Walking into the Library Media Center this year, Mounds View students notice a different atmosphere. While the library used to be a bustling room for people to go during the school day, now it is nearly silent and empty as students with free hours report to the forum. However, even through these changes, library staff continue to find ways to keep students engaged with different activities and always offer helping hands around the library desk.  

Last year, students were used to seeing library media specialist Jenna Pomraning running  the library help desk, along with the help of retired library paraprofessional and German teacher Jill Hallenberger and tech specialist Nate Cmiel. However, after Pomraning left to work at Sunnyside Elementary School, Irondale and Mounds View now share a media specialist, Aaron Blechert, who travels between the two schools for two days a week and every other Friday. 

Originally, the plan was to close the respective libraries on the days Blechert was not there, but the superintendent was against that. Just before the school year began, they hired library paraeducator Lindsey Kohlhase to keep the libraries open full time. “Wherever [Blechert] wasn’t, that library was gonna be closed, which to me is a terrible thing, because you’re kind of stealing these resources away from students. You’re stealing away a safe space for them, a place they can get help for a lot of different things, just a place where they can be,” Kohlhase said.

The library still has limited hours, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with a half-hour closure at 11:30 a.m. These limited hours and lack of extra staff has an impact both on students and the staff that runs the place. “I have to turn people away because there’s just not enough time in the day,” Blechert said. 

Furthermore, students may have noticed fewer computers, a change that came after the school upgraded its systems, allowing students to print directly from their chromebooks. A table that used to house computers is now used as a makerspace to promote creativity and connectedness. 

Kohlhase created this space after finding it useful for young adults as a public librarian. With themed crafts and activities, puzzles and coloring sheets, the space helps students burn off some stress and anxiety during the school day. “It makes the library itself a more positive atmosphere. It builds community. I found makerspaces really successful, and so, since I have started here, it’s been my big goal, cause we have a lot of resources that have just kind of been sitting [unused]. I bring in crafts. I try to do seasonal stuff and build relationships.”

This project has definitely invited students to join in and hang out, like senior Daisy Lee, who goes every day. “I come to the library, just specifically to this area, cause I do the activities,” Lee said. “I tend to come here and color. Sometimes we make bracelets. There’s more activities here to do, so it makes the library more enjoyable.”

Last year, Pomraning did an audit of Mounds View’s collection and found that the library was not diverse enough. This led to her working part time with the school district to create more diverse libraries. At Mounds View, the librarians are open to talking with students about books they want and ordering them from Amazon. “Mr. Blechert and I have been really on top of increasing reflection and taking suggestions from students and trying to combat [diversity issues] because we have a diverse community here, and everyone has different needs and different wants for their stories,” Kohlhase said.

Other goals for the future include getting more comfortable seating to draw students in, more accessibility, activities or board games and a hope to bring back a full-time librarian. “Studies have shown that having a certified Media Specialist in a school actually helps to increase student achievement, and so it’s just too bad that the schools decided to cut this position in half,” Blechert said. 

As a whole, the library has gone through many changes between this year and last year, some negative and others more positive, resulting in a different overall feeling. “I have students who come in here and are excited to use the space, and they’re confident in asking questions. In the time I’ve been here, it’s opened up a little bit more, and people have felt more comfortable coming in here to just exist, which is what I’m all about,” Kohlhase said. “I’m really excited to see how it continues to evolve over the school year and if I’m here next year, the same.”