By Mia ’21
I love the library. And I’m proud of it! Let me set the scene for you. You’re at the upper school. After climbing basically three thousand steps, you reach this massive building. Along the left wall, there are lockers. To the right, glass doors that lead to administrative offices and more stairs. Often, you’re climbing with a friend or two. You pause at the top of the stairs, hands probably on your hips. I always roll my eyes at my friend and probably joke about requesting an elevator, or how after three years, those stairs are still a good workout.
I always recommend going straight through the mini library tunnel that is always lined with student’s art projects or awards. This leads to what I think is kind of a secret entrance. It’s to the back of the library. Here, you enter a door that deposits you right in front of the best table. On the main floor of the library, divided by lower shelves of books, is the library table that my friends and I have been sitting at since we were small tenth graders.
You’re probably making all sorts of assumptions about me choosing to sit in a library for countless free periods. You live in Los Angeles, and the weather is great; why not the quad? “I definitely still love the quad,” I would answer! There’s something about the library though, and Harvard-Westlake’s library in particular. You’ll always hear the murmur of talking: you’ll probably overhear a conversation about the most recent current events at one table and then perhaps a passionate discussion about the ‘correct’ toppings for your salad from the salad bar.
I think it comes down to the fact that the library feels like the heart of HW community. I definitely think this is arguable (my sister is probably vehemently disagreeing with me right now), but there is no other place that bridges school, work, community, extracurriculars, and fun in the same place. You never know who you’re going to see in the library, sometimes it’s your best friend meeting for a common free, or sometimes it’s a teacher you had last year and haven’t spoken to in a while, or maybe you bump into someone totally new!
The library at the Upper School just feels like the center of everything. Students will be going up and down the side stairs, walking through the middle, out the back, in a journey to wherever they need to go. I think this is also crucial to the vibe of the place! You will have students sprint-walking through because they printed out a lab report one minute before class (definitely guilty of that!), while they walk past a student who has been at the same table for two periods reading a book or trying to finish an assignment.
Harvard-Westlake’s library truly feels like a landmark of my Harvard-Westlake experience, and I’m going to miss it when I graduate!!!
