Library Information
Town School Library Mission
The Town School librarians...
Respect students’ intellectual freedom, access to information, and individual pathways to life-long learning.
Spark student curiosity by co-teaching and collaborating with teachers to develop students’ skills in finding, evaluating, creating, and sharing information.
Ensure that everyone’s story is celebrated and shared in order to foster a feeling of belonging.
Model and teach best practices of academic and online integrity.
Build a community culture that supports the joy of reading.
HOW DO I GET A HOLD OF THE LIBRARIANS?
Email: library(at)townschool.com
Director of Library Services: Kim Stuart, stuart(at)townschool.com
Librarian: Julie Alonso, alonso(at)townschool.com
Phone: (415) 746-1127
WHAT ARE THE LIBRARY'S HOURS?
7:30AM - 4:00PM
Closed 11:25am - 11:55am for lunch
HOW DOES THE LIBRARY WORK?
All members of the Town community have borrowing privileges in our library and can use the self-checkout system; directions are posted on the desk in front of the monitor.
New students must have a Check Out Policy form signed before they are permitted to borrow materials. This form will be sent home at the start of the school year. The Lower School Check Out Agreement is available here and the Upper School Check Out Agreement is available here.
Two renewals are allowed for items not on hold for other people.
There are no fines for overdue books.
If an item is severely damaged or lost, it should be replaced with a new copy.
Users with three or more overdue books may not check out additional books until the overdue items are returned or replaced.
Library materials circulate during the school year. All materials are to be returned before summer.
HOW MANY BOOKS CAN I CHECK OUT AND HOW LONG CAN I KEEP THEM?
Below are the borrowing limits for our community members:
LOWER SCHOOL STUDENTS
10 book limit, due back 3 weeks after check out.
UPPER SCHOOL STUDENTS
15 book limit, due back 4 weeks after check out.
PARENTS/GUARDIANS/CAREGIVERS
25 book limit, due back 5 weeks after check out.
TOWN EMPLOYEES
200 book limit, due back 2 months after check out.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I LOSE OR DAMAGE A BOOK?
If a book becomes severely damaged or destroyed while in a student’s care, the student is responsible for replacing that book. The library does not accept payments. If this is a hardship, please email Flora Mugambi-Mutunga (mugambi(at)townschool.com), Director of Community Building and Inclusion, for assistance.
Classrooms, lockers/cubbies, and Lost and Found should be checked before contacting the library about a lost book. A book is considered lost when it is not turned in after three months. Students are responsible for replacing lost books. The library does not accept payments. If this is a hardship, please email Flora Mugambi-Mutunga (mugambi(at)townschool.com), Director of Community Building and Inclusion, for assistance.
WHO VISITS THE LIBRARY?
All students are welcome to visit the library during the day with permission from their teachers.
Lower School students visit the library in their free time before school and after school with the Extended Day Program (EDP) or an adult caregiver. (Kindergarten students must have an adult caregiver or older sibling with them in the morning)
Upper School students visit during recess, Study Hall, and after school.
Teachers visit the library with their class for research lessons as needed. They also use the library to work, collaborate, and gather resources.
Families and caregivers visit the library anytime.
Parent volunteers reshelve books and help with various library projects.
WHAT ARE THE LIBRARY'S CLASSES?
Grades K-2 attend a library class once a week. Lessons focus on sharing stories, learning how to use the library, and checking out library books.
Grades 3 and 4 attend a library class once a week. Lessons focus on information literacy, media literacy, research, and selecting “Just Right Books.”
Grade 6 Humanities hosts a Digital Literacy class once a cycle. This class is designed to integrate students’ developing information literacy skills with their study of Humanities.
Grades 5, 7, and 8 receive library and research lessons as needed, integrated into the subject matter.
HOW IS THE TOWN LIBRARY ORGANIZED?
In 2014, the Town School Library moved to a more intuitive organization system for our young users by simplifying the Dewey Decimal System. You can find this system here. We recataloged and relabeled our 15,000+ books with eye-catching stickers using this new system based on Metis from the Ethical Culture School in NYC.
In the nonfiction section we use words in place of decimal numbers. Sub-topics are shelved alphabetically and listed prominently on the spine of the book. Fiction is shelved by genre or topic. Authors' last names are the last word of the call number.
The Town School Library Classification System has been a great success, empowering users, young and old, to easily find books in our library.
(Click here to see the entire Town School Library Classification System. We've strived to build a system that is intuitive and provides for fortuitous browsing. Please give us feedback on your experience, as we'd like to continue to improve the system.)
DOES THE TOWN LIBRARY HAVE EBOOKS?
We have access to Sora, an online collection of thousands of ebooks! Our Sora collection is located on https://soraapp.com/library/baislca. When signing into the website, choose Town School for Boys from the dropdown menu and sign in using your Destiny/Follett login.
You also can download the Sora app. Search for Town School in the OverDrive app, and there will be a few steps before being able to browse your digital collection. Help with these steps (depending on the device being used) can be found here.