Citation Machine Online

Great news!  You can now browse the Murphy Library from home.  The school district libraries have changed to a new library program called “Destiny”.  Now you can browse for books from anywhere that you have internet access.  The new OPAC (Online Patron Access System) has many new features, and will look more like many public library online catalogs. So hop online, and give it a try.  Go to:

http://library.montvilleschools.org/ and click on “Charles Murphy Elementary School”.

Happy Browsing!     Mrs. Kane

September is

Library Card Sign-up Month

Get Carded

@

Your Public Library

Can you name the one item that gives you access to nearly everything on the Web and in print and provides personal assistance to help you find what you’re looking for?  It’s your library card!  Library Card Sign-up Month is a time when the American Library Association, public libraries, and school libraries across the country remind parents that a library card is the most important school supply of all.

As your child’s school librarian, I am pleased that all of my students and their parents have access to not only the Murphy Library Media Center but also public libraries.  We are very fortunate to have a wonderful school library media center here at Murphy.  Still it is my hope that all of our students will use public libraries as well.  I encourage parents to bring their children to libraries early and often to help them connect to books, computers, and other resources that will help them learn and grow throughout their lives.

Connecticut has a program called Inter Library Loan (ILL) where any citizen that owns a current, town library card may borrow material from any public library in the state for free!  We also have ICONN.  ICONN is the Connecticut Digital Library that provides free access to a collection of information databases and other electronic resources.  Connecticut citizens may access the web site www.iconn.org from home by entering their public library card number.

It is important for our children to apply for a blue, Library Card at the Raymond Library to be eligible for free access to ICONN and to use Inter Library Loan.  Any resident of Montville five years or older can get a card.  A parent or guardian must provide proof of residency (such as a license or piece of mail with your address on the front), to obtain a library card.  Parents need to accompany their child(ren) to the library to get a card, prove residency, and co-sign for the card.

Why buy when you can borrow?  The Raymond Library has over 10,000 books, magazines, movies, CDs and other materials for the whole family.  Librarians are on hand to help recommend materials suitable for various ages and interests.  Once you have your Raymond library card you can use any public library in Connecticut.  Public libraries also offer a variety of programs to stimulate an interest in reading and learning.  Preschool story hours expose young children to the joy of reading, while homework centers provide computers and assistance to older children after school.  Summer reading clubs keep children reading during the school vacation and have been shown to be an important factor in avoiding decrease in reading skills over the summer.

How can we instill in children the desire to read?  By reading!  Children need to be reading and read to daily.  Research shows that the more children read, the better their comprehension, vocabulary, and reading speed becomes.

So Get Smart!  Get your child(ren) and yourself a library card at Raymond Library and use it!  Any child that brings in and shows me their Library Card during the school year will receive a special gift. So please, Get carded @ your library today!

SeptLibCardMonth

Directions to Raymond Library: