There's a Lion in the Library

Not really? However you will see one in Michelle Knudsen's storybook Library Lion.  This week the third graders used the 5Ws and an H to create questions they had about the story.   They wondered about the characters, the setting, and the plot.  Here are some of the questions they had.

Who would let a lion into a library?
What made the lion love books so much?
Where did the lion come from?
When is the lion going to come back to the library?
Why did the lion have to leave?
How did Miss Merriweather know Mr. McBee was running in the hallway?

After a discussion about all their questions there were many students who wanted to borrow the book.  After checking the OPAC we found 3 more copies available for circulation.  If your interested in checking it out during your next visit just search the OPAC

Databases for Our Library

     There is nothing better then getting free resources for the library.  This week I learned about a couple of databases being offered to all students, parents and staff thanks to the New York Online Virtual Electronic Library (NOVELNY). The best way to access them is through the school library and we can now find the link on our own OPAC .  Just look at the links for eLibrary, Grolier Online and Kids Infobits under the database category once you are in our OPAC.

     In case you did not know a database is a tool that has collected and organized information from a variety of printed magazines, encyclopedias and journals.   Instead of going to Google to research information for a class project you can conduct a search at one of the kid friendly databases and find better results. You can even access it from home but you will need the username and passwords from your friendly librarian Ms. LaLuz.  Just drop by the library during open access and I will show you how to log in.

Have You Met Dewey?

Class 5-2 and 5-3 have learned how the non-fiction section of the library is organized.  They now know that Melvile Dewey created the Dewey Decimal System many years ago in order to organize non-fiction books by a subject's category.   All non-fiction books are separated into 10 different categories, making it easier for students to locate non-fiction books for their research projects.  However, they should not forget how important the call number of books can be as well.  After using the OPAC to search for specific books in our library students can now pinpoint the category and reduce the amount of time spent searching the shelves.

If you come to the library just look for the signs that will help you identify each of the categories listed below:

000-099     General Works
100-199     Philosophy and Psycology
200-299     Regilion and Mythology
300-399     Social Sciences 
400-499     Languages
500-599     Natural Science
600-699     Applied Science
700-799     Arts and Recreation
800-899     Literature
900-999     Geography and History

Spring Break Library Connection

Our Library Media Center will not be open during Spring Break, April 18, 2011 through April 26, 2011.  However, you can still get to your favorite links of resources during the break if you need information for any projects.  Just go to our Library Website, our OPAC or our Library Portaportal and the information you've used in the library will be there.  


You can also visit our neighborhood public library. Click on the picture below to get information about any Brooklyn Public Library. 

Select the Dekalb Library Branch under Branch Information on the top right

Using Google Forms

gogI just learned how I can use Google forms to get our school communities' input on books they would like us to purchase for next year.  Now when someone visits our OPAC they can see the Wish List Form right on the homepage.  All they have to do is write the title, author or type of  books they are interested in and Google automatically generates a spreadsheet for me to look over at any time.  Now it's time to introduce this new feature to library visitors.

We Are Connected

I have been thinking lately about the best way we can stay connected to the internet resources available in the library.  Naturally, this blog is just one way everyone can see what is happening in the library throughout the year, but more importantly I want to make sure all of the links we share in the library are accessible to everyone once they leave the library.   I thought of a couple of Web 2.0 applications that everyone can view and use from their home computers:

1. Google has lots of great features.  I used Google Sites to create the P. S. 274 Library Media Center website.  Included in our website is our Mission Statement, our Library Policies, and plenty of links for Students, Staff and Parents.  It is currently a work in progress and eventually pages for the content areas will be included. 

2. Most students already know the most important links used in the library can be found on the Library's Portaportal.  Portaportal is a bookmarking website that allows you to store and organize tons of links just like your Favorites folder on your computer. The great part about using Portaportal is that you can access it from any computer with internet access.

My mission now is to spread the word about these websites and increase our sharing connection!

My Return to Blogging about the Library

I know it has taken a while to finally begin sharing this blog, but I think I am ready! Feel free to share your thoughts.

Our Robin Hood Library is just over 2 years old and within that short time our school community has learned so much.  They have listened to a variety of stories, learned how to locate books using the OPAC, used new laptops and computers to create projects, learned how to use a number of informational links to complete research projects and participated in a number of interactive lessons using a Smartboard.  As students and staff continue to feel more and more comfortable using all our resources I will continue to use this blog to post what is happening in the library.  I hope through this blog others will get a little glimpse of how we use the resources in our library on a daily basis.