Jean McGregor Rogers, '56
Alumna and Trustee Emeritus
Upgrade Library and Information Technology Resources to Create a School-wide Information Network
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The Academy has always held a special place in my heart. Time and distance have caused
me more and more to value my own educaitonal experience there. Today it is in a strong
position which can only be enhanced by increasing exposure to the fine arts and
strengthening the library.
Jean McGregor Rogers, '56
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Clearly the 21st century will mark a transition to a new age in communications and research as, increasingly, technology supplements, even replaces, the use of certain printed materials (textbooks, journals, etc.) for learning and research. To remain on the cutting edge in preparing students to function in work and society, the Academy recognizes the need to rethink the traditional concept of a library as a free-standing, isolated building which houses books. While use of current and comprehensive reference materials will ever remain at the heart of educational institutions dedicated to excellence, the configuration of this center is undergoing innovation and change.
Libraries of the future will be information networks as much as they are repositories for books, videos, CDs, and emerging technological means for storing and transmitting and sharing data and information. Students will increasingly find themselves using a central library as a resource hub where they can find the necessary means and expertise to help guide them to resources that may be as close as the Athenaeum library, as distant as the University of Vermont library in Burlington, or even somewhere in cyberspace. For full effectiveness, the facilities and outreach of the library/information center of the 21st century will be everywhere.
For over 35 years, the Grace Stuart Orcutt Memorial Library has represented the academic heart of the Academy, the where research, production, group process, instruction, and inquiry flourish. Today, this resource needs re-conceptualizing and redesigning to meet 21st century needs.
Click here to learn more about our vision for the library and information networks.
The Board and the Headmaster clearly recognize that substantial work must be accomplished, and more planning be done in the first twelve months of the campaign to define final library and information needs.
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