Here is where people,
One frequently finds,
Lower their voices
And raise their minds.
~Richard Armour, "Library"
Welcome to The Towers Library
The refurbishment of the Towers Library in 2010, was made possible by the generosity of the Parent Teacher’s Association and donations from both staff and students. The library is now well stocked, and still growing, with new fiction titles and a great selection of biographies. A growing number of educational and classic DVDs have also been introduced. Many GCSE subject text books are also available for reference.
The room maintains the history of The Towers with its original decoration but has been updated with modern furniture and beanbags to encourage a warm, welcoming and relaxed atmosphere.
Daily use of the library
An adjacent computer suite provides networked PCs, access to the Internet and CDROMS.
The books are catalogued electronically using Eclipse2 software and are issued with an ‘identikit’ technology thumb scanning system which the girls particularly enjoy using.
The library catalogue, SearchStar, is available on the computer network and therefore accessible throughout the school. The non-fiction books are classified according to the Dewey Decimal system. The fiction section is arranged alphabetically by author.
Each class has one English lesson every two weeks in the library and the girls use the library for research, to work on projects and for quiet study as well as for reading for pleasure. The girls are encouraged to develop their library skills and to become independent learners.
Every new student is given a guided tour of the Library at the beginning of the school year to ensure they can start making use of the facilities as soon as possible. All KS4 students are encouraged to make the most of their non-contact time in school with study periods in the Library. It is also used regularly by staff who appreciate the pleasant atmosphere as a place to work.
All girls may borrow up to three items from the Library at one time and are welcome to suggest books which they would like the Library to acquire or which they feel others would enjoy.
We subscribe to a daily newspaper and provide a range of magazines covering both academic subjects and personal interest.
LIBRARY INFORMATION
The Library is situated above the main reception, opposite the ICT Suite.
Opening Times
Monday-Friday 12:30pm – 4:40pm
Break and Lunchtime
LIBRARY STAFF
Librarian – Jo Taswell
Library Co-ordinator - Ms J Hansell
Pupil Librarians The smooth running of the Library is greatly helped by Year 11 prefects. They are a team of enthusiastic, hard-working and dedicated library assistants, whose responsibilities range from keeping the shelves tidy and in good order to helping manage the issue desk. Our senior librarians are responsible for organising and training the team, managing aspects of intranet upkeep and general administration.
The Library encourages eager volunteers from all year groups who offer us their services, at break and lunchtimes, helping to maintain the Library. It is a sociable opportunity, boosting pupils' skills in a warm and friendly environment. Many of our helpers use the time they spend in the Library toward their Duke of Edinburgh Award.
Reading Lists If you need a book to read, have a look at the selections for your year group. You will find all of them in the library.
Amazon Wish List
We are very fortunate in the generous donations made to the Library so far,
but are always trying to increase our range of fiction and non-fiction.
We rely heavily on your help and if you do wish to help,
please click on the link below to see our school wish list.
The Towers Amazon Wish list
ACTIVITIES
Book Club
The Book Club meets weekly to discuss our chosen book.
This year will be the first for the girls to participate in the Carnegie Shadowing Book Club. The Carnegie Medal is a prestigious children’s book award made annually to the author of an outstanding book for young people. Although the winner is chosen by a panel of librarians, young readers are encouraged to form groups to read the short-listed books and vote for their own winner. The shadowing group of KS3 readers will be run by the Library in conjunction with the English Department, and will hopefully be an exciting project, encouraging girls to read for pleasure, extending their reading to genres they may not otherwise explore, and to form and communicate opinions about the books they read.
World Book Day
World Book Day was designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and is marked in over 100 countries around the globe. The origins of the day we now celebrate in the UK and Ireland come from Catalonia, where roses and books were given as gifts to loved ones on St. George’s Day – a tradition started over 90 years ago. A main aim of World Book Day is to encourage children to explore the pleasures of books and reading by providing them with the opportunity to have a book of their own. Many competitions, quizzes, reading and dressing up are enjoyed by students and staff throughout the day.
This year World Book Day will take place on 1st March, 2012
Weblinks
| The Dewey Decimal system | Find out about how The Dewey Decimal System works. It is a system used to classify books by grouping them in 10 categories |
| ckg website | Official Carnegie Shadowing site, full of reviews |
| cool-reads website | Designed by 2 teenage lads, this is the ultimate in "tell-it-like-it-is" reviewing |
| mrsmad website | Idiosyncratic review site |
| World Book Day | World Book Day site, see what other people got up to |
| Amazon.co.uk | Huge book sellers site, loads of reviews |
| literature-map | - a sort of 'if you like this author, then you'll like this one too'. |
| teenreads | Books and much more for teenagers |
| childrenslibrary | Evolving site creating a living encyclopedia of children's books |
| Poetry Library | The most comprehensive and accessible collection of poetry from 1912 onwards in Britain |
| British Library | Explore the world’s knowledge |
| Our Poet Laureate | Find out about our nation’s Poet Laureate |
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Towers Convent School
