As a new school year fast approaches for Park City students, the phase one additions to Park City High School are scheduled for completion by opening day, Tuesday, Aug. 21. Now, what will phase two entail, specifically regarding the future of a library?
Before the construction began, Park City High School housed a library that doubled as a space for Park City Center for Advanced Professional Studies students. But since the 2021-22 school year, the library has not been open for use due to construction, and currently the high school doesn’t offer access to an online library. Students are encouraged to use Park City Library, just off of Main Street, which offers free library cards to any Park City student.
According to Heidi Matthews, the community relations person with Park City School District’s Family and Community Engagement Team, there will not be a library among the new additions to Park City High School. Instead there will be a “Media Space/Program.” The Media Space is a part of the phase two plan for the high school, Matthews said, which will primarily focus on addressing library considerations and access to media materials.
Phase one of the construction is centered around expanding the Career and Technical Education program. There will be expansions to classes like culinary arts, where a professional-style kitchen will give students the ability to further explore the career pathway. Other pathways — like health and medicine, aviation, and technology — will also gain new resources.
But the removal of a formal library is certain, and responses to that decision vary.
Darla Goodwin, a retired English teacher from Las Vegas who now lives Park City part time, said the high school she taught at also made the decision to remove their library in place of a media center. She said it isn’t a bad idea, but it needs to be done well.
“To compete in today’s world, we need a media center, but shouldn’t it complement the library in place of overpowering its existence with what is, probably, a temporal trend?” she said. “There is a way a media center can complement a library without destroying the lifeblood of education, which is books.”
Students also had thoughts about the changes, though some had never heard of the idea.
Caroline Labrum, an incoming junior at Park City High School, said, “I think that students should have access to a library at school. It’s unfortunate that we don’t have one. A media space is great because that’s what many kids are using nowadays, and it offers other resources. However, I don’t think it replaces a library and the research support students can get there.”
Incoming junior Bridget Bryan seemed more open to the plans.
“I think I might prefer a library, but that (media center) seems like a cool idea,” Bryan said.
To learn more about the Park City High School expansion project, visit pcschools.us/about/construction-updates.
Scarlett Tary is an intern at The Park Record and an incoming junior at Park City High School. Tary will be the editor of the student newspaper, The Park City Prospector.