[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
By Katrina Margolis
Hometown Weekly Reporter
After being in college for a few years, it is hard to imagine how anyone studied without the use of a 24-hour, or at least very late-night, library. This privilege is often not afforded to high school students, who have to conform their studying to library open hours, and make spaces for themselves at home. However, the Medfield Public Library has been changing the landscape of high school studying for the past six years. This year was no different.
On January 18 and 19, the library extended its hours to 10:00 p.m., offering high schoolers much more than just space. Erica Cote has been organizing this event for the past four years.
“There is coffee and hot chocolate donated every year that I’ve done it. This year, we got donations for a variety of food, including fruit and bagels,” she explained. The offerings to students include free snacks, pizza, coffee and hot chocolate. This year, for the first time, the library brought in a therapy dog named Calli. Within the library, areas are available for group and quiet study.
Medfield High School, unlike some others in the surrounding area, has specific days blocked out for midterms, making this program possible.
“I check on their website when their midterms are going to be and I check with the teen advisory group to confirm the dates, because they can move if there have been snow dates,” Erica explained.
A group of Medfield High seniors sat on the top floor of the library, getting ready to buckle down. “It’s definitely crowded. I see a lot of people from my classes and stuff. They always have snacks, and they have pizza for dinner. And they have hot chocolate and coffee, and juice,” Erin said. Madeline, Grace and Erin had all taken advantage of the library’s resources in the past, and returned for more.
“I’ve had a high of 115 kids at one point, but then if there’s weather, I can have as few as 30 kids,” Erica explained. “Yesterday, we had a high of 58.”
Whatever the number, the students of Medfield High are well prepared for the midterms, and have excellent resources surrounding them to succeed.
