Winter Reading Challenge

With the long stretch of a New England winter ahead of us, how about signing up for the HHS Library's Winter Reading Challenge?  Your goal is to read as many books (fiction, nonfiction, graphic novel, etc. - any book counts!) as you can by the first day of spring.

Those students who read the greatest number of books will be entered into a raffle for a iTunes gift card. ALL students and staff who participate will be invited to a library celebration at the culmination of our challenge.

Interested? Please see Mrs. Fournier to pick up your entry forms! The challenge runs January 3rd through March 20th.

Good Luck!

Boston Public Library eCards

Need to access a journal or database the HHS Library doesn't subscribe to? Sign up for a Boston Public Library eCard! It's free and the only requirement is that you must be a Massachusetts resident. The list of journals and databases your eCard will give you access to is extensive. Be sure to take advantage of this service as it will be a valuable resource to you!

YALSA 2014 Nonfiction Award Finalists Announced!

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) has selected the finalists for the 2014 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults, which honors the year's best nonfiction books written for young adults.  Check the trailer to see which books made the list!

Pulseit's #31daysofreading Sweepstakes

During the month of December, pulseit.com will offer readers a different book each day, for just 24 hours.  31 books in 31 days! And you can enter to win all 31 books here.

In addition, each day the SimonTEEN Facebook page will be giving away 1 copy of each of the Pulseit #31daysbooks.  Click here to find out more, and be sure to check out the schedule of 31 books!

The Proclamation of Thanksgiving

Enjoy some history behind the Proclamation of Thanksgiving, courtesy of the Library of Congress.  As part of the LOC's The Civil War in America exhibit, they've also listed recipes used by the Union army to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, which you can see here.

Happy Thanksgiving from the HHS Library!

Research Pamphlets Available at the HHS Library

The HHS Library now has some printed research pamphlets available for you!  For a quick overview of how to navigate the research process, pick up one of our pamphlets and keep it handy in class or when working on assignments.  Learn more about some of the print and electronic resources available to you through your school library! 

More Copyright

Still confused about copyright?  You're not alone.  The HHS Library now has copyright pamphlets printed up that serve as a guide to understanding the basic terms of copyright and the works protected by copyright law. The four factors of fair use and the definition of public domain, as well as where to find works in the public domain, are also included in the pamphlet.  Pick one up, stick it in your locker or binder, you never know when this little reference might come in handy!

November is National Novel Writing Month!

November is National Novel Writing Month, otherwise known as NaNoWriMo.  Every November, participants take the challenge to complete an entire novel in just 30 days.  Official rules state that participants begin writing November 1st and must finish by midnight, November 30th.  The word count goal for the adult program is 50,000 words, but the Young Writers Program (YWP) allows 17-and-under participants to set reasonable, yet challenging, individual word-count goals.  In 2012, over 80,000 young writers participated through the YWP. Take the challenge yourself this year and get creative!

The HHS Library will be hosting an after school NaNoWriMo event, Wednesday November 6th. Creative writing resources, writing prompts, and more will be offered to help get you writing!

November Newsletter

The library's November newsletter is now out!

The Pit and the Pendulum

Looking to create some Halloween atmosphere in the classroom?  Check out this short video/rap of Edgar Allen Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum. It's a good primer for learning more about Poe's short story.  Enjoy!

Daily Lit

Love to read, but short on time?  Sign up for the DailyLit service and receive short book installments by email or RSS feed. Choose the days and times you want to read, and read installments on any computer or mobile device. DailyLit breaks your books down into short, manageable chunks - now you have no excuse!  Everyone has a few minutes to spare when they open their email each morning. DailyLit is a great way to brush up on some of those classics.

See which books Mrs. Fournier is reading here.

Graphic Novels in the Classroom

With the Common Core acceptance of graphic novels being used as a tool for learning, an increasing number of classroom teachers are incorporating the genre into their lesson plans. Graphic novels may hold greater appeal for reluctant readers, rather than more traditional formats. Comic books and graphic novels can be an effective way to get an otherwise ambivalent student excited about a particular topic. For more information about the use of graphic novels in education, read the Mashable article here.

