Green Mountain Transformation

CHESTER, VT – The Green Mountain Library is undergoing a transformation. Instead of a library, students will be getting a Learning Commons. What is a learning Commons you ask?

 A Learning Commons are areas set aside for different types of work. Our 21st century library will be a vibrant learning center, where students can study, read, research, collaborate, explore, think, create, discover and just be. GMUHS will have four learning commons. 

  A Community Common, for community use. A place with tables and chairs, a screen and projector and lots of books. This space can be used for middle school 'town meetings', for School Board meetings, adult learning at night, and a place for students and staff to gather and do project based learning and staff development work.    

  A E-Learning Common. Many of the students come to the library to use computers. This area will remain as is except for the new furniture. Many other students take on-line classes through Virtual High School (VHS) or the Vermont Virtual Learning Consortium (VTVLC). There are hundreds of courses to choose from and Green Mountain has had students take classes as varied as Latin and Mandarin. These learning opportunities are necessary as student enrollment declines. The E-Learning Common will be a place for students to access learning and information at all times. 

  A Cyber Cafe Common. This area will have cafe style tables (bistro tables) and chairs with access to a flat screen television for posting things such as student work, drama productions, daily schedules and more. Students can upload and share web 2.0 tools and resources. 

  A Quiet Reading Common. The Quiet Reading Common will provide our students with a comfortable area and soft furniture to enjoy a good book or magazine.    

  GMUHS will not be doing away with books. A look at the standards suggests that a school should have about 20 books per student. As we have 345 students, we should have about 7000 books. We currently have about 14,000 books, but many of them have not been taken out in years and many have old information and as such need to be weeded from the collection. Green Mountain is planning for 9,000 books and planning for as many as 12,000 in the future. They will also be updating the collection with more recent books with the goal of having a collection with an average of 1997 and newer. 

  Technology Will Be Available In The Library Learning Commons. The computer lab/classroom will still be available. Students will be able to check out laptops, ipads, kindles and other hand held devices as well as work on desktop computers. 

  We are scheduling to open the Library Learning Commons by June of this year. We will be hosting an open house for the community to come and see the new space... so stay tuned.