Academics
John Gearen Library
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Fenwick High School's John Gearen Library is dedicated to assisting students and faculty members in their educational growth. Named after Fenwick High School’s first valedictorian, John J. Gearen ’32, the Library offers access to:
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Print books (fiction and nonfiction)
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Desktop computers and printers
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A faculty workspace for class preparation
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A Digital Resource Room for student collaboration and for school and instructional programming
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Online resources and research databases, including JSTOR and EBSCO.
Fenwick’s John Gearen Library is committed to supporting the school’s mission by providing a safe, welcoming environment in which all students, staff, and faculty have equal access to diverse academic resources and materials required to fulfill their educational, personal, and recreational needs.
The Library utilizes the I-SAIL Framework for its instructional curriculum. These standards, developed by the Association for Illinois School Library Educators, address four key literacies: information, media, digital, and individual. The framework provides a basis for the knowledge and skills that high school students should walk away with upon graduation. The Library aims to empower Fenwick students to be critical thinkers, enthusiastic readers, skillful researchers, and ethical consumers & creators of information.
ALA Bill of Rights
On January 1, 2024, Public Act 103–0100 went into effect at the state level. This law requires that each Illinois library that receives State grants, which may include Fenwick High School, establish an anti-censorship policy. The John Gearen Library at Fenwick High School adopts and upholds the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights, available here.
EREAD ILLINOIS
Fenwick High School is a member of the eRead Illinois Program, a statewide program designed to increase access to e-books for Illinois residents and grow e-book expertise among library staff, library system staff, and Illinois residents. Initial funding for eRead Illinois was provided by a grant from Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White through the Illinois State Library. Illinois Heartland Library System (IHLS) and Reaching Across Illinois Library System (RAILS) have partnered with the Illinois State Library and Baker & Taylor to provide this access to e-books through Axis 360.
Axis 360 is a digital media platform providing libraries and their patrons with a state-of-the-art system for circulating digital e-books from the eRead Illinois shared collection for Illinois libraries. At Fenwick High School, students and faculty are able to download the books of their choice—both at school and at home—using the Axis 360 app on their iPad. To access the ebooks on a desktop, users will need to install the Axis 360 Desktop Reader.
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