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Teacher Services Middle School and High School (6th-12th)

The Mount Prospect Public Library has many services and programs to support your curriculum. Teen Services staff can provide fiction and non-fiction materials on topics or areas of study that can enhance your resource center's offerings. We can assist by setting aside books for your students at the library or stop by and select them yourself. The Library can also help you expand your classroom experience through visits to the Library or visits to your school by Library staff to present booktalks, online resource presentations and more. We feel it is important for the Library to work closely with schools to expose teens to the wide variety of reading materials and information sources available. Our common purpose is to encourage student to work to their capabilities as they successfully complete their assignments and enjoy their learning experiences. Together, we can help students achieve these goals.


Getting Materials From the Library

Teachers employed at Mount Prospect schools have the opportunity to check out materials on their school's library card. If you provide the topic, we can select books for you. This is called a Book Bag Request. If you would prefer to select your own materials, please stop by the Library and browse our collection. No need to remember a card, we have all of the information for your school card number at the Fiction/AV/Teen desk. This is called a Teacher Check Out. Teacher Check Outs are only available to teachers who teach at Mount Prospect schools and are on their school's list of teachers approved for check out. The materials that go out in a Book Bag Request or Teacher Check Out are checked out on a School Services card that is renewed each year by the school principal. The school principal provides the library with the list of teachers authorized to use the school's library card. The school is responsible for any lost or damaged items.

How to Request a Book Bag

  • Please submit the request at least 72 hours before the bag is needed. You do so by phone, fax, or e-mailing your request at bookbag@mppl.org.  The last day to make requests is  April 27, 2012.
  • Bags should be returned to the Library Circulation Desk on or before the due date.
  • Bags are loaned for three weeks.
  • Bags contain approximately 20 items.
  • Each month there are certain topics that are in high demand. As a result, the number of materials sent in the bag may be limited to 5-10 books and 1 video or DVD.
  • Holiday materials will not be included in bags.
  • Teachers are limited to one book bag at a time.
  • All outstanding materials should be returned to the library by May 18th, 2012. The school is responsible for any lost or damaged materials. Schools will be notified about any overdue materials and billed if the materials are not returned by the end of the school year.
  • Please be specific as possible with your requests. Do you want fiction and/or non-fiction books? Do you want materials other than books, such as audiobooks, DVD's, CDs, etc.? Do you want materials in another language?

Teen Book Discussion Sets

Perfect for your book discussion groups, each Teen Book Discussion Set will include 10 copies of popular fiction titles as well discussion questions, author information, read-alikes, and lesson plans or activities. The book discussions can be lead by the teacher or the Teen Outreach Librarian can facilitate the book discussion with the students. The loan period for these bags is six weeks. Contact Renee Neumeier for more information (rneumeier@mppl.org)

The titles available in this collection:

  • 145th Street Stories by Walter Dean Myers
  • The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
  • Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
  • Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
  • Tangerine by Edward Bloor
  • Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
  • Feed by MT Anderson

Science To Go Engineering Kits

Looking for something interesting to do in science class? Maybe the library can help! Thanks to a grant from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, we now circulate Science-to-go Kits. There are seven kits on a variety of engineering topics, including energy, alternative energy, electricity, and simple machines. Each kit comes with information and equipment to perform science activities. Complete lesson plans are included in some kits. Contact Renee Neumeier (rneumeier@mppl.org) or the stop by the Youth Services Desk.

School Visits and Library Tours

The Library offers exciting educational programs for you and your students. Staff members will visit your school to present these special programs or you can arrange to visit the Library. Programs are available between September and June. Please schedule a school visit at least 4 weeks in advance. At certain times of the year our schedule may allow for additional visits. Please contact Renee Neumeier (rneumeier@mppl.org) to schedule a visit or tour.

Booktalks

Schedule a visit for library staff to come in and give a booktalk on topics, like World War II, summer reads, genre specific (historical fiction, mystery, fantasy etc) and more that tie into your curriculum. We can present engaging booktalks that give your students numerous options for books to read. Please give 4 weeks notice when scheduling and there is a limit of three booktalks per day for teachers who wish to schedule them for more than one class period.

Database and Online Resources Demonstrations

Have a big research assignment or project coming up? The library has databases and sources that can provide your students with the resources they need to ace their assignments. The Teen Outreach Librarian and a Reference Librarian can put together a presentation on the databases and electronic resources that will help students find the quality information they're looking for. Please give 4 weeks notice when scheduling.

MyMediaMall

With the rise in the use of ebooks, ereaders and mobile devices the Teen Outreach Librarian can also present on the free ebook services offered by the library. Students can be shown the different methods of transferring ebooks or audiobooks to different devices. Examples of the different devices can also be brought for the students to explore. Please give 3 weeks notice for scheduling.

Display Case

Are you interested in displaying your students' work outside the classroom? An easy way to let all of Mount Prospect see your class's artwork or projects is to schedule the display case in the Teen Zone. Teachers may exhibit items for 30 days. The Library reserves dates on a first come, first served basis. Please contact Renee Neumeier (rneumeier@mppl.org) for the display case's measurements and to reserve a month.

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