Showing off the renovation of Santa Barbara’s Eastside Branch Library are, from left, Gwen Wagy, children’s librarian, Senior Librarian Kristina Hernandez, and Eastside Branch Librarian Ahmad Merza.

Suchi Rudra is a writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, BBC and Vice, among other publications. While the classic school library has always welcomed students to relax with a book, do a ...