Library and A/V: becoming a family in Seto Hall

Ashley Mizuo, Video Editor
September 27, 2012
Filed under Features

“It’s like moving from a four bedroom house to a studio,” says Tennye Cabrera, head librarian at ‘Iolani. During final exams last year, the Ranzman Library had five days to completely move 46 years of literature and supplies to Seto Hall. Then, right after graduation, the Audio and Visual (A/V) Office made Seto Hall their new home as well. Moving i

nto Seto Hall created similar problems for both sides, but also brought the two together to become a family.

In the A/V Office, not much has changed. There has not been a significant drop in people coming to the A/V Office, but there are fewer students coming. The reason, Cyrus Won, Director of Media Services, says is “you have to make an effort” to walk to the A/V Office. The office is located in a small corner in Seto Hall; the entrance is the door closest to the physics rooms. The new location is more out of the way than the original spot in the middle of the Upper School Campus. Not only is the A/V Office tougher to find and access, but also their space has been cut in half. The office is still in the process of organizing day-to-day necessities. All the supplies that were not able to fit in the Seto Hall were transported to the back lanai of Seto Hall and behind the press box.

As for the library, the problems are similar; their space to keep books and magazines greatly

diminished from their original location on the second floor of I-building. Although there was not much space to fit all the furniture, the library only lost 50 carrels. As for space, there are no longer separate rooms for instruction. The lack of rooms make teaching classes in the library difficult, but the library staff is doing its best to keep classes as normal as possible. On top of losing several rooms, there can be no permanent installations in Seto Hall. Data cables hang from the roof and the only clocks in the Library are the original clocks from Seto Hall before the move. The most important item the library could not bring with them was the overhead projector. Fortunately, since the installation of the overhead projector was not possible, the library received a 70-inch smart monitor instead.

The biggest problem for both is the noise. Seto Hall is a performance hall, therefore the sound bounces off the wall. Walls that project sound through the room are “not good for a library,” says Cabrera. Meanwhile, the A/V Office is making a conscious effort to be quieter, but teachers often forget that on the other side of the divider is a  library where students are reading and studying. Teachers and faculty are not used to having to be quiet in the A/V Office. In the past, many teachers saw the office as a place to socialize. For teachers, the combination of the A/V Office and the library is requires a change of habit.

Other than the noise, the library and the A/V Office have learned to compromise. Won insists that there is no feuding between the two groups, although there are some awkward situations. For example, the light switches for the Audio Visual Office are located on the library’s side. Sometimes, the librarians will leave for the day and turn off the lights leaving the A/V Office in darkness, not realizing that people are still working. Situations like that make the two roommates seem like siblings. Cabrera speaks of the A/V Office like family saying, “they look out for us and we look out for them.” Both have learned to compromise. “It’s actually been a lot of fun,” says Cabrera.