In partnership with teachers, the Montgomery Library Program provides equitable access to all forms of information and empowers students to be enthusiastic readers, critical thinkers, skillful researchers, ethical users of information, and producers of ideas in a global society.

We believe the following Core Concepts to be essential for a successful Library Program Innovation: We are always learning in order to better meet the needs of our students and teachers. We strive to create and maintain a welcoming atmosphere, user-friendly space, diverse collection, and informed staff. Instruction: We teach students how to select, search, locate, use, evaluate, and interpret various resources for their research needs. Collaboration: We partner with teachers as collaboration is fundamental to teaching students information literacy skills, critical thinking, and ethical use of resources. Freedom: We advocate freedom of choice. Reading: We promote and encourage students to read, view, and listen for understanding and enjoyment in an environment that supports a passion for reading for pleasure and lifelong learning. Teamwork: We combine our unique skills to form a cohesive unit. Critical Thinking/Inquiry: We challenge students to go beyond facts and figures and ask essential questions about why or how something is significant. Inquiry provides a framework for learning. Ethical Use: We guide students to legally, effectively, and efficiently use the technology tools and other resources available to them to conduct research and create product. Technology: We provide students with various technology tools appropriate for their intellectual development and needs.

Each division plays a vital role in the overall library program as follows: Lower School: The Lower School Library is a cozy haven for students in Pre-Kindergarten through fourth grade to explore and grow in the world of words. The facility is connected to the Middle and Upper School Library and is packed with close to 12, 000 books that range from science experiments to fairy tales. During weekly visits, each class participates in story time and students check out books on their reading level to further develop their reading skills at home.

Librarians put together inventive activities to teach students how to search the online catalog with ease and treat the materials with respect. The time in the library not only cultivates a love for reading, but a wonderful opportunity for learning to follow directions, navigate information, and an awareness of the vast knowledge that is made available by all libraries. Middle School: The students continue to build on the skills and interests that were developed in the Lower School Library Program. Students visit the library during English class where they self-select materials for pleasure reading and for academic interests as they enjoy free reading time. Additionally, librarians provide book talks and readers’ advisory to support independent reading. In order for students to become effective users of information, librarians and teachers collaborate to create teaching units which embed information literacy skills with subject area content. This equips the students to access, interpret, analyze, synthesize, evaluate, and apply information from a range of print and nonprint sources and to create a variety of projects that reflect their learning. Upper School: Students continue to develop and practice their information literacy skills. AX9 and AX10 students come to the library for instruction on finding and using various resources for their research paper as well as for other projects. The students learn to create resource lists, research in subject databases, and use relevant and authoritative web sites. The goal of the Upper School program is to assist students in becoming independent and effective researchers, who can access, interpret, analyze, synthesize, evaluate, and apply information in college and their everyday life.