Black Pine Circle School Library Program

Books are chosen for the Black Pine Circle School library collection primarily to supplement classroom curriculum, as well as to provide well-reviewed, high-quality reading materials for all students.

Two librarians, who serve both the Upper and Lower Schools, staff the library. All students in the Kindergarten through Fifth grade classes have regularly scheduled weekly visits to the library. For our Upper School students in grades Six through Eight, the library schedule is more flexible with students visiting whenever their teachers desire. Teachers may drop by the library at any point during the day to consult with the librarians.

The library is open to students during morning and lunch recesses three days per week. Library lessons are designed to “put an exclamation point on reading.” Most library classes include a read aloud story or poem, and browsing time for students to view collection and choose a book. Book talks are held to introduce students to new books as well as to learn about award winning books such as Caldecott, Newbery, Coretta Scott King, Sibert, and so forth. Pre-selected books may relate directly to class curriculum, a monthly theme, or current events.

The librarians collaborate with classroom teachers via e-mail, the school website, curriculum guides, and in-person discussions to ensure that library lessons tie in to classroom curriculum whenever possible.

Annual events in the library include a Grandparents’ Day book sale in November, an All-School Book Swap in April, and a Book Faire in May. In addition, all students participate in the California Young Reader Medal program by reading nominated books throughout January, February, and March, voting by April 1st, and celebrating winning books when they are announced in May. These events help to foster literature awareness and create excitement about reading.

The library has four Apple computers which feature Internet access for research, as well as access to the Library’s online public access catalog (OPAC), Companion Corporation’s Alexandria. Students learn how to search the OPAC by title, author, subject, or keyword and how to locate items within the library.

The Black Pine Circle School library collection contains approximately six thousand books, and is located on the second floor of the beautiful new Founders’ Building. The room is also used for committee meetings and community events. In addition, the Multicultural Institute’s Mentoring for Academic Success program (tutoring for under-represented students) is held in our library after school four days per week.