Questions

Questions from Strategies For Success Students - September 2008
//*** Note from Ms. Boltjes - My answers are in red. There are a few I don't have answers to at this time, but I will try to find the answer and post it.**// Thank you strategies classes and teachers. Email me if you have other questions or need clarification!
 * 1) How many books are held here in the GHS library? 10,792 titles and 13,749 copies as of 10/10/08
 * 2) How many books can you check out at once? You can check out at many books as you need. However, if you owe money for fines or have an overdue book, you may not check out anything until that has been resolved.
 * 3) How long are things checked out? Reference books can be checked out overnight - all other books can be checked out for 2 weeks (10 school days). You can also renew books unless someone has placed a hold on the book.
 * 4) How long is the library open? (What are the hours?) Our official hours are 7:45 am until 3:45 pm. However, if I am here early or stay late, you are welcome to come into the library. If you need additional time, please ask a few days ahead of time, and I will try to work with you for additional hours.
 * 5) How long can you stay in the libary? Your teacher will decide how long you can be in the library depending on what you need to do when you visit the library.
 * 6) Are we allowed to come into the library in the mornings? Yes, you may come into the library in the mornings. We expect you to be reading, studying, or working on an assignment if you come to the library. If you need to talk or visit with friends, you will need to stay in the commons area. Please respect the rights of other students to have a quiet place in the school.
 * 7) Where do you put bookbags? You should put your bookbags in the areas in the front of the library. **Do not leave valuables in your bookbags.** Ladies may bring their purses into the library. You can take your books and/or papers from your bookbag to the area where you will be working. We don't have enough room in the main part of the library or the lab to store bookbags, and we don't want people to trip over bookbags!
 * 8) How often can we come into the library? You can come into the library as many times as you need. You will need a pass from your subject teacher to come during class hours.
 * 9) When are we allowed to come into the library? You can come into the library before school, after school, and during lunch without a pass. If you need to come to the library during one of your classes, you will need a pass from your subject teacher.
 * 10) What's the deal with late books? Late books are no fun for anyone! We have a limited number of books, and all of us need to share. The late fees encourage students to return the books so others can use them. If you get a note from us that a book is overdue, and you feel we have sent the message in erro, please come talk to us as soon as possible.
 * 11) Can we do projects before and/or after school? Yes, you can do projects in the library before and after school.
 * 12) How many people can come in the library? We don't have an exact number that we allow in the library. The only time we might have a problem is if there are too many classes scheduled in the library. Sometimes we just don't have enough computers to go around! Teachers are allowed to send up to five students at a time from a class.
 * 13) How do we check out books? You check out books by bringing your book and ID to the circulation desk. You can use a temporary ID to check out or renew a book. **Please do not let anyone else use your ID to check out a book.**
 * 14) Can we check out CD's? At this time the only CD's we have are audio books, and you are encouraged to check them out. I doubt that we will have enough money to purchase music CD's for checkout.
 * 15) Can we check out magazines? You can check out a current magazine at the end of the school day, and it will need to be returned the following morning. We keep older magazines in the periodical storage room for 1-5 years. You can check out the older magazines for an extended time.
 * 16) Do you have newspapers? We subscribe to the State newspaper and the Twin City News. The current day's newspaper has to stay in the library during the school day. The following day, we put the old newspapers in a stack in the periodical storage room.
 * 17) Can we check out newspapers? If you need an old newspaper, we will be happy to give it to you. Please don't bring it back! (We recycle the ones that no one needs.)
 * 18) What do we use the computers for? Computers are to be used for educational purposes only. No games or chat allowed.
 * 19) Are any websites blocked? There are many websites that are blocked by the district's filtering software. If you need access to a blocked site, you will need to ask your teacher to request that it be unblocked. Be prepared to tell your teacher about the educational benefits of the site.
 * 20) How many librarians are there? Ms. Boltjes is the only librarian at Gilbert High School. Mrs. Smith is the library teaching assistant.
 * 21) Who are the librarians? Ms. Boltjes is the librarian for Gilbert High School.
 * 22) Can we come in and sit in the chairs and read, not just look for a book and leave? You can come in and sit in the chairs and read before and after school and during your lunch. At other times, you would need a pass from your teacher saying that you are coming to the library to sit and read.
 * 23) Can we talk? You can talk in the library, but you need to use your "inside voice." Please respect the rights of others in the library who really do not want to hear what you are talking about!
 * 24) Do we have to be quiet? No, you don' t have to be absolutely quiet - just respectfully quiet. If I can hear what you are saying, you are being too loud.
 * 25) How many authors do you have books by? I don't know how many authors we have in the library. I will try to find out how to get a report about that.
