Fenwick High School's John Gearen Library is dedicated to assisting students and faculty members in their educational growth. Named after Fenwick High School’s first valedictorian, John J. Gearen ’32, the Library offers access to:
- Print books (fiction and nonfiction)
- Desktop computers and 2 printers
- A faculty workspace for class preparation
- Online resources and research databases, including JSTOR, EBSCO, & Noodletools
Library Mission Statement The John Gearen Library of Fenwick High School is committed to supporting the school’s mission by providing a safe, welcoming environment in which all students, staff, and faculty have equal access to diverse academic resources and materials required to fulfill their educational, personal, and recreational needs.
The Library utilizes the I-SAIL Framework for its instructional curriculum. These standards, developed by the Association for Illinois School Library Educators, address four key literacies: information, media, digital, and individual. The framework provides a basis for the knowledge and skills that high school students should walk away with upon graduation. The Library wants to empower Fenwick students to be critical thinkers, enthusiastic readers, skillful researchers, and ethical consumers & creators of information so that they have the ability to lead positive, informed, and meaningful lives in a 21st-century democratic society
Statement on PA 103–0100 On January 1, 2024, Public Act 103–0100 (formerly HB 2789) went into effect at the state level. This act is designed to protect Illinois libraries' freedom to acquire materials and Illinoisans’ freedom to read.This law requires that each Illinois library that receives State grants, which includes Fenwick High School, establish an anti-censorship policy. The John Gearen Library at Fenwick High School adopts and upholds the American Library Association's Library Bill of Rights, which guarantees that items will not be restricted because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval and that presenting all points of view on current and historical issues is important. If you would like to read the entire ALA Library Bill of Rights, you can
here.