Tenafly High School’s Lalor Library Media Broadcast Center redefines what a school library can be. With over 1,000 daily visitors and spanning more than 20,000 square feet at the center of the high school building, this remarkable space boasts soaring 30-foot ceilings and cutting-edge resources, including two television broadcast studios, streaming capabilities, and integrated video conferencing. We continually cultivate relations with the private sector resulting in generous equipment donations further enriching student experiences.
More than just a library, it’s a hub of creativity and connection. Whether enjoying a game on our oversized chess set, solving the New York Times crossword on touch screen monitors, listening to (or performing on) the grand piano, gazing into the aquarium populated with Cichlids, or having a videoconference university interview in our well lit and beautifully appointed TV studio, students find a welcoming space designed for learning and inspiration. Our 22,000-title print collection and array of databases ensure access to the best materials. We offer our youngest students in the Tiger Tots Preschool a children’s library, and a Reading Rowboat, that ferries the tots back to their classroom.
Our reach extends far beyond our walls, with this website and 24/7 local cable broadcasts connecting us to the broader community. We frequently host global visitors, from educational leaders to university students, all eager to experience our unique approach and contribute to our students’ experience. C-SPAN, Arte (Europe), and other media outlets have covered many of the interesting events taking place here.
A Space for Exploration and Learning
30 meters of illuminated bookshelves in our loft to the latest research tools, our library offers everything needed for academic success. We balance innovation with practicality, building lasting services that support our students and staff without chasing fleeting trends.
Encouraging Creative Expression
Our balcony’s 2,500 square feet of exhibit space provides the perfect venue for showcasing student creativity, hosting in-house field trips, or displaying collaborative projects. Meanwhile, our professional TV studio broadcasts school programs across the globe, giving students a platform to express their ideas and talents.
A Global Perspective
We challenge our students to think beyond borders, encouraging them to use the library to explore, to know, to innovate, and share their knowledge for the good of the world we all share. The United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals inspire us to act on behalf of our shared planet.
Come visit the Lalor Library Media Broadcast Center—where learning meets innovation, and creativity knows no bounds.
Landmark Events at Tenafly High School’s
Lalor Library Media Broadcast Center
Featured in 2023, the library unveiled exciting updates, including a new carpet, a six-foot-diameter rotating globe, and touch-panel monitors offering access to New York Times games and library search software. The library continues to evolve, embracing the future through ongoing renovation and innovation. Stay tuned for more exciting additions coming this year!
For more than 25 years, the library has been host to the Lunar New Year Celebration. The founding members of the Chinese Cultural Club started this tradition, later to be joined by the Korean Cultural Club. This year the Indian Cultural Club will join.
恭喜發財!
Shaping the Future of Entrepreneurship in Germany and the US – The Hasso Plattner Institute, New York, in collaboration with the German International School of Silicon Valley and Tenafly High School under the Wunderbar Together initiative made this coast to coast / cross ocean project possible. Through these series of interviews coordinated by Dr. Joann Halpern of HPI-NYC and David Di Gregorio, HPI alumni planted the entrepreneurial spirit into the minds of many THS and GISSV students!
Designed by the visionary William Francis Gibbs, the SS United States was built to embody the very best of American innovation—power, speed, and grace. She remains the fastest ocean liner ever to cross the Atlantic, a record that still stands. Among her many groundbreaking features, her uniquely designed propellers—crafted by Elaine Kaplan, a pioneering woman in naval engineering—allowed her to cut through the waves with breathtaking efficiency and elegance. Featuring special guests, this educational discussion explored the significance of this all American icon. It all happened in our center of the library TV studio. Watch here.
Steven Ujifusa, author of A Man and his Ship gave a fascinating talk about William Francis Gibbs, designer of the majority of ships that helped the United States win World War II. The culmination of his life’s work of was the great ocean liner, the SS United States. In our center library TV studio
SS UNITED STATES William Francis Gibbs Interscholastic Engineering and Design Competition – The SS United States remains an icon of American design and engineering, inspiring the next generation of young innovators. Tenafly High School hosted ten competing teams from the New Jersey Interscholastic STEM League, inaugurating a landmark engineering and design competition with an authentic “Made in the USA” theme. We created a “competition pool” in our courtyard’s outdoor classroom for the boats each school built.
In 2005 our students spoke with Henry T. King, one of the last living Nürnberg Trials prosecutors. Via videoconference he answered many questions posed by students from Mr. Morrison’s history class. Author of The Two Worlds of Albert Speer – we have copies in our library. Watch the recording here.
