This year, a new policy change requires students to report to their assigned study hall room before heading to the library. As with any change, opinions among students are divided.

The decision to implement these new rules was made after careful consideration by the library staff in conjunction with school administrators. 

“The primary difference is that students report to their study at home teacher first, and then they come to the library. Last year you could just come directly to study hall [library],” Librarian Margo Fisher-Bellman said.

The primary goal of the change is to ensure that all students have equitable access to the resources and support available in the library. 

“It was basically ‘Who can run [there] first, and that’s not equitable,” Fisher-Bellman said. “When students are running or trying to get here fast… it is more chaotic. Doing it this way helps us keep things a little bit more controlled.”

So far, Librarian Acacia Diniz believes that the change has been beneficial.

“From the library’s side – it’s been working very well,” Diniz said. “It’s been easier to keep track of everyone and there’s a more varied group of students, compared to previous years when it would be a lot of the same students every day.”

However, opinions among students about this change vary. Many of them previously enjoyed the flexibility of heading directly to the library. For some, this adjustment has disrupted their established study routines. 

“Overly restrictive” is how SENIOR Sophia Palacios describes the new rules. “But I guess it’s quieter now.”

Conversely, there are students who are on board with the change. 

“I think that with the new rules, the library is a lot quieter and easier to work in, especially with less people,” SENIOR Tanasia Behanan said.