Making the HUB Home: Ms. Grotti’s Vision for Students

By: Ansh Kapoor

If you walk into the HUB this year, you might notice something different. Maybe it’s the games. Maybe it’s the new decorations and books. Or maybe it’s the new, lively atmosphere filling the HUB.

Either way, this shift started with Ms. Grotti.

After years of working at the University of Delaware Library, Ms. Grotti came to Tower Hill with extensive experience, but quickly realized that this library would be different.

Ms. Grotti, Upper Grades Librarian and Director of Academic Research

“When I got here, I realized the HUB is a community space,” Ms. Grotti said. “But there wasn’t much actively happening.”

One of her first ideas was simple: a poll asking students whether they preferred UNO or poker. UNO won easily. The next day, she left out UNO cards, and students started using them constantly. That small idea turned into a full game collection, and now the HUB is a place where students can stop in after school, play a quick game, and have fun.

Ms. Grotti has also been working with the academic board to look at how students actually use the space to learn. One thing they noticed is that when students really need to focus, they often leave the HUB entirely. That stuck with her. The goal isn’t to turn the HUB into a silent room or keep it loud; it’s to ensure students don’t feel like they have to leave just to get work done. She wants the space to work for different people at different times of the day.

Another one of her goals is for students to have more involvement in what happens in the HUB. When she organized the banned books display earlier this year, Ms. Grotti didn’t just want to put books on display. Instead, she invited various clubs to help her shape the collection and create activities related to banned books.

“We’ll do it every year if I can,” she added. Next year, she hopes the banned books display will be even more student-led. For Ms. Grotti, the HUB works best when students feel it’s theirs, and one of her main goals at Tower Hill is to facilitate more student involvement in the community.

Ms. Grotti’s also a self-proclaimed “reading omnivore,” and her book choices reflect the same energy she brings to the HUB. “It’s actually easier to say what I don’t like than what I do like,” she says. “I’m not a fan of romance, but everything else, yes.” Some of her favorites include Underland by Robert Macfarlane, The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition by Alfred Lansing, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, and The Pearl by John Steinbeck. 

Ms. Grotti hopes that students can discover that same joy for themselves. “Each selection is about exploring ideas, taking risks, and learning from failure,” she says. “These are the kinds of things I hope students experience here, too.”

Whether it’s games, student-led displays, or books that spark curiosity, Ms. Grotti is shaping the HUB into a space that’s flexible, fun, and fully part of the Tower Hill community. For her, it’s not just about what students do in the library; it’s about giving them the chance to make it their own.