Libraries

The Charles Bertram Newton Library is a student centered learning environment that promotes inquiry and understanding of the world, its peoples, its cultures, its possibilities. The library is the place where essential questions and enduring understandings of human knowledge are explored, questioned, and discussed.

Information literacy skills - the ability to locate, evaluate and use information critically - are integrated across the curriculum and are taught in collaboration with research assignments in the various disciplines. In the Middle and Upper Schools, teachers and librarians work together to develop meaningful library research experiences for the students through classroom visits, research presentations, bibliographic instruction, and independent student follow-up.

The Charles Bertram Newton Library collections consist of approximately 34,000 circulating and reference volumes, 5,000 reference e-books, digitial and print periodical resources, over 9000 streaming video resources, approximately 1100 DVD video recordings, music recordings, digital reference resources available 24/7/365, and the Pingry School Archives. The library catalog is organized using the Library of Congress Classification system. The library guide is the portal to the many subscription databases provided to the Pingry community.

The Lower School Library provides a safe, nurturing environment where students seek information and ideas for educational, informational, and recreational needs. The library promotes an appreciation of reading, enabling students to interpret various forms of literature as they grow as lifelong learners and consumers of information and ideas. Information literacy skills, critical tools for every learner, form a foundation for the exploration of the world. The lower school library program contributes in an essential way to the development of the knowledge and skills so important to academic success. The school library program enriches the educational process to help students reach their full potential.

Each Lower School class visits the Library one time during each six-day rotating schedule. Kindergarten through third grade classes visit the Library for a 40-minute period, while fourth and fifth grades have an extended 50-minute class. During that time, students are taught library and research skills, print and online media, and an appreciation of the various forms of literature. Students enjoy stories read aloud, with related activities, and select books and materials to be borrowed. Students, with teacher approval, may visit the library throughout the day to borrow books, read, or to research topics for class assignments.

All library materials are circulated from the computers at the circulation desk. Each student may have up to five items on loan at any time. Books from the circulating collection may be borrowed for two weeks and renewed if necessary for an additional two weeks, unless the item has been reserved by another student. Current magazines may be borrowed for one week and back issues for two weeks. Beginning in third grade, DVDs from the circulating collection may be borrowed on Friday afternoon and are to be returned on Monday morning. Third through fifth graders may also borrow Playaways (digital audio books) for two weeks.

The Lower School Library maintains a collection of over 20,000 print volumes, 50 magazine and journal subscriptions, and two newspaper subscriptions. In order to provide accurate, up-to-date information for student reports, the library subscribes to online databases including encyclopedias and full text periodical sources. All databases may be accessed remotely by students to facilitate student research at home.