Thomas J. Lahey Elementary School
LIBRARY
The Library program at TJL is designed to empower students to use Libraries effectively for their own research and personal interest.
Each class has a 40 minute Library period with a certified School Media Specialist scheduled every other week. Classroom teachers may bring their students to the Library for independent research on the alternating weeks. In addition, students may visit the Library any morning before school for a book exchange.
Skills developed across the grade levels during the scheduled Library periods include the use of print and online reference sources, such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs; use of the online catalog to locate call numbers and bibliographic information; gathering information from geographical and biographical resources; identification of fiction genres and award winners; the Dewey Decimal System; research into the life and poems of classic poets; location of materials; reinforcement of alphabetizing skills including uses of indexes; library use; website evaluation; and correct MLA bibliographic format. Students use print materials, CD ROMs and the Internet.