Thursday, October 20, 2011

THANK YOU!

Many thanks to the Rolland-Warner PTC for their generous donation.  Watch for new titles by favorite authors such as Anthony Horowitz, Erin Hunter, Cornelia Funke, Zondervan, Kenneth Oppel, Eva Ibbotson, Laurie Halse Anderson and many more.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Change to Michigan electronic Library Databases

The Michigan Department of Education has announced some changes in the Michigan electronic Library databases, http://mel.org/databases.  Effective October 1 some additions to the databases include:

CultureGrams and Opposing Viewpoints in Context as well as a few others.

Many databases popular for use by teachers and school librarians have been cancelled such as:

 NoveList
 ArticleFirst
 CAMIO
 Educator's Reference Complete
 Heritage of the Printed Book
 OMNIFile Full Text Select (formerly known as WilsonSelect Plus)
 WorldCat  and 

 Reference Desk Gateway, http://mel.org/reference.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Middle School Students Are Avid Readers

As of today, 2194 copies of titles have been checked out from the Rolland-Warner Media Center in September.  Library Orientation was presented to all middle school students at Rolland-Warner and Zemmer during the last couple of weeks.  Students learned tips to use the library software to effectively locate books in their media centers.  Students also learned how to locate and borrow titles from the other LCS schools.  Library staff has been very busy as students have taken advantage of the interlibrary loan service. 

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

WELCOME TO MIDDLE SCHOOL 2011-2012

We're excited to begin the new school year and are sure you will find the media center is a wonderful place to relax and enjoy a good read. Whether your interest is in fiction or nonfiction, or if you're looking for a good magazine to browse, the media center has what you're looking for. Come visit us soon.

Top 10 iPad Tips & Tricks by David Kapuler

Having recently received an iPad and joined the iOS game, I decided to do some research on ins and outs of this device. I discovered that many of the same time-saving tricks that can be done on a Mac can be done on an iPad, too. Here are my top 10 tips for using an iPad:

Reset - Probably the first thing a new user to an iPad is going to want to do is learn how to reset their iPad without having to turn it all the way off and on again. To do this, just hold down the power button and home button for a few seconds and the iPad will reset.
Force Quit - This is really simple to do. If a program gets frozen or you want to exit right away, just click on the home button to return to the main screen.
Screen Shot - Something I do on a daily basis as an educator is taking a screen shot on my mac for tutorials and professional development. This can also be done on an iPad by holding down the power button and home button for a second and then releasing. A camera sound will go off as the screen turns white. The screen shot will be stored in photos.
File Transfers - Probably the easiest way to transfer a file from the iPad is simply to click the share button in the upper right and then email the file as an attachment.
Copy and Paste - Just tap and hold down on the text and select copy; go to a new app and then tap and hold down and click paste. To copy a whole paragraph, tap and hold down on a paragraph 4 times to select it all.
Web Scrolling - A real time saver when browsing a web page is the ability to return to the top rather than having to slide your finger over the entire page over and over. Just click back at the title bar to return to the top of the screen.
Dock - You can manage the dock in the iPad in a similar way to to how it's done on a Mac: Click down on a app until it wiggles and then drag and drop it on the dock.
Wireless Keyboard - I find that typing on an iPad is clunky, to say the least. While it does work for simple browsing or tweeting, it is not ideal for doing blog posts or more detailed work. For that reason, I suggest getting a wireless keyboard (any Bluetooth will do) to facilitate typing.
Deleting - If your iPad tends to fill up with useless applications that you have downloaded, it's simple to delete them by holding down on top of an app until it starts wiggling and then pressing the x button to delete.
Smart Cover - Probably my favorite cover for the iPad is the smart cover, which not only connects via a magnet, but also puts the iPad to sleep when pulled over the front.

David Kapuler is an educational consultant with more than 10 years of experience working in the K-12 environment. For more information about his work, contact him at dkapuler@gmail.com and read his blog at cyber-kap.blogspot.com.

Friday, July 15, 2011

What Are You Reading?

I hope you're enjoying stories by your favorite authors this summer. Visit your public library and choose a good book.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Zemmer Yearbooks From The Past

Who doesn't like flipping through pages of photo albums and seeing old photographs? The Zemmer Media Center has a collection of yearbooks from years 1970 through 1991, 1993, 1995-1997, 2000-2001, 2006-current. Ask the library assistant to make them available to you, and spend some time at your media center to browse through the yearbooks.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Coming to theaters July 15th, the end begins. Check out the book before you see the movie. If you've seen Part I, you must see Part II.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

2011 Summer Reading Program at your Public Library for Children, Tweens, Teens, and Adults.

Mark your calendars and don't miss out on the fun this summer at your public libraries. "One World, Many Stories!" and "You Are Here!" are the themes for the 2011 Summer Reading Program available free at the public libraries this summer. The schedule of programs has been announced and include some very exciting performances and workshops. All elementary and middle school students will be given flyers to take home during the last week of school.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Looking for a good read? Your library has something for you.

A few new titles in the middle school collection include:

Will at the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863 by Laurie Calkhoven. In 1863, twelve-year-old Will, who longs to be a drummer in the Union army, is stuck in his sleepy hometown of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, but when the Union and Confederate armies meet right there in his town, he and his family are caught up in the fight. Includes historical notes, glossary, and a time line of events

Okay for now by Gary D. Schmidt. Fourteen-year-old Doug Swieteck faces many challenges, including an abusive father, a brother traumatized by Vietnam, suspicious teachers and police officers, and isolation, but when he meets a girl known as Lil Spicer, he develops a close relationship with her and finds a safe place at the local library.

A world without heroes by Brandon Mull. Fourteen-year-old Jason Walker is transported to a strange world called Lyrian, where he joins Rachel and a few rebels to piece together the Word that can destroy the malicious wizard emperor, Surroth.

Tall story by Candy Gourlay. Sixteen-year-old Bernardo, who is eight feet tall and suffers from a condition called Gigantism, leaves the Philippines to live with his mother's family in London, much to the delight of his thirteen-year-old half sister Andi, a passionate basketball player.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

MARCH READING MONTH

Rolland-Warner Media Center celebrates March Reading Month with the theme GET YOUR GAME ON: READ. Students competed in "old-school" games such as Library Bingo, Yahtzee, and Scrabble Slam during lunch hours. Many sweet treat prizes were awarded to winners. The media center was filled to capacity with 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

BOOK CLUB

Book Club met and discussed book awards. The 2011 winner of the Newbery Award was announced by the American Library Association at the Midwinter Meeting. Clare Vanderpool was awarded the Newbery for Moon Over Manifest, considered the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

The Michigan Reading Association announced the 2010-2011 winners of the Great Lakes Great Books award. The sixth, seventh, and eighth grade winner is Scat by Carl Hiaasen. Copies of both titles were already on the shelves in both middle school libraries before the announcements were made. Book Club members will prepare and submit book reviews on books they have been reading. Book reviews will be posted here on the Media Blog to celebrate March Reading Month.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

New Books Arrive at Zemmer

Come visit the Zemmer Media Center and browse the stacks for some of the latest books. New biographies include those written about Marquis de Lafayette who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, Simon Wiesenthal, a Holocaust survivor, and American author and storyteller, Mark Twain, born Samuel Langhorne Clemens. These are only a few of the more than 200 titles recently added to the collection in the library.