Palatine High School’s media center has shut its doors for over a year and many students wonder if it’ll be done anytime soon. To some, the length of time construction has taken is unreasonable. Several seniors expressed their concern of not being able to utilize the media center before they graduate.

“I don’t understand why it’s taking so long,” both seniors Jaclyn Hernandez and Naomi Beckley said.

Assistant principal Michael Alther explained that the library, along with several other renovations, is being built by District 211 employees, not outside contractors, and that furthermore, Palatine High School is not the only school in the district undergoing these major construction projects.

“There’s only so much people can do. They do work quickly, but there’s so much to do and that’s just if stuff doesn’t break,” media department chair Elizabeth Broemmelsiek said.

However, students can expect a plethora of new editions to the media center. The rumors of a coffee shop weren’t directly stated to be true, but Broemmelsiek did say there would be a cafeteria, which she described as “a good place for people to collaborate.”

“It’s not a cafeteria in a sense of do anything you want all the time. It’s more like, ‘Let’s use this as a productive space where we can bounce ideas off each other and do group work and really further the education process,’” Broemmelsiek said.

Students can also expect group study rooms, windows that look out towards the lunch room, a “maker’s space”, and a lot of books.

Alther was unable to give an exact date of when the media center is expected to be finished, but hopes that it’ll be sometime after winter break. But until then, Palatine High School students and faculty will have to settle for the temporary media center, located in room 191.