Tracy High is going into the new year with a brand-new library. In December of 2025, Tracy High renovated the school library, having traded in the large wooden seats and tables for cushioned couches, chairs, booths and tall tables.
Prior to the renovation, local high schools Merrill F. West High and John C. Kimball High had already re-done their libraries, so it was Tracy High’s turn to catch up. Tracy High librarian of eight years, Virginia Castro Crawford explained the background behind the renovation.
“I think that the district wanted the libraries to be more modern,” she began. “And it is now, it’s very user-friendly.”
New to the school this year is the librarian Shelley Layne who started in early August of 2025. She also noted the modern shift of the library.
“The old library reminded me more of a traditional library,” Layne started. “But libraries have changed on high school campuses especially and I feel like this furniture is more conducive to how students use the library.”
This new library promotes more social interaction on the student side, which both librarians mentioned happily.
“I see groups mixing more than I used to, some of our students that would be off by themselves are joining groups that they weren’t previously part of,” mentioned Layne.
Crawford added onto Layne’s statement, mentioning how the new environment gives students more opportunities to talk to each other.
“They sit here and they’re actually talking,” Crawford said surprised. “It’s not like before where they would just stare at their phones.”
A junior at Tracy High, Liana Tololi, also described her feelings towards the library remodel.
“Compared to the old library, I like the new seating and layout,” Tololi started. “My favorite thing is being able to hang out with my friends in a comfortable, warm spot.”
Tololi also noted how she and her friends feel invited by the calming and peaceful environment.
“I normally sit on one of the couches with my friends and we like to talk about our days together,” she stated
Aside from the library’s renewed social scene, Crawford and Layne have also picked up on a newfound joy for reading in the students. It all began when Layne started taking down student requests and using money from the district, ordering books that students were actually interested in.
“Before when the books were ordered, I don’t think that the students were necessarily communicated with like they are now,” Crawford began. “Now that we’re doing that, students are more excited to come in, and it shows that we care.”
Layne then added on to what Crawford describe, saying that “we’ve been having a lot more students actually looking through the books than we were before the renovation, we’ve had a lot more checkouts, too.”
Crawford and Layne exude dedication and interest in the students. Besides managing textbooks, deposits, and taking yearly book inventory, they also create reading challenges and detailed book displays in hopes of encouraging reading among Tracy High.
