On Friday, March 13, students and staff at Barberton (OH) Middle and High Schools left for what was supposed to be a three-week closure. Joseph Vernacotola is media specialist for both schools and the webmaster for the district. For the rest of the 2019–20 school year, he managed the website, keeping families and community members up to date on COVID resources, meal distribution, and how to pick up assignments and items left in school. The media centers sat frozen in time.
 

When the 2020–21 school year began, the media centers, valued for their space, were turned into classrooms. It had been 12 years since Vernacotola had taught in a classroom—but like so many other school librarians around the country, he was moved to the classroom. Teaching remote students (about one-third of Barberton families chose an all-remote option), he was assigned 9th grade algebra and 12th grade English.

The first grading period was particularly hard, he says, until another teacher shared her online instruction. Vernacotola reviewed her plans and adapted them to his class and his style. In the end, he found the positive aspects of the experience. He enjoyed his consistent time with students and gained insight into the classroom teachers’ experience. “It really was kind of eye-opening,” he says, noting the pressure on teachers and focus on testing.

"It was just helpful for me to understand a little bit more of where my colleagues are."
 

Meanwhile, in the media centers, “it was a mess,” says Vernacotola. Furniture was pushed up against the wall and between bookshelves. He hung plastic tablecloths over stacks to keep students from getting to the books.

As the 2020–21 school year went on, teachers told him how much they missed his library services. Even more importantly, they were telling school administrators. His administration is supportive, Vernacotola says, but he knows they must always look at the bottom line. If no one missed the library while he was in the classroom, they might close it permanently to save money.

Worried but not panicked, Vernacotola waited for the letter with his 2021–22 assignment to arrive in the mail. To his delight, he was going back in the media center. There were caveats, however, including a list of circumstances that would return him to the classroom.

"If we were to go remote again, I don't know what would happen."
 

When it was time to reopen the libraries, there was plenty of work to do, in both the middle school and high school media centers. Vernacotola set out to “rebuild” the centers, which he described as “disasters.” School started in August, but the middle school library and media center reopened on September 13, and the high school center later that week.

As Vernacotola restored the media centers to their original state, the district curriculum director called and asked if he could spend $25,000 from a school improvement grant in the next two weeks. He did not hesitate to say yes. “My annual budget for both buildings is $2,500, so to get $25,000 in one year was amazing,” he says. Boxes of books started arriving days before students would return to the libraries.

Drawing from his time in the virtual classroom, Vernacotola wants to focus on providing more classes in the media center and better supporting teachers in their lessons. A schedule change for this year will help him: Because of COVID contact tracing needs, students can no longer visit the library during lunch or free periods. Without having to monitor or assist them, he could create classes, including one “to get them to be good researchers, and not just Googling.”

"In the past, I [haven't] had enough time to support teachers in their lessons, especially when it comes to research. I just want to do a little more of that."

Soon after the libraries reopened, parents told Vernacotola how happy their kids were to be back in the space. He believes members of the school community and the town of Barberton—where the public library also closed because of COVID—have been reminded of the value of libraries.

"I think it just showed everyone, or at least most people, that we're not a relic of the past. Libraries are so important to the communities, and [being close for the pandemic] shoed us how much they missed them."