Library

Each year, more than 100 classes visit the Henry Luce III Library for curriculum-driven research instruction. In collaboration with classroom teachers, Brooks School's librarians teach students how to find, evaluate and cite a variety of electronic and traditional print sources.

The 15,000 square-foot, three-story library features:

  • access to more than 30,000 "traditional" research items including reference books, specialized encyclopedias, primary and secondary sources, magazines and newspapers
  • electronic collections including on- and off-campus access to academic databases featuring thousands of articles from scholarly journals to newspapers, as well as court cases, historical documents and more
  • a digital reference book collection including, in part, the Salem Press Defining Documents series, which analyzes primary source materials from all eras of history
  • four library assistants to assist students in making the most of Brooks' vast resources
  • six study rooms with tables and whiteboards; two with mounted, flat panel projection
  • a silent study zone
  • tables for group work and cozy nooks for quiet reading

In a world of proliferating information, the Luce librarians are committed to cultivating patient, curious and discerning student researchers. Our students appreciate it -- and take advantage of all the opportunities that our library offers. Take it from them:

Today, I used the library to...

... do research on my paper."


Brooks' librarians personally design research guides for Brooks classes featuring specific books, databases and other resources tailored to the needs of each course.

... relax and get inspired."

The library's materials support recreational reading, too. We have an expansive Young Adult collection and  a wide-ranging digital reading collection available to everyone on campus.

... work with a study group."

Students rely on the library as a work-friendly space for gathering with their classmates. Printers and computers make it a great place to prepare class presentations, as well.

Originating as a single room in the Old Whitney House in 1927, the school library has always been an integral part of the Brooks community. Relocated to a wood paneled room in Gardner House in 1930, the school library maintained its status as a center for intellectual pursuits. Expanding to fill three additional rooms in 1949, the Brooks library was formally dedicated to the memory of De Forest Van Slyck, Jr., a Brooks graduate who was lost in action during World War II.

In 1965, the library moved from its Gardner House location into a new building, the Goelet Library, designed to accommodate a collection of 15,000 books and to serve 200 students. As the collection enlarged and information technology became critical to scholarship, the Henry Luce III Library was constructed to function as the major resource for the Brooks School community's learning and teaching needs. Named after Henry Luce III '42, the distinctive tri-level structure was designed by the Boston architectural firm of Amsler Woodhouse MacLean and dedicated in May 1995.

Hours and Quick Link

The library is open, and staffed, more than 82 hours per week.

Sunday Noon to 10 p.m.

Monday–Friday 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Online Catalog

Birthday Book Program

The Brooks School Luce Library is excited to restart its Birthday Book Program, to both support the development of the library's collection and to celebrate the birthdays of our students.

The library maintains a list of books it would like to acquire, from replacing copies of lost, damaged, or well-worn books to ensuring that the library's print offerings are up-to-date and meet the ever-changing needs of our faculty and students.

Friends and families have the opportunity to help with this effort and to honor their students in the process. We've partnered with Andover Bookstore — the oldest continuously operating bookstore in the United States. 

Please go to this link to see our wish list and add a book that resonates to your cart.

When you go to checkout, you'll see "Gift Options" under the address section and a box to leave a message. Please include your student's name there. The book will be shipped directly to Brooks School's library. Once we receive it, we'll add it to our catalog and mount a bookplate inside the front of the book with your student's name and year. This information will also be searchable in our online catalog.

We will also organize a photograph with your student and their birthday book and email it to you on or around their special day!