Many students have expressed how they miss having the Carlos Library open until 6 p.m. since they use this time to work on homework and study in a quiet environment. However, there is a reason why this policy has been implemented this school year since Judy Floyd retired two years ago from Woodward as a librarian.
Ann Haber and Melissa Gilbert, the Upper School librarians, ensure that the library remains a quiet place for students to get their work done. This year, the library is open from 7:45 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. on the weekdays. However, last year, the library was open for a longer period of time because the librarians were trying to manage the old library policy, but it became too overwhelming. Dr. Merrill and Ann Haber studied the traffic of the students who were requesting help from the librarians for research purposes.
“What we found was before school during lunch and right after school, there were students coming in requesting help from the librarians for research,” Merrill said.
Dr. Merrill made a decision with Ann Haber based on how many students were requesting help from the librarians.
“After about four o’clock, most of the people in the library were just there for a quiet place to study,” Merrill said. “That’s why we made this decision because we only have two librarians.”
Dr. Merrill explained that this new policy gives the librarians relieves them from working extra hours.
“All the other faculty members [are] expected to work a certain number of hours a day,” Merrill said. “If we keep the library open after 4:30, assuming we want [the library] to continue to open at 7:30, then we put the librarians in a position of having to work over the expected number of hours that the faculty members work.”
Haber admits that the new policy is better for her personally in addition to it being beneficial for students who can come in before school, during tutorial, during lunch and until 4:30 p.m. after school.
“It really is fantastic because I don’t feel as stressed,” Haber said. “We feel like everybody has at least a chance sometime during the day to get by to see us if they really need help.”
Gilbert has a young son in primary school. Whereas last year she would have to rush home to quickly eat dinner with him, this year, she can have more time with him and enjoy her dinner since the library currently closes at 4:30 p.m. She appreciates having more time after school this year whilst still being able to help students.
“I feel like it’s a nice balance because we still have some time before and after school [that] students can come and get help from us, but then it also allows us a little more freedom in our lives. It makes [our] work-life balance a little easier on us,” Gilbert said.
Since many students voiced their concerns about the new library policies, Dr. Merrill decided to take matters into his own hands by making another study place in replacement of the library. He recognizes that the problems in the lounge make it a hard place to study.
“We definitely understand that the Tyler Brown Center itself is not the quietest place to study after school, so there’s a classroom in the lounge right next to coach Myers’s office,” Merrill said.
Anjana Murthy ‘24, who has jazz choir after school, expresses the inconvenience of not having a quiet place to study.
“After school, it’s pretty loud in the student lounge, so if I’m trying to study before a rehearsal, the library is one of my only options,” Murthy said. “It closing after four makes it inconvenient for students trying to get work done before or after practice.”
Georgia Verheyden ‘24, a student who enjoys spending time in the library, adds that it affects a range of students who participate in extracurricular activities after school among other obligations.
“Many students who can’t be picked up early or who have to wait for siblings in after-school activities or just anyone who enjoys spending time in there would be severely impacted and affected by it,” Verheyden said.
Dr. Merrill appreciates students’ concerns about wanting a quiet environment to study. He expresses that he is open to other study rooms.
“If it turns out that the classroom and Tyler Brown from 4:30 to 6:00 is not an adequate, quiet study place, we will continue to work with students to identify a better location if that’s needed,” Merrill said.
