No more yellow tape, bulldozers, blocked paths, and fenced in construction sites. Something has definitely changed on campus.

On Monday, August 23, the school officially completed the construction of the new library, allowing it to be used by all students, faculty, and staff.

As a project that took nearly 15 months to finish, the librarians were especially eager to settle into their new environment. Although the duration of the process exceeded expectations, both librarians Susan Smith and Lauri Vaughan agree that it was worth it.

Upper School Division Head Butch Keller was pleased with the finished building and felt that the entire project was a success. “It’s the best student-centered library that I’ve ever seen,” he said.

In addition to the new location of the library, several large changes have been made towards the building itself. “Probably the most significant difference is the capacity to hold more people. That was something we were really trying to achieve, and we have,” said Vaughan.

Not only is there more space for students, but the size of the building also allows for a greater number of books.

“With the last order in the spring, we literally had [the books] on carts because there was no more shelf-space. The reality is that this is a good sized library,” said Smith. “Even though a lot of our resources are electronic, and we’re not solely looking for growth in terms of books, we did pick up almost 50 percent more shelf space.”

Furthermore, an entirely separate room has been added to serve as classroom space. “This addition provides a lot more flexibility in the space that we have and allows us to teach in there,” Vaughan said.

Along with the increased capacity is the more laptop-friendly environment provided by the new building. “Everyone [is] able to plug in their computers at the desks and there will be plug-ins in the classroom space as well,” Vaughan said.

Keller also feels that the simple things, such as the casual, classroom, and personal spaces are all great additions to the library. “You get the best of all worlds,” he said.

All these new features are efforts to try and make the library as convenient and effective as possible. Yet while a bigger, newer, and more technologically advanced building is a great resource on campus, the librarians can only wish for one thing: for students to actually use this new space.

“I hope it continues to be a central learning place for students. It certainly was for a certain part of our community, but I hope it becomes that for an even larger part of our community. Libraries are more than just a room full of books; they’re a place of inspiration, and I really believed that Harker had achieved that even before the new space,” Vaughan said.

Likewise, Smith hopes that more people will use this facility not only in the beginning of the school year, but throughout. “New places attract new people. We hope that some new people will come to the library who didn’t come before,” Smith said. “Our mission statement is to be the intellectual heart and mind of the school, and libraries are wonderful places for that reason.”