Library Learning Commons - Stamford High School, an International Baccalaureate School

General Information

Mission

The mission of the Stamford High School Library Learning Commons is to provide the SHS community with a vibrant environment for lifelong learning and collaborative teaching. Aligned with state and national standards, the library learning commons program facilitates the acquisition of information literacy skills to ensure that all students become skillful and ethical researchers, evaluators, and communicators of ideas and information. The library media specialist guides students in all phases of their research and recreational reading needs.

Services

The Library Learning Commons provides all students and staff with a wide range of information resources in a variety of formats from both within and outside the school. These include the Internet, subscription databases, books, ebooks, newspapers, magazines, DVDs, and playaways (audio books).

Library Organization:

Nonfiction, fiction, short stories
Newspapers, magazines, DVDs
Computer lab
Multi-media production area
Main circulation desk
Comfortable seating area and cable television
Professional Resources

Students May Come to the Library:

With a class
Out of a class with a pass from the teacher

Procedures for Checking Out Materials:

3 weeks for fiction and nonfiction books
Overnight for reference books
Can renew as many times as you like
No limit to number of checkouts
Overdues sent at the end of the month through your English teacher, no fines
Lost book, we ask for small contribution to replace, ask the librarian

Other Services:

Printing
Scanning

Rules

Computer Use Guidelines

You must agree to the terms set forth in the District Acceptable Use Policy.
Library computers are for educational use.
Academic use always has priority over recreational use.
Do not install or remove any software on our computers.
All software installed on our computers is copyrighted - do not copy, distribute, or alter it.
Print only what you really need; do not waste our limited ink and paper resources.
Respect other people's files. Do not change, copy, read, or access files that are not yours.
Do not bypass any security measures installed on the school computers.

Policies

Find a Book

@SHS using Destiny

@Linked Libraries using the Ferguson's Catalog

Click on the icon to go to the Ferguson Library home page.

LINKED LIBRARIES
is a collaborative project between the Ferguson Library and the Stamford Public Schools to make the library’s resources available to students at their schools.

LINKED LIBRARIES
allows students in all of Stamford’s Public Schools to reserve and check out library books online and have them delivered directly to their school. The goals of the program are to share the resources (print & digital) of the public library more widely with the schools, and to cultivate a lifelong love of reading for knowledge and pleasure in our students.

eBooks

Follett Shelf

You may access e-books to be read on your computer by logging in as a "Guest" and using "Password" for your password. If you would like to download and e-book to another device, see a library media specialist to set up an account.

e-Books in various formats

Google Books - 100's of 1000's of titles (Select "full view" or "free only" in search results.)
Internet Archive - Over 2.5 million titles
ManyBooks.net - 29,000 titles
Online Books Page - Over 1 million titles
Project Gutenberg - Over 33,000 titles

For the Kindle - Amazon's Free Collection (over 16.000 of the most popular classics)*

For the Nook - Barnes & Noble's Free Collection*

Free e-Textbooks - CK12 FlexBooks (Math and science subjects for middle and high school classes)

* Note: These sites require setting up an account with a credit card.

researchIT CT's Downloadable eAudio & eBook Service

E-Reference Books - Search the contents of science, health, and history reference books.

Books & Authors - Adapted from What Do I Read Next? for better searching and with new Web 2.0 features. For everyone from students to professionals to casual readers.

Free E-Books - Millions of free, downloadable e-books in a variety of formats, including some playable on the iPad, Kindle or Nook.

Downloadable Audio Books - Over 2100 nonfiction and fiction audio books that you can download to your computer and transfer for limited times to your iPod or MP3 player. Holds and checkout require a valid CT public library card number.

