A view of the expanded west side of the library, where a new circulation desk is being built into the wall.

Signs have been posted outside the pool warning of the construction.

From floundering in the pool during Swim Gym to typing up assignments on archaic school computers, many Stuyvesant students are well-acquainted with the school’s pool and multimedia center. Both facilities, however, are currently unavailable due to renovations intended to make them more state-of-the-art, initiated over the summer.

Renovating the library was first discussed last fall with the $1,000,000 donation of Stuyvesant alum Boaz Weinstein (‘91), founder of financial investment advisory firm Saba Capital Management. After final decisions for the renovation were made, Henry Meyerberg, a distinguished architect who works mainly on reimagining educational settings as active learning centers, was contacted for the project. Inspired by the Lindbergh airplane hovering over the library, Meyerberg envisioned a more open and airy atmosphere.

To create such an environment, the bookshelves will line the walls of the library, freeing up the back area. The English department staffroom has been cleared for more space as well. The library will not only be more capacious but also well-equipped with 38 computers—as opposed to the nine in use last year—and two circulation desks instead of one. While one circulation desk will specifically be dedicated to circulating textbooks, the other will be used for printing services and the borrowing of books. Furthermore, to reduce the flow of students from the library’s main entrance, Room 615E will have its own entrance.

“The new library will be able to accommodate the needs of more students and staff, while still maintaining a quiet study space,” librarian DeLisa Brown-Guc said. “We’re really glad to see how many students are excited for the new library and we hope that they use it well.” Renovations are predicted to finish by the end of October, and the library is expected to re-open in late November. Until then, the library staff will circulate textbooks, set up computer and printing services, and offer research help between periods two and nine on the first floor.

The school’s public pool facility also began its repair process over the summer. According to Assistant Principal of Health and Physical Education Larry Barth, school custodians discovered a broken membrane under the tiles of the swimming pool near the end of the previous school year. As a result, the water from the pool was leaking into its surrounding area. The School Construction Authority (SCA)—a New York City organization accountable for the design and construction of new schools as well as improvements to existing schools—is managing the repairs, which are expected to take a year.

Due to the closed pool, physical education classes involving the pool, such as Swim Gym, have been suspended for the 2012-2013 school year. In addition, Stuyvesant’s girls’ varsity swimming team, the Penguins, currently practices at Seward Park High School. Stuyvesant’s boys’ varsity swimming team, the Pirates, will be practicing at the same location this winter. “It’s definitely an adjustment, and getting up at five in the morning to go to swim practice has made me appreciate Stuyvesant pool that much more,” junior Penguins swimmer Lydia Goldberg said.