Multi-/Single- School Campus Comparison

A brief reflection on the difference in experience between working a campus library and a single-school library.

I had a big question going into this fieldwork: how different would it feel working at a library serving five high schools? My previous experience had been limited to a standard one-school experience, as with my time at Kentridge High School. How would being in such a larger institution, with so many more levels of administration, affect my experience in the library? As has become a theme as I'm wrapping up this fieldwork, I've realized that my limited time on campus necessarily limited my exposure to the schools at large, never mind any revelatory insights. 

However, one major thing did stand out to me: I didn't feel like the library was part of all the schools. This is likely due to the vertical nature of the Seward Park Educational Campus, wherein each school occupies one of its five floors. By the simple nature of staff and students not wanting to travel potentially three floors to the fourth-story library, the vast majority of staff and students I interacted with were from New Design High School. This was especially apparent during lunches, when the NDHS students would use the library in far greater numbers than any of their campus-mates. 

This brings up some really interesting questions pertaining to outreach. As silly as it sounds, I feel like there may need to be dedicated efforts to engage students on other floors who may otherwise never visit the library. It also concerns me that without efforts to engage these students, the collection and programming of the library may begin to bias towards the needs specifically of the NDHS, similarly to how an academic library closely located to a chemistry department may begin to favor chemistry-related texts over other titles. Obviously, this library operates on a much smaller scale and with a much less actively engaged user base than a research institution such as a university, but I feel that there is a kernel in my worry that is warranted. Given that I may well end up working in a similar arrangement at some point in my career, I think it's important to think proactively about how a library can make sure it serves all of its patrons, not just those with the easiest access.