Welcome to St. Joseph School’s beautiful new library, the academic hub of the school. The library typically is buzzing with students, selecting books or magazines for research, recreational reading, or AR reading. A certified library media specialist and a staff of dedicated volunteers assist students as they use Alexandria Researcher, the on-line public access catalog (OPAC) to locate or place a hold on books they want.
When classes in kindergarten through second grade visit weekly, a volunteer (usually a class parent) provides story time. The library media specialist teaches a short class on topics such as book care, the parts of a book, and finding information in a book. Students then select one book from the primary section and check it out for one week.
Classes in grades three through five also visit the library weekly. Along with lessons about using the OPAC, the Dewey Decimal System, and researching on databases, students and the librarian discuss books and authors and occasionally have story time. Students typically have time to select or renew a maximum of two books from the primary or fiction/nonfiction sections of the library. The check out period is two weeks.
Students in grades six through eight visit the library individually. Sixth graders select books from the fiction/nonfiction section of the library, including a number of titles designated as “sixth grade and up.”
Seventh and eighth graders may also choose titles from the Young Adult fiction and nonfiction sections of the library. Students may check out up to two books for two weeks.
Other aspects include materials such as books, magazines, and videos for teachers to use in the classroom; the annual book fair; and a “take-one, leave-one” library for adults. The library will continue to develop to fulfill its mission to support the mission of the Catholic Church, the parish, and the school.
Come visit us at the library!