Library

Library

Beginning in the 7s and continuing until graduation, the children go to the Library every day to read. They are taught how to browse through the shelves to pick books appropriate to their reading level, with consistent attention paid to comprehension. Short fiction gives way to full-length novels, nonfiction, and poetry, and children are encouraged to pursue works by their favorite authors, as well as varying genres, from historical and science fiction to biography.

The Library is also a major resource for children’s research. The youngest groups often take a trip to the Library to look for books that will help extend their block work. As the children grow and their needs expand, their library research becomes more complex. By the time the children reach the Middle School, library research has become a way of life for them, and the library a natural extension of their classroom.

“The room is absolutely quiet. Every individual is remote, withdrawn from the others, concentrated, absorbed, rapt. They are reading. They will for 30 minutes. Every school day of their lives, from when they become independent readers until they graduate at age 13, they come to this library for this half hour of ‘compulsory reading for pleasure.’”
–- Mary Bird Piel, City and Country Librarian, 1945-1970