Bubbles cascade down from the top of the entryway. Eyes light up, taking in flowers, floating mechanical sharks and festive Hawaiian hats poking through the wooden cut-outs. The library is open.

Head Librarian Liz Harrison created “Book Paradise” to continue the long tradition of picking a theme to enhance the library and celebrate the arrival of 800 books each spring.

“[We are in] a competition with games and you have to make things fun to get kids interested in checking out books again and increase circulation,” Harrison said.

According to Harrison, the school’s library is the best in the district because of these engaging themes and ideas brought by the library staff, which has led to four times more books being checked out than any other high school library.

“We try to make it real exciting for the kids so they come and check out the new books and encourage them to come to the library,” Library Aide Kathy Lemay said. “It’s a lot of work to prepare but it’s worth it because the kids are all coming in excited and they’re not just having fun with all the different activities, but they’re actually checking out the new books and that’s the whole point.”

Harrison and her aides decorated and prepared a music-filled environment in hopes of attracting students.

“You actually want to go to the library,” sophomore Sareena Contractor said. “We wanted to leave lunch early just so we could go. It makes the library more appealing that you actually want to come look at the books and see what’s going on in the library.”

“Book Paradise” ends Mar. 18, but new books and a fully decorated library will come back next year.

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Photo’s by Olivia Bragg

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