Payne Library and Media Center

The Payne Library and Media Center provides student access to a myriad of resources. Our non-fiction resources are focused towards the Middle School curriculum. A large assortment of fiction material and twenty-four internet ready computers provides a great setting for our students to enjoy reading and internet research.

Services to the students include an annual orientation to the library, instruction and encouragement in the use of the library and research materials, as well as instruction and encouragement in the use of research focused online databases. Students are also introduced to the MLA format for research citation, which they will also use in the Upper School .

Our students have access to the research section of Power Library. Instruction is given on how to access this resource in school and from home. Grolier Encyclopedia is also provided as an on-line reference source.

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Location and Hours
   

The library and media center is located on the upper level of the Devey Building at 11 W. Market Street , Bethlehem . The facility is open during regular school hours, from 8:00 AM to 3:00PM .
    

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Staff
  

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Mission
     

The Middle School Library & Media Center attempts to support learning and to stimulate and motivate students to learn by supplying several methods for and instruction on how to access, evaluate, credit, and use information. This purpose serves to help the school provide a strong academic foundation in preparation for college work. It also provides students with the opportunity to develop independence, critical judgment, adaptability, integrity, and love of learning by giving them skills and experience that will enable them to continue in their lifelong search for information in the on-going educational process.
   

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Objectives
   

1. To motivate our Middle School students to embrace the joy of reading and academic excellence through the resources provided in the library and media center.
2. To maintain fiction and non-fiction genre to meet the needs and requests of the students at all grade levels and in all curriculum content areas.
3. To stimulate and inspire students’ learning by assisting and instructing in the use of new and emerging technology.
4. To identify and prepare resources that stimulates learning from the multiple intelligence focus of each individual student.
5. To provide a diversity of opinions and perspectives, which allow students to expand their horizons and better understand their world.

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Library Resources

The Payne Library and Media center provides a multi-media research center. Twenty-four desktop MAC OSX computers with internet and student server access, a SMARTBoard, two scanners, two laser printers and one color laser printer allow students to study, browse, and create wonderful projects for their classes.

The vast and diverse collection of fiction and non-fiction books and periodicals stimulates the students’ desire to explore and learn about their world.

Students access the library and media center during classes scheduled with faculty. They also may use the facilities during study hall and break, student assistant time, open periods, and in the morning before advisory.  
     

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Internet Links and MAMS Academic Links

Welcome to NPS.gov – home of the National Park Service and America ’s national parks. If you can’t be at a national park, this is the next best place!

The Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution and serves as the research arm of Congress. It is also the largest library in the world, with more than 130 million items on approximately 530 miles of bookshelves. The collections include more than 29 million books and other printed materials, 2.7 million recordings, 12 million photographs, 4.8 million maps, and 58 million manuscripts.

Animal Diversity Web (ADW) is an online database of animal natural history, distribution, classification, and conservation biology at the University of Michigan .

Profiles the 100 most influential people of the 20^th Century (as selected by “Time” magazine). They are considered in five fields of endeavor, culminating with the Person of the Century: Albert Einstein.

Click the icon to go to Ms. Wismer’s French textbook website.

Click the icon to access your 7^th grade social studies textbook website. This site provides test practice, crossword puzzles, flip card study tools, chapter quizzes, and much more.

Use this icon to drill for countries, capitals, and physical features from Mr. Dow’s geography studies.

Use this icon for current news and country profiles.

FirstGov.gov is the official gateway to all government information. Whatever information you need from the U.S. government is here. You will find a rich treasure of online information, services, and resources.

Use this site for quick, easy access to facts about people, business, and geography.

The goal of this free, no-frills education web site is to provide all the necessary tools for students to conduct research and to present their findings. This site provides a “Quick Click” to search engines, annotated research, writing and style guides, and Worlds of Knowledge, which houses some of the best education web sites in a virtual library.

Grammar, Punctuation, and Spelling: In this site, you will find handouts and exercises on grammar, spelling, and punctuation.  

Science News for Kids is a new Web site devoted to science news for children of ages 9 to 13. The site’s goal is to offer timely items of interest to students, accompanied by suggestions for hands-on activities, books, articles, Web resources, and other useful materials.

The emphasis is on making the Web site appealing by offering opportunities for students to comment on the subject matter, ask questions of scientists featured in articles, try out mathematical puzzles, and submit their own work for possible Web publication. At the same time, we are interested in offering teachers creative ways of using science news in their classrooms.

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Search Tools

An academic search engine that provides access to more than 180,000 educator-selected online resources.  Please see Mrs. Walker for the username and password.

The American Library Association has compiled an incredible search tool. This site provides links for animals, the arts, history & biography, literature & languages, sciences, math & computers, geography & politics, and many other great links.

The ThinkQuest Library provides innovative learning resources for students of all ages on a wide range of educational topics. Featuring over 5,500 websites, the library is created by students around the world.

This search engine, compiled by librarians, provides the ability to search over 600 subjects. Covering all areas of interest and research.

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Periodicals and Maps

Directory of world newspapers, magazines, and news sites in English.

Directory to over 10,000 newspapers around the world. Find local and international newspapers and other publications with clickable maps, listings, or media specific search engines.  

National Geographic’s online atlas. Find nearly any place on Earth, and view it by population, climate, and much more. Browse antique maps, find country facts, or plan your next outdoor adventure.

The single best Federal source for national maps and geographic information.

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Reference

eLibrary and eLibrary Science are available from school or home.   Please see Mrs. Walker for the username and password.

The Internet Public Library is a genuine on-line library, with a reference desk and tons of resources.

Refdesk is a free web site that indexes and reviews quality, credible, and current web-based resources.

Your dictionary.com – the last word in words! A resource that provides a dictionary, thesaurus, and multilingual search engine.

Go Grolier online is an online encyclopedia source shared by MAMS and MALS.  Please see Mrs. Walker for the username and password.

Merriam-Webster Online  

The POWER Library is offered as a service of Pennsylvania ’s public libraries, school libraries, and the State Library.

The POWER Library provides internet access to thousands of full text periodical articles, newspapers, a major encyclopedia, plus photographs, pictures, charts, maps, and other reference materials. Home access is available to all active PA public library cardholders. Go to the POWER Library link below, select your county, and follow the directions.

Ask Here PA is a wonderful reference tool that has been provided by the state of Pennsylvania since last year. Please remember, use of Ask Here requires permission from your teacher when doing research for the Middle School.  

Wikipedia

Wikipedia’s goal is to be the number one online encyclopedia. To accomplish this, all entries are now being peer reviewed for accuracy prior to the entry being posted. Use Wikipedia only when combined with other sources. An encyclopedia should never be your primary or only source for information.  

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Web Site Evaluation

This site, provided by Cornell University , explains the five criteria to evaluate the validity of a website. If you access a site, not provided above, use these criteria to evaluate the validity of a website before it is used for research.

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