Learning Commons in a High School Library

Since I began preparing for a talk I gave at the SLA annual conference, I have been collecting examples of commons spaces, particularly looking for those outside of academic libraries. I was excited to see this post on Michael Stephens' blog sharing an article about a new commons in a high school library.

The Chelmsford (MA) High School Library has been transformed into a comfortable, attractive space where students "discussions are spirited." And thankfully the new commons space is nothing like the "gross" library of before:

In the place formerly known as the library, students perch on long-legged chairs and huddle in purple and black booths. Once a week, they drink coffee and discuss books in the Java Room. They watch a history lesson, school news, and CNN on a 58-inch flat-panel "digital kiosk."

Read the entire article.