A Tale Inspired By Halloween

With Halloween just around the corner, students gathered in the Middle School Reading Nook at break time to hear Ms. Mermelstein tell a story. They were treated to a creepy story about a woman, a dog and a murderer followed by an improvised version of The Little Witch and the Jack O' Lantern House, a cutting and folding story which follows a little witch on a romp through the woods. When it starts to rain, she quickly realizes that she needs a house but not just any old house. After some clever cutting and folding, the result: a pumpkin dwelling, custom made, especially for her!

Thrills & Chills: Happy Halloween!

October is here, and you know what that means: Halloween!

If you've walked by the library bulletin board recently, you may have noticed students pointing at the three-headed dog or the Dachshund dressed as a hot dog. Unfortunately, we don't have any actual dogs in our library, but we have plenty of creepy, funny, and mysterious books you might want to read for Halloween!

Check out the display just inside the library doors, the books on display in the Middle School nook, and the Halloween resource list on Destiny, complete with all these titles and more.


Middle Schoolers: Stay tuned for a Halloween-themed morning break on Wednesday, October 27!

Graphic Novels Galore!

ATTENTION GRAPHIC NOVEL LOVERS!

The library has just received lots of new graphic novels. If you're looking for classics, we have Calvin & Hobbes and Peanuts. Current series favorites Bone and Amulet are making an appearance, as well as brand new books like Calamity Jack and Katman.



New to the library's graphic collection are graphic non-fiction books. Check out The Murder of Abraham Lincoln or Journey into Mohawk Country for amazing illustrations and fascinating history.

For science types, we have The Explosive World of Volcanoes and Corpses and Skeletons. If you like philosophy, try Thoreau at Walden.

These are just a taste of the new graphic novels and graphic non-fiction the library has on the shelves.

There are graphic books if you are looking for action, adventure, mystery, humor and more.

Come in and check out the displays for more great reads!

Search, Login, Recommend, Review, Renew and Hold! A Destiny User's Guide.

Instructions for using and navigating Destiny: Berkeley Carroll's Online Catalog.

SEARCHING
There are two types of searching – Basic and Visual. Use a Basic search if you know what you are looking for and a Visual search if you want to browse lists for ideas and recommendations. The red arrows show how to go between the two types of searches by clicking on the tabs.





LOGIN
Each student has a login for the library system and can sign in by clicking “Login” in the Middle & Upper School Library catalog (see blue rectangle above). In most cases the User Name is the first initial of their first name followed by their whole last name. The Password is their student ID #. Please see Library staff to get your ID # or if you have problems logging in.



CREATE A LIST
You can create lists of books that sound good to you so that you can easily find them again when you come to the library! Click on "My Info" (red arrow below) and "Add List" (green arrow) to create as many lists as you would like.




ADD TO THIS LIST
You can add titles to your lists directly from the results of a catalog search. Click “Add to this list” (red arrow) to add to your chosen list and Resource Lists (blue arrow) to see your list. Click on the title of the book to see more information, such as summaries, reviews and publication information.




RECOMMEND and REVIEW
Recommending a book (yellow arrow) allows you to send a message to a friend recommending a book to them. They will see your recommendation the next time they login.

Reviewing a book (pink arrow) creates a starred review that stays in the catalog. Let people know about the books that you love and find books other students enjoyed!

HOLD: You can put a hold on a book by clicking Hold (blue arrow above)



RENEW
Click on the My Info tab on top (blue arrow below) and find the button that says RENEW near the book you want to renew (red arrow). This is also a good place to check when your book is due (green arrow).

Be sure to Login to Destiny to explore and to try some of the features highlighted above.

Self Check Out and Library Policy

Self check out is new this year in the Middle/Upper School Library. Here's an overview of Library privileges and how to check out a book.

Maximum Number of Books and Loan Period

• students may check out up to 5 books for a 3 week period
  
• books may be renewed but prompt return of library materials is greatly appreciated
• to return books drop them in the book bin located on the left of the Circulation Desk upon entering the Library

Self Check Out in 3 Steps

1. Scan the barcode on your student card or type in your student ID#

• student ID cards for grades 5-8 are hung on the left side (see orange arrow)
• lists with ID#'s for grades 9-12 are hung on the right side (see yellow arrow)

2. Scan the Berkeley Carroll barcode located on the back of the book in the upper right hand corner

3. Scan the Reset barcode (green arrow above) attached to the scanner, to clear the computer screen


To check due dates and to renew books, students need to Login to their Destiny account. For instructions, see the Destiny user's guide or ask Library staff.

Welcome Back to the Middle/Upper School Library!

What's new in the Library this school year? We've created a larger, more open space for students to read and work in, the entire Middle School fiction collection can now be found in the Middle School Reading Nook and there is self check out at the Circulation Desk. It's no surprise we're breaking records this year in terms of the number of students using the Library space and its resources. We are looking forward to a lively and productive new school year!

Main Reading Room during morning break

Middle School Book Nook during morning break

Read any great books this summer that you'd like to recommend and review? Let us know so we can feature them in the upcoming weeks.

National Poetry Month - April 2010

In celebration of National Poetry Month, the Library hosted its ninth annual Poetry Evening. Students from all divisions, parents, faculty and friends gathered together to share their favorite poems.

Fourth graders read selections from "A Tree of Many Leaves", a collection of poems they wrote during a recent eight-week poetry residency.

Elizabeth Bishop, Langston Hughes, Billy Collins, Walt Whitman, Julianna Baggott and Federico García Lorca were among the chosen poets whose work was read aloud.

Featured poets this year were students from the Middle and Upper School who all read original poetry, thrilling listeners with their poetic skills and unique poetic voices.

All in all, a remarkably satisfying and enjoyable evening.