Maria Avery chats with CVU students about what they learned during their visit.
Champlain Valley Union High School (CVU) students explored Silver Special Collections Library and David W. Howe Memorial Library as part of the school’s reflective interested-based student experiences (RISE) program on Tuesday, June 4. CVU’s RISE program allows students to pick a topic of interest to study with a peer group during the final two weeks of each academic year.
In Silver Special Collections, students from the “Finding your Book Nook” RISE group explored Vermont books and artist books with Special Collections Librarian Prudence Doherty. After sharing historic photos from the libraries' collection of students studying in Billings Library, Doherty led the group on a search to find their own reading nooks or study spots.
Maria Avery leads a tour of Howe Library.
In Howe Library, the group explored the stacks, peeked into the government documents collection, the map room, and hung out in the study pods located all throughout the building.
“Something that interested me was the amount of books the library has and how versatile they are,” shared one student. During a recap of the day with UVM Libraries Community Outreach Manager Maria Avery, the student recalled Howe’s collection of quartos on the second floor and expressed their fascination with the “ginormous books.”
Another student shared their excitement after learning about UVM Libraries’ interlibrary loan system which allows patrons to request and borrow items to be delivered from partnering university libraries.
After students shared takeaways from the day, the group asked Avery a slew of questions including how to become a librarian, what the most popular major at UVM is and how UVM Libraries organize their collections.
To inquire about a future collaboration between UVM Libraries and your class, fill out our outreach form or contact Maria Avery at maria.avery@uvm.edu.