"We prepare students to engage in the world that is and to help bring about a world that ought to be."
Academics
Library
The Friends Seminary Library Program supports the mission of the school by contributing to the intellectual, imaginative and spiritual growth of all community members.
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The Library provides a welcoming environment where the Quaker values of community, stewardship, peace, integrity and equality inform the pursuit of knowledge through reading for joy and research.
The Friends Seminary Library is dedicated to the potential of every community member as scholar, storyteller and global citizen. It is the goal of the Library to inspire, celebrate and support these overlapping pursuits. To this end, the Library offers a robust print collection of fiction and nonfiction materials, subscriptions to periodicals, research databases and other digital resources, dynamic programming in all divisions, and an inclusive, productive work space.
Our Library program focuses on building lifelong habits of reading for pleasure and academic inquiry. Librarians work closely with classroom teachers to help students acquire fluency in information skills that will empower them to discover, understand and enjoy using information in all its evolving dimensions. We encourage the community to explore the Library’s print collection and access digital resources by using the Library’s digital catalog and resource hub, Follett Destiny, which is available locally and remotely.
We recognize that each Library patron has individual needs and interests. Librarians work with all community members to help connect them with excellent resources. In accordance with American Library Association (ALA) guidelines, the books in our collection are cataloged by content not Lexile (reading) level using the recommended age range of the publishers and the Librarians' knowledge of the book and the patron. In accordance with ALA guidelines, our youngest patrons will find books in the Claster Collection housed in the Lower School Library. Those books are marked E or ER. As our patrons bridge to Lower School and Middle School, they will find their collection marked J (fiction/non-fiction). Books marked YA (fiction/non-fiction) may be checked out by students in seventh grade and above. Books marked F or Adult (fiction/non-fiction), may be checked out by Upper School students and adults. Students are encouraged to check out books in accordance with their age and grade referenced in the aforementioned guidelines. While librarians are available and happy to provide guidance, ultimately it is the responsibility of each family to determine if and when a book from the designated collection is just right for their child. Our Collection Development Policy is published and regularly reviewed.
Library Hours of Operation
The Library is open Monday through Thursday from 7:45 AM until 6 PM and on Friday from 7:45 AM until 4:30 PM for seventh grade, eighth grade, Upper School, faculty, and staff. Sixth grade, fifth grade, and Lower School patrons will have scheduled supervised opportunities to visit the Library during school hours. Parents and caregivers are welcome in the Library before school and after school or by special arrangement with Library staff.
The digital library collection (ebooks and audiobooks) can be found on Sora using your @friendsseminary.org email address and password. This document gives instructions for logging on. We continue to have many databases available for research. The list of options and instructions for logging in can be found through our fs.follettdestiny.com site.
Any suggestions you have about adding to and updating the collection are appreciated and should be emailed to the librarians.
Contact Us
Adrienne Almeida
Director of Middle School and Upper School Library Services
aalmeida@friendsseminary.org
Director of Middle School and Upper School Library Services
aalmeida@friendsseminary.org
Library Resources
A sampling of the Library resources are listed below. A complete list is available through Follett Destiny. Most resources are available by using your Friends Seminary Google authentication. If you need support, please contact a Librarian.
Friends Seminary actively promotes diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism in all its programs and operations, including admissions, financial aid, hiring, and all facets of the educational experience. To form a community which strives to reflect the world’s diversity, we do not discriminate on the basis of race or color, religion, nationality, ethnicity, economic background, physical ability, sex, gender identity or expression, or sexual orientation. Friends Seminary is an equal opportunity employer.
Friends Seminary — the oldest continuously operated, coeducational school in NYC — serves college-bound day students in Kindergarten-Grade 12.
