Hinsdale Central Library Media Specialist Selected for Library of Congress Program

Submitted by Hinsdale Township High School District 86.

Hinsdale Township High School District 86 today congratulated Hinsdale Central High School Library Media Specialist Leah Giarritano for having been selected to participate in the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Summer Teacher Institute. Ms. Giarritano is one of two Chicago-area participants chosen from among over 300 applicants nationally. The program will be held next week at the Library in Washington D.C.

Each year, the Library of Congress provides the opportunity for a group of K-12 educators to attend one of its five teacher institutes in Washington, D.C. During the five-day program, participants work with Library education specialists and subject-matter experts to learn effective practices for using primary sources in the classroom, while exploring some of the millions of digitized historical artifacts and documents available on the Library’s website. Teachers working in the Library’s collections will explore the largest online collection of historical artifacts with access to millions of unique primary sources for use in instruction.

“Being selected for this program is a tremendous honor,” said Ms. Giarritano. “Since receiving my Master of Science in Library and Information Science, it has been a dream of mine to study at the Library of Congress. Upon my return, I plan to work with the social studies department to create a curriculum for Hinsdale Central juniors, one focused on conducting research using the Library of Congress primary source databases.”

Ms. Giarritano continued, “This program will create an extension of the current information literacy curriculum Central librarians offer to freshman and sophomore students in conjunction with the English department. It will reinforce the students’ research skills across subject areas and build on the knowledge they have previously learned while giving them an opportunity to apply those skills in the areas of history and social studies.”

Ms. Giarritano also noted that she plans to submit a proposal to conduct a session on “The Use of Primary Sources in High School Library Instruction” at the annual conferences of the Illinois School Library Media Association (ISLMA) and the American Association of School Librarians (AASL).

The Library of Congress, the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution, serves the public, scholars, members of Congress and their staffs. Many of the Library’s resources and treasures may also be accessed through the Library’s website at www.loc.gov.