The Senior School libraries, situated on the first two floors of the Martin Centre for Innovation, are an integral part of Forest School, in terms of both academic support and pastoral care. Our Head Librarian, supported by two professionally-qualified Librarians and a Library Assistant, actively curates a diverse range of print and electronic resources, chosen both to compliment the teaching curriculum as well as to inspire a love of reading for pleasure. We encourage all students and staff to explore the wide variety of periodicals, databases and other online resources (available for use both at school and at home) to which we subscribe, and welcome stock suggestions and requests for research assistance from any member of the Forest community.
The ground floor of the MCI contains the Fiction Library, a collection of more than 3,500 items, including: novels, poetry anthologies, short story collections, graphic novels, comics and manga, as well as beanbags and other comfortable seating to encourage pupils to spend time reading for pleasure. Open to pupils in Years 7 to 13 from 7.20am to 6pm weekdays during term time, the ground floor also houses our Learning Centre, where two large conference-style tables with power points and a number of smaller tables encourage and facilitate collaborative working. Other ground-floor features include the fiction circulation desk; a large, wall-mounted flat-screen computer display and speaker system for presentations; three large mobile display boards; printing and photocopying resources; and a ‘project room’ with its own large-screen display and seating for fourteen. Talking is permitted in the Fiction Library and Learning Centre spaces, so long as it does not disturb the concentration of others and is focused primarily on academic pursuits during lesson time.
The first floor of the MCI is home to the Non-Fiction Library, a collection of more than 5,500 printed items, including: textbooks; periodicals (newspapers, magazines and journals); and information books to support classroom teaching and extracurricular interests as well as the independent research projects undertaken by all pupils in Years 10 and 12. Open to pupils in Years 7 to 13 from 8am to 6pm weekdays during term-time, the Non-Fiction Library also houses the Modern Foreign Languages collection, with fiction and non-fiction books and DVDs in French, German, Mandarin, and Spanish; sixteen desktop PCs; the non-fiction circulation and reserves desk; a number of smaller tables and counter seats for use by pupils and staff; and a ‘project room’ with its own large-screen display and twelve desktop PCs. The Non-Fiction library is intended to provide pupils and staff with a quiet environment in which they may undertake individual studies.