About the Library
About the Library
The McBean Library is a vital part of the academic program at Cate School.
We help students become effective users of ideas and information and acquire lifelong patterns of independent learning. We are dedicated to building a collection made up of accurate, up-to-date materials that represent a balanced point of view, to making the collection meet the requirements of all curricular areas, and to meeting the wide-ranging recreational and cultural needs of the school and boarding community.
The library won ALA and AIA awards for its design when it was built in 1966. It is our main library, now housing thousands of volumes of books, periodicals and DVDs. Hundreds of thousands of full-text books, magazines and newspapers are available digitally, through the library’s many online databases. iPods and Kindles circulate to students and members of the faculty and staff. All floors of the library offer wireless access and have been cabled to the Cate School network; we offer computers and iPads that provide access to our electronic resources. The McBean Library also houses the Cate Archives and the Elizabeth Lawton Shreve Hooker Gallery.
Some of the other services we provide include:
- Research Skills Courses
- Personal Research Assistance
- One-to-One Faculty Course Liaisons
- Student Librarian Program, including the Student Book Club
- Interlibrary Loans
- Reserve Textbooks
- Maker Tools and Activities
Nestled next to the McBean is the Johnson Library, with its historic fireplace and wood paneling. Built in 1928 and largely maintained in its original state, the JL — as it is affectionately known — provides a welcoming, quiet place to study and read for pleasure, and it’s a much used space for special lectures and meetings.