By Sophia Jerome
As you know, students and faculty recently received the news that all Vermont schools will remain closed throughout the remainder of the 2019-20 school year. This news has been very upsetting to all members of the MHS community. Many students may be wondering how they will access all of the wonderful books our library has to offer. I was given the opportunity this past week to ask our librarian, Sue Monmaney, and answer all of your questions about online library resources.
How have you been spending your time at home?
“A lot of my time has been spent online, updating my library website with up-to-date ebook and audiobook information, helping students with research questions, helping colleagues with technology issues and questions, professional meetings (most are regular meetings that I had at school which are now held virtually), and helping to provide technology professional development for colleagues around the district. I try to find some time each day to get outside--even if it's for a short walk--just for some fresh air, daylight on my face, and some exercise. I've been doing a little knitting and cooking as well. And I have a stack of books that are always calling to me! After I'm finished with this interview, I will be making a screencast and how-to docs for students and teachers on How to Use Google Classroom… I'll create a page on my website where all of these materials will be shared so that people can refer back to them.”
Does MHS have online library resources for students? If so, how can they access them?
“Yes, we do! Please check out the MHS Library website (a link to my website is also on the MHS Links webpage) for information on how to access ebooks and audiobooks, online newspapers, research databases, help with the research process, and more.”
Are there any other free and credible online resources available for students that you would recommend?
“Absolutely. Our library subscribes to a number of research databases, including:
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Vermont Online Library: A wide array of databases containing articles and media for everything from general interest to academic research.
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Science Magazine.
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Explora for Academic Search Premier: A research database with scholarly journals, magazines, and more.
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JSTOR: A digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources.
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OED: The Oxford English Dictionary is widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language, including meaning, history, and pronunciation of 600,000 words—past and present—from across the English-speaking world.
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Online newspapers: The Burlington Free Press, Times Argus (this may be accessible at home, but I'm not sure--try to create an account using your school email), USA Today, and the New York Times Replica Edition (it's a digital copy of each day's printed newspaper, and you can even search their archive).”
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How will the school library resources change/differ since school has now been closed throughout the remainder of the semester?
“I think the main change is that people [will] access me and the library resources online instead of in the physical library. Luckily, we have been subscribing to all of these online resources for years, so this isn't much of a change. The biggest difference will be no access to the library's print books while the school is closed, but we have lots of available ebooks and audiobooks, and I have already allocated the rest of my library budget to purchasing more--all anyone has to do is ask, and as long as the money lasts, I'll buy it if it's available.”
Are there any good books or audiobooks you recommend to students at the moment?
“Oh, so many books! As far as ebooks, anything you would like in print form would be the same in digital format--with the one plus that you can often adjust the print size, making some books easier to read. Check out my Find Great Books! webpage for a number of book awards and lists. Also, follow me on Goodreads to see what I've been reading--including picture books that I read to my granddaughters. :-)
“For audiobooks, some of my recent favorites have been Pride by Ibi Zoboi, Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani, and So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo. I'm a big fan of books read by the authors, such as books by Toni Morrison and Jason Reynolds. Also, starting again this April 30th, Sync offers free downloadable YA audiobooks for 13 weeks. Each week, two new titles are available for download--absolutely free, and they are yours to keep. I still have some saved to my phone from last summer that I'm looking forward to listening to soon.”