Susan Weiss (Librarian)
The mission of the library is to provide an information rich environment which empowers students to become competent avid readers and productive information literate citizens who are accomplished users of technology.
Students are first taught about library resources in ninth grade social studies and health classes. Both social studies and health classes complete a class assignment following six information processing steps and using bibliography models. Students learn how to use the online public access catalog (OPAC) and the historical reference CD-ROMs ( encyclopedias and almanacs) on both Macintosh and Windows platforms. Health students learn how to search current CD-ROM references: Magazine Article Summaries (a magazine index), three years of the Seattle Times, and other health CD-ROMs. The use of the Internet and its resources are demonstrated. Students can complete and print their homework on word processors (Mac and Windows). They can also access the Internet to reserve Seattle Public Library materials with their Q card and use videoediting equipment for multimedia presentations.