Welcome to Waverly High School!

Atlases, dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs, works on fiction, classified works, magazines, back issues of magazines, internet access, word processing, cd-rom materials, lettering stencils, colored pencils.

NO BOOKBAGS ARE ALLOWED IN THE LIBRARY

General Information for students:

students may sign out of their study halls to come to the library
students should use the library sign-out sheets supplied to their study hall teachers

Reasons for coming to the library include:

to do recreational reading
to do research
to do homework

Book sign out information:

students are allowed to have no more than two books out of the library at a time
books are signed out for 15 school days
a late fine of $0.05 per school day is charged
a book that is lost must be paid for-the amount due is based on replacement costs
students owing fines or books may not come to the library from study halls

During your career at Waverly Middle-Senior High School you will be expected to do many research projects. Usually your teacher will give you directions on what is expected, but if they do not here are some ideas to help you:

Task Definition:

Define the problem-read your assignment sheet carefully so you know what you are looking for and what you are supposed to do.

Identify the information needed-brainstorm to identify topics which will be included in your work.

Information seeking Strategies

Brainstorm all possible sources: Encyclopedias, Computer catalog(OPAC), Magazine indexes, Internet sources, if available, sources outside the library, like interviews or museums.

Locate sources: Searching using keywords in OPAC. Use call numbers to locate books. Fill out magazine request cards.

Find information in these sources: The table of contents or the index.

Evaluate each source: Is it current? Is it complete? Is it likely to have the information you want? Is the author biased?

Takin notes

Note cards, 3 x 5 index cards, are used to record information. Each card should have a short label to identify the information it contains, the information itself, the information in your own words and the source you took it from.

Synthesis

Organize information from multiple sources: Sort information according to topics (see labels), include pictures (photocopies) where appropriate and an outline.

Put it together: The rough draft brings all the previous work together into a nearly-finished whole.

Check it out and smooth it out: Check that you have an introduction, body and conclusion, check spelling, wording, paragraphing, sentence structure and have a friend read over it and offer suggestions.

Prepare the final product

Evaluation

Judge the result (effectiveness): Did you find the information you wanted? What is missing? Did you form an effective conclusion?

Judge the process (efficiency): Did you use the available tools? Did you use the time offered in the library?

Judge the product (quality): Did you follow instructions? Did you meet the teacher's criteria? Is it neat? Is it accurate? Is it understandable?