Library Services

Ensuring students and staff are effective users of ideas and information

Library Services works to:

Provide and maintain resources in all formats that support the curriculum.
Energetically integrate media and technology resources and services into the instructional activities of the school.
Cooperatively plan with teachers to design units of instruction and learning strategies that meet the needs of all students.
Stimulate interest in reading and using information and ideas to promote confidence and critical-thinking skills.
Encourage and provide tools for self-education outside the classroom.
Participate in programs for professional growth.

Contact Us

CCS Library Services
Southland Center
3700 South High Street
Columbus, OH 43207

Find A Great Book In Your School Library

Destiny is a complete library management system that can be accessed from anywhere, 24/7. Columbus City Schools students and staff can use Destiny to search for books, ebooks and other materials that can be checked out from their school library. Books may also be borrowed from other school libraries within CCS when needed. Your building librarian is available to help you!

Access to the Columbus City Schools Follett Destiny Page Here

SORA

SORA OVERDRIVE IN CCS

Columbus City Schools Library Services is committed to bringing unique learning opportunities to our students and we are pleased to introduce a new, free reading service providing digital books through Sora, the student reading app. We are partnering with Columbus Metropolitan Library Digital Download Collaboration to give students and teachers 24/7 access to eBooks and audiobooks WITHOUT using a public library card.

Why Sora?

It’s convenient for students to check out titles at home, on the weekends or during school breaks with no worry about misplacing a book or running up late fees – these digital titles automatically return at the end of the lending period! Sora can help students of all ages read more and improve comprehension. Struggling or reluctant readers, learning-challenged, second language learners, and gifted readers can all benefit from this service.

How does it work?

You can also download the free Sora app from the Apple App Store, Google Play Store or visit soraapp.com, borrow with ccsoh, and enjoy anytime, anywhere on a computer, tablet, or smartphone. Be sure to add Digital Download Collaboration to your profile. This will give you access to CML ebooks and audiobooks.

Whether a student’s interest lies in classics for required reading, or the latest popular juvenile or young adult fiction, they can find it all in Sora!

Where can I find more information?

Contact your Library Media Specialist

Log in to Class Link OR your CCS Google Account Apps Launcher and find the SORA App. Sign in using your CCS Google Account (ccs email and password).
Under your Profile, select + Add a Library and enter Columbus Metropolitan Library (Digital Download Collaboration).
You can Borrow or Place Hold on ebooks and audiobooks available at Columbus Metropolitan Library.
Close the book and go to your Shelf to see all your books. From there, you can:
- Tap Open Book or Open Audiobook to read or listen to the book.
- Tap Options to renew or return the book, get to your notes and highlights, and more.

Paying Library Fines

Library fines are paid either online or at Central Enrollment. Payment is NOT to be taken in the buildings.

Click here for the access to the CCS Infinite Campus Parent Portal

We recognize that students sometimes misplace library books. Therefore, it is important for families to look for lost books. Most books can be found, returned to circulation, and the associated fine eliminated. We go through this process to ensure that we protect our taxpayers’ investments and keep our instructional materials current. If you are concerned that the fine was not incurred by your student, or that he/she has returned a library book the librarian will work with you to research and trace down the book.

Refunds may be provided if the items are found and returned in good condition before the end of the school year in which they were lost. Refunds may not be given in future school years as it is reasonable to expect that the money has already been spent on a replacement or alternative item.
If you want to pay the fine, there are TWO ways to do so.

Student Fees, Fines and Charges CCS Board Policy 6152

You can access the payment system via CCS Parent Portal; on this system you can use a credit card to pay your fine.
Or you can go to Central Enrollment 430 Cleveland Ave. Columbus, Ohio 43215 Hours of Operation: Monday - Friday, 8:15 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 614-365-4011.

Library Learning Activities

CCS Elementary School Library standards are taught during regularly scheduled library “special” classes through collaboration with classroom teachers. Below are learning activities written by CCS Library Media Specialist. These activities provide ideas to support multiple literacy and classroom instruction. Be sure to check back regularly for updates.

