Ronen Roy ‘27

Ben Wang ‘27

Every free period, hoards of students descend into the library in mass. While some have studious intent, a great majority have come to socialize with friends. With the new year’s approach, however, comes major changes. No more will the library be a wild wilderness but rather a more calm study space to help students deal with the rigors of the academic day.

One such change that the Annenberg Library has made has been setting strict limits of four chairs to a table. This rule has drawn mixed reactions from students, with Micah Kim ‘27 saying that “four people at a table is hard to do because [it can be hard to sit if you’re with more than 4 people].” Kim adds that he liked the older library measures better. Another measure taken by the library to prevent overcrowding has been closing the library when it reaches a maximum capacity. 

The library has implemented these countermeasures to allow students to shift the focus of the library back to studying. With only 88 seats the library must prioritize socialization or studying. “Many of the students that are coming are coming for more lounge-related experiences and so we’ve had to reconsider what purpose we can best serve the Upper School community,” Lorie Harding, Upper School Librarian, explains. “If we had 160 students that showed up that all needed to do academic work, that would be a different concern. But, we’re seeing a number of students that want to come together to hang out.”

Another new library policy has been banning food. “One of the reasons that food has not been allowed in the library is that Mr. Letts felt that letting food in makes it seem more as a social space,” Harding explains.

Harding is particularly interested in the results of the library’s new cell phone policies. “One of the things that I’ve heard from other librarians and other schools that have banned cell phones is that when there are no cell phones, the amount of talking increases. So, I’m actually really interested to see if anything changes due to our cell phone policy and how we will have to respond to that,” says Harding. As of right now, the library has simply banned playing computer games but with the school implementing a new cell phone policy in 2025, it is almost a foregone conclusion that cell phones will be banned in the library. 

Shelli Hay Middle School Librarian explains that the process of reinventing the library came down to securing a unique place for it in the campus ecosystem. “I think it was trying to reverse engineer what type of space are we trying to provide to the students who are seeking out the library, and how are we going to distinguish ourselves from other spaces, like the Athletic Center or your lounges or the dining hall? It was just kind of like a Venn diagram.” she explains.

Ultimately, there is no perfect solution for the library and there will always be disagreement over what role it should play. “I wish the library had multiple floors where maybe we could have an academic floor and a social floor but, we really have to be strategic and prioritize the needs which we serve first,” Harding says. 

Overall, the student body’s reaction to these changes have been mixed with a vocal minority speaking out against the changes while a silent majority supports them. Jack Gallagher ’25 explains, “The library the past couple of years has been really loud and sort of a social setting, but it shouldn’t be a social setting. It should be a place where you’re able to go and do your work in a quiet environment. There are plenty of other places around school where you can be social, like the honor hall or your class lounge.” Emma Fischer ‘28 believes that the new policies have been a success. “[the library] is a better studying environment now than it was before,” she says.  Ujiro Omuyeh ‘28 agrees saying  “I think [the library] creates a better space for getting work done.” 

All in all, the library’s new policies aim to reaffirm its place as an academic workplace. It was never meant to be a place filled with snacks, video games, and socialization and these new measures will allow students to study in peace and quiet. 

HOARDS OF STUDENTS: Students overwhelm the library as they enter in mass.