Grand opening for refurbished facility

A NEW CHAPTER FOR THE LIBRARY

This October we were thrilled to reveal a brand new, state-of-the-art library space, and to formally introduce our new Director of Library Services, Ms Rous.

A central element in Riverside’s ongoing renewal programme, the Library is both the metaphorical and physical heart of the school, linking the Senior School and Prep School building, and is a facility that is designed to be enjoyed by students, staff and families alike. 

The overall design concept for the redevelopment was to promote a calming, inspiring atmosphere but also capture imagination and passion of our students while encouraging them to work collaboratively. In addition to housing a physical collection over over 46,000 publications (supplemented by thousands more in our online catalogue), the library now includes several new spaces for both quiet independent study and collaborative learning, including our Harkness space, and “amphitheatre” style discussion space. 

On Friday 4th October we welcomed parents for a tour of the library with our fantastic library team where they got to experience the new spaces and resources the library has to offer. Unsurprisingly, the tours proved very popular with more than 200 parents registering for the first two slots alone. 

Above: Parents enjoy a guided tour of the new library space

The goal of these tours was to ensure parents understood the new layout (the Junior Story Time area proving a real hit), but also to give them an opportunity to meet with the library team who had worked so hard to get the library ready for this moment. 

New Director of Library Services, Ms Stephanie Rous, who joined Shrewsbury this term from a 2,000 student High School in North Carolina said, “Opening the library has been a huge challenge. We unpacked and re-catalogued over 800 boxes of books while construction was still ongoing. However, it’s also a rare opportunity for any librarian to be able to start a role with a new space and be able to have such a significant input from the beginning. I’ve also been hugely fortunate to be surrounded by a fabulous library team, all of whom have very strong talent and knowledge which all came in very useful as we organised the library for its grand opening. It’s been a real pleasure sharing it with parents and students and we hope they enjoy the new space as much as we do.”