Town School for Boys Library

And we’re back!

We’re thrilled that the school year has started and the Town School Library is once again a busy, noisy place.  There have been a few changes and improvements over the summer, and as usual, we have tons of brand new books.  Some of the changes you may notice include:

• A board-gaming area in the reference section.   Towards the end of last year, we started buying board games for boys who wanted an alternative to playing sports outside during recess.  So far, we have Monopoly, Harry Pottery trivia, and Runebound, and we’re definitely looking to build up this collection.  If you have any specific game requests, let us know.  We’ve also created shelf space for boys to save unfinished games, since most good games take at least two or three recess periods to finish.

• Our Junior Fiction section is better than ever.  We cleaned out and donated a number of the older books that were no longer appealing to kids, and we’ve bought a huge stack of new, colorful, and engaging short chapter books.  Come take a look!

• New magazines!  This year, we’ll be subscribing to a number of different magazines, including Game Informer, Mad Magazine for Kids, Cricket, MLS Magazine (soccer!), ESPN Magazine, Slam, and Time Magazine for Kids.  You’ll find all current issues of these magazines in the hanging racks next to the back windows.  Boys are welcome to borrow magazines overnight.

• As you may know, the library has lots of videos.  In previous years, only teachers were able to borrow these, but this year we have decided to let kids and parents check them out, too.  Boys can borrow videos on Fridays and must return them the following Monday.

• Looking to donate a book to the library?  Check out our new Amazon wishlist!  We’ll be using this wishlist as part of our new, improved Birthday Book program, coordinated by parent volunteers Tammy Leong and Akemi Tsuruyama.  And while we’re on the topic, if you’re a Town family member and are interested in volunteering in the library, feel free to contact our new volunteer coordinator, Tina Tunney.

• And last but hardly least, MICE!  Sadly, one of our library mice — Bernadette — died this summer.  As of last week, however, Nibbler has two new companions: a black mouse named Frances, and a grey-and-white mouse named Lucy.

Did you know that the Town School Library has subscriptions to more than twenty different magazines? And did you know that you can borrow current and past issues from us?

We keep our magazines in the racks by the back window (you know, the one with the Library Spider). The rack on the left side is mostly for lower school students, and the rack on the right side is mainly for upper school students.

Magazines that we collect include:

Sports Illustrated and Sports Illustrated for Kids — up-to-date, in-depth articles and statistics

Time and Newsweek — keep up with this week’s world and national news

Ranger Rick — a terrific read for young animal-lovers

National Geographic for Kids — spotlight on people, places, and animals around the world

Paste — a magazine about music. Artist profiles, album reviews, and general music news.

If you would like to borrow a magazine to read in the classroom or at home, just let Ms. Wolfram or Ms. Alonso know, and we’ll give you a special red binder to protect the magazine before you leave the library with it.