K-2 Lessons:

3-5 Lessons:

Additional Resources

Materials Selection Guidelines

Materials Selection Guidelines

Diversity is a source of knowledge and must be taught and celebrated. Our differences make us unique and bring distinct and independent perspectives to teaching and learning. Library materials should be representative of the differences in the world using Board Administrative Guideline 2520.

Complaints About Instructional Materials

The Board of Education recognizes and respects the right of students to have free access to many different types of instructional resources (textbooks, instructional materials, workbooks, educational software, and library books) and the right of the District’s staff to recommend instructional resources consistent with the Board’s educational philosophy and goals. All complaints will be handled according to Board Policy 2525.

Technology Resources

G Suite for Education

Columbus City Schools provides each student and staff member with a Google Apps for Education account in order to provide students with access to digital resources that will prepare them to use the digital tools of the future. Once logged in you will be granted access to tools such as Google Classroom, Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Calendar along with many other resources that can be used to enhance the use of technology inside and outside of the classroom.

Log-in with your CCS email address (including @columbus.k12.oh.us) and password
Click here for information about CCS Google
Click here to access eLearning On Demand. Sign-in to Google with your CCS email address and password to access the website. If you receive a 404 error message, you may signed-in with a personal account.
Click here for the G Suite Learning Center
Training available for teachers and/or students.
Contact Lynda Ray to schedule a training session.

INFOHIO

Taken from the INFOhio website: INFOhio, the state’s PreK-12 virtual library, works with Ohio public libraries, university libraries, and the State Library of Ohio to provide a collection of digital resources to everyone in the state, 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The information you retrieve will be safe, useful and accurate. The premium research databases contain ebooks, encyclopedias, magazine and newspaper articles, practice tests, poems, plays, science experiments, biographies, websites, images, primary sources, and streaming videos. Only quality information from recognized sources is available. When students search the INFOhio collection the results will be reliable and current.

User Name and Password: InfOhio can automatically recognize that you should have access, you probably don't need to log in with a username and password. If the system can't automatically recognize that you should have access, you can log in with your INFOhio username and password. Contact your school library media specialist for this information

Contact: School Library Media Specialist

Storia: Ohio's 4th & 5th Grade eBook Collection

Scholastic's Storia is a collection of eBooks that helps teachers track students' reading and comprehension progress. With funding from the Ohio Department of Education, INFOhio worked with Scholastic to license a subset of Storia School Edition. The 300+ books included in the collection are hand selected to support Ohio's Learning Standards.

To get started with Storia and your FREE eBooks, go to www.infohio.org/goto/storia

In addition, Scholastic has provided a recording of their webinar on how to use INFOhio's Fourth Grade collection of eBooks. You may access it at https://www.infohio.org/document-library/item/storia-tutorial. This webinar will provide helpful information for users to help set up an account, and to use the resources with students.

Storia

SMART Learning Suite 19.0

SMART Notebook 19.0

CCS has upgraded to the newest version of Smart Notebook 19.1. If your desktop still has the older version you need to submit a Help Desk (8425) ticket to get the newest version. District thin clients should have the newest version installed. Contact Lynda Ray if you need the product key for your personal device.

SMART Boards and SMART Notebook software are available in various classrooms throughout the district. A SMART Board allows for teachers and students to control computer applications and websites with the touch of a finger or pen. The SMART Notebook software allows teachers to create interactive lessons that students can manipulate by touch or pen.

Check out the SMART Exchange to view and download hundreds of SMART Notebook lessons created by teachers.

Check out Using Smart Notebook 19 for tutorials and guides.

Training to use software contact: Lynda Ray

SMART Board and Notebook Technical Problems contact: Help Desk

SMART Learning Suite & Google Drive

Big news: SMART Learning Suite Online (SLS Online) now integrates with G Suite! Teachers and schools can now access SLS Online from within G Suite to create, deliver, organize and share lessons, leveraging the existing Google tools and workflows already used in the classroom.

This new integration means there’s no need to for teachers to waste time by switching to a new platform during a lesson. Even better, teachers can easily share their SLS Online lessons directly from Google Drive or Google Classroom.

Open,create and store SLS Online lessons directly from G Suite

To create a lesson in Google Drive, select New > More > SMART Learning Suite. When SLS Online opens, select import from Google Drive to import a file, such as a PDF, to start creating a lesson. The lesson will automatically open in Creation Mode. You can then add activities and assessments, and further tailor your lesson to meet your needs.

