Recently, many innovations were added to the library to modernize its appearance and make it more welcome and comfortable to students.

“We looked very traditional before, so I had to figure out what would work [there], find those things and get them here,” head librarian Robyn Singletary said.

Some of the newest additions include high purple chairs and high tables.

“The high purple chairs, especially with our new computers and gadgets, are really good,” junior Blen Yohannes said. “[When you walk in], you just feel like people are actually doing work and reading, comfortably. It makes it homier for [us].”

However, those were not the only new features added. The library now has a larger variety of seating options, such as yoga balls and bean bag chairs.

“We’ve been wanting to add the seating for quite a while,” librarian Kristen Zemba said. “We survey students every year, and [the seating] was the number one thing for which students had been asking.”

The school was able to rearrange the space and add new items to the library due to the FCPSOn program, which reduced the need for some computers located in the library and opened spots for the new features.

“In the move to FCPSOn, most of our computers were removed, so it provided us with an opportunity to rethink our spaces,” Zemba said.

In addition to the comfortable seating, students have been enjoying the new game tables located near the entrance.

“When I was in elementary school, my math teacher taught us how to play chess, and we had a rug and pieces a little bit bigger than [we currently have in the library], and they were really nice,” Singletary said. “So I went looking for that over the summer online and found that set, and that has been a big hit.”

The first table was intended as a test run, and because students found it entertaining, the librarians decided to get more of them.

“When [the students] asked for more, I asked the carpentry class about making game tables, and they made [some] in purple and black to reflect Chantilly,” Singletary said.

The library is not only about books; it provides a home away from home for many students, and the librarians encourage all to check out the new additions.

“Until you make a connection here, with another student or with the space, you probably pass us by, but we aim to be that place where you can be you,” Singletary said. “Whatever you need, you can [find it here]; this needs to be that place where when you are feeling down or out of place, you can come here.”