English teacher Carol Fullington along with librarian Brenda Eubank took AP Lang/Comp and regular English students to Indiana University (Bloomington) to do a variety of things. The main purpose was to visit the main library, Herman B. Wells, and check out books relating to the author they chose to write about in an author study’s paper.
This paper requires print-only resources, so the internet wasn’t going to cut it. Eubank and Fullington taught the students about how to actually find the books in the library, use IU’s online card catalog, do Boolean searches and clarify and condense their searches.
“The point of the trip is to teach students to use a real research library. For many college-bound students, the college library is an overwhelming experience. Most of our students are accustomed to our school library or the public library that has a lot more young adult fiction than research resources,” said Fullington.
To relieve some of the stress that some of the students could have had, the students took a tour of the campus and had lunch of the Indiana Memorial Union after visiting the library.
“The library and campus were much bigger than expected, but it is a good perspective when I go to college,” said junior AP Lang/Comp student Michael Hall.
Some other minor things that the students saw were the athletic stadiums, the art museum, the theatre, the Greek houses, MAC (Musical Arts Center) and the different types of people and cultures that come with IU.
Overall, Fullington thought the trip was successful and she did not see any flaws. Fullington, Eubank and the students loved everything from seeing PHS graduates to seeing what college life is actually like.

Story by Sara Kesterson