The Higgins Middle School is home to two libraries:  the Cullen Memorial and Maher Professional libraries.   They are staffed by one DOE licensed library teacher and one part-time qualified library support staff person.

The Cullen Library is a member of the Northeast Massachusetts Regional Library Service (NMRLS) and provides access to reference databases through Answers to Go - Your at Home Library.  The Library is also a member of the Massachusetts School Library Media Association (MSLMA).

Maher Professional Library
The professional library houses the offices of a reading specialist who services both Higgins and Community High School students, as well as a meeting space and our professional development and book set collections.

A second room within the Maher Library was transformed in 2003 into a combination conference room/video and CD-ROM library that houses the Higgins multi-media collection as well as videos inherited by the Higgins when the district's Instructional Media Center closed in 2002.

There is Internet access in the Professional Library and it features an 8-port hub with one PC connected to a scanner.  The room also has a television set, and a computer printer links to various areas of the building.

Cullen Memorial Library
The library's schedule was changed in 2001 enabling the Cullen Memorial Library to service all students, faculty and staff of the Higgins Middle School.   The school's rotating schedule allows for a combination fixed and flexible schedule.  Alternately every other day, the library's schedule is fixed so as to accommodate an individual cluster and flexible,   The remaining days are flexible and available by reservation.  The library is also open after school for students on Tuesdays from 2:30 - 3:15 p.m. and available for reservation by teachers on Wednesdays and Thursdays, 2:30 - 3:15 p.m.

The school is served by a cable television provider and library transactions are automated utilizing Follett 5.2.  We also have licenses for online access to MARC records for books and videos. 

The library has  Internet access for its 26 computer workstations.  In addition, the library has two laptop computers, two InFocus video projectors, and two DVD players. 
    
The library’s collection of books and serials totals 11,544, the majority of which are more than ten years old.   The Library's website provides access to additional curriculum resources, including links to the online supplements of all Prentice Hall texts in use from grades 6 through 8 in Language Arts, Science, Social Studies and of the supplemental links to support the Glencoe Math texts in all three grades.  In addition, the Cullen Library’s computers are licensed for: e-Reader,  Inspiration, Noodlebib Bibliography Maker, United Streaming, Awesome Stories, BrainPop, World Conflicts, Study Island,  Timeliner, and Ancient Empires.

The library's budget is supplemented by
 - Fundraisers sponsored in conjunction with the Higgins PTO, including Book Fairs, Summer Reading Book Sales, Bake Sales, etc. 
 - An annual gift from the Higgins PTO.
 - Grant Awards
 
It is the goal of the Cullen Library to:

• Continue to create online PathFinders in collaboration with teachers and to publish and regularly update the library’s curriculum driven website. 
• Continue to promote cooperation with the public library system by encouraging students to obtain public library cards.  Follow up will involve teaching students how to use their public library card to access databases and other resources. 
• Update the school summer reading list as needed and continue to promote summer reading by: selling the books at Spring concerts and during the Spring Book Fair; and inviting the public young adult librarian to attend these events and explain summer library offerings. 
• Continue to seek grant funding to support Cultural Arts and literacy programming in the library. Cultural Arts
• Continue weeding the library’s collection that is not connected to the curriculum frameworks and thereby free up badly needed shelf space. 
• Continue to encourage teachers to adopt the MLA citation guidelines.
• Acquire funding to replace deteriorating library furniture, including tables, chairs.
• Acquire space and funding for additional shelving. 
• Advocate for additional funding to cover the increase in the library’s annual subscription contracts involving online and automation resources.

     The long-term and ongoing goals of the Cullen Library are:

• Advocate for additional staff: in order to better meet the state's recommended standard: 1 full-time media specialist and 1 full-time library support staff for every 500 students; we are currently operating with 1/3 of the recommended staff.  In 2007,  the library's staff was cut by one part-time media specialist and the librarian's assistant position was cut from 30 to 15 hours/week.
• Advocate that more or all of the space within the library be earmarked for library use, in particular, for the creation of a separate computer instruction area. 
• Purchase additional print and non-print resources that support the curriculum of the Massachusetts Frameworks. 
• Organize a committee to create a five-year plan for the library and thus become eligible to apply for LSTA (Federal Library Services and Technology Act Program) funding for specific projects as directed by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.  See LSTA FY 2003 Grant Round.
• Acquire a security system and accompanying equipment to mark books. 
• Acquire on-site temperature control.

     The American Library Association and the Massachusetts School Library Media Association recommend that an overriding objective of the library media program is to enrich and support the instructional program of the school, taking into consideration individual needs and the varied interests, abilities, socioeconomic backgrounds, and maturity levels of the students served. 
     The school library media center strives to make available a wide range of materials on varying levels of difficulty with a diversity of appeal compatible with the different needs, interests and viewpoints of the school’s population.   The collection of all resources must be physically accessible to all users. 
     The resources selected for the library’s collection will fully support pleasure reading as well as the school’s instructional goals by:

• Stimulating learning of factual knowledge, literary appreciation, aesthetic values and ethical standards
• Enabling students to make intelligent judgments
• Providing materials on opposing sides of controversial issues
• Placing principle above personal opinion and reason above prejudice in selecting materials of the highest quality
• Considering individual learning styles, the curriculum, the state frameworks, and the existing collection
• Considering the teaching methodologies of the faculty 
• The school library media specialist(s) will coordinate the procedures used in selecting and maintaining the collection.  She/he will examine the items to be purchased firsthand, when possible.  She/he will use reputable, unbiased, professionally prepared selection aids when hands-on evaluation of the materials is not possible. 

      Gifts made to the collection will be judged by the media specialist using  standard selection criteria.  If the items are accepted, the library media specialist reserves the right to include the items in the collection.
      Additionally, the media specialist will purchase duplicates of materials that are used extensively; weed the collection of obsolete or inoperable items regularly; and purchase replacements for worn, damaged or missing materials.