Sarah Merrill

LIS 6455- Spring 2019

Architect Memo

Dear Architect,

I’d first like to thank you for considering my opinion as the media specialist when

designing this new building for Bayside High School, and I’m looking forward to working

through the design with you. Considering our proposed move to a new building next year, I have

some suggestions for the new design, based on the challenges we’ve been facing with our current

space, and the aspects that have been working well for our school community.

Our current media center is small, but over the years I’ve been able to develop a nice

flow, mostly through furniture placement. The circulation desk is to the left of the media center’s

entrance, and to the right is a magazine rack and reading nook with a few comfortable couches.

Past the reading nook is the door to our TV studio, which is where students work with me to

record and edit videos for the morning news. Towards the back of the library is where the bulk of

our print materials are shelved, and I’ve carved out a classroom space that houses our

Smartboard in the back left corner of the media center. This classroom space is vital, as teachers

come in to use the space nearly every day. Behind the wall on which the Smartboard is mounted

is our design office and storage closet. My office and a small processing table is located behind

the circulation desk. Our computer lab is in a separate room, closed off from the rest of the media

center, and we have a small “professional collection room,” which is mostly used to store extra

textbooks and some various electronic equipment. Most of the student activity takes place either
in the classroom area or in the reading nook, so these are the areas I’d like to focus on

developing in our new media center.

In my opinion, both the circulation desk and our shelving system are working perfectly

for our needs. A shift to digital materials is being emphasized by the district, so our shelving

needs won’t be expanding too much beyond what we have: in fact, we may need slightly less

shelving after doing some much-needed weeding. Besides the shelves against the wall, all our

current shelving units are low, and I’d like to keep this feature in the new media center. Safety is

a priority for our school, so it’s important for me to adopt features that enhance sight-lines

throughout the media center, making sure every space in the library is able to be monitored,

especially from the vantage point of the circulation desk.

One of my biggest priorities in the new media center is flexibility. Many of our students

are only with us a short time, as we’re a transitional or dropout-prevention program, and the

ability to meet the ever-changing needs of our students is one of our school’s greatest challenges.

On the note of flexibility, Bayside has recently begun a “restorative circle” practice, and I’ve

encouraged other teachers to bring their students into the media center for their restorative

circles. Nearly every day, we end up moving our heavy wooden tables in the classroom area.

This has been doable, but it would be much more convenient if we were able to wheel in some

flexible seating, or even had a small designated area for the circles, if space allowed. I’d like to

revamp the classroom area, using the same layout but updating the tables to something lighter

and more easily adjustable. The addition of quiet study spaces is something I’d like to include in

the new media center. As many of Bayside’s students are older (most are over 17), I’d love to

have small rooms where they can work quietly and focus on individual projects without being

distracted by other students. Two study rooms, which are glassed-in and easily monitored, would
be ideal. These quiet study rooms could possibly replace some of our storage space. We are a

small school and media center, so we need very little storage. I’d much rather make some of that

space available to students.

One of our main focuses in the media center is to be a welcoming and comfortable place

for students to spend time, and a way to make that a reality is to provide comfortable seating

where they can read and relax with their friends. Our small reading nook has been very popular

with students, and I’d like to expand that space with more seating, possibly including some

wheeled tables and whiteboards for group work. I’d also like to integrate our computer lab into

the main area of our media center, so it is easily accessible to students who need the desktops for

homework. One last aspect that I think is working is our TV studio. If anything, I’d like to

expand the studio so we can fit our editing computers inside the recording suite. Students at

Bayside have very little options for electives, creative or otherwise, so they’ve really enjoyed the

creative outlet of developing and editing their own videos. I’d like to have a bit more space to

expand that program, maybe including a prop and costume closet.

As far as aesthetics are concerned, I’d like the new media center to be brighter and more

inviting. Currently, the design sticks to our school colors (maroon and silver), but I feel these

colors make the space feel darker and smaller than it really is. More windows could bring in

light, and some cheerful, calming colors such as light blues and greens could make the space feel

brighter and more modern.

Overall, the features I’d like to focus on for this new building is the addition of flexible,

comfortable seating with tables that students can use for group work, quiet and easily-monitored

study rooms, as well as opening up the space by exchanging some excess storage space for more

space for students to read, relax with friends, and work on projects.
 Again, thank you for including me in the design of this new space, and I look forward to

hearing your suggestions.

Best,

Sarah Merrill

Media Specialist - Bayside High School