Library Spotlights

Granite Battle of the Books 2017-2018 Book Lists

September 2017

What Is Battle of the Books?

Throughout the school year, 3rd-6th grade students in Granite School District are encouraged to read as many books as they can from these lists.

Students who read at least five of the books by January will be able to create teams and compete in school level competitions.

Once schools have completed their competitions, their top two 5th-6th teams will then be invited to compete in a district-wide competition during the spring of 2018. [Read more…] about Granite Battle of the Books 2017-2018 Book Lists

Library Spotlight: Beginning the Year Displays

September 2017

During the first week of school, Granite’s elementary media clerks gathered in small groups for professional development sessions held at five different elementary school libraries in the district. In this setting they were able to collaborate with other clerks who work in library spaces of the same or similar design, exploring the spaces to gain ideas for improving organization, flow, displays, and atmosphere. In this post we feature display ideas from these five libraries as they stood ready to welcome back students in the coming days.

Jim Bridger Elementary

[Read more…]

Top Circulating Library Books in Granite School District, 2016-2017

June 2017

Students and staff in Granite School District checked out over 1.8 million items from school libraries in the 2016-2017 school year. We ran detailed reports, crunched the data, and for the first time ever have compiled lists of the most popular book titles for the school year across the entire district. [Read more…] about Top Circulating Library Books in Granite School District, 2016-2017

By the Book: Jenny Peirce, Kearns High School

December 2016

Jenny Peirce has been the Library Media Educational Technology Specialist for the last 5 years at Kearns High School. Before that she was an STS and eMints Instructional Coach for 5 years. She started her career at Granite teaching 4th grade at Beehive Elementary.

Her faculty says that they love having her at Kearns. She keeps the school running smoothly and is always willing to help. One teacher made the comment, “Jenny is always so patient even when I ask the same question over and over again. We are so fortunate to have her at Kearns HS.”

Jenny is creative, does monthly promotions and makes sure that students feel welcome and that they have all the new releases. [Read more…] about By the Book: Jenny Peirce, Kearns High School

Teacher Spotlight: Keith Smedberg, Olympus High School

October 2016

Keith Smedberg is the Library Media Educational Technology Specialist at Olympus High School in Holladay, Utah. He manages a vibrant, engaging library with programming that supports reading, learning, technology use, and the diverse interests of the students at his school. In this spotlight video, several Olympus students talk about why they appreciate the library and Mr. Smedberg.

Check out the Olympus High School library web page at http://www.theolycenter.org/.

Spotlight created by Cindy Moyle, Granite District Library Media Specialist.

By the Book: Liz Goodwin, Silver Hills Elementary

September 2016

Nikki Gregerson, elementary library media supervisor, will be spotlighting elementary media clerks throughout Granite School District this year by having them answer a series of questions about their reading lives and favorite books to recommend to students. We will be featuring selections from these “By the Book” spotlights here on the Granite EdTech blog, and all of them will be posted once or twice weekly on Granite Media, our school libraries web site. As they share their recommendations, some book titles or author names in the spotlights will be linked to ebooks and digital audiobooks in Granite’s OverDrive Digital Library, which students and staff in Granite School District can check out to read or listen to from any computer or mobile device.

By the Book: Liz Goodwin, Silver Hills Elementary

Liz Goodwin has been a media clerk for eight years at Silver Hills Elementary School. She has worked hard to make the library at her school a vibrant place that students and teachers love to visit!

What books are currently on your nightstand?

A pile of books about the American Revolution and the Civil War and The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie.

What was the last great book you read?

Bill O’Reilly’s Legends & Lies by David Fisher and Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever by Bill O’Reilly

The last book that made you cry?

The Walk series by Richard Paul Evans

The last book that made you laugh?

My Teacher is an Idiom by Jamie Gilson, illustrated by Debbie Tilley

What kind of reader were you as a child? What childhood books and authors stick with you the most?

I was an avid reader, I gained a love for historic books, both factual and fictional. I loved mystery and intrigue books, especially ones by Agatha Christie.

What is the best book you were required to read as a student?

I gained a love for the classics because of my English teacher my senior year of high school. Loved the works of Shakespeare, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, Daniel Boone by James Daugherty, and Pocahontas by Ingri and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire.

What book did you hate reading as a student?

Maybe my mathematics and science textbooks?

What is your favorite book to recommend to children?

The Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales series by Nathan Hale, the Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne, the Judy Moody series by Megan McDonald, the Junie B. Jones series by Barbara Park, the Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warner, the 39 Clues series, books by Roald Dahl, books by Lemony Snicket, books by Jerry Spinelli, and biographies.

If you could only bring three books to a desert island, which would you pack?

Anything historical, fact or fiction, an Agatha Christie book, and a Mary Higgins Clark book.

New YA Fiction in OverDrive | May 2016

May 2016

With summer vacation in sight, school librarians will soon remind students to bring in all the checked out books. But this doesn’t mean anyone has to stop reading; summer is the perfect time to dig into a new book, and Granite’s OverDrive Digital Library (http://granite.lib.overdrive.com) will be available all summer long for all students and staff members, wherever they are on almost any computer or mobile device.

We are constantly adding new ebooks and audiobooks to our collection, which now numbers nearly 7,000 titles across K-12. Check out the posters below for some of the latest releases added to the YA collection for May 2016. We also have many new releases in our juvenile collection, they just aren’t shown here. Log in to OverDrive to check them out.

Granite Library Author/Illustrator Event: Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson

April 2016

Author Matt de la Peña and illustrator Christian Robinson will be visiting Granite School District to talk about their 2016 Newbery Medal and Caldecott Honor-winning picture book Last Stop on Market Street. The evening event happens March 18, 2016, 7 PM at Granger High School (3580 South 3600 West, West Valley City, UT.)The evening event happens March 18, 2016, 7 PM at Granger High School (3580 South 3600 West, West Valley City, UT.)

Matt de la Peña has authored numerous young adult and middle grade novels, including The Living, The Hunted, We Were Here, and Mexican Whiteboy. Christian Robinson has illustrated many notable and award-winning picture books, including Josephine, Rain!, Gaston, The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade, and Leo: A Ghost Story.

Visit the King’s English page for additional information on this event, including access to the book-signing queue at the event.

Click here to download a printable PDF version of the event poster.

Teacher Spotlight: Lorraine Wyness, Taylorsville Sr. High

February 2016

Lorraine Wyness is the Library Media Educational Technology Specialist (LMETS) at Taylorsville High School. The spotlight video above shows just a couple of the ways she makes the school’s library media center a welcoming and engaging place for her students. In addition to managing the library, Ms. Wyness also provides technology integration training and support to teachers schoolwide. She is an incredible asset to her school.

Spotlight Created by Cindy Moyle, Library Media Supervisor for Secondary Schools.

Teacher Spotlight: Brad Butcher, Evergreen Jr. High

November 2015

Brad Butcher is the Library Media Educational Technology Specialist (LMETS) at Evergreen Jr. High School in Millcreek, Utah. Mr. Butcher fills his library with reading promotions, author visits, and other activities created for and by his students. He has an active Student Library Advisory Board (SLAB); you will hear from several of them in this video. Bringing in national and local authors for school visits he has catalyzed an exciting reading culture in his school. He is also an educational technology wizard, helping and training teachers and students throughout the school in technology tools and resources. Mr. Butcher is an incredible asset to his school and to the team of library and technology specialists throughout the district.

Spotlight Creator: Cindy Moyle, District Media Supervisor, Granite School District