The Pennington School embarked on a renovation of Meckler Library to respond to increased enrollment and to provide higher quality teaching environments. It was a project initially proposed in a comprehensive campus plan produced by VMA.

In its design, VMA identified that the library’s services and size were satisfactory but the current structure and program did not reflect the changing role of the library in modern learning. To that end, we strived to ensure the library would remain relevant as a teaching space.

The design team reconfigured classrooms in the library, integrated new technology systems, and developed collaborative learning settings. The circulation desk was removed entirely, replaced with a mobile laptop check-out that frees the librarians to move around the library and assist students. It also frees up valuable workspace. Upgrades to mechanical and electrical systems and lighting improved the comfort of a space last improved upon in 1972.

Improvements to the reading room included adding storage and brightening the workspace with new windows, which now also offer views to the main quad. Major changes to the program include an isolated study/special collections room with archival-quality cabinetry to protect and display the school’s collection of signed, first-edition literature. A new tech-focused classroom is now outfitted with modern workstations and interactive projection systems. And, to further strengthen Pennington’s Cervone Learning Center, a signature program, we accomplished one of the school’s longest-standing goals: eight new Communications Skills classrooms for the expanded Learning Center faculty, who support bright students with language-based learning disabilities in individualized learning environments.