WHS Library Media Center & Learning Commons
"Cherish the means of knowledge. Dare to read, think, speak, and write." ~John Adams
The mission of the library media center and its staff is to create an environment rich in digital and print resources that is also conducive to students’ and staff’s pursuit and development of 21st century skills, ultimately enabling students and staff to be effective, independent, and responsible users of information.
Click on the WHS Digital Collection Highlights document for more digital collection highlights.
WHS Ebooks, Audiobooks, Print Books & More
The Sora App is designed to provide students and teachers the optimal reading experience of our OverDrive digital book collection. The app embeds tools to customize ebooks and audiobooks, as well as to annotate and highlight. To log into Sora, click on "My school is Wethersfield Public Schools." Then, click on "Sign in using Wethersfield Public Schools," and select or enter your school Gmail login. Check out the links below if you need help getting started or for tips to maximize your reading or listening experience.
Borrowing, Holding, and Returning Books
Use your school login to access Public Library Connect Feature
Ebook Tools (Updated 2/2021) - Annotate, Highlight and Export Annotations
Audiobooks, Graphic Novels, & Read-Along Book Tools
Sora for Students/Families Webinar (August 2020) & Slide Presentation
Our Destiny Discover Catalog allows you to log in with your school Gmail credentials to search, hold and borrow our print books as well as many ebooks and audiobooks. A new feature we are using this year is "Collections" which allows you to browse ebooks, audiobooks, print books and websites by theme; for example, our Read Woke Collection which provides access to a range of #ownvoice social justice books and web links, including a direct link to Sora's Read Woke collection.
See Steps for Holds in Destiny for instructions on how to request/hold print copies of books. Holds will be delivered to the first period class the day after we process them, typically one - two days after request.
Find your next great read!
The job of books is help us be more empathetic, more human. ~Leah Johnson, You Should See Me In a Crown __________________________________________________________________________
2023 High School Nutmeg Nominees
2021 High School Nutmeg Nominees Padlet
2021 Teen Nutmeg Nominees Padlet
Past High School and Teen Nutmeg Book Awards
Destiny Discover Collections by Theme
Everywhere Book Fest Author & Book List
Y'all Stay Home Book Fest Author & Book List
Book Connections- Pronunciations of author's name, book trailers, and more.
National Book Awards (Titles in Sora)
Many of the books in these links are available digitally in Sora/OverDrive with your Google sign-in
or in Hoopla, or Freading with your public library card.
Can't find a book? Email me at nszilagyi@wethersfield.me for help!
Digital Research Subscriptions & Tools
Read our magazines from your mobile device:
Download the Flipster app from your mobile device’s app store
Search and select your school “WETHERSFIELD HIGH SCHOOL”
Enter our EBSCO user id and password
These instructions only need to be done the first time. After that opening the app will bring you to the magazines.
Check out additional magazine titles available in Sora, Here's a brief video tutorial on how to navigate magazines on Sora and an alphabetical list of the magazines available in Sora.
Use EBSCO Discovery to search for archived academic journals, magazines, and reference books!
Refer to the Username and Password List for remote access. EBSCO Discovery bar allows you to do an integrated search for archived articles in periodicals (journals, magazines, newspapers, etc) and reference ebooks in our school subscription databases and those of the Connecticut Digital Library, ResearchITCT.org.
Screencast Tutorials:
Navigating EBSCO Discovery Tipsheet (Fall 2021)
Navigating Noodletools Tipsheet (Fall 2021 Updates)
Use the links below to quickly access and search even more online sources. Access to many of these resources may require you to enter login credentials, especially if you're accessing them remotely (from outside the school). Refer to the Username and Password list for a full list of our subscription resources and their login credentials.
Introducing NewsBank Historical Newspaper Databases!
See Black Life in America (as recorded in the news, 1704-today) or America's Historical Newspapers (1690-2000)
Click on the image above to see the descriptions and links.
Announcements, Programs, and Events
LMC Homework Help & Tutor Team
Need help solving a math problem, understanding a new concept introduced in science, writing an essay or just a study buddy? Check our LMC Homework Help & Tutor team schedule posted on our flyer here or at the top of the webpage.
