National Library Month: Showcasing the C.V. Starr Library and Learning Center

 

 

The C.V. Starr Library and Learning Center is one of St. Hilda's & St. Hugh's treasures, offering students, families, and faculty rich resources and ample space for reading, research, and exploration. Renovated in 2001 thanks to a grant from the C.V. Starr Foundation, the library offers close to 25,000 volumes and serves the entire St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s community, from pre-readers to sophisticated scholars. The library’s many online resources are available to users at school and from home.

 

In honor of National Library Month, this month we will showcase the library’s many resources: this week, two online encyclopedias, World Book (WorldBookOnline.com) and Scholastic Go! (go.scholastic.com). Current students and families can contact Angela Perna, the school’s librarian, who can provide the usernames and passwords that will allow students and parents to access these resources from anywhere.

 

Unlike Wikipedia, the popular online research tool that relies upon user submissions that are not necessarily vetted or verified, World Book and Scholastic Go! are actual encyclopedias produced by scholars and experts.

 

“These are excellent resource for young learners,” Ms. Perna says. “Because these are valued and respected resources, the credibility is there. Children don’t have to fact-check or figure out what kind of bias might be present.”

 

With colorful illustrations, intuitive navigation, and child-friendly activities, World Book Kids is ideal for students starting in second grade, while World Book Student and World Book Timelines are appropriate for fourth graders and up. World Book also offers a Spanish language version.

 

Scholastic Go!, Ms. Perna says, is geared toward a slightly older student; at St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s, teachers in fourth grade and up use Scholastic Go! with their students. Its sources include dictionaries, a curated video library, world newspapers, and an atlas.

 

“World Book also allows students to upload articles to their own Google Drive,” Ms. Perna explained, “which makes it ideal for building a library of sources for research projects.

 

Both World Book and Scholastic Go! include an text-to-speech feature.

 

Ms. Perna, who earned a master’s in library science from McGill University in Canada, has been the school librarian since 2001. Initially a reluctant reader herself, she is eager to make the C.V. Starr Library and Learning Center a sought-after destination for students and families. “Students, parents, and caregivers visit the library early in the morning and after school too. I love that the members of our community feel at home here,” she says. “I also want them to know that even when the library is closed, its resources are still available to all!”