New Extended Media Center Hours

We are looking forward to another awesome school year here in the HS Media Center. This year, we are extending our hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays to make sure you have ample access to media center resources. Here are the hours this year:

Monday        - 7:15 - 3:45 pm
Tuesday        - 7:15 - 6:00 pm
Wednesday   - 7:15 - 3:45 pm
Thursday       - 7:15 - 6:00 pm
Friday           - 7:15 - 2:45 pm

Need to host your club or organization meeting in the media center? Just let us know! We have a full presentation system at your disposal when you reserve the space. Just talk to Mrs. Webb or Mr. B for more information.

Have a great school year!

New Titles

We recently got in over 60 new titles!  Most of these were recommended or requested by you and your peers.  Take a minute to look through the new arrivals list, browse the new ebooks and audiobooks, or ask Mr. B or Mrs. Webb about them.

(Your login credentials for ebooks and audiobooks are the same as what you use for AR access.)

Checkout Audiobooks!

We've recently added some new downloadable audiobooks to our collection thanks to a program called "Catalist Digital."  For the next month, I invite you to take this new program out for a spin.  Visit CatalistDigital.com and use the username: lorenahs (replace the "hs" with "ms" "es" or "ps" for other campus collections) and the password: leopards to access these audiobooks.

You can listen to the book online, but you'll also find that you can download these audiobooks to your iPod touch, iPhone, iPad, or your Android phone or tablet.  The free app is available in the App Store and GooglePlay.  This is a great way to listen to your books on the go, and a major help to students who are struggling with understanding difficult texts. 

If you decide you like the program, we'll be happy to make you a free student account.  You can request one by filling out the Contact form on the blog or by speaking with me or any of the media assistants.  (Be sure to include the name of your English or Reading teacher if you use the contact form.)

Last Six Weeks

As you prepare for the last six weeks of school, here are some media center dates that you may want to keep on your calendar:

• May 11th - Cut-off day for the senior AR scholarship.  The senior student who has the highest cumulative AR point total (over all four years) as of this date will receive a $500 scholarship. 
• May 21st - AR deadline for freshmen
• May 23rd - 
• Last Checkout day for the media center
• AR deadline (everyone but freshmen)
• May 25th -
•  All library media center materials are due.  All outstanding fines must be paid prior to the last day of school. 
• May 27th - Media Center closed all day for elections
• June 1st - Last day of school
• June 7th - First day of summer library media center hours.  We'll be open Thursdays from 11 am to 2 pm. 

eBooks Available for Checkout

The Lorena ISD Media Centers now have eBooks available for you to view online or checkout on your iPad or Android (version 3.0 or higher) Tablet.  Most of the ebooks are reference and nonfiction titles at this time, but we do have some popular fiction titles (such as The Hunger Games Trilogy). 

To access these ebooks, visit the Library Media Center Catalog by clicking "Find a Book" on the media center website.  To only look at our ebook collection, simply click the "Ebooks Resource List" that is located right in the middle of the page.  When you find one you like click on it.  You will be taken to a login screen, and you should use the same credentials you use for logging in to AR.

Once you are logged in, you will have the option to Read the Ebook Online, Check Out the Ebook Online, or (sometimes) Download the Ebook.  Here's some info about each of these options:

• Read Online - This is the same as reading a book while