Here are the questions we are most frequently asked about our Media Center. Click on the question to find the answer.
Students, teachers and other staff members may borrow items from the Media Center
Florida College Academy's Media Center is very lucky to have all kinds of exciting materials for learning. We have wonderful fiction and non-fiction books, picture books and easy-to-read books of various levels, books in bags, magazines made especially for children and for teachers, Big Books, encyclopedias and other reference books, CD-ROM software, video tapes, puppets, and stuffed animals.
Students may check out only student books. Teachers may also check out books and magazines from our teacher sections. Teachers may also check out teacher books and magazines, reference books, CD-ROM software, video tapes, and Big Books.
You can ask the Media Specialist, Mr. Gibson, or the Library Aid, Mrs. Jones, or any of the parent volunteers to help you. Once you have learned to use the on-line card catalog, you can look up the book you want on the computer. All you need to know is either the title, the author or the subject of the book you want.
You may check out any materials whenever the Media Center is open. The hours are 8:00 AM to 3:40 PM. You bring your items to the Circulation Desk so they can be checked out at the computer. If no one is sitting at the desk, check with our secretary for additional help.
That depends on who you are! Kindergardeners may have one book out at a time. First Grade through Sixth usually are allowed one book at a time unless they are doing a special project. Junior High may have up to three books at a time if they are doing research. Teachers are not limited to the number of books they may have out.
Students and teachers may keep books out for two weeks at a time.
We will "renew" any student book one time. This means you get two more weeks to finish your book. Sometimes we will allow you more time than that if it looks like you are really reading the book and it is a thick one!
Absolutely not!! We do not charge any fines for overdue materials. We believe that taking responsibility for books is a learning experience, and we are still learning it at this point. We want you to return your books on time so that other people may use them.
Absolutely not!! If you are finished with a book, don't wait a two weeks to return it. Come back and exchange that book for a different one. If you find that you checked out a book that is too hard or too easy or that you just don't like, return it right away and try for another book. Just ask your teacher to let you go to the Media Center to exchange your books.
Encyclopedias and other books like them must stay in the Media Center because people come in all the time and need to use them for a few minutes. Most reference books are very heavy and also very expensive, so they are better off kept in the Media Center.
Our easy-to-read books are located in the four smaller book shelves in the middle of the Media Center. You can also locate books based on your current Accelerated Reading Level range. These books have the Accelerated Reading label on the spine and on the last page. If the reading level listed in the book is within or close to your reading level range, then the book should be easy enough for you to read. If you are still not sure, ask a parent voluteer, your teacher, or someone in the Media Center for help in finding books that you can read easily and enjoy.
If you cannot find your library book after looking for it and having someone help you look for it, you must pay the cost of the book so that we can replace it. The same is true for damaged books that we cannot fix ourselves.
The best way to keep from losing your library books is to have a special place in your house where you always keep them when you are not reading them. If you make this special place a "high" place so that little brothers or sisters or pets cannot get to them, you can also help keep them from getting damaged. If you carry juice or milk in your backpack, it is a good idea to make sure the top of the container is tight, and also, you might keep a plastic bag in your backpack to keep your library books in. A lot of books are damaged because of liquids leaking onto them in backpacks.
If you haven't paid for a lost or damaged book, you may not check out any more books. Once you pay for the book or books, you may begin checking books out again. If, at the end of the school year you have not paid, your Report Card may be held until you pay. It is important to pay for lost or damaged books because the books belong to everyone and are purchased by the Media Center or donated for eveyone to use.
If you have overdue books or have taken out your limit of books and have found a book on the shelves that you want very much, we will save it for you for one day. If you bring back your book or books by 3:40 the next day, the book will be waiting for you. After that, it is returned to the shelves.
Big Books are very large picture books that are made for teachers to use with a whole classroom of children. They are so big that they won't fit into a backpack and they would be ruined if you tried to do that. So we keep them only for teachers. You may certainly look at them in the Media Center though!
We have these rules because a Media Center is a sharing place. Everyone in our school community shares these things, so we have to replace them if they are lost or damaged. We have to return them when they are due so others may use them.