Literature of the Civil War

EDSITEment, a project of the National Endowment for the Humanities, is currently featuring literature of the civil war. Learn more about this time period in history through the works of some literary greats such as Whitman, Crane, Longfellow, and Faulkner. Primary sources, sample lesson plans, and featured websites are also offered as part of this feature.

Free Teen Books!

Pulseit is an online community for anyone that loves teen books! By joining Pulseit (it's free to join!), you'll have an opportunity to read free books, connect with other readers, post your own reviews, etc.

Free e-books are posted weekly, this week's free book is Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian. Check it out!

New HHS Library Subscriptions

The HHS Library now subscribes to Scientific American Online and Nature Online!  We do have institute specific URLs and passwords that are required to access each site in its entirety.  Please see or email Mrs. Fournier for the information.

After School Book Swap Friday, October 18th

In celebration of Teen Read Week, the HHS Library is hosting an after school book swap this Friday, October 18th.  Connect with other readers and share some great books! Bring one (or several) book(s) of your own you'd like to swap for others. A great (and free!) way to discover some new books for your weekend reading :)

Celebrate Teen Read Week at the HHS Library!

Teen Read Week is here again! Every October since 1998, the library and book communities celebrate Teen Read Week which is a national initiative created by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). The purpose of Teen Read Week is to encourage teens to be regular readers and library users.

This year's Teen Read Week sub-theme is Seek the Unknown @ Your Library, which encourages teens to explore and learn about the unknown through mystery, adventure, sci-fi, and fantasy books.

Stop by the HHS Library this week for displays and events related to TRW, being held October 13th - 19th!

Tales of Terror

Need a good book to get you in the Halloween spirit? Come check out the "Tales of Terror" display in the HHS Library. We've got some very atmospheric reads waiting for you :)

HHS Library Breakfast Club

The HHS Library Breakfast Club is meeting again this Thursday morning, 7:00am until the first bell. Come preview all the new materials the library has gotten in this week!  New members are always welcome!

Confused about Copyright?

Confused about copyright?  Richard Byrne of Free Tech for Teachers posted the following infographic which breaks it down for you in easy to understand terms.

October Newsletter

The library's October newsletter is now out!

John Green's Crash Course Series

Popular young adult author John Green and his brother Hank Green created an educational Crash Course series which offers several YouTube videos explaining topics in biology, world history, ecology, chemistry, U.S. history, and English literature.

Crash Course is a great series to follow! Some recent videos dissect the major plot lines of The Great Gatsby in a format that might be more appealing to a student struggling to understand the novel. Parts 1 and 2 are linked to below.

***SPOILER ALERT: The videos assume you've already read the book!

Banned Books Week is Here!

Banned Books Week has arrived! Celebrate at the HHS Library and check out our banned books display. In the meantime, here are some great videos, created by Bookmans, to watch in celebration of your freedom to read.

Exercise your right to enjoy some great books. Do you really want someone else telling you what you can or can't read? 

Celebrate Banned Books Week!

Banned Books Week is the national book community's annual celebration of the freedom to read. The 2013 celebration of Banned Books Week will be held from September 22 - 28, and it highlights the value of free and open access to information.  Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community - librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, and readers of all types - in shared support of the freedom to seek information and to express ideas (ala.org).

Celebrate this year's Banned Books Week at the HHS Library!  A list of the most frequently challenged books can be found here.  How many have you read?

Tales2Go

The HHS Library now has a free 30 day trial subscription to Tales2Go.  Tales2Go is a service that offers instant streaming of hundreds of audiobook titles to desktops and mobile devices.  Included in those titles are many young adult novels; see the complete list of offerings here.

Interested in learning more?  See Mrs. Fournier at the circulation desk for login information.

Biographile

Biographile, a website maintained by Random House, is a great place for keeping up-to-date with what's new in memoir and autobiography publishing.  We've had lots of students in the HHS library recently, browsing our Biography section.  For those of you in Mr. Frey's class, you may find this site to be of interest.

See any titles you like?  Tell Mrs. Fournier or Mrs. Belcher and we will help you obtain a copy!

Free Audio Books

LibriVox is a resource dedicated to making "all books in the public domain available, for free, in audio format on the internet." A non-commercial, non-profit, and ad-free project, LibriVox is sustained by volunteers donating their time and voices to each recording.

