Libraries & Digital Learning

Books on library shelves

A world of print and digital resources helps Blake students learn and create.

Extensive library resources and state-of-the-art technology enhance students' learning experience. Excellent print and digital resources are available at each of Blake's libraries and research center:

  • The Lower School Blake Campus Library (Hopkins);
  • The Lower School Highcroft Campus Library (Wayzata);
  • The Middle School Library (Hopkins); and
  • The Donald Dayton Library for Upper School students (Northrop)

Faculty and librarians work together to foster a love of reading and a deep understanding of the research process. Across grade levels, teachers and teacher librarians routinely visit each other's spaces and frequently co-teach classes. Students come to view the libraries as an ongoing source of information and support they can access throughout the school day.

Click on the links below to visit our library catalogs.

Enhancing Classroom Instruction

Libraries enhance instruction across divisions, focusing on the academic skills students of different ages most need to learn. Lower School students use library resources for long-term projects and learn to formulate and answer research questions. Middle School students continue developing their skills as researchers, with a special focus on using various print and online resources effectively. Upper School students learn essential skills they will later apply in college. They read academic journals, conduct research using any of the library's dozens of research databases, learn to assess sources critically and work with primary and secondary sources on campus and off.

INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY

Students have access to superb technological resources, which they use not only for research, but also for creating and presenting their own contributions to academic discourse. Librarians help students integrate presentation programs and movie editing software into class projects. Blake students are not passive consumers of information. They learn to evaluate information thoughtfully and use all available tools to present ideas.

OUR 1:1 LAPTOP PROGRAM

Blake offers a 1:1 laptop program, issuing school-owned MacBooks Airs – complete with software to support the curriculum – to all Middle and Upper School students. Benefits of this highly successful program include:

  • enhanced opportunities to engage in creative expression;
  • increased opportunities to tailor instruction to individual needs;
  • more student collaboration within a class and across schools;
  • equitable access and assistive technologies;
  • improved media and digital literacy; and
  • use of interactive instructional programs to supplement traditional textbooks.

DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP

Through digital citizenship programs, librarians and faculty teach students to be ethical, responsible users of technology. At the Middle and Upper School levels, these programs address how students can use social media, online resources and school-issued laptops in ways that reflect Blake's core values. School staff work with families to reinforce what students have learned.

Fostering A Love Of Reading

The resources students use to discover and share ideas have changed dramatically in recent decades. What remains constant is that Blake students learn to love reading – for research and for pleasure. Their enthusiasm is enhanced through fun library programs, including:

  • the Beardecott Award program, in which students vote to select outstanding picture books for children;
  • after-school Book Clubs and Library Clubs for Middle and Upper School students; and
  • summer book-bag programs, which allow Middle and Upper School students to check out books for summer reading.