 * 26) Why can't we sit in the cool chairs? You can sit in the plushy chairs anytime you come into the library on your own time. In fact they are supposed to be used for leisure reading time. Most of the teachers expect you to be working at a table or a computer when they schedule time for your class.
 * 27) Where did you get the plushy chairs? We bought the plushy chairs from a company called Demco. Demco specializes in library furniture.
 * 28) Where do you get (buy) the books? I buy books from a variety of vendors. Most of the books come from Follett or Mackin. Occasionally, I order books directly from Barnes and Nobel or Books-a-Million. There also are a few vendors who bring books into the library for me to preview and decide if we need them. There's never enough money to buy all the books I would like to provide for the students and staff at GHS.
 * 29) How long ago was the library established? I'm not sure when the library was established. I assume that there has been a library associated with GHS as long as there has been a GHS. Most of the old yearbooks have a picture of students in the library. When the school moved to its current location in 2002, a very generous couple made a large donation of money to the library in memory of their daughter. The library is named in her memory.
 * 30) How old is the library? This particular library opened in the fall of 2002.
 * 31) Do you have Sarah Dessen books? Yes, we have Sarah Dessen books - she is one of my favorite authors! Open Destiny on the Novell box in your computer, type in "Dessen, Sarah" and click on authors and you will see which ones we have. You can also access the library catalog from [|home].
 * 32) Do you have vampire books? Yes, we have vampire books. The //Twilight// series is probably the most popular, but you can find others by searching in the libary catalog. Open Destiny on the Novell box in your computer, type in "vampires" and click on keywords and you will see which ones we have. You can also access the [Search|library catalog from home].
 * 33) How are the lbirary books separated into sections? The library books are separated into sections to make it easier for students to find. The largest selection is the reference section. The reference books are on the low shelves at the back of the library. Other sections are fiction, nonfiction, biography, short stories, professional books, children's books, country books, state books, and career books.
 * 34) What are the books listed by? The books are listed by call numbers using the Dewey Decimal system for nonfiction books. Those have numbers on the spine. Fiction books have an F at the top of the spine label; biographies have a B; short stories have SC; and reference will have R or REF.
 * 35) Where is the history section? We don't have a section devoted to history, but most of the history books are located in the 900's.
 * 36) How many different sections are there? See question #33.
 * 37) Where can you find certain books or what do you use to look them up? When you want a book, you need to use a computer. The computer at the circulation desk always has the catalog open, or you can access the computer catalog from any computer on campus. The catalog program is called Destiny and has an icon in the Novell box. If you are at home, you can still access the [|library catalog]. Ask Ms. Boltjes or Mrs. Smith if you have questions about how to use the catalog.
 * 38) How many baseball books are there in the library? There are about 123 books related to baseball in the GHS library.
 * 39) What series of books do you have? There are too many series to list! If you are interested in a particular series, look in the library catalog. Type in the name of the series, and select series on the options buttons.
 * 40) Why are there aquariums? The glass containers are terrariums instead of aquariums. That means there is no water in the container. Mrs. Holstein's classes maintain the plants in the terrariums. (There are NO animals in the terrariums.)
 * 41) What's in the aquariums? The terrariums (not aquariums) contain a variety of plants.
 * 42) Why are there mirrors on the wall? The mirrors on the walls help us see all areas of the library. It is a security concern.
 * 43) What are the library rules? The guidelines for the library are available on the [|library media center webpage]. Click on the guidelines link under "Contents" to open a word document. The guidelines are also in the student agenda book.
 * 44) What do you do if you come to the library in the morning? You don't have to do anything special to come to the library before school - just come in and leave your bookbag at the front.
 * 45) When do we have opportunities to come to the library? Only with scheduled classes? You can come to the library before or after school or during your lunch without a pass. If you need to come another time, you will need to get a pass from your subject teacher.
 * 46) Why are there not more couches? There is only one couch because we don't have any more room for additional couches. I wish our recreational reading area was larger!
 * 47) Why is the library so small? I am not sure why the library is the size it is. The district office and the architects designed the building. If they had let me design the library, it would have been HUGE!
 * 48) Why should we be forced to read? Interesting question! Reading is as good for your brain as food is for your body. While no one can really "force" you to read, all of your teachers want you to read so you will have healthy brains! Ask us to help you find a book you will **__enjoy__** reading!
 * 49) How come the library has all nice stuff, but the classrooms don't? The library is used by all the students, teachers, administrators, and staff here at Gilbert. We like having a nice place with nice stuff! We appreciate all of our stuff and how everybody works together to keep things nice! The classrooms also have nice stuff, but the classroom stuff is designed for classroom use.
 * 50) Why are there no beds? There are no beds because there is no reason to have beds in the library.

Page created by Janet Boltjes on 10/10/08