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Library Mission Statement
The mission of the Roanoke Catholic School Library is to help students and faculty gain access to the wide world of ideas and information available in the 21st century. In addition, the librarian is dedicated to the proposition that the key to success in life is the development of a lifelong love of reading and learning. All Roanoke Catholic students are welcome and encouraged to take advantage of the resources provided by their library.
RCS Library Resources
The RCS Portal is a bookmarking site with annotated links to useful websites on the Internet categorized by subject. Please take a tour of the resources you find there. They should not only be of help with school work but also be of interest to anyone with a curious mind. Also, please help make this page a great destination for everyone in the RCS family by recommending additional links and informing the librarian of any links that have been broken.
You can visit the librarian’s Teacher Webpage to find contact information and other resources pertaining to library classes.
New(s) & Noteworthy
To All Students & Parents: Until further notice, the RCS Library will be closing daily at 3:00 so Mr. Axt can help out with the Middle School Baseball Team. The library opens at 7:30 in the morning and is open throughout the day. If you have library business that cannot be conducted during those hours, please contact Mr. Axt. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Teachers and students may want to take a look at a recently-posted article from The Chronicle of Higher Education titled “The ‘Undue Weight’ of Truth on Wikipedia.” If you’ve ever wondered or needed to explain why Wikipedia (or any other encyclopedia) should not be used as a source in research, the article provides a good example. (Encyclopedias are neither primary nor secondary, but tertiary, sources.)
Teachers and administrators may likewise be interested in taking a look at ”The 2012 Brown Center Report on American Education: How Well Are American Students Learning?”
Library Policies
Technology and Internet Acceptable Use Policy
Technology and Internet Acceptable Use Contract
Instructional Materials Selection Policy
Local Library Links
Benjamin Franklin would no doubt agree that the tax dollars you contribute to support the services of the Roanoke Valley Libraries are dollars well spent. You can access the Roanoke Valley Libraries OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog) to locate and reserve print and electronic resources or browse the best-seller and awards lists. Many additional resources – like FindItVA, TumbleBooks, and SparkNotes – can be accessed through the homepages of your local public library (see below). You can even apply for a library card online! Of particular interest to students doing research would be eBooks on Ebsco. These are electronic nonfiction books and classics that can be accessed online from home.
The following are all part of the Roanoke Valley Libraries cooperative. If you have a library card from any one of these systems, you can visit each of their respective websites and take advantage of any resources you find there.
Botetourt County Public Library
Other Library Links of Interest
The Library of Virginia, located in Richmond, serves all Virginians, from the governor and other state employees to educators and the general public. Its collections focus on Virginia history, culture, and government. Be sure to click on the About Us link at the top of the home page to learn more and watch “The Library of Virginia: Virginia’s Collective Experience,” a 15-minute video narrated by David Baldacci.
The Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution and serves as the research arm of Congress. It is also the largest library in the world, with millions of books, recordings, photographs, maps and manuscripts in its collections…. It also has an awesome website.
Summer Reading Lists
Rising Preschoolers
Rising Kindergartners
Rising First Graders
Rising Second Graders
Rising Third Graders
Rising Fourth Graders
Rising Fifth Graders
Rising Sixth Graders
Rising Seventh Graders
English 8
English 9 – Introduction to Literature
English 10 – American Literature
English 11 – British Literature
English 12 – World Literature
AP English Language and Composition
AP Literature and Composition
Accelerated Reader
Check out the RCS AR Quiz List to see which books in our collection are supported by AR quizzes.
The AR Book Finder website lists all the books for which Renaissance Learning has created quizzes. The listings offer a wealth of information, including summaries and ratings. Click on the Collections tab to find American Library Association awards lists and state reading lists, including Virginia Readers’ Choice.
Supporting the RCS Library
Supporting the RCS Library is a great way to ensure that our students have all the intellectual resources they need to succeed in life. Fortunately, the Internet makes it a little easier for members of the RCS community to contribute.
Those who cannot attend the book fair in person can still support the library while stocking up on good books to read during long winter nights and long summer days by shopping the RCS Book Fair Online.
You can also support the library by enrolling your student in the Birthday Club. If you did not receive one, you can print out and send in a copy of the Birthday Club Enrollment Form. Then when you are ready you can go to the SOS Library Webpage to purchase a book in your student’s name.
Other Links of Interest to Teachers
RCS subscribes to Discovery Education Streaming for in-class educational video feeds.
Teachers who like working with Web 2.0 tools may be interested in a graphic organizer created by Samantha Penney and hosted by the University of Southern Indiana. It is a collection of icons arranged in a Web 2.0 pyramid, with steps set up according to Bloom’s Taxonomy. Click on the image to go to the working website.
