Celebrate your Freedom to Read! That's what Ms. Dygert's 11th Advanced students did on Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at the Central Branch of the Onondaga County Public Libraries. After a history lesson from Mrs. LeFever in the practice of banning books, students participated in the Read-A-Thon by selecting and reading passages from books that have been challenged. Students posed questions about banning books below. Add your comments!
Thank you Ms. Dygert for collaborating with us on this activity!!!
These questions were posed by Ms. Dygert's students. Answer one or more by clicking on the comment link below. Don't know an answer? Look it up!
Why are books that include mature topics (like sex) banned?
How do you think authors feel when their books are banned?
Why would you ban a book?
What are the most commonly banned books?
How is a book banned?
Why ban a book for things that are OK to say on TV?
Can/should we put age limits on books?
What are the top reasons/topics/elements a book is banned?
How many books have been banned?
Why do people bother trying to ban books when they don't stay banned?
Why are some books banned while others are morally worse and not banned?
What author has been banned the most?
How long does it take to ban a book? Unban a book?
Do you think books should be banned?
Why should books be banned when they are based on true life?
Can a book be too detailed for readers? How do you tell an author it is too detailed?
Hello! I am Mrs. LeFever, your library media specialist. I need your help to create a unique library for the Institute of Technology @ Syracuse Central.
How can you help? Drop me a comment by clicking on the comment link below. Some things I'd like to know:
1. What books should I buy for the library?
2. How about magazines - what are your favorites?
3. What are your favorite things about book stores or libraries that we should try to replicate here?
4. What else? Your input is welcome and appreciated!
I'll be in room 215 this year - stop by! You can also follow me on Twitter: iLibraryLMS
ITC Library ~ Room 215
Laurie LeFever, LMS Opening Information
Library Passes: The library will be open for students on passes as long as supervision is available at the time. I will update the Library Schedule daily and respond to email messages as quickly as possible to let you know when the library is closed.To help me help them, students need the following information on their passes when they visit the library:
Date
Time sent
Desired return time
Student Name
Purpose of visit (research (topic?), read, book selection, quiet work space, product creation, word processing, etc.)
Teacher name
Are they allowed to leave the library with their beverages?
Upcoming Events:
Banned Books Week: Do you know what the top 10 most challenged books for 2008 were? National Banned Book Week is September 26 – October 3, 2009.Would you like to do an activity with students to discourage censorship and encourage reading?Send me an email if you are interested. You can also visit the ALA site: http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/index.cfm for ideas, information and resources.
Newspapers: The library will be receiving 4 copies of The Post-Standard for daily student use. We will also have multiple subscriptions to the e-edition of the paper for staff and students to access at will.Login information TBA!
Interlibrary Loans:Our in-house resource collection is limited for now, but I can get resources from ANY SCSD LIBRARY! Browse ALL the SCSD library collections via the SCSD LIBRARY LINKS PAGE or ask me to do it for you!Let me know what you need, and if our libraries own it, I will get it for you!Then, I will also add it to our purchase list.
Café @ ITC Library: In an effort to create an inviting atmosphere, more like that of a Barnes & Noble than a school library, the ITC Library will offer coffee, tea and hot cocoa to students and staff for $1.00 on a daily basis. We will also offer bagels on the second and fourth Friday of each month (starting on September 11th). Bagels will be $2.00 and include cream cheese or butter. Profits will support fun events and the purchase of great books for our students!
In-house Technology Update:
Equipment Inventory: One of my charges as the ITC librarian is to maintain an updated inventory of ALL the SCSD owned technology equipment in the building. This includes computers, projectors, cameras, Smartboards, airliners, document cameras, printers, and anything else technology based.I will putting out a form this fall for all staff members to complete listing any and all items housed in classrooms. I will also be visiting rooms to find items listed on the AS400 BOVA Property Control List for ITC. An accurate and up-to-date inventory will help us acquire the technologies we need to be the 21st Century Institute we have been charged with becoming.Thanks for your help!
Equipment Sign-Out: The library will now house and handle scheduling for all the portable equipment at ITC!Do you need to sign-out a laptop pod, a document camera or an airliner?Let me know, and I will put you on the schedule! A list of available items will be published once the building inventory has been completed.Check the schedule by going to the ITC Library Page and clicking on the Equipment Reserves button on the bottom left side.
Computer Lab Schedule: The library computer labs are open for scheduling. The large room has a Smartboard with a projector and 24 computers (pc/emac mix).The main library space has 12 computers (imac/emac/pc mix).Check the schedule: Go to the ITC Library Page, and click on the Library Schedule button on the bottom left side.
IPTV:Watch TV on your classroom computer!Simply type IPTV in the address bar on a hardwired computer, and you have live access to CNN, Discovery, Animal Planet, WCNY, Weather, MSNBC, and History Channels!
SCSD Network FYI: Per our Deputy Superintendent, please remember that NO PERSONAL EQUIPMENT IS ALLOWED ON THE SCSD NETWORK. For network security reasons, all equipment placed on the district network must be owned by the district.The IT department carefully monitors “rogue” equipment on the network.
School Island:Do you use School Island as a teaching tool?Would you like to learn how? Let me know you are interested, and I will sign you up for our first School Island training session this fall!
Helpdesk Cases:I will facilitate all the helpdesk communication for ITC and make sure you get what you need! Just send me the AV number of the equipment along with a description of the issue, and I will take care of it for you!
Website Highlight: QUIA WEB (http://www.quia.com/):Create your own educational games, quizzes, class web pages, surveys, and much more! Explore millions of activities and quizzes created by educators from around the world.Includes automatic quiz grading, and much more!Limited subscription will be available only until September 25, 2009. Don’t miss out! Let me know you want an account before time runs out!
Library Input: Please do not hesitate to ask questions or offer input about our library at ITC!Stop by or email (llefever@scsd.us) ANYTIME! You can also reach me by phone:ITC Library ~ 435-4306.
