Library Policies
Library Policies
(Updated August 2015)
The Overton Library Media Center (LMC) is available for all students and teachers to use. Through a variety of print and non-print resources, we strive to meet the educational and personal needs of everyone in the school, from kindergarten to high school and staff members.
Check-out policy:
Regular library materials will be checked out for a period of two weeks. Students will be allowed to renew their materials twice, leading to a check-out period of 6 weeks total. After this time, materials will be considered overdue. In order to renew, students must have the materials in hand at the time of request.
The library is currently separated into two sections: high school and elementary. Books are located in the high school section because they are content- appropriate for older students, not because of the reading level. Students in grades 7-12 may check out any materials. Students in sixth grade and below may check out any materials in the elementary section and are highly encouraged to check out books in their current interest level.
If a younger student wishes to check out materials in the high school section, student must obtain a note from the LMC, including a parent signature and the title or series that the student is permitted to read. An exception to this would be research materials needed for a class assignment.
Starting this year, the library is developing a collection of ebooks. All teachers and students 5-12 will have an Overdrive account and can use any device, including school iPads, to download books.
Overdue Policy:
Once checked-out materials become overdue, the student will no longer be able to check-out new materials. Students with overdue materials will be given verbal reminders for 2 weeks. Then, students will receive a written or emailed reminder with the title and price of the materials. If students do not rectify the overdue issue within 1 week from written notice, a detention may be issued.
Lost books:
If school library books are found in the building and returned to the LMC, the books will remain checked out. It is the student’s responsibility to check with the library to see if misplaced books have been turned in. The library will not notify students of materials found around the building, unless the student has inquired about the misplaced library materials.
Library Use:
Classes are encouraged to use the library for research, presentations, and projects. Please check with the library staff to ensure that the library is available. Teachers may also utilize the library for make-up tests or a quiet environment if students need a place to work, or students can borrow any of the games available.
AR tests:
When sending students down to test, please don’t send more than 4 students at a time per classroom. Students should bring testing permission (folders, slips, etc…). Students should not need to come down and test more than once per day. After students test, they are welcome to search for a new book. There are timer book-sticks that can be used to keep students on track and avoid wasting too much time in the library.
Library Resources
Along with books, magazines and some reference materials, the library also has some tools and resources available that may be of some assistance, especially for research. First, we have an online subscription to World Book. This can only be accessed at school. There is a link on the homepage under the weather box at the bottom. Second, interlibrary loan is a helpful resource for finding books not available in our library or for finding additional copies of books needed in the classroom. Mrs. Lassen would be happy to help search for titles needed, or she can direct you to the database. This gives us access to libraries, including city and university libraries across the country. While the selection is large, it is not the timeliest resource, as it takes 7-10 business days to receive materials, depending on where they are located.
NebraskAccess is a free database available to our school library. It can be accessed from anywhere, but does require a password that is changed twice a year. It is posted on the bulletin board in the LMC workroom. Databases included are:
- EBSCOhost, OmniFile, and FirstSearch
- Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia—although part of a database, will have its own link for direct access from NebraskAccess.
- Primary Search—contains hundreds of full text popular magazine, reference resources and images for elementary age children.
- MasterFILE Complete—contains thousands of full text popular magazines and peer-reviewed journals on a wide variety of topics, plus more than 55,000 primary source documents many of which are appropriate for middle or high school students.
- Points of View Reference Center—provides critical analysis on more than 370 topics, each including an overview, and point and counterpoint argument. Great for the debate team or the essay writer.
- NoveList K-8 Plus—contains summaries, reviews, series information and read-a-like suggestions on fiction and nonfiction books appropriate for the young reader.
- NoveList Plus—contains summaries, reviews, series information and read-alike suggestions on fiction and nonfiction books appropriate for teens and young adults.
- Biography Reference Center—contains more than 461,000 full text biographies. The Library Commission will also continue to subscribe to Biography Reference Bank (H.W. Wilson) until these two databases combine.
- Explora Primary School—replaces Searchasaurus and Kids Search. Allows students to browse by topic or search a combination of databases.
- MyHeritage
- Consumer Health Complete
- Legal Information Reference Center
- Small Business Reference Center
- Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
- Science & Technology Collection
Noodle Tools
NoodleTools is an online tool that helps with note-taking, citing sources, and putting all the components of research together. Students in grades 6-12 have a personal student account. Logins are the same as each student’s AR login, and the passwords are noodle + graduation year (ex. noodle2010). Teachers can create projects and see student progress on notecards, works cited, and can make comments on what they see. Students can connect notecards and sources directly to GoogleDocs, if they have an account. Sharing between students on group projects is also an option.
Safari Montage
This is an online tool that has access to online content-videos, photos, encyclopedia, and websites. The ESU has purchased a subscription to Learn 360. On Safari, you can organize playlists with the content you use. Mrs. Lassen can get login information for you.
Staff Resources
The library has a collection of books and DVD’s available for staff members to check out. They are located in the workroom. Please let us know what you are borrowing and keep it for as long as you like. If you have any other additional titles to request, please let Mrs. Lassen know.
Games and Game Night:
Through a grant, the library has many types of board games available for students and teachers to use throughout the year. They can be used for indoor recess, classroom rewards, or other learning activities. Teachers are encouraged to use the games as often as possible. Game Night is held after school periodically throughout the year to encourage student and parent use of the library.
Renaissance Learning
Our school uses Renaissance Learning in grades 1-12. Each student takes a STAR math and STAR reading test three times per year. This data is used to keep track of student growth, and for class grouping. This testing can be done on the iPads or in the library. A teacher password is required for students to take the test.
Data from the STAR reading test is also used to guide the Accelerated Reading (AR) program. STAR testing gives teachers the reading range for books which students read. Elementary classes establish monthly goals, while 5-12 students have semester goals. In middle and high school, Accelerated Reader is worth 10% of each student’s reading grade. Students generally take AR tests in the library with some form of teacher permission. Having the reading teacher’s permission helps us in the library communicate with the classroom teacher how students are doing on tests.
All books in the library that have an AR test are marked with a label that includes the title, quiz number, book level, and point value. We have also started a color-coding system to help students easily choose books within their level. Students should usually read books in their reading level. Depending on how they are doing, it is okay to go above, with teacher permission. However, it is strongly discouraged to let students test on books below their level, with a few exceptions of struggling students, but again, teachers can communicate this to the library staff to help students select books at an appropriate level.
