A Library out of control Dear Fremd Library Staff, The rules that have been set for the Fremd High School media center have been too laid back and allow far too much freedom to the students. In my observations of the library I constantly see those teenagers running wild. They are allowed to sit with friends and they are even allowed to bring water into the library. A change must be made in the library because it plays such an important role or a teenagers life. The twenty five to thirty minutes they spend there every other day after eating lunch isn’t just a time where the teenagers get the last of their homework done, but an experience where they can work without a few kids talking at the table next to them or, heaven forbid, someone taking a extremely distracting sip of water next to them. I also think that the security is slightly low in the library. Are those large devises that make sure students don’t steal library books really enough? To crack down on this ever important issue the library must take steps to improve their security. Such as have random backpack searches and an X-ray machine for all those going in and out of the library. There are many rules in the library which need to be altered. Such as the five minute freeze should be increased to the fifteen minute freeze, I don’t really know what the purpose of the five minute freeze is, but I am sure it is extremely important because the Fremd administration implemented the rule. Also the freedom of giving the students the right to talk quietly is absurd, all students should have there heads facing down and work quietly at their tables. Also I find myself getting distracted when there are too many people in the library and the library gets too noisy. The staff eventually stops letting people in but they should close off the library when at least one third of the tables have one or more people sitting there. This would improve my productivity in the twenty minutes when I am finishing one page of my Spanish homework that my teacher will glance at for one second. Apart from these minor suggestions for improvement there are many areas in which I applaud the actions of the media center staff. I appreciate that there are always two or three members of the library staff walking around and removing people from the library for breaking the necessary rules. I once saw too girls that were having a conversation at a volume level higher than quiet, I then noticed a staff member immediately jump up from her seat, interrupting her extremely important work, to very firmly tell the two girls to leave. After that I felt that I could once again continue to do my work without needless interruptions, until my learning environment was disrupted by a freshman sneezing twice. I was glad to see him get removed from the library as well. A major improvement that has made me feel immensely safer in the library is the addition of nametags. I now know that crazy outsiders wont come into Fremd because they certainly can get their hands on a name tag and lanyard. I also think that it is important for the students to put their I.D. on top of the computer when in use by a particular student. I think it would be a nice addition if Fremd would hire six more library staff. That would make sure that there will be plenty of eyes to make sure that the students are really working. Also it would increase the number of staff who sit in back room of the media center doing their part to improve the library. Another major problem I have observed and am very concerned about is that once a student is kicked out it seems like they immediately come back into the Media center. The library should have the power to impose a ridged system of rules that state how long you will be banned from the library based on the severity of the offence. For example if there is a freshman who isn’t talking quietly but talking at a level slightly above quietly that student should be removed for three days. Also I think a board containing the pictures of all those banned from the library should be placed right next to the entrance. The overall goal for the staff in the library should be to keep the volume down. If the voice level of those talking in the library is down than it will make the entire situation easier for everyone. The staff should take measures for volume control such as, large bullhorns for when it really gets too noisy and it is essential to yell “its too loud” into a bull horn, or possibly an elaborate sound system. Another measure could be to put devises at each table and if the volume level is too high than a siren goes off and all students who are currently sitting at that table will be banned for a week and have their name put on the board. It is very important to control the volume level because it is the only think in the library that can distract a student, other than the staff yelling at them, the beeper going off on the book scanner, someone sneezing, or any other small dull noise that could interfere with my learning environment. I believe that if these steps are implemented correctly the Fremd High School media center will be a better, and most importantly quieter place to do my Spanish homework for five minutes, then talk to the people at my table about football. The issues that I raised are the issues that should be a priority for Fremd. The staff of the Fremd media center must be improved before more learning environments are destroyed by loudness and water bottles.