As of this fall, the Lower School Library now has an additional 400 square feet of space. This annexed area contains a SMART Board, LC projector and four computers so that students may access the internet easily and engage in interactive learning activities during their Library time. There is also additional space for story time and storage for newly acquired books.
“By expanding this space, we are able to expand our services,” said Ann Glass, Lower School librarian. “Now that I can accommodate an entire class, I hope to work with teachers to incorporate more research into our curriculum. The increased space has also made our schedule more flexible. Students can come in to make up tests, study or work on group projects without interrupting the scheduled classes.”
Glass and her students are already using the new technology to study and compare different Web sites and the type of information that can be found on them.
“Our students are inundated with information coming from so many different sources, and one of my duties as a librarian is to help students weed through it all,” Glass said. “Opinion blogs, wikis and YouTube videos are among the endless ways to obtain information; our students must learn to deal with this influx and be able to tease out any corners of truth. They also have to develop the ability to glance at a list of Web sites from a Google search and understand which ones will lead them to reliable information. In teaching them to do so, I encourage them to use the databases from the Upper School, particularly GALILEO.”
