Lim Family Library serves Nursery/Kindergarten and Primary School students and teachers. The collection is approximately 24,000 volumes including non-fiction material to support curriculum, a large fiction collection, audio books, DVDs and magazines.

Oral storytelling is a unique part of Lim Family Library’s program. Students in kindergarten, first and second grades hear a story every week, usually traditional tales from around the world, learned by the librarians and told without any books or props to distract attention from the story itself. In addition to being a great deal of fun, storytelling enhances language acquisition and attention span, as well as reading, writing, memory and visualization skills.

Through the library’s program children learn to distinguish fiction from non-fiction, the scope of materials available, and to navigate the library on their own. Librarians give book talks, introducing interesting books for research as well as for pleasure reading. In addition to library class times, students may come in at other times during the day to get individual help from librarians. Parents are welcome to come in with their children before or after school to read and choose books together.

The Lower School library program encourages students to read both for pleasure and for information. As they progress through Lower School, students gain an awareness and appreciation for a wide variety of literature. They also begin to learn and practice the skills necessary to use the library independently. The Lower School library program provides support to classroom and special area teachers and attempts to integrate library goals and objectives with their curricula when possible.

Storytelling

Traditional storytelling is a unique part of Lab Schools'  Library programs, begun in the Early Childhood's Lim Library with kindergarteners and continuing in our Lower School's Knes Family Library. Lower School students enjoy extending their active listening skills as librarians share traditional tales from around the world along with occasional literary tales.  Stories are told without any books or props to distract attention from the story itself. In addition to being a great deal of fun, storytelling enhances language acquisition and attention span, as well as reading, writing, memory, and visualization skills.

Literature appreciation and research/information literacy skills

As students progress through the LS grades, they advance their ability to independently access library resources, learning to use the online library catalog along with a wide variety of print and online research resources.  The concepts of fiction vs. nonfiction are reinforced along with an introduction to distinguishing between reliable and unreliable sources of information. 

During weekly library class times, through specially curated bibliographies, and with individual reader's advisory and research support provided by librarians, students are introduced to a wide spectrum of literature, including fiction, poetry and folklore, along with non-fiction. Lower School students participate in evaluating literature critically as part of the Sutherland Award program.   Every year, authors and/or illustrators visit Lower School students to talk to them about the creative process.

Throughout Middle School, students are encouraged to read for pleasure through reading programs, booktalks, author visits, readers' advisory, and specialized reading lists. In addition, the Zena Sutherland Award for Children's Literature program and the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award foster critical analysis and understanding of literature. Students develop an appreciation of writing and illustration styles, identify genres, and develop an understanding of their own reading preferences.

Students in the Middle School become skilled and effective library users as they develop lifelong habits of reading and inquiry based upon the foundation built in the Lower School. Students learn to locate, navigate, and evaluate sources as they engage in research projects coordinated by classroom subject area teachers. In addition to building on research skills learned in Lower School, students learn to access online reference resources, critically evaluate print and internet resources, distinguish between primary and secondary sources, develop and evaluate strategies for effective internet searches, and identify and record bibliographic information.

The Pritzker Traubert Family Library is central to the High School Program. Librarians help students flourish in a learning community. A rich supply of both print and electronic resources are available that support the curriculum and personal growth. Librarians collaborate with faculty to identify appropriate research instruction and resources for curriculum assignments. Librarians are available for individual reference consultation with students, staff, and faculty. Librarians encourage recreational reading through readers’ advisory, book clubs, and independent reading projects. By graduation, students will be able to locate and evaluate print and electronic resources that appropriately support a defined inquiry, and create accurate citation references. In addition, students will understand how to use the University of Chicago Library resources to support their research.