A storied past defines East’s library

May 16, 2023

Libraries have not always looked quite like they do today.

“The annex was completely filled with microfilm,” described Greenblatt. “Long before my time.”

Years ago, the library annex, a large, high-ceilinged space connected to the library’s classic carpeted book room, looked very different than it does now. The space had an upper floor, where many books were housed. It had shelves lining its walls. And, yes, it was once full of microfilm, allowing students to view old newspaper clippings and documents through now-antiquated but then-brilliant technology.

Cherry Hill High School East was founded in 1966, 17 years before the internet would be invented. Encyclopedias — tangible, printed ones, from an era when flipping through a giant book was the closest thing to clicking through a Wiki  — were all the rage. Stacks of these large references filled the East library, with new copies purchased often to keep information up-to-date. Old books, with information that was no longer accurate, would have to be discarded.

The labor-intensive nature of maintaining such a collection is reflected in additional elements of the library’s history. Greenblatt described a “long line of librarians” who helped shape the space in years past; East archives reflected an even longer line than one might expect. In 1984, East had not one or two librarians, as is common today, but eight. The team of men and women who did so were referred to as Media Operators, according to Ms. Janet Cohen, a longtime Cherry Hill Public Schools Administrative Assistant. The yearbook from that year described the Operators as “provid[ing] not only books, magazines and newspapers but also TV sets, recorders, video machines and micro-film and micro-fiche.”

*Graphic by Aiden Rood, Eastside Editor-in-Chief

From dozens of unique individuals to endless materials new and old, the library at East is something of a time capsule. Inside, one can observe a microcosm of the changing ways educators have worked to disseminate information over the years.

Leave a Comment

Eastside • Copyright 2024 • FLEX WordPress Theme by SNOLog in

Comments (0)

All Eastside Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *