The Strathcona County For the love of reading. Library Journal No. 001 April 2018 Free Numbers on the Sides of Books: More Than They Seem THE TRUTH BEHIND THE DEWEY DECIMAL SYSTEM New Language Learner, Fresh Off the Presses By: Elias Have you ever wondered about the numbers on the sides of library books? It turns out they re part of a system called the Dewey Decimal System, and lots of libraries use it to organize their non-fiction including this library. We decide what numbers to put on the books based on the topic of the book, says Angelina, who works at the library. That way all the books on the same topic are shelved together. The Dewey Decimal System was developed by Melvil Dewey in 1876. The numbers start with broad topics, and then get narrower. For instance, 000 is computer science, information, and general works. Class 100 is philosophy and psychology, class 300 is social sciences, and class 800 is literature. So the next time you see a number on the side of your library book, now you know why it s there. MEET THE PRONUNCIATOR By: Jesse and Zubi A new language learner is here in Strathcona County Library in Sherwood Park. The new program is called Pronunciator, and replaces the old system, which was called Mango. Pronunciator debuted on April 2. It can do everything from help grade four students learn French to help high school kids learn Spanish. Some of other languages included are Afrikaans, Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, and Armenian. There are 80 different languages in total.
A2 NEWS Discover the Discovery Zone By: Sadie and Izzy The Strathcona County Library has the best books for children in the Discovery Zone. In the Discovery Zone you will find a big sign that says Discover. That s how you know you are there. The library has figurines of LEGO in the Discovery Zone. You can come to the library and build LEGO. And when you re done, you can leave it there so other people can also see it. In the aisle called Citizenship, you can find a book about Queen Elizabeth. We were looking at books and we saw one about prairie dogs. You will love this book, because you can learn about a new animal. Thank you for reading about the Discovery Zone. Make sure you stop by the next time you re in the library. For Plants, a Time to Be Watered By: Bridget While exploring the second floor of the Strathcona County Library recently, I found a quiet reading space with plants. On closer inspection, I discovered that a good half of the plants were bone dry, and their leaves stiff. Although the plants were by a window, I could tell they were not healthy. Two days later, I went back, and found that every plant on the second floor appeared to be in desperate need of water. I started to wonder who at the library was in charge of watering the plants. According to Angela, who works at the library, it is Sarah s job to water the plants. When asked if there was a specific day of the week that plants get watered, Angela replied, I m sure Sarah makes sure they get watered every week. But I think they could be watered even more than that. If you see a dry plant, water it!
NEWS A3 Library Changes Games on Computers Near Blu-rays and DVDs IF ENOUGH KIDS COMPLAIN, THEY MIGHT CHANGE IT BACK Q&A with a Librarian By: Parker By: Kai and Nate About two months ago, the Strathcona County Library made a change to eight of its computers. The computers are located in the backleft corner of the main floor, by the DVDs and Blu-rays. You used to be able to search games on the internet and play any game you found, but now they have only graded games. There are pre-school games, toddler games, K 3 games, and 3 6 games. Some library users were not happy with this change at first. That is because they suddenly couldn t play games that they used to be able to play. When asked about this, library staff said that the change was made so that younger kids aged about 6 can t find bad or inappropriate games. According to library staff, if enough people say that they don t like the change, then the library might change it back to the way it was before. What would you be if you weren t a librarian? Holly: A curator at the museum. What is your favourite book? Holly: Outlander. Do you have a pet? Holly: No. What is your favourite hobby? Holly: Reading. What is your favourite type of car? Holly: Tesla Model X. What s your favourite part about being a librarian? Holly: Meeting new people and learning what they like to read.
