• An Overview
  • RGS Vision
  • Brief History of the School
  • Facilities
    • Art
    • Drama
    • ICT Provision
    • Language Laboratory
    • Library
    • Music
    • Sixth Form Centre
    • Sport
• Policies and Procedures
• ISI Inspection Report
• Academic Matters
• School Uniform
• Sports Kit
• Daily Life
• Activities
• Academic Staff List
• Support Staff List
• Governing Body
• Job Vacancies

Library

The Mallison Library is home to an extensive range of resources in a variety of media and aims to support boys’ studies and encourage the development of their information literacy throughout their time at the Royal Grammar School.

The library is open from 8.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday and is staffed by a full-time Librarian and full-time Library Assistant.  Lower 6 form boys are trained as technicians in order to assist with the day-to-day running of the library.  At the core of the library’s role as a provider of resources is its non-fiction book stock of some 13,000 volumes.  It also subscribes to over 80 periodicals and has a substantial collection of music CDs and educational DVDs.  The computerised library management system allows quick and precise searching for material and the Online Public Access Catalogue is available on all school computers.  We hold corporate membership of Surrey University Library, enabling Sixth Form students to access and borrow from their stock, and we are able to obtain copies of material from the British Library on request.

In addition to print resources, the library subscribes to an array of online resources both general and specialised, including Oxford Reference, Dow Jones Factiva, Scientific American, New Scientist, History on the Web and Cambridge journals.  Current students can access all of these from school computers and remotely using passwords which can be found via the RGS intranet.

We never forget the importance of a love of reading for its own sake and encourage all boys to read widely in their leisure time.  The library has a rich and varied fiction and recreational non-fiction stock, which is updated on a continual basis.  Regular competitions and promotions take place to inspire boys to read more extensively, and we encourage feedback from them by way of reviews and suggestions.  Lists of suggested reading for all age groups are prepared and distributed annually; they can also be found on the intranet.

All boys will receive several sessions of library training during the course of their RGS career in order that they make optimum use of the facilities available and develop the independent research skills which are crucial for success in higher education and beyond. This training supports the school’s teaching of study skills, evaluation of sources, critical analysis and acknowledgment of others’ work.