KISD Libraries 2nd/3rd Six Weeks
Volume 2
KISD Primary and Elementary Libraries
Mark your calendar for Lucas Miller, the singing Zoologist, who will be performing at KPS, CES, and KIS on December 17-19.
KPS Library
The existing books in the library have all been cataloged into the system and we are working on spine labels now. We are also expecting a large order of picture books (including many bilingual books) to arrive after the holidays along with several e-books. In addition, with our book fair funds we have been able to order a plethora of non-fiction books and re-subscribe to the e-book platform BookFlix. Once everything gets into our circulation system we are going to order Accelerated Reader labels to help KPS students and teachers quickly find AR books that meet their needs.
CES Library
We are also excited to announce that all of the CES iPads were updated with the apps chosen by library and technology staff. Andy Adams has been helping CES teachers with using iPads in the classroom.
The book fair at CES was a great success. The profits are going to be used to re-subscribe to the BookFlix e-book platform and to purchase more library bound books for the CES library.
We are sad to announce that our CES teacher librarian, Ann Nicks, will be retiring in January. She has 30+ years in education--the majority of them with Kilgore ISD. She will be missed but I know she is looking forward to beginning this new chapter in her life.
KIS Library
Our work continues on the KIS library shelves. We have all of the books where they need to be and are working on updating spine labels and shelf labels. We have come a long way since the last update.
The iPads have been updated with more apps for classroom use. They continue to be used on a daily basis by KIS teachers.
If you get a chance, please go by and see the beautiful Christmas decor in the library. It looks great.
KHS Secondary Libraries
KMS Library
I am happy to say that Diane Wimberly and the KMS library aides have been working very hard on the catalog and everything is in tip top shape. They continue to work making sure that all of the series are complete and the books that need repairs get fixed in a timely manner. They have also done a great job decorating the library for the holidays. In addition, Mrs. Wimberly has put up a wonderful display for our Bluebonnet Reading Program.
Mrs. Wimberly has also been working to fill in the gaps in her non-fiction collection. She is currently working on an order to enhance her collections on hobbies, animals and manga. In addition, she has added some digital audio books to her collection that can be downloaded to any device. These are a great resource for all teachers and students but we are especially excited to utilize these with students that have difficulty reading.
Next semester we plan to work on the KMS library website and we will have all of the KMS students that have read 5 or more Bluebonnet books vote for their favorite book with other students all across Texas to determine which book will win the Texas Bluebonnet Award.
KHS Library
We are almost ready to open the Ragin' Red cafe. A refrigerator was donated and menu items will be purchased soon from Sam's Club. We hope to open after the break. KISD maintenance came in and built two beautiful bars for us. We plan to use any left over budget funds to purchase more stools for the cafe area.
The Hunger Games trivia night was a big hit with KHS and KMS students. We had a wonderful time and the students really enjoyed their Taco Bell dinner along with the friendly competition. The participants all went home with at least two prizes. Some of the prizes given away were free Chick Fila chicken biscuits, free Whataburgers, gift certificates to Texas Road House, free books and more.
Our work in our online catalog on the fiction section is complete. We now have all of our author records matching and we are double checking our shelves to make sure everything is in order. We are also labeling our series books numerically and we will soon be checking to see what books we lack to complete the series that we already have. In addition, we will soon be adding more digital audio books to our electronic resources.
Our teacher iPad carts were recently updated by the technology department and in the near future Andy Adams and Stacey Cole will provide a short training to KHS teachers on how they can use the iPads in their classrooms to enhance their curriculum. We have revamped our student checkout policies for the iPads and will resume checking those out after the break. We purchased new cases for the student iPads that are more high school student friendly.
We are still seeing great collaboration among library staff and KHS teachers. We worked with Music Appreciation students to help them with their jazz composer research project in November. This week we helped a presenter from Texas Eastman prepare his presentation for our senior economic students. He spoke with them about careers and future plans. In January we will be working with our English II students on an Ancient Greece project and on how to properly cite sources.
In November, KHS theater students performed their contest pieces in the library during A & B lunch. These including singing and duet acting. The students really enjoyed getting to see these performances. On December 17, the KHS Choir will be singing Christmas carols in the library during A & B lunch. We can't wait!
Future plans for the KHS Library include continuing to update the library decor and focusing on the re-opening of the Ragin' Red Cafe.
KISD Libraries
District Library Coordinator
Email: scole@kisd.org
Website: library.kisd.org
Phone: 903-988-3901
Facebook: facebook.com/khslibrary
Twitter: @kdogslibrary