Page 9 - Priorities #15 2001-July

WPS: What are the strengths of the Priory library? Researchisabigpartofwhatgoesonhere. We teach students everything from how to find a book on the shelf to how to use online resources and cite
them correctly. We teach them how to make judgments about the quality and reliability of the sources they choose. Some students come in knowing quite a bit about using a library, others don’t have any idea how to begin.
At the same time, we teach library manners. We want students going on to college knowing what to do in a library.
(Peter) Laurie Eickmeier’s English class is a good example of how we coordinate library resources with curriculum. She will be using Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby extensively next year. We have already started acquiring materials about the book and the period. I’ve added several critiques of this work.
We stock a wide range of books and the online tests for the Middle School teachers that use Accelerated Reading. This is a program designed to encourage independent reading.
We have great resources for locating and quickly delivering video materials that teachers want. We also are beginning a collection of scripts, which Susan is able to acquire for us. Jim Durgin uses them in his scriptwriting class, and some of the other teachers have begun to use them.
WPS: Susan, you teach a required class in research methods with Susan Koppett.
Yes, in ninth grade everyone learns research methods and how to write a research paper. This should carry them through high school and into college.
WPS: Do you think that students leave here as skilled researchers who know good information sources and how to cite properly?
We’re working on that, and I think we’re getting better every year.
WPS: How do students become proficient at research? Aslibrarians,weworkwiththefaculty.Teachers
arrange their research projects with us in advance. When the students come, we will have already identified a variety of resources so that we know the students can succeed. We work directly with them during that library time. We have a bank of 10 computers and 20 I-book laptops with wireless Internet connections, so it’s quite possible for everyone to do independent research.
WPS: How about the state of our resources? Do we compare favorably with other schools of our size?
We’re better than some. We’re constantly updating. We get requests from teachers and we are nearly always able to find materials for them. We’re constantly adapting to what’s needed.
(Peter) Someone was looking for materials on sushi last year and I couldn’t find anything then, but we have two good sushi books now!
With all the library collections available online, we don’t need to own every book a student might want. They can search the catalog here, and we can order their book from any library. Also, the excellent online data bases, such as Electric Library, are replacing the magazine and newspaper archives. We no longer need the old, green Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature because the full-text online sources are better.
WPS: Would you like a larger collection that would encourage students to browse?
(Peter) Sure, I guess larger is always better but we don’t have the physical plant. It would be hard to shelve the books and this library isn’t conducive to browsing or quiet reading. The way the room is designed, everything takes place within four walls and usually there are whole classes in here with teaching going on.
My dream is to have a part of the library with comfortable chairs, skylights, plants, a place where people can read quietly and relax...
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