Library and Research

Library class emphasizes the importance of books in our lives, and bridges the natural connection between reading and writing.  Students of all ages pursue individual interests through exposure to our vast and eclectic book collection.  This includes all of our school’s anthologies of children’s work published since 1994, and our literary journal, Silhouettes, which was added to the collection in 2005.  When students read these anthologies and journals, they know their creative endeavors have lasting meaning and significance. 

Emerging readers particularly enjoy their library time as they listen to favorite stories, and experience the pleasure of hearing poetry read aloud.  What could be a better setting than the library itself, as children learn to read, with special time set aside to encourage in each child a lifelong love of reading?  Children share with others their newly acquired knowledge and their feelings about what they have read.  When students become aware of a library’s role in a community, they understand the significance of communal sharing.  By borrowing and returning books in a timely fashion, students learn to value books and treat them with respect.

In Library class, elementary students learn about the Dewey Decimal System of categorizing books, the history of books and libraries, different alphabets, and how writing was invented.  Middle School students use the library as a resource for book reports, critical essays, discussion groups, and other writing assignments based on fact, opinion, or analysis.  In their weekly Research Class, they become adept at using reference books, magazines, anthologies, and other primary and secondary sources.  Students discern the appropriate materials for composing an original research paper with a complete bibliography.