The Department of Library and Media Services
The Department of Library and Media Services provides certified library teachers (librarians) in all of the city's nineteen school library media centers. Each media center is equipped with an automated circulation and card catalog system. The high school catalogs are available on-line throughout the school system. A city-wide department head supervises the personnel and oversees each facility. Library teachers are responsible for the selection of new materials and maintenance of their own library's collections. Each librarian has a budget for the purchase of books and periodicals. These budgets are developed by the library teacher and reviewed by the Library and Media Services Department Head. All of our school libraries are warm and friendly facilities with modern collections that encourage independent reading and support the curriculum of the Quincy Public Schools.
Elementary Schools
At the elementary level most schools have a part-time library teacher. He/She instructs students in the use of library materials, safe use of the Internet and most importantly encourages reading through formal lessons on literary genre. The City-Wide Literature Contest held annually in May features finalists from the fourth and fifth grades who compete with each other by answering questions about the contents of forty-five contemporary titles. Over ninety students enter the final event. Click here to view/print the titles for this year's Literature Contest.
MIddle Schools
At the middle school level, the library teacher instructs students in research methods including library organization, the Dewey Decimal System, use of print and non-print reference materials, as well as Internet searching and proper citing of research results. All students in sixth grade attend regular library classes. In the seventh and eighth grades library teachers work with academic teachers to provide curriculum- related assistance on various classroom projects often culminating in Science and Math Fairs.
High Schools
At the high school level, the library teacher is an invaluable resource to students and teachers alike. As members of the Southeastern Massachusetts Library System (SEMLS), the librarians have access to controlled databases provided by the Mass. Board of Library Commissioners. These very expensive electronic resources provide access to professional journals in math, science, literature, history, medicine etc. Students writing term papers at receive instruction in the use of these tools and in proper citation of this information. The library teachers teach hundreds of classes each year. The high school library teachers also assist teachers in locating information necessary to develop syllabi for their courses. The Department also provides a style manual, available on our Quincy Public Schools web site, to assist students through the process of writing a term paper.
Technology and Equipment
The library media specialist also schedules and maintains audio visual equipment in the building. He/she keeps a file of Internet permissions for both faculty and students. The Department of Technology and Media Services (DITMS) rely on media specialists to provide training to individual teachers in the use of StarBase for grade and progress reporting to parents, the installation of the computerized grading program for the middle and high schools and to be the face of DITMS at the building level.
Reading Lists
The Department also provides summer reading lists for students in grades k-8. These up-to-date bibliographies are developed by the library teachers. These lists are shared with the staff at the Thomas Crane Public Library. Students receive a printed copy of these grade-appropriate lists as well as a reading record which is turned into their reading teacher in the fall. Lists are available on both the Thomas Crane and Quincy Public Schools web sites. Check back for the new summer reading list will be posted in May or June.
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