Not a fan of the narrator's voice? With over 7,000 titles available, often times you have multiple narrators reading the same novel - try another one!

Also available as an app, LibriVox is a great one to add to your smartphone/tablet.

The Lizzie Bennett Diaries

Any Jane Austen fans? Check out The Lizzie Bennett Diaries, a modernized adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Offered as a web series comprised of short videos, it's a fun way to experience a more modern take on the classic novel.

First Meeting of the Library Breakfast Club this Thursday!

The first meeting of the HHS Library Breakfast Club is this Thursday morning for some bagels and informal book chat. If you are a student (or staff member) who likes to read, please consider joining us! In addition to chatting about what you've read recently, you'll have a chance to check out the library's newest materials. Some great stuff has come in! 7:00am until the first bell.

The Use of Social Media in the Classroom

Best Master's in Education recently posted a great infographic summarizing some interesting statistics related to the use of social media in the classroom. Check it out:
 
Image source: www.bestmastersineducation.com

YouTube Channels Worth Subscribing To

The most recent issue of Library Media Connection compiled a list of YouTube channels you might want to consider subscribing to...

American Library Association: For all things libraries, this channel is a wealth of information.

The American Poet Academy: Features videos of poets and poetry for those that have an appreciation of contemporary poetry.

BookTV: Find out about the latest in nonfiction books - history, biography, politics, current events, the media, and more. Author interviews, readings, parties, panels, and book festivals from across the country are included.

Discovery Network: Learn more about the world of science, natural history, anthropology, survival, geography, and engineering.

The FDR Library and Museum: Features a vast collection of historical videos, many featuring Franklin D. Roosevelt himself.

HarperTeen: Book trailers and author interviews of popular teen authors and books. Authors include Melissa Marr, Michael Grant, Veronica Roth, Lauren Oliver, and more.

The Library of Congress: Pretty much all you can imagine, divided into categories such as Music and Concerts, Journeys and Crossings, America at Work, America at Leisure, National Book Festival Highlights, and more.

Nurdrage's: Over 100 videos of science experiments with a description of scientific processes and safety hazards in each experiment.

Penguin Young Readers Books: Features book trailers and author interviews from many of the books published by Penguin including Incarceron, Sky is Everywhere, Ranger's Apprentice, Sarah Dessen, John Green, If I Stay, Alex Rider, Thirteen Reasons Why, Hold Still, Wintergirls, and more.

Poetry Out Loud: Features Poetry Out Loud information and excerpts from winners.

School Library Journal: Everything school library related!

Simon & Schuster: Book trailers and author interviews of Simon & Schuster's top authors including Stephen King, Jennifer Weiner, Paula Deen, Jodi Picoult, and more.

Smithsonian Libraries: Educational content produced by the Smithsonian Institution Libraries.

Voting for Teens' Top Ten Now Open!

Voting for Teens' Top Ten is now open!  Teens' Top Ten is a "teen choice" list, where teens nominate and choose their favorite books.  Voting is open now through Teen Read Week, which is taking place October 13th - 19th.  Winners will be announced on October 22nd.  We have several of these books in the HHS Library - come check them out!

Cast your vote here.

September Newsletter

The first issue of the HHS Library Newsletter is now available!

Welcome

Welcome to the Hopkinton High School Library! My name is Mrs. Fournier and I will be your new librarian this year. I come to HHS from Uxbridge High School, where I was the school librarian for the past three years. Although I do miss the staff and students at Uxbridge, I am very excited to be here at HHS and look forward to meeting all of you. I am an avid reader of young adult literature and have ordered some great new titles for the fall; I hope you will stop by and check them out. I would love to also post some student reviews here on the library blog, so if you are a person that loves to read and likes to write about what you've read, please see me. We'd all love to hear your thoughts!

Please don't hesitate to approach me with any library or research questions you may have. I am here to help and love answering reference questions. The library will be a tremendous resource to you during your years at HHS and I'd like it to be a place you feel comfortable. I would love to hear your suggestions for the library - if there are particular authors you like, certain genres you prefer, or specific research topics that are of interest to you, tell me about them. I'd like to continue developing the library's collection to meet those needs as this is YOUR library. Hope everyone had a great summer and welcome back to school!