager Jacquelyn Rakoski-Diediker added. “The idea was to update the space and give it a facelift and make it much more usable so the students can engage in that space more than they can currently.”
Rakoski-Diediker added while many of the renovations are cosmetic, they will help with the library’s overall functionality.
“The original library layout had a lot of half-height brick walls along with multiple distinct level changes and ramps and stairs, so a big part of the conversation was about removing those walls so students and staff could use the full space, and we wanted to also make sure everything was all on one level so there are no tripping hazards or ADA-compliance concerns,” Rakoski-Diediker said. “We want all students and staff to be able to use the entire space, so a main goal is making the library accessible to everyone while making some cosmetic upgrades and bringing in new technology and increasing storage.”
With the work currently under way, Prosser and Rakoski-Diediker said there is a lot to be excited about.
“I'll definitely be excited to get out of the tiny classroom we're currently using as the library and having everything in one room again, that will be great,” Prosser said. “It's been interesting, to say the least, being in one classroom, but we've learned a lot and I'm trying to take those lessons so we can adapt and use those lessons for the future. Being able to better serve the students and staff is extremely important – in the past, with the different levels and brick walls, and with the way the space was broken up, I couldn't fit very many students in the library comfortably. Now, with the library becoming a much more open space, the students will have more access to electricity to charge their Chromebooks, and more students will be able to be in the library and use it, which I think is amazing. We'll also have some areas for silent work and areas for group work/projects. Last year, I had an average of 60 to 80 students in the library for their Personal Learning Time (PLT) every mod, so there's a constant flow of students in the library. Having a more open and welcoming space will be amazing, and we'll be able to serve the students and staff so, so much better than in the past.”
“I would absolutely agree with that. Part of our job is to look at how we can improve an environment and the interaction within it and meet the needs of what Liberal High School is looking for to better serve everyone,” Rakoski-Diediker said. “Our hope is, once we walk away, to have more students in the library because they want to be in there because it's more welcoming.”
“There actually were a few times when we had 100 students in the library for PLT, and it was extremely crowded. There are 1,400 students in LHS, and the current footprint of the library is not adequate to accommodate those numbers,” Prosser added. “I'm thrilled to have this project going on – technically, I would have been happy just to have the 40-year-old orange carpet ripped out and replaced, but with all the updates being made this time around, I'm beyond ecstatic.”
Prosser and Rakoski-Diediker agreed the progress on the project has been wonderful to witness.
“I'm just excited about the progress and seeing everything happen. With any construction project, especially in a school, it'll feel like things are going slower than you initially think they should, and that is how I felt at the beginning,” Prosser said. “But now, it seems like there's very little work left to do aside from just the finishing touches, and I can't wait to see everything officially come together. I tend to wait to get excited about something until I see something concrete, but things are now getting to the point where I'm starting to see in my head where certain things will go and how everything will look.”
“Whenever you go into an existing space, whenever you take out a ceiling or wall, you never know what surprises you might find,” Rakoski-Diediker added. “But with this project, I feel like there actually weren't too many of those discoveries, and the ones we did make, we were able to rectify them pretty quickly and easily. There's no more surprises to be found since we're near the end and putting everything back together, and we're also excited to see everything come together. I would say it would be early in 2025 when everything will be completed, that's definitely our expectation. There are still some things needing to be installed and some last minute work like the flooring and finish paint and things like that, and that's really the bulk of the finish work since there's no more electrical work or HVAC or any of that heavier work.”
As the school’s librarian, Prosser said she is looking forward to the library’s reopening day.
“I'll be very happy, and I think it'll be incredibly busy because all of the students will want to come in and see everything. We'd talked about doing some sort of open house event or something similar to commemorate the work being done, but that decision hasn't been finalized yet,” Prosser said. “I have a feeling once it's open, the rest of the semester will be a bit of a madhouse because of all the students being in there working and reading. I'm really excited because when I first came, one of my goals was to beat the total circulation number for books from some years ago. My first year, I did just barely beat that number and just last year, we had more total circulation than we'd had in the past six years. This year, because we're in a lone classroom, I have book events, and it's kind of hard to run those out of that room. I love seeing students in the library for PLT because they come in and I love talking with them about books. I'm excited to start encouraging more students into the library and doing more reading, because I love seeing the library full and hearing all the conversations about upcoming projects and everything else going on.”
Prosser and Rakoski-Diediker also agreed students and faculty and staff will benefit from the renovations.
“Any new space draws people's attention, so we hope not only will these renovations draw more attention to the library, but it will also engage more students to want to learn more about what all the library offers,” Rakoski-Diediker added. “A lot of students just pass their school library and don't give it too much extra thought beyond if they need a book or something either to read or for some project they're working on. But with the new space, it'll be a great opportunity to bring the library to more students' attention and spread more word of mouth about this or that service, which is great.”
“Something we did last year was display some student artwork in the library, and that included drawings and/or 3D pieces with Pix Brix. Especially during finals week, students would come in needing a bit of a break, and they'd build something with the Pix Brix kits we had, and there were some of those pieces that were just amazing, so we displayed them,” Prosser said. “Some student art that had been displayed at Baker Arts Center was also in here after I got their permission, and I've got a few shallow display squares throughout the library where I'd love to continue doing that and showing off what the students are doing and pull more people in. We don't have a Makerspace per se, but we do provide to students all sorts of crafting materials like poster boards and markers and glue and all of that, so we want them to know now how they can come to the library and get those materials for whatever project they're working on, and there will also be better space to store it that's also more accessible. We want the library to be a space where everyone can go and do more besides check out books to read or for research resources, we want it to be a multi-purpose space. When I became the LHS librarian, I said I wanted to make it the kitchen of the school and have it be the center, and I feel like these renovations will help with that.”
