Information is important to any high school, but at the new Albert Lea High School, it’s of central importance.

Monday, January 08, 2001

Information is important to any high school, but at the new Albert Lea High School, it’s of central importance.

Carol Frydenlund, media generalist at ALHS, said the location of the new media center makes it much more prominent. It’s at the heart of the school.

&uot;The old library at Central was in a terrible spot. It was out of the way,&uot; Frydenlund said. &uot;It was at the end of the building.&uot;

Students at the new high school never have far to go to access the media center, said Frydenlund. Situated on the first floor adjacent to the flex learning area, it’s a short walk from almost every classroom. It’s also connected to the counseling office and Career Resource Center.

&uot;It’s so nice because if students need to just run over and check on something, it will only take a minute,&uot; she said.

Besides location, the center also features a layout with excellent use of space and plenty of room for full classes.

&uot;The way the materials are located, it just flows from section to section,&uot; said Frydenlund. &uot;Now we have enough room for classes and students with passes to be in the media center at the same time. The old library always seemed too crowded if a class was using it.&uot; Students are free to use the center during study hall and lunch period. It’s also open before school.

Frydenlund has noticed that a new reading room with soft furniture is already a favorite spot.

&uot;We call it the relaxed reading area. It has current newspapers and magazines for more casual reading,&uot; she said.

The center does not have large outside windows like the library at Central. Frydenlund said the windows tended to cause distractions for students. The new center welcomes natural light through skylights.

&uot;I think the skylights are a much better alternative,&uot; she said.

Frydenlund thinks the biggest improvement over the old library is the new technology. The media center offers 30 computers for student use plus a tiered lab with another 30 computers for classes.

&uot;I don’t think people will have to wait for a computer anymore,&uot; said Frydenlund. &uot;That was always an inconvenience for students at Central.&uot;

The move into the new media center was surprisingly smooth, said Frydenlund. Staff members were able to sort through and discard outdated materials to make the move even easier.

The media center is one of the highlights of the new high school, said Frydenlund. She hopes the public will take the time to stop it and see it.

&uot;We had a lot of input in the design, and we couldn’t be happier with the way this turned out,&uot; she said.

&uot;The students seem to appreciate it, too.&uot;