After over a year as a cluttered space used for storage and in-school discipline, the East Rock Community & Cultural Studies Magnet School library is now—a library again.  

 Charlie Pellegrino, a sixth grader who recently helped organize boxes of teaching materials, likes what is happening. “It makes our school look more professional,” he said. “It makes our school look more like a school—instead of a Covid school.” 

 Garrett Griffin Jr., a 6th grade teacher at East Rock School, recently took his class to the library to do something they haven’t done for months: Take out books. After the new librarian, Anneliese Juergensen, sent out an interest form, he signed right up. 

“It’s exciting for the students to come in and interact with space, especially since it’s been out of use for so long,” he said. “For months it was that same disheveled mess. You would step into the library and find piles of books in no particular order and boxes on top of bookshelves and sitting on the floor.”

 

 Even though they only have a small amount of time–about 15 minutes of their afternoon class–Mr. Griffin said it is a nice change or students. “I do think it is worth it for students to get a book they actually enjoy,” he said. 

Ms. Juergensen said that when she sent out the interest form that “all of the K-6 classes signed up for a time to visit the library.” She said depending on the grade, visiting classes have a read-aloud or a short lesson on library skills and research, followed by the opportunity to check out books. In addition, she said, students now have the opportunity to borrow books from the library first thing in the morning on Wednesdays and Fridays. 

Excitement has been building following months in which the airy space was virtually unusable. Just several weeks ago, Matteo Mercado, who is in 8th grade, complained that, “The library looks messy. It’s disorganized.”  

As a result, students did not use it during class, And far from being a place of reading and discovery, it was where students who misbehaved were sent to serve in-school suspensions.  Students like Mr. Mercado said the library was not welcoming.  Such a mess, he said, “discourages young readers. It doesn’t like a good environment to go in and relax and get focused on a book.”  

So, how and why did this happen? And what are the new plans? Like some school issues, it started with Covid. When school was held remotely, students were at home on the computer. With no students in the library, it became a place to store things. But even when students returned to school, the library was not used. The reason? Safety protocols, said Sabrina Breland, principal of East Rock School.

“During COVID–19, we were given the directive that any area with carpeting could not be used to instruct students,” said Principal Breland. Rules did not let large groups gather in areas with carpeting because of concerns that the materials could harbor and spread the virus.  “Since the entire library is carpeted, we started moving things out of the classrooms,” Ms. Breland said. “And since East Rock has limited storage rooms, we started using the library as storage.”  

Because of rules requiring students to remain six feet apart in school, furniture and other items had to be moved out of classrooms to create more space. They ended up in the library.  As a result, Covid restrictions had a huge impact on the library. It continued for a while even after the pandemic ended. The problem was not just at East Rock. Jenny Lussier, the President of the Connecticut Association of School Librarians, said libraries across the state struggled after the initial pandemic restrictions. Like at East Rock School, she said concerns about Covid transmission led to library restrictions in many districts.  

“Even when we came back to school, some places wouldn’t allow libraries to operate because they were afraid [Covid] could be transmitted by touching books,” she said. In many districts, libraries soon re-opened, she said. “Most schools have gone back to what we consider a regular library,” she said.

 

At East Rock School, the library has been slow to return to use. After so long of not being used as a library, it has been hard to re-open the space. “When the restrictions were taken away, our library was in shambles,” said Ms. Breland. This has bothered students. According to the East Rock Record Fall/Winter 2024 Survey, 84 percent of those who responded said they wanted the library “to be more organized.”  

Now that this is finally happening, Ms. Juergensen, the East Rock School librarian, has big plans for the future. Several months ago, she started removing old books. 

“The library is a bit a of a mess because I am cleaning it out,” she told East Rock Reporters in the fall. She held a “shelfie” contest earlier in the year that had students take pictures of their home bookshelves (a shelf-selfie!) and submit them for a gift card prize. She also has left books outside of the library that students are allowed to take home and keep. 

 “I am taking out all the older books that are too old to enjoy and removing stuff that was just thrown into the library during the pandemic and replacing them with newer books,” Ms. Juergensen explained.  In addition, she aims to make the library more flexible. Instead of just being a space to check out a book and ready quietly, she wants the library to be used for a variety of activities. “I want to make sure there are spaces for teachers, therapists, tutors, and kids to work and enjoy and try things and read things,” she said. To achieve this vision, she is getting new furniture to revamp the space and create areas for collaboration.  

One challenge is that Ms. Juergensen is the librarian for more than one school, East Rock School and FAME (Family Academy of Multilingual Exploration). “I have been working in one building for a number of years and this year I have to go to another school once a week, that makes my job a lot harder,” she said. 

Still, she is eager to see the library be used again, and not as a storage space or for discipline. Ms. Breland, too, is excited about the change. 

“We have a lot of ideas for how to make that space better for everyone, not just for students but for teachers as well,” she said. 

Edited by Norah Laughter