In This Georgia High School Library, Students Learn to Make Music

Almost two decades ago, Andy Spinks had an idea. It occurred to him that many libraries had a video studio, but few, if any, had an audio studio. Around that time, the makerspace movement took off, and the way school libraries are viewed as creative hubs began to evolve.

Today, Spinks is one of two library media specialists at Campbell High School, a school of 3,100 students in Smyrna, GA, approximately twenty minutes outside Atlanta. He has brought the concept of a library recording studio to fruition in a way that is entirely unique, innovative, and thoughtfully crafted around the needs of his student body. The program has been running for five years and continues to grow.

A supportive principal and local business owner who invested in Spinks's vision have helped him on his journey. Spinks's approach to this concept has turned national heads, not least of which that of School Library Journal, which named him the 2022 School Librarian of the Year Finalist, as well as Edutopia, and Georgia Library Media Association, which awarded him an Intellectual Freedom Award in 2021.

EveryLibrary had the pleasure of interviewing Spinks to learn more about the audio recording studio he created from scratch at his school library and its impact on the student body.

The Campbell High School learning commons is a new 12,000-square-foot library, which Spinks and his fellow library media specialist Martha Blaydes got to be heavily involved in designing. Here, students can access an audio production studio to make original beats, record vocals, lay instrumental tracks, record podcasts, or record voice-overs needed for video projects. The Campbell Commons also features access to 3D printing, a video production studio, coding, electronic and robotics kits. But it wasn't always like that.

This is a project that Spinks has built from the ground up. After expressing interest in his idea, Spinks's principal introduced him to Aaron Rathbone, an active Campbell High alumnus and owner of a Dirt Cheep Music [sic], a music store located just around the corner from the school. After hearing his plans for the audio recording studio, Rathbone and his shop provided the studio with equipment and a beat-making interface for an initial studio setup. The school foundation provided funds for a computer for the studio. The recording studio was founded.

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Rathbone and his shop also provided free advice to guide Spinks through the installation  and operation of the sound equipment. A Grammy-nominated hip-hop producer Rhythm D even donated his time to provide an informational session about beatmaking to Spinks and his students.

In the beginning, noise was a problem because there was no sound booth. Rathbone acquired secondhand sound buffer panels to donate to the studio. In a moment of inspiration, Spinks mounted them on some bookshelves he had planned to dispose of, setting up a makeshift recording booth. Today the studio is a sleek glass-fronted space housed within a fully renovated learning commons, and it has two separate workstations, one for vocal recording and one for making beats and programming virtual instruments. With just a little guidance from Spinks, students can create and produce a wide variety of music, podcasts, video voice overs, and other audio recordings.

The ways that students have engaged with the studio vary greatly. Some pass through for quick projects, but some want to understand the nuts and bolts or, rather, knobs and faders of how the studio operates. One student even wanted to learn how to run the studio, so Spinks made them a "producer," and they began producing music for other students.

Since setting up a formal recording session can be labor intensive and time consuming, Spinks thought most recordings would only be possible after school. However, many students wanted to use the recording studio to create hip-hop music that was more impromptu and improvisational. Freestyling on a prerecorded beat can be done with minimal setup. Students come in every day to make collaborative music, even on their brief lunch breaks. 

"I hoped a few students would want to use it, but I never dreamed it would be so popular that I had to create a system for reserving time slots. I never knew there was so much talent waiting for an outlet," Spinks says. He mentioned that incoming first-year students often get very excited when they hear about the recording studio during their orientation. "This is the first time many students have seen hip-hop not just allowed but encouraged in their school," Spinks says. It's a popular space, and many students love it.

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In addition to nurturing students' creativity, Spinks uses the studio to introduce concepts like intellectual property and how to protect it, commercial versus personal use, crediting creators, and earning income from intellectual property.

Spinks strives to create a library environment where all students feel welcome. He shared that his sign-in system records an average of over 1,000 sign-ins to the learning commons daily, with nearly 800 unique students on average coming in independently each day. It’s not unusual for half of the student body to visit independently in a week. Spinks is proud that the studio brings in kids who might not think of themselves as 'library types.' "You don’t have to be a perfect student to come into our learning commons or to use the studio. Some students are really struggling academically and may be on the verge of giving up. I like to think the studio may give some of them a reason to keep coming to school," he said.

Opinions on hip-hop beats in the library are mixed because the space can sometimes get loud. However, having an audio recording studio available for students has several benefits. The studio offers a unique avenue for students to express themselves musically, fostering an environment where peer collaboration is encouraged.

Andy Spinks's vision of an audio recording studio in a school library has developed into a vibrant creative hub that resonates deeply with the interests of the student body he serves. Spinks has provided an outlet for creative expression and established a new paradigm for how school libraries can evolve, fostering an inspiring culture of creativity and innovation.

If you are a school librarian interested in setting up a recording studio in your library, you can contact Andy Spinks at [email protected]

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