The Mallinson Library was re-developed in 2012 to offer a modern, vibrant learning environment to the whole school community. Its goals are to support pupil learning, encourage wider reading and nourish intellectual growth by fostering scholarship. The library provides a flexible space, accommodating a range of activities from individual study in the small glass pods to collaborative learning in the larger rooms which contain large touch-screen computers.
A large room containing the majority of our non-fiction books is designated a silent study area. Throughout the rest of the library talking is permitted as the glass pods lend themselves to group discussion and social learning. In the open areas of the library informal tutorials take place with pupils talking through essays with teachers or getting help with Maths problems.
The Garden Room is a sunlit conservatory offering a wide selection of magazines and newspapers, comfortable seating and a giant chess set. Outside, in the summer, there are large beanbags in the quad in front of the library.
The library combines the best of traditional and modern with large touch screen computers in the pods, a set of iPads available for use in the library, mobile printing, e-books via the Browns VLeBook platform and an extensive e-Library of authoritative resources selected by the professional librarians in conjunction with the teaching staff.
It also houses around 10,000 books including fiction and non-fiction with a further 20,000 available in departments. The librarians are keen to provide books for pupils to read for pleasure and stock the latest young adult titles as well as responding to requests and purchasing prize shortlisted books. The non-fiction collection supports the curriculum and pupils’ wider reading and extension. Wellington’s Top Ten Reads lists are offered to encourage broader reading in the academic subject areas.
The Library is open from 8am-9pm on weekdays enabling students to use it in the evenings for individual or group research, study or prep. It is also the focal point for academic and intellectual societies and hosts a large number of inspirational lectures and workshops each week.
A team of four – two professional full-time librarians and two part-time library assistants – are fully involved in supporting learning by running sessions in information and digital literacy to equip the Third Form with the skills to become independent learners.
The library is also a place for serious research and is there to support IB and A-Level pupils alike with any individual research projects. The library provides the context, the resources and the support for this work.
Head Librarian: Lucy Atherton
Blog: https://wellingtoncollege.edublogs.org/
Twitter: @welly_library
