A Library That Grows with its Readers
August 21, 2026
A school library is never really finished. Like the students who move through its shelves each day, it is constantly learning, growing, and making room for discovery.
That evolution is an essential part of a healthy library. The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) encourages independent school librarians to continually evaluate the currency, quality, depth, and breadth of their collections, ensuring that resources evolve alongside a school’s curriculum and the changing needs of its students. At Ashley Hall, that ongoing work is both practical and deeply connected to our mission.
Over the past year, Director of Library & Media Services Erin Neighbors has taken a thoughtful look at the School’s collection—identifying materials that no longer serve students well while considering where new books, authors, subjects, and perspectives could strengthen what is already on the shelves.
The result is not a different library, but a richer one: a collection designed to invite curiosity, encourage independent thinking, and help students better understand both themselves and the world around them.
Literacy scholar Rudine Sims Bishop famously described books as both “mirrors” and “windows”—opportunities for young readers to recognize something of themselves and to encounter lives and experiences beyond their own. Both matter at Ashley Hall. A student might enter the library looking for a favorite author and leave having discovered an unfamiliar period in history, a character whose family resembles their own, a culture they know little about, or simply a story they never expected to love.
We sat down with Neighbors to talk about how Ashley Hall’s library is evolving, what makes a strong collection, and what she hopes every student discovers when they walk through its doors.
You’ve spent the past year taking a close look at Ashley Hall’s library collection. What prompted that work?
Erin Neighbors: As the new Director of Library and Media Services at Ashley Hall, I spent significant time, beginning in July 2025, familiarizing myself with our current collection, acknowledging its strengths, and considering how to strengthen it to better support our current student body. A large part of this process involved our library audit, in which we removed materials that were dated or no longer serving our students.
Throughout the audit process, we carefully considered areas where something felt missing. Our collection must reflect our School mission, explore students' varying interests, experiences, and perspectives, and, most importantly, allow them to discover the world around them.
What does it mean for a library collection to evolve over time?
EN: The evolution of the library is quite like that of the world around us: constantly changing. The work is never truly finished, but it embodies all of the changes within the school - from curriculum changes to new publications- and we are constantly on the lookout for the best materials to serve our students.
While many books will remain “classics”, it is also imperative to continuously evaluate and improve the collection, ensuring that there is room for new books, new authors, and new perspectives. These are what make up a healthy library collection.
Why is it important for students both to see themselves reflected in books and to encounter experiences different from their own?
EN: Every single student at Ashley Hall should be able to come to the library and find a book that feels familiar to them. This could look different for each student. For one student, it may mean a character who looks like her, a family that looks like hers, or characters who share similar experiences, interests, or challenges. A healthy library is one where a student can come in and say, “This feels like me.” All of our students deserve the opportunity to make those connections.
Our students need opportunities to learn about experiences beyond their own. A large part of preparing our students for the challenges of their world with confidence comes from helping them understand the world beyond their own experiences. Books provide a window into various places, cultures, families, and perspectives. These windows open up spaces for curiosity - a place for students to ask questions, consider different points of view, and understand experiences that they may not otherwise encounter.
We think about our mission and how our library serves that mission - creating both independent AND ethically responsible students. We want our students to have their own voice, but we also want them to navigate what it means to listen and learn from others. This helps students engage thoughtfully with the world at large.
As you continue building the collection, what are you hoping students will discover?
EN: We hope they will discover books and stories they never even looked for.
While we want our readers to come in and find books by authors they already love, we also want them to become curious about our displays. We want them to pull a book that isn't familiar to them and realize they are interested in other material too! It could involve a new author, a historical event, a new genre, a culture, a career - really anything that they gain exposure to that leaves them wanting more.
We are broadening our collection in several ways, including taking a closer look at cultures, racial and ethnic backgrounds, abilities, family structures, religions, traditions, socioeconomic experiences, and perspectives from around the world.
In the library audit, we paid close attention to our categories and how our collection represented them. We also don't want a single book to carry the responsibility of representing an entire group. Ultimately, we need to provide a broad scope of experiences that represent our student body and the world in which we live.
How does this work strengthen the existing collection and connect to Ashley Hall’s mission?
EN: While we have a wonderful collection of books currently available in our library, we are constantly building on it. This work is not meant to replace existing books, but to take a closer look at areas we can strengthen. Adding voices and perspectives is not meant to detract from other books, but to provide additional learning opportunities.
Our goal is for students to become curious, thoughtful, confident, and prepared for the world. Students need opportunities to ask questions, encounter new ideas, and learn about people who are different from them, and develop their own thinking. A strong library collection allows them spaces to do all of those things.
What excites you most about where the library is headed?
EN: There is so much potential moving forward!
While the collection is a large part of the library, we also put considerable thought into our curriculum, spaces, research and media literacy, technology, programming, author visits, and how students use the library.
The most exciting part of working in the library is bringing all of those concepts together. The library is no longer just a place to go for books, but an active part of the Ashley Hall experience.
What do you hope every Ashley Hall student experiences when she walks into the library?
EN: I want the students to feel that the library is meant for them. For a student to find something they love, to find something reflective of who they are or want to be, and to be introduced to new ideas and experiences they never considered before.
Most importantly, I want students to be curious. I want them to walk out with books they weren’t planning to read, a question they didn’t have when they entered, or a new idea they want to learn about.