A 50-Inch Plasma in the High School Library?

TV in library draws static- Advocate 04/28/08- Donna Porstner
(This just seems like a waste of money. Why have a silent, always-on TV in a library? This isn't an airport.)
STAMFORD - The picture on the big-screen television in Westhill High School's media center is crystal clear, but it's having trouble with a different kind of reception.

The 50-inch plasma has stirred complaints from students and a school board member who question the need for a television in a library where students are supposed to study or write papers on one of the 70 computers.

Board of Education member Susan Nabel said she's appalled the city spent money on a flat-screen TV for a school library.

"I just hate the idea of there being a flat-panel, laser television right above the checkout desk," she said at a Facilities Committee meeting last week. "I don't believe a large-screen TV should be predominantly displayed in a media center."

Nabel said she learned about the television by reading an opinion piece about it in the school newspaper, The Westword.

Editor in Chief Stephen Meno said there was a buzz on campus when the TV arrived.

"At first it was like, why is it there? And what's the point of it when all it does is play CNN all day?" he said. "I think the general student body is like, the money should go someplace else."

The television was purchased with $1,810 in a capital account for computer replacement, technology management services director Michael Pensiero said.

Westhill Head librarian Jan Benedict said it was installed two months ago to be on par with Stamford High, which received a similar television when it was renovated after flooding in 2006.

"Not only were we trying to level the playing field with Stamford High, but also with AITE, which has similar technology," Pensiero said. "It's important to us that the schools are equal."

It can be used to show PowerPoint presentations and to advertise school events, he said.

"I wasn't sure how I felt about it at first, and now if I forget to turn it on, and I look over, I feel closed off from the world," Benedict said.

The television is left tuned to CNN without sound, but librarians can turn up the volume if there's breaking news, she said.

During a mid-day visit to the school last week, dozens of students were typing on computers near the television, almost oblivious to it.

It is not intended to be used for instruction, Benedict said. For that, the school has portable televisions that teachers can take into classrooms to show movies on videotapes and DVDs, she said.

It's the only set in the building hooked up to live television.

"It's our window to the world," Benedict said. "I think it's wonderful."