Books have been around for ages, but something new is coming to try to take their place. 

    “We don’t have ebooks here because of the way they charge us to buy them,” librarian Mrs. Grogan said. “And a lot of people prefer to read paper copies.”

    Mrs. Grogan’s assessment was proven right, because only five out of thirteen students prefer digital copies (ebooks, audiobooks, ect.) over physical copies. 

    “I physically can’t read ebooks without it hurting my eyes,” said freshman Aliyah Strawn.

    “Staring at screens makes my head hurt,” said Brooklyn Brumley.

    Blue light can cause headaches and eye strain, which can lead to eye damage farther down the road. It can also cause sleep deprivation. Blue light can be found on digital screens, which may be the source of the pain the students above said ebooks cause.

    Obviously, paper copies of books don’t cause this, since there are no screens to project blue light. So, an available place for them is a great way for students to read without hurting their eyes, or if they don’t have access to apps like Libby and Hoopla.   

    “Even for students who do have those [access to ebooks] the library is important to them,” Mrs. Grogan said. “The librarians can help them use those apps and we can direct them to new resources.”

    Some students might not have a library nearby, means of transportation, or access to a library card, so a school library is a fantastic resource. Not only for the convenience of being able to check out books at school, but for the resources the library provides to students.

    Changes with the pandemic also don’t seem to take too much of a toll on the library. 

    “We’re lucky here that we can do all the CDC guidelines and still be open. Most schools closed their libraries,” said librarian Mrs. Pelton. “We need to quarantine books for 72 hours before we can put them on the shelf, and we’re doing a lot of cleaning.”

    As you can see, the library can still help students just as much before the pandemic and ebooks.