High school concludes that closing the library and replacing it with a cybercafe was, in retrospect, "a big mistake"

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Matt Manor <kingmanor () gmail com>
Date: June 13, 2005 2:31:32 PM EDT
To: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: Re: High school concludes that closing the library and  
replacing it with a cybercafe was, in retrospect, "a big mistake"
Reply-To: Matt Manor <kingmanor () gmail com>


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Library closure 'big mistake', says Mallard

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3309938a7694,00.html

           11 June 2005
           By KIMBERLEY ROTHWELL

     Closing Cambridge High School's library two years ago was "a big
mistake", Education Minister Trevor Mallard said at the opening of the
school's new library yesterday.

A library was not a luxury, it was a necessity of life, he told
guests, staff and students.

"Today marks a new start for one of the most important facilities in
the school," he said.

The original library was closed in July 2003 by former principal
Alison Annan who wanted to turn it into a cybercafe that was never
built.

Mr Mallard said the Education Ministry did not have a hand in closing
the old library.

"We run a very decentralised system, and powers are vested in boards
of trustees and principals. In among this is the power to make some
quite big mistakes, of which this was one," he said.

The school has spent nearly $450,000 to refurbish the building and get
the library operational.

The 1200 students at the school have been using home computers and the
public library to get information they need. They have also had to
rely on the 60 computer terminals in the school's computer labs.

Pearl Paki, 15, said they should not have closed the old library.  "We
went without books for ages."

Ben Clarke, a year 13 student, said he didn't think a library at
school was going to make much difference.

"I was doing a physics project, there were no books on how TVs worked.
So I used the computers at school. Usually we get time off classes to
go to the computers if we need to study something," he said.

But Simon Wilkinson, 17, said that it was unfair to students who
didn't have internet at home not to have a library. "They'd fall
behind," he said.

Some books from the original library were stored in classrooms, and
about 170 went to Cambridge Public Library.


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