Media Center to Undergo Renovations

By Emily Strauser, Editor-in-Chief

Sterling's media center main room is ready to under renovations
Photo credit: Emily Strauser

                         Sterling’s media center is going to change. Mr. Ferraro, the new librarian, is planning to update and remodel our media center experience in the 2013-2014 school year.
 
                        Say “goodbye” to the old, DMV feel of the media center; Mr. Ferraro is going to make it more like a Barnes & Nobles. He says there will be a new study area and a hangout area. The study area will be in the corner of the media center by the main computer lab, and it will be a more formal setting that can fit up to three or four people. The hangout area will be like an informal study area, and it will be found in between bookshelves. This area will fit more students, and there will be more comfy chairs and possibly couches. A map of the new layout can be found drawn on the whiteboard behind Mr. Ferraro’s desk in front of the main computer lab.

                          Mr. Ferraro also plans to advertise new books in the media center on the announcements. At least one day a week will be “New Book Day,” where the library’s latest additions will be featured on Channel 19’s Sterling Knightline.
                          The library isn’t the only part of the media center that’s going to change. The computer labs will have a modification or two as well. All of the computers in Annex 1 will be replaced with Macs that can also be used as PCs. When students start up the Macs, they can choose to use either the Mac or the Windows platform. The Mac platform would be used for media projects, and the Windows platform would be used for the usual student work like essays. Mr. Ferraro says that it’s for the benefit of the students, and he wants all students to be able to “create media projects” outside of class. The only computers capable of this right now are the Macs in Room 402 and Room 201.

Sterling's Annex 1 computer lab
Photo credit: Emily Strauser



                          When asked about other changes Mr. Ferraro wishes to make, he said that he was “barraged by ideas,” and it depends on the amount of space he has. Some ideas that he has still need approval from the Board of Education. He says he’s open to suggestions that any student has for the changing media center, but he can’t promise anything. He encourages students to come see him with ideas.