A brief ribbon-cutting ceremony took place at Chateauguay Valley Regional High School (CVR) on March 2 to officially open the newly renovated library.
“We want to thank the school board for trusting that this project would come to light. And, we are really happy that it did,” said Anick Leclerc, in one of her final acts as principal at the school before moving on to Gault Institute in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield.
“I really think that this is a team effort that has been accomplished here today,” said Michael Helm, the assistant director general for the New Frontiers School Board. “It has really evolved into something where students are going to benefit,” Helm added, noting he appreciated the new open concept. “I think it will get a lot of use. We now have an opportunity for this space to go beyond the literature,” he said.
The library, or multimedia room, has already been used to host a student coalition meeting and several activities and events.
The $60,000 renovation project took place after water infiltration badly damaged the carpeting in the library. The process to empty the cavernous room and move the 20,000-plus collection of books took place over the fall term. A team of dedicated staff, parents, and Leclerc herself worked tirelessly following the Christmas break to sort, triage, and reshelve the books.
“It opens new possibilities within the school,” said CVR’s vice-principal, James Furey, “There are less physical books, but we now have access to a massive online library of digital books that all students can access,” he explained, referencing the schools subscription to the Sora online reading application.
“It is lighter, more modern, and up-to-date,” said Sheri Ferns, the school’s librarian. “The kids love it,” she added, noting that more students are coming in and teachers are regularly booking the space.
Ferns noted that while a number of hardcover books were removed from the shelves, a significant number of new books has been purchased and will soon be available. “We are refreshing the shelves, and a lot of it is material that has been requested by the kids,” said Ferns, who is convinced the renovations will mean the library is used more often.
