Elementary School Library

Hours: Mo.-Fr.: 8:00 am - 1:00 pm

The GISW Elementary School library is the largest library in North America for children’s and youth literature in German media At present, the inventory consists of 6915 pieces of media. The largest part are children’s books with 5017 different volumes in stock.

All Elementary School classes and three School Entry Level groups use the library regularly. In addition, there are weekly visits by students from German and English language courses. Furthermore, the library is utilized throughout the year by most class levels in preparation for project presentations. The librarian facilitates these activities by recommending the appropriate non-fiction editions, promoting the use of encyclopedias, and by collecting information online.

The Elementary School library has an annual budget. These monies are mostly used to purchase new German works of non-fiction, DVDs, and audio books. Additional funds are raised during the annual World Day of the Book from the sale of used and surplus books. This income is spent to acquire second hand media as a cost saving measure.

The library is open daily for all interested parties, including our parents. The facility is also accessible to students and parents of the School Entry Level, the Upper School, and to students of the German Language Courses (GLC) and employees of the German International School Washington D.C..

Every Summer Break, the library opens its doors for one day in July. The exact date is always published before school ends and entered in the online school calendar.