It’s a feeling familiar to many. Homework needs to be done, and you need somewhere quiet to study. Unfortunately, the library is closed for testing of one kind or another. Closing the library for testing may seem like a nuisance to some, but there is a reason.

Patty Golditch, the Library Technician, understands how the closure of the library during testing weeks (AP tests, the SBAC and the CAHSEE tests) can affect students.

“Mainly, the closure is going to impact students who are going to come here during class, but our hope is to be open before school, at least up until 7:30, and I’m even considering opening the library at 7 a.m.,” Golditch said.

During the nationwide AP testing weeks, specifically May 4 through 8 and May 11 through 15, the library is often closed, open only for brief windows of time.

“[For AP testing] they need to allow a certain amount of hours for a student to complete the work, and once they’re started, I can’t open the doors. It’s not really in my power to make any changes. I’m here to accommodate the needs of the AP testing people, who are mainly Mrs. [Roisin] Leroy,” Golditch said.

Though the AP testing schedule may conflict with certain students’ desires to use the library, Golditch has anticipated the struggle and has a solution.

“I am working with my team, Mrs. [Kellie] Schulz and Mrs. [Carrie] Dick, my morning and afternoon library aides, to develop a calendar to show students when they can use the library. We’re going to have it posted on the website,” Golditch said.

For some students, like Jordyn Comer, the library closes at the most inopportune moments.

“I don’t always need the library, but whenever I do, it’s some sort of testing or meeting and it’s closed. I do my work there, so my friends won’t bug me, and when it’s closed it just kind of sucks,” Comer said.

The closure of the library doesn’t only affect students. Even the library staff finds themselves affected when it comes time for testing.

“[When the library is closed] we can’t do what we normally do, which is support the students that come in. In anticipation, a few months ago, I made arrangements to get a separate laptop, and a scanner and I ordered a receipt printer. In our textbook room, I am going to have classes that are going to be returning textbooks. I set up a third station that is right at the window of the textbook room, so that we can still do what we need to do [when the library is closed],” Golditch said.

For Golditch, knowing when and why the library is closed is the solution to confusion and misinformation.

“The key is communication. My fear is that students are going to go home and tell parents, ‘I can’t get to the library at all in May,’ and that is not going to be the situation at all. I thought what better way to make sure that everyone is aware that we’re as impacted by this as they are. We’re going to do whatever we can to make sure that it’s very obvious the days that they can come in. There may be, for example, a day where we’re open for the lunch through the afternoon because the AP test ended in the morning. It just depends on the day. We will have clear signs posted on the front doors of the library, listing all the open and closed days. I will probably for a two week stretch, and it will be on the website. Then students will feel like they know when they can come rather than knowing when they can’t.” Golditch said.

Though the library staff often posts schedules on their doors, students find it is easier to check a website.

“A schedule posted online would help a lot. I can’t always get to the library to check when it’s open or closed. If it was on the website I could just search for it,” Comer said.

The calendar Golditch plans to create will be available online beginning next year, and she hopes it will help students plan their time, and resulting in less confusion about the library’s hours.

Golditch said, “As a library, we pride ourselves in the fact that we are the information center of the school. We‘re here to support the teachers, the students, the administration and anyway we can help students to still use our facility, we’re here to support that. If anybody has any suggestions, or if they have questions, they’re more than welcome to come and ask us.”

by HARMONY REILLY