What class is next? Navigating the Block Schedule – Originally programmed by a talented student, Derek A., an electronic signage generator helps students and staff know when and where to be. D Major chord indicates passing time. This information is broadcast and streamed on all our channels during the school day.
Captain Hugh Carola of the Hackensack Riverkeeper speaks to students about local environmental issues. Pictured here at the library’s studio desk with Dr. Robert Kennedy, environmental science instructor and Cathy Paz, VP Tenafly Middle School. Read more…
A former Tenafly High School student and now parent teaches our students the art of knitting during lunch in the library. Such activity provides an excellent opportunity for our students to see and feel the strict logic that makes for a soft blanket!
In 2020 the library’s open space and studio were set up for the New Faculty Orientation days. Our space is flexible and can accommodate various functions – from meetings to music performances.
Architect’s drawing of Library Exterior of Tenafly High School’s library from its outdoor classroom. One can already see prior to the school’s opening in 1972, the library was intended to be a special space. September 14, 2022 marks 50 years (approximately 50,000 students and staff later) we continue to strive to honor the architect’s original intent of our library. Click on photo to enlarge.
Leonard Nimoy’s Advice to Tenafly High School Students – In 2010, Leonard Nimoy taped an encouraging and kind message for our students. He explains how the the arts were a doorway for himself, and how assigned readings can be used as a path to something we may want to learn more about.
In 1937, Karl Ritter, Tenafly High School’s first principal, purchased our Lamb Studios stained glass panels. Rescued from the original high school building and recently renovated they are permanently on display and illuminated by natural light from our courtyard. They serve as a beautiful backdrop to out center library TV studio.
In 2016, an exhibit, on loan from the German Center of Research and Innovation , was on display in the Tenafly High School Library Media Center. Kathryn F. Coulter, Senior Multimedia Designer of the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, selected and artistically enhanced twenty images from a variety of labs and researchers made with Zeiss imaging equipment. Read more . . .
We have been honored to host in 2023, and 2024 Swiss technology students affiliated with TIE International. These students are from high tech universities such as ETH. See more…
THS Athletics are well covered with color commentary by students from our media production classes. Here they broadcast from our Studio B using the one time desk used by Phil Donahue when he was with MSNBC. See additional photo of Studio B . . . and see the desk with Phil Donahue and Louis Farrakhan
Astronaut Mike Massimino, author of Spaceman, answers students’ questions after an exciting talk about his unique experiences in space. See more…
Arte Journal Junior, is a European news program for middle and high school students. It is publicly funded. We were honored to have a visit where our students participated in a report “School in the USA.” French teacher, Ms. Williams class took part in an asynchronous question and answers concerning our cultures. Through this, viewers in Europe learned about the US through this engaging method. Watch the video here.
Tenafly High School students were hired during the summer of 2015 to help with important projects that are to this day useful. Pictured here, one of our student workers assists in modifying our once stationary shelving to make it mobile. A wood base with wheels made this possible.
A one time storage area in the back of te library transformed into a vibrant television control room. Performing arts from our auditorium, athletics from the gym, and events in our library are regularly broadcast over our cable access channel to both homes and classrooms, and streamed live over the Internet.
The Foucault Pendulum project with Ms. Coyle’s physics class as described in “Beauty in a Foucault Pendulum” – by David Di Gregorio – “As the pendulum gracefully swung, it combined Newton’s first law and the force of gravity. It made for surprise as to what it proved; the cause of a day – and night – or the Earth’s rotation. Read More and see additional photos . . .
Read about Sony’s report on extending the life of their wonderful HDC series professional cameras deployed in our TV studios. Article here. . .
In 2023 Tenafly High School Library Media Center received a $10,000 donation. These funds were used to trench a path under the concrete floor from the TV control room to the TV studio with a series of access points along the way. This makes running cables for cameras, displays and equipment neater and easier.
The original architects of Tenafly High School thoughtfully placed the library at the very heart of the school building, connecting it physically to the hallways of various academic disciplines. In this same spirit, a most important role of a library media specialist is to weave connections between the disciplines and show how they are related to the self of every student.
Featured in the Education Section of the Bergen Record, a piece from 2009. Click here for link.
John and Doris Naisbitt speak about their book China’s Megatrends, The 8 Pillars of a New Society. Carried also on C-Span, you may view the talk and the very interesting Q and A with our students that follows.