By Corrina Taylor
Staff Writer
The first glimpse of the library reveals multicolored window decals on the glass doors stating “Boo to you” and busts in the window with a festive wizard hat and a trick or treat basket on their heads. Once inside the library divulges glistening green and purple pumpkins enveloped in a cotton cobweb positioned at the checkout desk and a book cart adorned with another green pumpkin and cobwebs.
Tradition of decorating the library had usually befallen on the shoulders of Mike Cooke, retired librarian, he was the main person in charge of renovating the library into a cobweb infested haunted library. Since his absence the job has been taken up by the library aids.
“We started Thursday when we were pulling scary books for the shelves, such as Dracula and other creepy, thriller, and Halloween-like books,” senior library aid Anna Maxfield said “There is also a book on the shelf called the History of Halloween.”
With over 15 Halloween related books on the shelves students with interest in the holiday will have their longing for scary books quenched with the selection of books on the cart. Other titles included are More Scary Stories by Alvin Schwartz, Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, andMasque of Red Death by Bethany Griffin.
The library aids have started their decorating last week and will continue tomorrow until all of the decorations are used up. This year since Crooke is retired the decorations had to come from a different source.
“We had some decorations in the back closet and we have some activity money that we [the library] used to decorate,” new librarian Jennifer Sullivan
The library has a fund of money called “activity money” that is used in instances such as this one to provide decoration for the library. Note that donations will not be accepted due to the selection policy set up by the school board.
Slowly but surely Coppell is getting into the Halloween spirit through staff member’s participation in decorating the library as well as classrooms. Teachers well known for their decorating include history teacher Kyle Dutton who is notorious for his haunted house themed room, and English teacher Matthew Bowden. Whose classroom features posters of classic horror novels, as well as Frankenstein themed walls with painted green ooze and Frankenstein assemblage.
No matter how you decorate for the holiday, whether it is funky green and purple pumpkins or a haunted house theme, just know that it is a great way to bring people closer. Check out the Halloween spirit that is captured by the librarians and their library aids.
