If you’ve taken a trip to the library in recent years and had a less-than-ideal interaction with our school librarians, don’t take it to heart. Over the years, managing the library has become increasingly difficult due to staffing shortages, renovations, and behavioral issues among students. Misunderstood by most, the librarian’s reputation may be warranted but they act the way they do for a reason.

Our current library situation is neither efficient nor constructive for staff and students which makes this space a place that many students are missing out on.

All of the problems that exist within this current system have multiple perspectives to combat. That of the students and the staff. At the same time, both parties are going by the rules of administration and our principal which complicates things even more.

The library feels like a giant representation of the gap between students and staff at AHS. This space is supposed to be a quiet, productive and respected area in the school where students can come to get work done and make use of the educational resources provided.

The Librarians and administration cannot take all the blame for the library’s current state, as many of the inconvenient rules have been instituted because of the way students act and the disrespect they show for the norms of a high school library.

On the other hand, the rules regarding when students are allowed to access the library are not entirely to their advantage. For example, the most convenient and logical time for students to use the library is during w4/ pride time which is not allowed.

W4/ pride time is basically an hour-and-a-half long study hall for most students, of which time could be spent usefully in the library. The reason students aren’t allowed in the library is because that is the Librarian’s only planning period; an organizational error.

Students are only allowed to use the library before or after school which seems wildly inconvenient, especially for those who ride the bus, or during lunch which can be impossible some days because of the pass system.

“We’re held to operational and programmatic standards that are given by the district, state and school so you have to find the balance between the three,” Head Librarian Patricia Brown said. Unfortunately, finding that balance, answering the grievances of the student body, and keeping the library running adequately becomes an impossible task.

Many functional issues within the library system could be alleviated with more library-specific staffing. The librarians need more help and they’re not getting it. The first step to solving student issues is solving staff issues.

Like many staff members at AHS, their workload can be too overwhelming and on top of it all, throughout the school day, they have hall duty where they need to monitor the hallways. Understanding the responsibilities of the librarians really puts their actions and reputation into perspective.