A4 NEWS JOURNAL EXCLUSIVE: Inside the Sorting Room By: Kevin and Parker One day in the Strathcona County Library, there were two kids sitting on the couches when a lady came over and said, Do you want to go the sorting room? We said yes, and off we went. We had a blast. By: Kai By: Leah When it came time to vote on the logo for our newspaper, it wasn t an easy choice. The banner you saw on A1 (drawn by Parker) came in first place, but we had lots of great entries. Here are some of the other finalists. Which ones do you like best? By: Chloe By: Finn By: Finn and Jesse
OPINION B1 Time For a New Chapter? LIBRARIES SHOULD CONSIDER GIVING KIDS MORE THAN THREE WEEKS TO READ CHAPTER BOOKS POLL: What Is Your Favourite Book? By: Rebecca By: Rachel Hello, my name is Rachel and I have a problem. My problem is that I don t have time to finish chapter books when I take them out of the library. I think this should change. One idea I had was maybe chapter books could be taken out of the library longer than picture books, because chapter books have more pages than picture books. That would give people time to read their books. Another idea I had was letting kids bring library books to school. My mom never lets me bring library books to school. She s afraid I ll lose them and she doesn t want to pay money for books that I lost. I actually don t get chapter books from the library anymore because I don t have time to read them. Another idea I had was no homework, but that will never happen. Or will it? SCLJ reporter Rebecca asked this question to people all around the library. Some of their answers included: - A Dangerous Crossing - The Stinky Cheese Man - Smiley s People - Star Wars: Meet the Rebels - Harry Potter - Spirit Animals - After Alice - The Girl Who Takes An Eye For An Eye Behind the Scenes at the SCLJ
C1 ARTS The Hunger Games Suzanne Collins (Scholastic, 2008) I Funny James Patterson with Chris Grabenstein (Little, Brown, 2012) Wonder R.J. Palacio (Knopf, 2012) By: Kate Katniss Everdeen is a survivor. When her father dies in an unexpected mine explosion in the Seam, Katniss takes over as head as her household. Putting food on the table is hard enough without having to care for her mother and her 12-yearold sister Prim. When the annual reaping, which is the first part of the death-filled Hunger Games, comes around, Prim is old enough to be entered. Though she is only one name in thousands, her name is drawn. Katniss is then faced with an incredibly difficult decision: let Prim go on and almost certainly watch her die, or go in Prim s place and face death herself. A wonderful story about trust, adventure, and sadness, I would rate The Hunger Games 4 3/5 out of 5 stars. I would recommend this book for people who like adventure, suspense, and a bit of romance. Though it has a bad reputation for being violent, I feel like this opinion is misinformed, and I believe that children could start reading it at the age of 10. By: Jesse I Funny is a story that is set in Long Beach. It s about a teenage boy in middle school who enters a comedy contest to win a private interview on a talk show. It s a great book with a good storyline. In later books in the series, I liked the hurricane that happens, and listening to all of the jokes is funny, too. The only bad thing in the book is how terrifying it is for him to to get onstage. I mean, there is a puddle of sweat on the floor, which is a little exaggerated. It s fine that it s sweaty, but not several puddles on the floor. There are five books in the series, and overall they are awesome. I would give this book 4 stars. By: Zubi In the novel Wonder, by R.J. Palacio, August Pullman (Auggie) has Treacher Collins syndrome and his face is affected by it. We figure it out in Jack Will s part of the book that Jack saw Auggie at the ice cream shop. Jack s brother gets scared by Auggie s face. In the story, Auggie goes into middle school, which in the United States means grade five. There he meets a bully, Jullian, a friend, Jack Will, and another friend, Summer Dawson. Palacio s book includes: August wining an award for being the student whose strength has carried up the most hearts, according to his teacher, Mr. Tushman. I would give Wonder 4 1/2 stars because it has all of the characters perspectives but Jullian s. Palacio has also written a new book from Jullian s perspective. It s called Auggie and Me. You might be able to find it at this library.
Sudoku (Beginner) By: Jacob COMICS AND PUZZLES D1 Word Search By: Bridget NOTE: Words can be found up, down, sideways, diagonal, forwards, and backwards. Book Checkout Story Borrow Facts Learning Shelf Informatoin Library Librarian Reading Unscrabble By: Kate By: Chloe
D2 COMICS AND PUZZLES Clumsy George By: Sophia Heavyweights By: Jacob Directions: Find out which side of the balancing bar is heavier. Legend: Black circle = 1; white circle = +1; black square = 2; white square = X2; black triangle = 3; white triangle = +3; swirl = 4; star = 2. The Strathcona County Library Journal is a collaboration between the library s writer-in-residence and more than a dozen eager young newshounds who visited the Strathcona County Library over spring break. From March 26 to 29, the kids (grades 1 to 7) learned what goes into making a newspaper, and why reporting the news fairly and accurately is more important than ever. Special thanks to our drop-in experts, Jana Pruden and Amber Bracken. On behalf of all of us, thanks for reading. I hope you ve learned something new about your library. Stay curious! Michael Hingston, editor and writer-in-residence