If You Loved The Hunger Games. . .

Here's the list a lot of us have waited for: books and series to read if we love The Hunger Games. Click here to access the 2BusyBrunettes blog, where the creators have put together a description of 25 books that are similar to The Hunger Games. The best part? We have many of these in our own library! Stop in or access your Destiny Quest account to check the availability. See you soon!

QR Codes in the Library

Now in the library are cards featuring the QR codes to book trailers. Using a smart phone or iPod with online access, students can scan the QR code, which will take them to an online book trailer created by librarians or students. Several different cards will rotate among the shelves, so continue to check back to see if one of your favorite books is featured!

The Spring Book Fair is Here!

The Middle School Spring Book Fair will be held in the library from Fri. Mar. 9 - Thurs. Mar. 15. Feel free to stop by during your parent-teacher conferences or during the school day.

Can't make it to conferences to visit the Book Fair? You can visit the online book fair extension page where you can purchase from an extended selection of books. Every purchase benefits DCG Middle School! If you'd like to place an order online, please click here to do so.

Senator Grassley Visits DC-G Middle School

On Thursday, January 19, 2012, Senator Charles Grassley visited DC-G Middle School--speaking to students in the library--as part of his 99-county swing through Iowa. Students asked questions they had prepared in advance. Senator Grassley shared his personal stories of entering Iowa and national politics. He also spoke on a variety of topics, such as the Internet anti-piracy bill, education, and bullying. To read the article about Senator Grassley's visit as it appeared at The Iowa Republican online, click here. To see the full video of the Senator's remarks, click here.

Senator Grassley with library associate Ms. Fitzpatrick, left, and with teacher librarian Mrs. Ellis, right. Click on the QuickTime movie below to view additional photographs from the event.

Nonfiction EBooks

Through the AEA, teachers and students can access free, online nonfiction eBooks here. The books focus primarily on science and geography, and the collection includes biographies as well. The books are NOT downloadable. They are available 24/7 with unlimited/simultaneous use. No special ereader is required. Any portable device or computer with Internet access can be used, including iPads.

To access the ebook collection, you will need to use the same AEA online database username and password you use to sign in to EBSCO, CultureGrams, iClipArt, etc.

Free EBook Websites

Looking to read an eBook? Try these online sources for free titles:

The Open Library includes more than one million free ebook titles. The ebooks can be read online, downloaded to your computer, and read on a Kindle or other ereader devices. Some of the books are also available as audio books.

ManyBooks.net is a service that has more than 29,000 free eBooks that are available in a variety of formats. The books here are either in the public domain or have been licensed for free distribution. You can search by title, author, genre, or language.

Planet eBook is a free service where teachers and students can find classic literature titles available as free downloads. Planet eBook offers previews of titles, which allows students to get an overview of the book without committing to downloading the entire book.

20th Century War Books

Students in 7th grade social studies have a variety of books to choose from as they work on a 20th century wars unit. Be sure to check back often; titles will change as students check out and return books.