Use this link to schedule a personal tutoring session or be matched to a tutoring mentor.
For any problems accessing the links above email Mrs. Szilagyi at nszilagyi@wethersfield.me.
What is Read Woke?
“It’s a feeling. A form of education. A call to action, and our right as lifelong learners. It means arming yourself with knowledge to better protect your rights. Learning about others so you treat people with respect and dignity, no matter their religion, race, creed, size, gender or color.” – Cicely Lewis, School Librarian of the Year
Checkout some of the books in our Destiny Discover Read Woke collection.
February is Black History Month
Thank you to everyone that attended and shared at our last book discussion!
Here are the books we shared:
The Princess Saves Herself in This One by Amanda Lovelace
The New Kid by Jerry Kraft
Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu
The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person by Frederick Joseph
Stamped: Racism, Anti Racism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram Kendi
Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month
(September 15 - October 15)
Join our virtual celebration of Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month through October 15th! Explore any of the books and resources shared in Destiny, Sora or the Library of Congress. Then, share your thoughts by recording a Flipgrid or responding to this Google Form. All complete responses will be entered into a drawing for a gift certificate to Barnes and Noble.
Note: If you would like a copy of a print book, you can browse the Destiny Collection and place a hold on any of the available books. We'll make sure to deliver it the next class on your schedule.
Email Mrs. Szilagyi with any questions!
The LMC will open for study halls on Monday, September 21st. At this time, we will be limiting the number of study hall students to 20 per period.
The following pass procedures and safety guidelines are meant to assure that all students and staff have a safe and positive study hall experience in the library :
All study hall students must have a digital pass to come to the LMC. Use the link below to access the LMC Digital Pass Kiosk which opens daily at 5:00 a.m.
Once students have signed up for a digital pass, they will report directly to the LMC for attendance.
Students that have problems accessing or completing the digital pass form should email Mrs. Szilagyi (nszilagyi@wethersfield.me) AND Ms. Harding (charding@wthersfield.me). Students should report to their study hall unless we have responded and resolved their pass issue.
While waiting to check in or while in the LMC, please make sure to keep your masks on and follow social distancing and seating guidelines for the designated areas.
Note: At this time, we are not able to accept students with late arrival/early dismissal privileges. Students that are consistently tardy or do not comply with safety protocols will lose LMC pass privileges.
Research & Tech Tips:
When printing from chromebooks, only select the "WPS CloudPrint" AFTER you've clicked "See More" on the print screen. Printing will not work if you click it before. Get Cloudprint link here.
When citing digital sources from the web or library databases, cite the PDF version whenever it is available.
When citing online journals, instead of the URL, use a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) or the article Permalink whenever available.
UConn ECE students, here are instructions to link UConn Library to Google Scholar!
Study smarter, not harder!
The hardest part of completing assignments and studying is getting started. Don't procrastinate. Here's a short video from Thomas Frank explaining strategies he uses to avoid procrastination .
For most of us time is scarce. Study smarter, not longer. Here's another short video by Thomas Frank summarizing Dr. Marty Lobdell's smart study tips:
Break studying into 20-30 minute sessions.
Study actively. Identify facts and concepts. Put them into your own words. Test yourself.
Summarize or teach what you learned to someone else.
Use mnemonics for studying facts.
When struggling with any subject, get help from a teacher or a peer.
Guidelines
Enter quietly.
Show pass. Sign in or out, as necessary.
Sit 2-3 students per table, maximum of 4.
Take out and start work promptly.
Study groups are expected to engage in quiet discussion.
Technology use must be consistent with learning expectations.
The media center runs quiet study periods. It’s an ideal place for studying, completing assignments or a quiet place to read a magazine or pleasure book. Students that are disruptive or do not follow media center guidelines will be asked to leave, and their study hall teacher and subject teacher will be notified.
Collection
The WHS Library Media Center collection balances a variety of print and electronic resources to support content curriculum, student and staff interests, and 21st century information literacy skills. It consists of approximately 16,000 books, over 50 print periodicals, and 29 electronic subscriptions from 7 different publishers. The high school collection, as well as the collection of all other district school libraries may be accessed through the district’s online collection management software, Destiny, on any networked computer in the school library, classroom, or computer labs.