Mission Statement: The mission of the West Gate Elementary School library is to engage, empower and challenge students to become critical thinkers and active participants in their learning. The library serves to ensure that all patrons have access to quality materials and resources, and that they learn how to independently access, evaluate and apply information from a variety of sources. The goal of the West Gate Library is to foster personal and academic growth among all students so that they may become respectful and responsible digital citizens and to promote a lifelong love of learning.
Procedures
Procedures: New this year, all students will have the opportunity to checkout library books during their library class time. If it is your library day, please have books returned to the library first thing in the morning. This will give us ample time to process all books prior to class and allow us to know who can and cannot checkout books that day. Please remember to bring students' library sticks to every library class. These new procedures will help ensure that checkout will be as fast and efficient as possible. Hold Policy: All students may put a book on hold if it is already checked out to another student. This means that when the book they want is returned to the library, they will be the next student to check that book out. The book will be placed on a "Hold" shelf and their teacher will be notified with a "hold slip" in their mailbox which will have the student's name as well as the date the book has become available for them to checkout. Books will only be held for 7 school days. If the student already has the maximum allowable books checked out for their grade level, the student must return at least 1 book prior to being able to checkout their held book. After 7 days, the book will either be re-shelved or given to the next person on the hold list.
Checkout Policies
Students will be able to checkout books during their regular library class time for all grade levels. Typically, books will be due back on their next scheduled library class. If students finish books prior to their next library class, they may come in at any point throughout the day to return and get new library books if it has been cleared by their classroom teacher. When sending students down during the day, please be mindful that library classes are going on at the same time. Please send no more than 2 students at a time. If students are not being respectful while browsing (for example they are being too loud or horsing around), they will be asked to return to class even if they have not located and checked out a new library book.
Below are how many books students may checkout at one time by grade level:
Grade
Number of Books
Kindergarten
1
1st Grade
2
2nd Grade
2*
Students will be able to checkout 3 books after Winter Break.
