So much more than your average library, our Media Center at the Middle School is working hard to meet the changing educational needs of students and teachers.
Here's how:
Print Resources: Our collection contains over 17,000 books in print, ranging from Fiction, Non-fiction, Story Collections, Reference Materials and a growing collection of e-books and audio- books.
Electronic Databases: Our Media Center has access to over a dozen quality electronic subscription databases including: WorldBook Online, Biography Reference Bank that contains the biographies of over a half-million people, and EBSCO Magazine & Newspaper Database which contains the contents of over 6,000 magazines and newspapers. Each database features high-quality reference information for middle and high school research, debate, discussion and just curiosity!
Internet Access: Of course, in order to access the above databases, students need access to computers. We currently have 28 computers available for individual students or for teachers to bring in their entire class.
e-Books & Audiobooks: Our Library Media Center now offers over 1,000 classic and public domain books available for downloading to digital devices such as; the Kindle, Nook, iPad or MP3 players.
Mobile Technology: Our library also tries very hard to provide teachers with the technologies that can empower their classroom lessons. For example, we provide multi-media carts, laptops, student response systems and a variety of digital devices to meet teacher needs.
Selection Policy: Acquiring educational materials and new works of literature is an important aspect of any librarian’s job, especially in a school environment. This is something that both the High School media specialists and myself take very seriously and spend a great deal of time researching.
Let me give you a brief overview of how we select books for both the High School and Middle School libraries. But first, let me make this very important point: As school librarians we always keep the overall educational mission at the center of our selections in a way that public libraries do not need to. All materials and books that have been placed on the shelves of either the Middle School or High School libraries have been selected according to the policies that have been established by our School Board, and when local polices were unclear, we turned to the respected standards set by the American Library Association. In addition, we librarians work very closely with teachers when selecting particular literary genres that might apply or be used in their areas. As a matter of fact, a good portion of our collections have come about as a result of teacher requests.
But on a more practical level, choosing works of literature is not a random process but the result of a lot of meticulous scrutiny so as to ensure that our limited book budgets purchase quality literature. We continually scour reviews from a wide variety of authoritative literary sources. We look for books that have received accolades from professional literary journals, critics and other educators. We observe what topics and trends students themselves are interested in and then look for ‘quality’ books that deal with similar themes. We also consider the major milestones students typically experience throughout their development, such as puberty, dating, etc. And of course, we always pay attention to works that have received literary acclaim.
Do all students have access to all books in the library?: No. While, as a librarian, I believe in the basic freedom of choice for readers, as an educator, I also believe in common sense. At one time, our building had been a grade 6-8 building, and our book collection reflected that fact. But once one of our elementaries closed, and it was decided to house the fourth and fifth graders at the middle school, I realized that the cognitive abilities, reading comprehension and maturity levels between those readers and our sixth and seventh graders would be wide. So relying on my experience and proficiency in both children and teen literatures, I separated our young adult titles and placed them into a special ‘Teen Section’ accessible only to our 7th graders and our 6th graders (but only after their first semester). All books in this section were labeled with a special ‘Teen’ sticker on the book cover, and all grade levels are instructed that the ‘Teen’ section is open only to 6th and 7th grade students. Our students know this rule and respect it.
Print Resources: Our collection contains over 17,000 books in print, ranging from Fiction, Non-fiction, Story Collections, Reference Materials and a growing collection of e-books and audio- books.
- The library also subscribes to 21 magazines for student reading.
- We receive two daily newpapers in order to give both students and teachers access to the latest national and local news.
Electronic Databases: Our Media Center has access to over a dozen quality electronic subscription databases including: WorldBook Online, Biography Reference Bank that contains the biographies of over a half-million people, and EBSCO Magazine & Newspaper Database which contains the contents of over 6,000 magazines and newspapers. Each database features high-quality reference information for middle and high school research, debate, discussion and just curiosity!
Internet Access: Of course, in order to access the above databases, students need access to computers. We currently have 28 computers available for individual students or for teachers to bring in their entire class.
e-Books & Audiobooks: Our Library Media Center now offers over 1,000 classic and public domain books available for downloading to digital devices such as; the Kindle, Nook, iPad or MP3 players.
Mobile Technology: Our library also tries very hard to provide teachers with the technologies that can empower their classroom lessons. For example, we provide multi-media carts, laptops, student response systems and a variety of digital devices to meet teacher needs.
Selection Policy: Acquiring educational materials and new works of literature is an important aspect of any librarian’s job, especially in a school environment. This is something that both the High School media specialists and myself take very seriously and spend a great deal of time researching.
Let me give you a brief overview of how we select books for both the High School and Middle School libraries. But first, let me make this very important point: As school librarians we always keep the overall educational mission at the center of our selections in a way that public libraries do not need to. All materials and books that have been placed on the shelves of either the Middle School or High School libraries have been selected according to the policies that have been established by our School Board, and when local polices were unclear, we turned to the respected standards set by the American Library Association. In addition, we librarians work very closely with teachers when selecting particular literary genres that might apply or be used in their areas. As a matter of fact, a good portion of our collections have come about as a result of teacher requests.
But on a more practical level, choosing works of literature is not a random process but the result of a lot of meticulous scrutiny so as to ensure that our limited book budgets purchase quality literature. We continually scour reviews from a wide variety of authoritative literary sources. We look for books that have received accolades from professional literary journals, critics and other educators. We observe what topics and trends students themselves are interested in and then look for ‘quality’ books that deal with similar themes. We also consider the major milestones students typically experience throughout their development, such as puberty, dating, etc. And of course, we always pay attention to works that have received literary acclaim.
Do all students have access to all books in the library?: No. While, as a librarian, I believe in the basic freedom of choice for readers, as an educator, I also believe in common sense. At one time, our building had been a grade 6-8 building, and our book collection reflected that fact. But once one of our elementaries closed, and it was decided to house the fourth and fifth graders at the middle school, I realized that the cognitive abilities, reading comprehension and maturity levels between those readers and our sixth and seventh graders would be wide. So relying on my experience and proficiency in both children and teen literatures, I separated our young adult titles and placed them into a special ‘Teen Section’ accessible only to our 7th graders and our 6th graders (but only after their first semester). All books in this section were labeled with a special ‘Teen’ sticker on the book cover, and all grade levels are instructed that the ‘Teen’ section is open only to 6th and 7th grade students. Our students know this rule and respect it.
You can help! Keeping the links on a website up-to-date is a very difficult thing for one person to do. So I would greatly appreciate it if you would let me know (by clicking here) if you find links that are no longer active. Plus, if you find any new cool educational sites, let me know about those too, Thanks.
~Mrs. S.
~Mrs. S.