It's that time of year again!

Amid all of the holiday hustle and bustle that seems to begin just as the turkey is eaten, the preparation begins for the completion of...term papers!  One of the biggest stresses for students during this time is figuring out how to make your paper meet APA style requirements. 

Here are few online resources to help you:

Son of a Citation Machine


KnightCite

Purdue OWL
Purdue OWL is personal favorite.  It will help you with the overall format of the paper, not just your references.


When you're visiting the library to work on your term paper, refer to the new APA Style Tips poster, near the computers.

Happy Writing!

11/11/11

Aside from the fact that today was 11/11/11, and that we all were able to marvel at the clocks on the tv when it read 11:11 on 11/11/11, today was an exciting day.

First of all, today was the second day that the kindles were checked out to students.  Yesterday, five seventh graders checked out kindles, and today four sixth graders checked out kindles.  As the sixth graders played and explored the kindles today, excitement filled the room.  I heard, "These are awesome!" and "I wish I would have gotten my paper signed!"  The latter student was referring to his kindle contract.  If you haven't brought in your signed kindle contract, make sure to stop by the library to pick one up so you can join in on the kindle craze!

Also, today was Veteran's Day, and the district celebrated by holding its annual Veteran's Day breakfast.  Thank you to all of our veterans.  We salute you for maintaining our freedom!

New Books!

The Throne of Fire - Rick Riordan

Thank you to the Fairfield Middle School PTSO for the generous donation to the library from this week's book fair!  Check out these awesome new books that we were able to get from the book fair, thanks to the PTSO. 

Laika by Nick Abadzis

Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay

A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron



Matched by Allie Condie



Propecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink

The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen



The Guiness World Records - 2012



Wikipedia

Students and adults alike seem to have an infatuation with Wikipedia.  After all, when I go to google to find information on a topic, Wikipedia is usually within the first five of the search results.  There seems to be an entry in Wikipedia on everything.

Why then is Wikipedia a bad thing?  Why aren't you allowed to use Wikipedia for school projects? 

Wikipedia can be highly unreliable and innaccurate.  In fact, they state on their own website that some of their content is "complete rubbish."  This is because anyone can go onto Wikipedia and add information on a topic, when they may or may not have accurate information or be an expert on the topic.  For example, I could go to Wikipedia and add to their entry on the Amish and state that all Amish have electric quesadilla makers, when that is absolutely not true.

Wikipedia is the first to admit their unreliability.  Read this link and see for yourself: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer

Halloween in the Library

The library is the perfect place to find a spooky Halloween read.  Visit the dark side with a book!  Books can take you to places your own mind would have never have thought of.  The middle school library showcase is filled with spooky middle school books, as well as a creature known as the book bat.

Check out the bulletin board in the library for some internet safety tips for kids and teens.  For more information on internet safety, try these sites, which have some good information for both students and parents:


http://www.commonsense.com/internet-safety-tips/tips-for-kids.php


http://www.fbi.gov/fun-games/kids/kids-safety

http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/PageServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&PageId=207

Coming soon to a Kindle near you...

The process of purchasing books for the Kindles has begun!  Using student suggestions, I have started to buy the books that will be loaded onto the Kindles. 

Here are some of the books that will be available on the Kindles:

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

Soul Surfer by Bethany Hamilton

The Blind Side by Michael Lewis

Dork Diaries:  Books 1-3 by Rachel Renee Russell

The Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Stay tuned for more Kindle updates!