The library is situated in Ashmore in the main school building. It is available to the whole school to support pupils and staff in their research as well as reading for pleasure. The collection includes fiction and non-fiction across all subject areas.
The library is a welcoming environment for those who wish to read and study quietly during assignment periods. The Chartered Librarian, Mrs Minter, manages the library and can assist with enquiries during the school day.
There are ten subject-specific libraries around the school. They are known as subject rooms or assignment areas and contain a selection of books, journals and newspapers relevant to the area of study. During the school day each of these is supervised by a member of teaching staff, who is on hand to answer any questions pupils may have.
The Access-It library management system is used for searching the catalogue and borrowing materials. Staff and pupils may borrow books for two weeks and items may be renewed.
The library and the subject rooms are open throughout term time. The library can be booked by teaching staff for classes during the day when the use of the facilities and access to the librarian is required.
The librarian can usually be found in the library between 9am-1pm and 2pm-5.30pm, Monday-Friday.
The subject rooms can be found in the main school building:
There are also departmental collections in the following rooms:
Each year, the library hosts some truly remarkable events. As part of celebrating World Book Day, the library invites authors to speak about their writing journey.
We have had the pleasure of welcoming the world-renowned playwright Tom Stoppard to Bryanston, who spoke to pupils about how he got started as a writer in the 1960s, the inspiration for characters, interpretation versus over-interpretation, comparing writing for screen to writing for the stage and the challenge of directing his own work.
We have also welcomed Poet Laureate Simon Armitage and Michael Rosen to speak with pupils and run workshops.
Pupils take part in library induction and refresher sessions at the beginning of each school year. Year 9 pupils are given the opportunity to read a range of award-winning fiction during an English lesson in the library each week.
Book awards are highlighted, such as the CILIP Carnegie Medal, YA Book Prize and the Man Booker Prize.
The librarian works closely with heads of academic departments to deliver customised information literacy and research skills lessons. The librarian delivers the taught elements of the HPQ, EPQ and IBEE, in collaboration with the teaching co-ordinator.
The focus of the project qualification and extended essay is on independent learning, research skills and referencing. There is an excellent selection of trusted and authoritative online resources available to foster independent in-depth research.
Online resources include:
Media resources such as film, TV recordings and podcasts are accessible on BryPlayer through the Pupil Hub.