FEATURE
me for books Now more than ever, St. Martin’s libraries function as the heart of the school
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When St. Martin’s librarians Celeste Porche and Ethel Madden purchase books for the school’s catalog, they are each thinking of specific students.
“I always have an individual child in mind. I consider books I know they’ve loved in the past and try to think of new ones they’ll love equally as much,” Madden said, with an intensity that makes it clear she is passionate about what she does and truly knows students’ interests. Her colleague, St. Martin’s Director of Libraries Celeste Porche, agrees. “I often focus on the students who don’t think of themselves as readers,” Porche said. “If I can find that one book that makes them realize reading is for everyone, it makes me unbelievably happy and fulfilled.” This is the level of dedication that the two bring to their work at St. Martin’s every day. The pair oversee St. Martin’s two libraries — the Martin Family Library and Lower School Learning Commons — which combined house more than 40,000 books.
21ST CENTURY LIBRARY To some, libraries may conjure images of dust-covered volumes, card catalogs, and a scowling librarian “shushing” patrons. One look into St. Martin’s libraries shatters all those stereotypes.
Porche and Madden serve as knowledge facilitators and regularly collaborate with faculty across each discipline and grade level to help students think critically, draw conclusions, and apply knowledge.
“Sometimes it gets quite loud, and I love it!” Madden said. “We role play with characters, play research activity games, present and debate book reports and, of course read books out loud.”
Porche works with Middle and Upper School students and their teachers in the Martin Family Library. Through her collaborative work with faculty, she helps students evaluate online sources for bias and omission, understand effective research methods and filter information effectively, and master the use of databases for research. The goal, she says, is to not only teach information literacy and increase academic success, but also to expose students to a diverse, global perspective.
Each of the activities Madden carefully designs serves as an extension to the curriculum. Every week, students from the Cottage through fourth grade spend time in the library learning to process language, read, and improve their reading comprehension skills. Madden says she wants St. Martin’s students to view the library as their home away from home. “Nothing makes me happier than seeing students curled up in bean bag chairs without their shoes, completely absorbed in books,” she said. Time and again, research shows that regular library use increases student success. In addition, collaborative academic programs and services involving the library enhance student learning.
Middle School students (fifth through eighth grade) attend weekly library classes that help students develop a strong foundation of academic research skills in preparation for the rigors of Upper School and college. Information literacy is the heart of the Middle School research skills curriculum. In this networked world, it is crucial for students to know how to think critically about the information they are consuming.
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