Every day during lunch and brunch, the school library gets filled with students seeking the warmth and safety of being indoors. There is no doubt that the library gets used, but what exactly does it get used for?
The school library is able to provide many different benefits, including Chromebooks and other computers, tech help, books, a quiet place to study and a good place to hang out, just to name a few. The most popular use of the library seems to be as a place for socializing, rather than a source of books and information.
“Me and my friends usually come here to study before tests,” FHS senior Vanshika Vasanth said. “And then we also hang out during brunch and lunch.”
The library is warm in the winter, cool in the summer and always open throughout the day, making it a place many enjoy hanging out in when outside is uncomfortable. It also features wooden tables that are easy to write on, unlike the outdoor tables, which have big slats in the middle. This makes it easier to do homework in the library. FHS sophomore Charlotte Painter also does not feel like the library’s main use is for books.
“I usually do my homework during my first block,” Painter said. “And I will sometimes spend my lunches here if I have a lot of work to do.”
The library has quiet study areas that are the perfect place to focus and get your work done. Many students use these areas for homework and studying when they have extra time in the middle of the school day because it is more comfortable than trying to work outside.
Even though the library is primarily a place to hang out, it still acts as a normal library, providing students with the tools for success.
“I think a lot of socialization happens,” FHS librarian Ruben Zamora said. “[But] we still have a lot of books that are going in and out. We have Chromebooks that we loan out on a daily basis.”
While the library’s main purpose is being a place to study and hang out, that does not mean it is not used for other things as well. All of the school library’s resources are being used by FHS students, just some of them more than others.
“We have our computer lab here that gets used by classes,” Zamora said. “There’s probably a handful of kids every day that use those desktop computers. [For activities] other than for gaming during lunch.”
The FHS library’s main purpose is not to be a source of books, but that does not mean Firebirds are not readers. There are oher sources of books around here that get used often.
“I usually go to the Sunnyvale [public] library instead,” Painter said, “Because I feel like sometimes I have trouble finding things here.”
Sunnyvale provides its citizens with many different ways to access information, and one of them is the FHS library. The library provides its users with a comfortable place to chat and study, while still fulfilling its purpose as a library.
