Academics

Our Libraries

OUR LIBRARIES

“The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.” ALBERT EINSTEIN

Highland School benefits from a library in each division - the William H. Hazel Library in the Upper School, the Loeb Library in Middle School and the Lower School Library. These libraries are welcoming spaces that invite students, from our youngest Pre-Kindergarten students to our graduating Seniors, to engage intellectually in the classroom, the community, and globally, while helping them develop their own independent reading lives.

At Highland School, our libraries serve three primary functions:

1. Research and information literacy

A primary goal of Highland's library program is that our graduates are ready to navigate the world of college research. To that end, the library program teaches information literacy from the earliest grades. Information literacy encompasses learning how to locate information, discern it’s worth for the task at hand, use the information ethically and synthesize the information found to create new thinking. This process is applied to all resources whether print, electronic, book, web page or database.

2. Encourage a love of reading

Becoming a strong, independent reader is a major building block of intellectual growth. No other activity correlates more directly to imaginative thinking and academic achievement. Habitual readers who enjoy fiction and nonfiction experience a broader base of knowledge, deeper empathy, and have a more engaged view of the world. The process of becoming a reader requires access to books that instill interest, time to read, and social interaction around books.

At Highland, all three of our libraries develop their collections with these precepts in mind, providing books that interest and expose our students to a diverse reading experience. Author visits, author studies, book talks, Battle of the Books teams, book fairs, and reading lists all contribute to developing habitual and happy readers.

3. Easy access to a range of resources

Library materials, both in print and online, are chosen to support Highland's classroom curriculum as well as meet the learning needs of each student. Our three libraries have a collection of over 20,000 volumes of books, accompanied by electronic databases, eBooks, and audiobooks, as well as CDs and DVDs. Additionally, Highland's libraries sponsor two book fairs each year and book fair proceeds fund author and illustrator visits and other special programming.

List of 3 items.

The William A. Hazel Family Library

Upper School Library
Renovated in 2014, The William A. Hazel Family Library in the Upper School houses nearly 9,000 titles, 24 serials, and 15 subscription databases. The Hazel Family Library provides students and faculty a place to meet and study in groups or individually, computer access, and is equipped with a SmartBoard for instruction and meeting use.

The Hazel Family Library is a popular location for students during study halls and breaks. Students have the opportunity to support the library by serving as Library Assistants and aiding the librarian with shelving, processing books, and circulation.
The Loeb Library in the Johnson Academic Media Center

A multi-functional hub for Middle School
The Loeb Library in the Johnson Academic Media Center in the Middle School is a hub for a wide variety of classes – library as well as other subject areas. Club activities, special assemblies, programs, and faculty, staff, and student meetings also use the space regularly.

The Library and adjoining Media Room are equipped with a multi-user collaborative SmartBoard, iPad and computer carts that are available to ensure our students have a media-rich environment for collaborative projects, instruction, and programs. The Loeb Library collection includes over 5,600 print volumes and access to 14 subscription databases.
The Lower School Library

Warm and inviting space for Lower School students and families
The Lower School library, with a collection of 9,500 print volumes and access to nine databases, is a warm and inviting space that provides materials ranging from board books for the youngest students, engaging picture books and readers for early elementary students, and dynamic fiction and non-fiction materials for older elementary students. Library instruction supports the Lower School curriculum and introduces students to research using both print and electronic resources.

Library Catalog and Online Resources
Battle of the Books is huge at Highland School! Learn more about the competitive reading program for Lower and Middle School students.
Contact Highland School Librarian Jane Banse at 540-878-2736 or send email to jbanse@highlandschool.org
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