Interested in reading one of the Iowa Teen Award nominees for the year? Check out this Prezi by an Iowa librarian:
As we have done in years past, we will vote for a building winner in March before spring break, and in mid-April we will learn which of these books is our state-wide winner.
Stop by the library to check out one of these great books!
Monday, August 25, 2014
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Using Symbaloo from the Library Main Page
With Symbaloo becoming more and more popular, it's time we in the MS Library got on board! If you've visited the library main page recently, you may have noticed that some of the headings have a cleaner, more streamlined look.
No more long lists of links to take you to our research databases or to a variety of online reading resources. With one click, you'll be at our Symbaloos. Take a look below and click on the caption to see where you can go!
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| CLICK HERE to access the Research Resources Symbaloo. |
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| CLICK HERE to access the All Things Reading Symbaloo. |
Monday, August 18, 2014
Welcome Back to School!
It's back to school time! To welcome students back to the library, two new displays await:
If you didn't get a chance to travel the world this summer, no worries! Reading can take you anywhere! Featured on the world map are books like The Lions of Little Rock and The Scorpio Races if you feel like traveling domestically. Want to break out the passport and travel internationally? Try The Outcasts or Prisoner B-3087.
Another display aims at helping students--and anyone else!--stay connected with happenings in the library.
Featured are the apps for Destiny Quest, Google Drive, Blogger, Instagram, Symbaloo, Google Hangouts, QR Reader, and Pinterest. What do they all have in common? Each of them is just another way we can share what's happening in the library or a way for students to find resources and books. Need to know more? Stop by to talk with one of us in the library, and we'll make sure you and your devices are ready to go!
Friday, August 15, 2014
Thoughts about The Giver
Lois Lowry's Newbery-award winning dystopian novel The Giver hits the big screen today (you can watch the trailer HERE), and with its release comes talk about why it's often a challenged or banned book in schools.
According to an article by Ben Blatt for Slate, The Giver ranks 11th among books "requested for removal" between the years 1990 - 1999; in the 2000's, the book still ranked 23rd on the list. The Office for Intellectual Freedom reports that just under one-third of the time was the book removed from the shelf.
Most requests to remove a book are related to sexually explicit content or offensive language; however, The Giver doesn't fit that stereotype. Instead, those who wish to see it removed from shelves say that the story is "unsuited for the age group," which typically means the story is too "dark" for the intended age of the audience.
In Blatt's article "Will The Giver Movie Prompt More Schools to Ban the Book?"we can see that The Giver is challenged nearly two times more often for its "unsuitability" than all other books challenged:
Have you read The Giver? Do you have plans to see the movie? With Banned Books Week just around the corner (September 21 - 27), you might want to do both and be part of the conversation!
Thursday, August 7, 2014
New Decor!
New curtains in the library! Last spring Mrs. Howard and I talked about how to add some spark to the corner where her daughter's memorial bench sits. Our solution? Curtains!
To honor her daughter Sarah--and to surprise Mrs. Howard a bit--I found fabric that included a dragonfly design. (Notice the dragonflies on the bench?)
And after modifying some flat bedsheets, viola! We have new curtains. Stop by the library to have a seat and relax!
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Harry Potter Hump Day Online Games
Today's Harry Potter Hump Day post features all sorts of Harry Potter games from Surfing the Net with Kids' website. You can CLICK HERE to visit the site, and from there you can access any of the games shown below. Happy gaming!
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