As you walk into the Kelly Walsh Library, you notice it’s not quite the stereotypical library. One of the first things you’ll see as you walk in – just to the right of the check in center – is the Library Market Place. Here they sell a variety of snacks, drinks, and fun accessories. Once you’ve past there, you enter into what some call “The heart of Kelly Walsh”. You’ll see comfy couches adorning walls and corners, thirteen different tables arranged around the room for study areas,  and twenty computers set up for student use.  The back walls are lined with obligatory book shelves, and each day at least 200 students can be seen having fun (not whispering) in every area of the library.

And it’s not just a place to hang out and have fun. The Kelly Walsh Library is home to over fifteen different programs designed to help students. A few of those programs are the Literacy Center, the Freshman Facilitators, English as a Second language program, the Seniors at Risk program, the I.T. Help Center, and many more programs.

“I like to think of the library as the heart of the building. A place where kids can come and get the help they need in a warm and welcoming environment,” said Tabitha Smith-Herron, the school librarian.

The Literacy Center is one of those places.

“It’s a place where we help students to get better at what they are already doing well,” said Lynnette Wiginton, one of the tutors.The Literacy Center has 4.5 tutors ready to help at any moment and on average see 45-100 students a day. “We’re here to help every kid in every way so its different every day,” said Wiginton.

Students can come to get on any subject I they have in school. One of the things the Literacy Center is known for is their ACT prep program.

“I come for ACT help; its free and just as good as anything,” said Colin O’Neill a senior.

The Literacy Center is open from 7:15 a.m. – 4:45 p.m. Monday- Thursday and from 7:15 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. on Fridays. You can make an appointment or just drop-in.

Another program in the library is the Freshman Facilitators. The Freshman Facilitators are Jill Bader and Luanne Marshall. The Freshman Facilitators keep their eyes and attention on the entire freshmen class and make sure they are doing well in their classes and adapting to the high school culture.

“We really try to help transition freshman into their first year of high school,” said Marshall.

If you walk into the Freshman Facilitators office you’ll notice that it isn’t just freshman in there, students of all grades hang out there.

“Once we know them as freshman they come back through all their years because of the relationships we build,” said Bader.

Bader and Marshall serve as advocates and resources to help freshmen through the transition to high school.

“They help me out even if it’s nothing to do with school. They are people we can come talk to about anything,” said Ramon Lopez, a sophomore.  The Freshman Facilitators office is always open to whoever stop by grabs some candy and have some great conversations.

Behind the book checkout desk you’ll find the I.T. Help Center. The I.T. department oversees all the machines in the building. They are in charge of all the imaging, application updates, problems that need fixed, and the list goes on. Students can bring their laptops to them with any problem and they will either fix it or give you a new computer. Students will only be fined if they deliberately damaged their computers.

When you look up in the library you see there is a balcony. Along the balcony are the desks of many other programs the library is home to. The English as a Second Language is one of the many programs on the balcony. The ESL program is a place where students who don’t know English or who aren’t the greatest English speakers can get some one-on-one help.

“Students come to me and work on second language acquisition. I take their work and make it understandable to them,” said Annie Boulanger, the ESL instructor.

A fear for the Kelly Walsh library is the inevitable move to the new building. Unfortunately, the library in the new building is considerably smaller than the current one. As a result many of these programs will also have new homes outside of the library.  Mrs. Smith-Herron is determined to recreate the “heart of Kelly Walsh” in the new building too, so have no fear, the KW library will always be a great place to hang out.