👀 #TakeALookTuesday--Iowa Safe Schools Edition

Recently students could attend a variety of sessions offered during our first Diversity & Culture Week. One of the sessions was lead by a representative from Iowa Safe Schools, an organization that works to support any Iowa students who have been bullied.

According to their website, the group's mission is "...to provide safe, supportive, and nurturing learning environments and communities for LGBTQ and allied youth through education, outreach, advocacy, and direct services" (“About Us.” Iowa Safe Schools, 6 July 2021, www.iowasafeschools.org/about-us/).

One of the services they offer is an Affirming Resources Library, a resource for students and parents of school-age children from elementary school through high school. Research shows "... that when students are able to identify a part of themselves in a piece of literature, they are happier, healthier, and better students" (“Affirming Resource Library.” Iowa Safe Schools, 8 Dec. 2021, www.iowasafeschools.org/affirming-resource-library/). 

Students and their families are able to request one *free* book from a list of elementary, middle school, or high school lists. The site features descriptions of each book--you can see the high school selection below:

CLICK HERE to access the order form.

If you or your family would like to order a free title, please visit the website and complete an order form. Some of the titles are also available here in the library; stop by to take a closer look or check out a book. 

👀 #TakeALookTuesday--Graphic Novels Edition

It's likely no surprise that the most browsed part of the library collection is the shelves holding our graphic novels. Unfortunately, it's also one of the smallest parts of the collection. With a lot of online support and talking with other librarians, slowly but surely the graphic novel collection is growing with recent purchases.

First, a subscription to Junior Library Guild's graphic novel collection brought several books, including these four, among others:

The majority of new graphic novels, though, came with a generous grant through the Casey's Corporation. 

With funding secured, many of the graphic novels and manga that students had requested and that were on existing wish lists became a reality! And, in a strange turn of events, it turns out that a large distributor of graphic novels and manga is located right here in our town--Right Stuf Anime. 

Using Right Stuf Anime, along with other vendors, we've been able to nearly double the existing graphic novels/manga collection in the library. So, what titles were added? You can take a look at some of them below:

These featured titles are just the beginning of intentional actions to grow the graphic novel and manga collection. Many more books will be added over the remainder of the school year, with additional purchasing to take place over the summer. Be sure to visit often to see the latest additions!

🏅 Celebrating the Winter Olympics

With the Winter Olympics moving into their second week, it's time to celebrate the history, events, and athletes with a Google Draw one-pager offered to students during advisory and AO time.

Librarian Shannon Miller offered a recent Winter Olympics activity on The Library Voice, and part of the blog post included access to her Winter Olympics choice board. This board served as inspiration to create something similar for DCG HS students.

CLICK HERE to access the one-pager

Students could sign up to visit the library to access the one-pager to read, watch, or listen to a variety of resources related to the Winter Olympics, including:

• a broad historical overview of the Winter Olympics
• Top 5's take on the strangest sports included in the games
• a daily schedule, along with viewing guide
• a video montage of the best comebacks in the games
• a podcast specifically addressing events, news, and athletes from the games

Most popular of the options seemed to be the video montage and Top 5 strangest events. Many of the students have been watching the Olympics, and conversation was lively, with students sharing favorite moments and events. And everyone seemed to agree that the skeleton event seems like a dangerous event!

👀 #TakeALookTuesday--Movie Adaptation Edition

We've all heard the expression and seen different versions of the memes, but, indeed, the book *is* better than the movie. 

That said, there are several YA books that have been made into movies over the years--the Harry Potter books-to-movies leading the pack. Many more titles, though, have been adapted for the big screen, and many of them you've probably seen, like these:

According to Epic Reads, many more titles are headed our way as series or movies coming to streaming services or to theaters, some as early as this year. For the latest new, Epic Reads recommends their YouTube playlist for casting and release date information (“All the YA Book-to-Screen Adaptations in the Works Right Now.” Epic Reads, 27 Sept. 2021).

So which YA titles can we expect to see? Take a look!

There's still time to read the book ahead of the movie or series release--why not stop by the library and take a look?

Celebrating Black History Month

February is Black History Month, and with the generosity of The Book Wrangler, students can access an exhibit hall of 28 Epic Days of Black History. 

CLICK HERE to access the full Slides presentation.

Each Slide features people or events that recognize achievements and moments in Black history. Clicking on the YouTube icon takes the viewer to a video with information about the person or event featured in the hall. An example Slide appears below.

Curious to know more about what you've seen? Stop by the library or visit MackinVIA to find books related to your interests.

👀 #TakeALookTuesday--Diverse Titles Edition

We're celebrating Culture Week here at DCG HS, and students are able to self-select from more than three dozen sessions discussing everything from food insecurity to specific countries to music and holidays. One session available to students is watching book trailers for books from diverse authors and/or featuring diverse characters.

CLICK HERE to access the book trailer playlist.

Nearly of the titles from the graphic are included on a YouTube playlist of diverse titles, along with several more titles that are currently checked out. To make browsing more convenient--and to talk about the books more easily--the titles are on display together in the library as well.

Students visited the library to watch trailers and talk about books of interest and read alikes, and while they were here, we also talked about accessing the titles electronically on MackinVIA.

Not able to make it to one of the book trailer sessions? No worries! Just stop by the library to browse the display--and chat about one of these or other titles and authors you're interested in!