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Library

Library

It offers a welcoming, comfortable space for study or leisure reading with a wide selection of physical material and access to more online. It is staffed by professional librarians who promote reading not just for pleasure but for its fundamental role in successful learning and who are involved in developing pupils’ information literacy skills formally and at point of need. We want pupils to grow a love of reading and for that reading to enhance their learning.

The library comprises two rooms on the top floor of the King’s Building:

  • The Library contains non-fiction resources, arranged by the Dewey Decimal Classification System. Most books may be borrowed but some, plus a small collection of periodicals, are for reference only. There is a wireless network, two laptops for use in the Library, three desktop computers and A3 print/scan facilities. Diverse study areas cater for different needs during the school day, Study time and Prep.
  • The Kent Room houses fiction in A-Z order by author surname, plus Graphic Novels, Quick Reads and Short Stories. Wireless internet access is available and Sixth Form pupils may work in here unsupervised during library open hours; in the evenings it is a Sixth Form only space for collaborative working.

The Library Catalogue is accessible on a dedicated terminal in the Library, on the school intranet and via an app on school iPads. Items may be reserved and renewed online. The Library also has links to over a dozen online services including Britannica School & Image Quest; Digital Theatre Plus; eChalk; History, Literary & Science Reference Centres; JSTOR; and Hodder A-Level Magazine Archive; some can be accessed direct from the catalogue.

Pupils in Years 7-9 may borrow six items; in Year 10-11 ten items; in Sixth Form 12 items. Books may be renewed twice (if not reserved) with a two-week loan period (one week for DVDs) but extended loans are allowed over school holidays. Some items are restricted to staff and older pupils.

Opening Hours

The Library is open 0830-2100 Monday-Friday and 0830-1220 Saturday (with the exception of 1235-1630 Tuesday & Thursday and 1820-1910 Monday to Friday). Open hours are widely advertised.

The Library is reserved for quiet study between 1910-2100 when no talking is allowed. Sixth Form may use the Kent Room for collaborative work at this time with permission of House duty staff. Day pupils may use the Library after school hours with permission from their HsM.

Staff
  • Ms Lyndsey Goddard BA MA: Librarian
  • Mrs Pauline Harris: Evening Library Assistant
  • Mrs Maggie Devine: Evening and Saturday Library Assistant

Discover more at The Leys

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