Ms. Jennifer Tuleja, the new director of the Andrew Mellon Library, hopes to transform the library in order to make it more accessible to Choate students.
After former director Ms. Diane Langlois retired from Choate after an industrious 30 year career, Ms. Tuleja was appointed the new director of the Andrew Mellon Library. With an extensive background in running research libraries to providing revitalizations for libraries at other schools, Tuleja hopes to incorporate her skills and ideas into the Choate library. Tuleja’s past experience includes working at the Massachusetts Historical Society as a research and reference librarian, and even working in the libraries of The Hotchkiss School, University of Montana, and the St. George’s School, where she was the Director of Library Services/Archives. At St. George’s School, she headed an $8 million renovation of the entire library, which transformed the library into a LEED Gold Certified building. She headed another revitalization and modernization project at the Redwood Library and Athenaeum in Newport, Rhode Island, where she was the Executive Director.
Ms. Tuleja wants the library to interact more with the school community by hosting student events. She noted that the library is mainly used for academic purposes. Ms. Tuleja remarked that the image people have of the library is unnecessarily traditional. Thus, Ms. Tuleja hopes to dispel this notion by having the library host some school-wide events, such as flash mobs and even speeches by famous speakers.
Another way Ms. Tuleja hopes to challenge traditional perceptions of the library is by collaborating with the i.d. Lab. Though she currently does not have any concrete plans, she hopes that the library can help all students in their endeavors.
Ms. Tuleja believes that students don’t realize the extent of the resources in the library. The library holds hundreds of volumes that never leave the shelves. Once, she noted that there was a book the Choate library had, but students didn’t realize and to check out that book from the Wallingford Public Library instead. In addition, there are hundreds of books brought in the 1930s or 1940s that have never been checked out. Thus, Ms. Tuleja hopes that students will use the databases on the library portal’s website to check out more books. She wishes that students would take advantage of all the resources available in the library. Her ultimate goal is to for the library to act as an “incubator space” for Choate students to brainstorm new ideas. According to Ms. Tuleja, “I want library to be a place that incubates ideas for students.” Overall, she hopes to make the library a place that everyone can use to casually spend his or her time.
The first change Ms. Tuleja plans to make is with the physical building. She noted that the current library is older compared to other buildings on the campus. The walls of the basement were painted with various colors a few decades ago.
Ms. Tuleja hopes that in few years, she can make the library into a modern place that plays an integral role in the school community. Overall, she truly wants a modern space like the Lanphier Center, and she hopes to make the library a place that everyone can use to casually come and go out and spend their time. She also hopes to collaborate with the i.d Lab in the Lanphier Center and wants the library to be a place that supports what the i.d Lab students are doing, instead of operating separately. In the future, Tuleja desires to initiate her plan for renovating the library in a few years. If students are fortunate, they may be able to experience a modern, trendy library at Choate.
