Database Training

In the second term, library staff will be offering database training to teachers at Harrow. The main focus of the training will be on EBSCO, and how to use it effectively in the classroom. Other resources that we subscribe to, including Britannica Online, Issues Online and Netlibrary will also be demonstrated.

The training will take place one day a week during term 2A. Each week's training will be on a different day from the previous week, so that teachers with activities have the opportunity to attend.

An email, with dates and locations, will be sent out early in the new term. Teachers who are unable to attend but would like to learn more about the school's electronic resources can contact library staff - we will be happy to arrange a time that suits.

We are also happy to demonstrate the databases to Harrow parents.

Does 2 + 2 = 4?

Not always, according to the boffins at New Scientist.

The Last Word is a useful site hosted by that magazine, where you can search for answers to those scientific (and mathematical) questions that have always baffled you.

So, if you added two librarians to two insurance underwriters, would the answer be four? Or a quiet night in? Or chaos theory?

Japanese Films

The SF World Cinema at Central World is showing a retrospective of the master Japanese filmaker, Akira Kurosawa. The films run from January 6th - January 19th, and will be in the original Japanese with English subtitles. Entry is free, and made possible by the Japan Foundation of Bangkok.

Here is a link to the schedule.

Kurosawa was the pre-eminent Japanese filmaker of the 20th Century. He won the Palm d'Or in Cannes, and was awarded an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1990. The film he is perhaps best known for is the epic Seven Samurai.

Merry Christmas

Is Santa Claus real?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all the staff at Harrow Library!

Best Teen Books

Here is a link to a list of the best teen books, as voted by readers around the world.

The library holds many of the titles listed, so come and borrow them when the new term starts!

Remember, you can check which books are available by using Oliver.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! Hope you have a great holiday and enjoy a well deserved break. Read lots of awesome books and we will look forward to seeing you again in Term 2. We probably won't write much on the blog over the holiday, so keep reading - we will update it again next term, promise!

The week of Christmas is nearly upon us!

This is the last week of term 1, and it has gone so fast.
This term we have had so many fun things to do in the library. We've had storytellers, creativity day, making stuff day, Guinness World Records day and many other activities.

We have a lot of things planned for next term, so make sure you come in and see us when you get back.

This week we have a festive theme at the library. For making stuff day (Wednesday, Primary lunch) we will be making mini cardboard Christmas trees. They are very cute, you should come and make one!

3 sleeps till the end of school, and 18 sleeps till Santa...

EBSCO... it's useful, not useless!

Recently I've shown some of our secondary school classes how to use databases that the school subscribes to. If you are a Harrow student or parent, you can use these resources from anywhere you have internet access. To get the login details, just visit the library.

You can find a link to the login page on the Harrow website electronic resources page.

What is this EBSCO database anyway?
Well, it is a service that we subscribe to, filled with useful and authoratitive* information. Lots of it is full text (that means you get to read the whole piece) but you may also find abstracts (you only get a blurb describing the content of an article).

The database contains items from magazines, journals and newspapers.
Most of the content is assessed by real people and assigned appropriate subjects so that it will come up when you search for it.

*What is authoritative? This means that you can trust the information inside to come from sources which have been verified and are more likely to provide accurate information. Please make sure you assess any information you find before you use it.
I'll write more about how to do that another day...

While you can use Google to find things, it's only one tool in your choice of many!
Using EBSCO will give you the edge over other students who don't. And you'll need to use other tools like this when you're at University, so it's great practice!

Creativity day

Today is creativity day. We have many students coming in to make chocolate truffles, create collage, write fantastic newspaper poems, do fun things with i-pod touch and make their own stories with Storybird. We're really looking forward to seeing all the great stuff that students can make and do!

Here is a poem I wrote because it is creativity day.
Can you guess what it is about?

Home of aliens, paperclips, a person and an octopus
A flock of cranes
Bulldog clips, Cookie Monster cup
A solitary poppy
Tissues
Books (and more books)
A stick with a pointing finger
A sprinkling of glitter
A computer is under there somewhere

Harrow fair, Loy Krathong... exciting weekend!

Tomorrow is the Harrow fair - there will be all kinds of fun stuff to see and do. You can even eat candy floss (delicious and sugary!) I'm not sure if there are toffee apples (or as some would say candy apples) but I really hope there are! That's my favourite thing to eat at a fair. Or anytime I can get one.

Sunday is Loy Krathong. And for those of you at Harrow, we've had a whole day of Loy Krathong celebrations. It was a fun day and everyone looked amazing.

If you have time over the weekend, why not sit down with your toffee apple or candy floss and read a book or e-book? The perfect thing to unwind after a busy weekend. Just be sure not to get it all sticky :)

Britannica Online trial

Right now we are trialling Britannica Online. So if you are doing some research and want to check it out, just ask us for the password. For those of you who haven't seen it before, Britannica is a well known and trusted encyclopaedia. A great authoratitative source for your school projects!

The Red Pyramid

I've been reading (again!) and have discovered another fantastic book for adventure lovers in the secondary/prep section.

The name of the book? The Red Pyramid.

This book is great for those of you who like Egyptian things/history/fantasy and Rick Riordan. Written by the author who bought you the Percy Jackson series, this is an exciting, action packed story. I had a lot of trouble putting it down, and finished it in only two days!

The story focuses on a brother and sister who have spent most of their lives living apart. They are reunited after their father (a world reknown Egyptologist) takes them to the British museum where he asks to see the Rosetta Stone. Things only get weirder, with the children's father unleashing several ancient Egyptian gods (some of whom have their mind set on world domination). After their father is imprisioned, it is up to the children to deal with the gods and save the world...

The Mysterious Benedict Society

I don't usually write blog posts about books that I'm reading, but I've just stumbled across a really good one in the Prep and Secondary library collection.

Have you heard of a book called The Mysterious Benedict Society? I started reading it the other day and I have been finding it really hard to stop reading and do other things I know I should be doing. It's an exciting adventure story with some fantasy elements - worth a read if you like spies and unexpected events.

The book follows the adventures of four children who are drawn together after answering a mysterious newspaper advertisment looking for brilliant and gifted children. All of the children have different talents which are essential for the dangerous mission they are asked to complete.

If you like CHERUB and H.I.V.E books then why not give it a try? If you like Harry Potter, Lemony Snicket and Spiderwick there are lots of similar elements (but I won't tell you what they are - it will spoil the story!) If you're looking for adventure give this book a try!

Need some help? Why not ask us?

We've added an ask a librarian link.
If you need some help to find books, information or have another library related query you can click the link to email us and we will reply to you the next school day. If you would like to contact the Head Librarian (Mr Piggot) or the Primary Librarian (Miss Goodall) directly you can find our email addresses in the Library contact section on the right hand side.

Welcome back to term 1B

It's hard to believe that there are only two and a bit months until Christmas!

We have some really exciting activites and events planned here at the library - one of which is the book fair. The book fair will be held next week, and Harrow kids and families will be able to browse through a wonderful selection of books from local booksellers. It's going to be a lot of fun - don't miss it!

This week for making stuff day we will be making crayon etching pictures. To do this we'll colour in really hard with crayons then colour firmly over the top with a black crayon. Once this bit is completed it's easy to use a sharp pencil to draw on the top. You then get multi-coloured crayon pictures on a black background.

Our storyteller Mrs Brownlow will be back with us on Friday too.

Welcome back everyone! See you in the library soon.