Did you know that the North Andover Middle School is a member of the Massachusetts Library System (MLS)? Membership is free of charge and allows us to benefit from many services! BUT...certain eligibility requirements must be met; one of which is the library must be staffed by an on-site, certified librarian. Here are the benefits of MLS membership:
Our school is eligible to subscribe to the state's Commonwealth eBook program (aka SORA) for a very reasonable cost. This collection of eBooks, digital audiobooks, and digital magazines would otherwise cost our school a whopping half million dollars to recreate! SORA is heavily relied upon by our students and staff; especially our EL population since many books are translatable to other languages. It offers many accessibility features that allow students with certain disabilities greater access to recreational and curricular texts. SORA also offers the ability to request simultaneous access to curricular titles so that many students can access the same book at the same time. This feature is extensively utilized for literature circles, book clubs, or class reads and has proven to be a tremendous cost savings for when there are not enough print titles for every student.
MLS, along with the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC), offers our library customized, direct links to its suite of online databases. This includes all of our Gale databases as well as Britannica School. These databases offer reliable, authoritative, current information for research and do not require a username or password; allowing for easy access. It would cost $60,000 if we were to purchase these resources on our own.
In addition, the MLS collaborates with the Massachusetts Higher Education Consortium (MHEC) to negotiate contracts that provide discounted consortium pricing for library supplies and materials. The MLS also supports resource sharing among member libraries and offers many free continuing education and professional development opportunities as well.
Youth Media Awards
The American Library Association (ALA) recently announced the winners of the very prestigious Youth Media Awards. These awards are given to authors and illustrators for their distinguished contribution to children's and young adult literature. These awards include the Newbery Medal, Caldecott Medal, and Sibert Award, among many others. Click here to access the ALA website to learn more about each award. Click here for a complete list of this year's award winners.
John Newbery Medal
Randolph Caldecott Medal
Pura Belpre Award
Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award
Stonewall Book Award
Given to English-language works of exceptional merit for children or teens relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender experience.
Schneider Family Book Award
Honors an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.
North Andover Reads is a joint effort of the Stevens Memorial Library and North Andover Public Schools. Each year, books, programs, exhibits and more are chosen around a particular theme and highlight our R.A.I.S.E. initiative.
The theme of this year's event is "Reading Beyond Labels" which celebrates the unique strengths and abilities of the neurodivergent community while promoting an inclusive environment.
Click HERE to view booklists, resources, and library events.
Click BELOW to download a curated list of supporting documents and videos created by Emily Patt, Inclusion Coach from the SEEM Collaborative.
Gale in Context: Middle School is a database that supports the developing information literacy skills of middle school researchers.
- Offers authoritative information from leading information sources such as National Geographic, NASA, AP video news etc.
- Covers a wide range of topics including government, U.S. and world history, geography, literature, science, and social studies.
- Accommodates different learning styles by featuring a variety of formats; including informational text, images, audio, video, newspapers, and primary sources.
- Offers on-demand article translation into 50 languages.
- Offers ReadSpeaker text to speech technology into more than 20 languages.
- Offers content with varied text complexity.
- Supports national and state curriculum standards for grades 6-8 for ELA, Social Studies, and Science.
THIS DATABASE AND DIRECT LINKS TO THIS SUITE OF MIDDLE SCHOOL DATABASES ARE OFFERED TO OUR SCHOOL FOR FREE SINCE WE ARE MEMBERS OF THE MASSACHUSETTS LIBRARY SYSTEM!
Forget Me Not by Ellie Terry was chosen to be the NA Reads "one book" read for the middle school. Visit the library to check it out!
Summary
Astronomy-loving Calliope June has Tourette syndrome, so she sometimes makes faces or noises that she doesn't mean to make. When she and her mother move yet again, she tries to hide her TS. But it isn't long before the kids at her new school realize she's different. Only Calliope's neighbor, who is also the popular student body president, sees her as she truly is--an interesting person and a good friend. But is he brave enough to take their friendship public?
As Calliope navigates school, she must also face her mother's new relationship and the fact that they might be moving--again--just as she starts to make friends and finally accept her differences.
Ellie Terry's affecting debut will speak to a wide audience about being true to oneself.
~Amazon
SIMULTANEOUS ACCESS TO THIS BOOK HAS BEEN ACTIVATED ON SORA!
Click HERE to access the eBook on SORA.
Click HERE to access the audiobook on SORA.
