How do you make the school library a place students want to be?

For Boothbay Region High School librarian Kerrin Erhard, the answer is a bleacher, a couple of students and Chip Schwehm, the school’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, teacher.

That’s what it took to turn an area of wasted space at the library into a quiet spot to study, complete with a counter, bar stools and a place to plug in devices. The coffee maker is coming soon.

Before her first year as librarian began, Boothbay resident Erhard took a visual inventory of the library. She noticed a nook and bookshelves that were not being used to their best potential. “This would be a great place for a café-style bar and students could sit on stools,” she said.

After rearranging the shelves, she reached out to Schwehm. "My sons had him as a teacher,” so she knew the work done by students under his supervision, she explained.

Schwehm asked students Charlie Chappelle and Nate Rideout if they wanted to work on the project and both said yes. Working together, Schwehm and Erhard designed the L-shaped counter.

“The old bleacher boards are fabulous Douglas fir,” Schwehm explained. “When the old bleachers were removed about three years ago, I saved as many of the boards as I could.” This fall, the boards became a 9’ x 6’ counter, 16” deep.

The students got community service hours for working on the project, and Schwehm credited sophomore Chappelle with “carrying the ball.” Schwehm provided the finishing touches, working on it over the Thanksgiving holiday.

“Charlie has good woodworking skills,” and would come into the shop to work on the project quite a bit, Schwehm said. “It’s not an easy task to work with 9’ boards, trying to make fine furniture,” he added. The project gave the students an opportunity to learn the various steps in the process.

“First, they had to remove gum from under the bleacher boards,” Schwehm said, laughing. This was followed by planing, sanding and gluing the boards to make up the width.

Old bolt holes had to be filled and the students used the router and biscuit joiner and added details like a bullnose edge.

“It was challenging at the end, getting it to fit,” Chappelle said. He said he enjoyed working with the bleacher boards and came in on the occasional weekend to keep at the project. Asked how long the counter took in total, he said, “It was about a dozen study halls.”

To ready the nook, Erhard asked the school’s electricians to wire the area so students can power their devices while sitting there. She added stools bought as part of her budget and is now spreading the word about the book nook, inviting students and faculty to take a look.

She is pleased that the project came together well. “Work with what you have,” she said. “It could have been a big expense to have a counter put in.”

Schwehm agreed. “There’s a historical significance to using the old bleacher boards. It’s great to see beautiful old reclaimed wood.” And Chappelle added an important reminder: “Always look at the small details.”