Your SLS Online lessons are automatically stored in Google Drive alongside your other files, meaning you don’t have to go hunting for lessons or content in different platforms and places. Create specific folders for subjects, such as Math or Geography, and store your SLS Online lessons in there along with other relevant files in your Google Drive.

Deliver lessons to students and share with colleagues

To deliver the lesson, simply right click on it from inside Google Drive, choose Open With and then choose SMART Learning Suite. If you’d like to send your lesson to to students for homework, simply create a link as you would for any other Google Doc and share it. You can also assign it to students directly from Google Classroom, meaning you don’t have to change anything about your existing workflow.

Check out this resources to help get started:

Smart Software & Updates Resources Webinar
Smart Learning Suite Online Cheat Sheet
Teacher Guides: https://www.smarttech.com/training/getting-started
Online Training Courses: https://training.smarttech.com/
New SMART Exchange without Flash: https://exchange.smarttech.com/

Typing Skills

Nitro Type is an online typing tutorial that improves your typing skills while competing in fast-paced races with up to 5 typers from around the world. Compete against your friends, earn new cars, track your scores, and so much more... all for free!
Typing Web is an online typing tutorial that provides instant feedback after every free typing lesson. Typing Web offers beginner through advanced typing lessons for free. You can register to track your progress or you can use Typing Web without registering.
Word Games offers a large collection of online word games and typing games. The word games range from simple word searches and crosswords to games that require players to complete sentences and phrases. The typing games are a mix of simple sentence typing for speed and games that require accuracy to "defend" a character or move a character through a scene. Some of the games featured on Word Games can be either downloaded to your computer, see Typing Defense , others can be embedded into your blog or website.
Listen and Write is a great way for students to improve their typing skills and hear about the news. Listen and Write plays short audio clips of news stories and users type what they hear. The audio clips are relatively short, come in a few different levels, and registered users can track their progress.
Power Typing hosts a small collection of five typing games that students can use to develop their typing skills. Power Typingalso offers typing lessons for Qwerty and Dvorak keyboards. The two games that I found easiest to access are Alphabetic Rain and See Don'.t
Good Typing is a free online typing skill development program. Good Typing provides 27 graduated lessons designed to help students learn to use their entire keyboards correctly. Unlike some free online typing programs, Good Typing offers support twenty different keyboard styles including US style, Japanese style, and several European languages.
Typing Adventure is a nice little game that young students can use to practice their typing skills. To play the game students just have to visit the game site, read the directions, and press start. The game scenario presented to students is a character leaping from stepping stone to stepping stone. To move along the path students have to type the letters of the stones they want to jump to. Students earn points based on speed and accuracy.

Bonus Just for Fun Item!

I Do Dog Tricks is a fun little typing activity from Heart Gard (that's what my dog takes). Simply type a command and the dog in the picture will do the trick that you type. Try "bark" and "roll over" to get started.

Videoconferencing

Columbus City Schools provides students, staff, and administrators with access to educational opportunities, information resources and programming from anywhere in the world through interactive video conferencing. We can provide support to staff utilizing web-based products such as Adobe Connect, Zoom and Skype.

Paid videoconferencing will be approved through Andrea Pannell, Library Media Services. There is a small budget for videoconferencing.
A list of videoconference providers can be found here:https://www.cilc.org/. Click "Join Now" to create your free account and search for videoconferences. Click under "Interactive Content">"Search Content Provider Programs" to search.
Complete the CCS Videoconference Request Form 22-23 You must be signed into your CCS Google Account to complete the form. Do not have the videoconference without completing the form. The content provider must be confirmed as a CCS approved vendor and monies must still be available. Failure to do so can result in nonpayment to the content provider.
Your building Librarian or Library Assistant in the building point of contact for your videoconference. They will help test your equipment and connection ahead of time.
Most users will be to connect to content providers using Zoom https://zoom.us/. Library Services does not have any equipment to loan out for videoconferencing. Therefore, using Zoom will be your best choice.
After your videoconference, please contact Andrea Pannell to confirm you viewed the videoconference. She will approve payment of the vendor.

Contact: Andrea Pannell

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