Find a Recent Article

Gale Databases

Local Newspapers

Newsbank

InfoBase / Facts on File

News Sources Online

Full List of Databases

ABC - CLIO - Five social studies databases and one pro con database. Also a link to over 100 e-books on various topics.
CQ Researcher - In-depth, unbiased articles on issues in the news.
Facts on File / Infobase - African American History Online, Issues & Controversies Online, Today's Science, World News Digest and Classroom Video On Demand.
Gale Databases - Multitude of databases on all subjects.
JSTOR - You can access this database through the Ferguson Public Library using your library card to login. JSTOR offers high-quality, interdisciplinary content to support scholarship and teaching. It includes over one thousand leading academic journals across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, as well as select monographs and other materials valuable for academic work. Geared toward upper-classmen and college level studies.
JSTOR Open - a portion of JSTOR has open free access
NoodleTools - A program that will help you create a works cited page.
Newsbank - Several databases with timely information from magazines and newspapers, including a science database, historical newspaper database, an easy-to-use "Find a Topic" database, and Access World News.
Turnitin - An Internet-based plagiarism-detection service that can find and highlight matching or unoriginal text in a written assignment.
ResearchitCT - Multiple databases: Academic Search Premium (magazines & journals), Newspapers, Hartford Courant archive ( years1764-1922), Biography, History Reference Center, Science Reference Center, CT Digital Collections, Green File (science), Reference Latina, ebooks & eaudio books (downloadable), popular magazines, and more.
Resources A-Z from ResearchitCT - Databases, Newspapers, popular magazines, non-fiction books.
UCONN for ECE Classes - Must have your netid and password to open the documents.

Pros & Cons Databases

Subject Resources

Research

Research Policy

Research Guides

Evaluating Sources

Authority / Credibility – Author

What are the content provider’s credentials? Education? Experience? Expertise?

Accuracy – Freedom from mistake and error

Can facts, statistics or other information be verified through other sources?
Does it appear that there are errors on the page (e.g., spelling, grammar, facts)?

Date – The time at which information is published or produced

Does this project need current, up-to-date information? If so, when was this Webpage created? When was it last updated?

Relevance – The relationship to the focused topic or question

Does the information directly support the thesis or help to answer the question?
Can it be eliminated or ignored because it simply does not help?

Scope & Purpose – The range of information on a given topic and the reason behind its creation

Does this source address the thesis in a comprehensive or peripheral way?
Is the material on my level – too easy, too hard?

Source – A primary reference work or point of origin

Did the author document his or her sources?
What kind of links or further reading did the author choose to post?

Reliability – The extent to which a source gives the same information as other sources

Does the source present a particular view or bias?
Is the information affiliated with an organization that has a particular political or social agenda?

Works Cited / Plagiarism

Plagiarism is using others' ideas and words without clearly acknowledging the source of that information. We are currently using MLA version 9.

SHS Subscriptions:

Noodletools: Generates a Works Cited Page
TurnItIn: Checks essays for plagiarism

Helpful Websites:

How to Recognize Plagiarism (Indiana University)
Online Writing Lab (Purdue University)
PowerPoint Presentation for MLA Formatting (Purdue University)
Purdue Owl MLA In-Text Citation Guide: scroll down to the bottom of the page
Creating a Work Cited Page (Duke University Libraries)
Plagiarism Advice

Research Process

Task Definition

Develop a thesis statement, formulate an essential question

Information Seeking Strategies

What are the best resources for this project, e.g., books, databases, websites?
Develop keywords, KWL charts, etc., during preliminary research

Location and Access

List resources to be examined
Access resources
Evaluate for validity and usefulness

Use of Information

Take notes
Outline
Cite sources

Synthesis

Putting your information together in an order that will end with proving your thesis or answering your essential question

Presentation

Choosing an appropriate format to present your information

Evaluation

What did I learn?
What could I have done better?
What will I do next time to improve my end product?

How It Works

Read about a broad topic with "peripheral vision," looking for subtopics and important terms. You may choose to check reference sources and video for context as you get familiar with a subject.
Identify focused questions you are interested in investigating. (See Asking Good Questions.)
Gather a working source list.
Take notes on note cards or use NoodleTools.
Look for patterns of information in your sources, your notes, your note cards.
Develop clear and focused preliminary thesis. (See Developing a Thesis.)
Gather information and evaluate the sources of information. (See Selecting and Evaluating Sources.) (See Distinguishing Among Scholarly, Popular, and Trade Publications.) Have you gathered a variety of quality materials? Have you gathered both primary and secondary sources? (Note: For Language Arts projects, your primary source may be the literary work you are analyzing.)
Identify strong supporting points and rank them, making certain that the research and logical reasoning support them. Make sure that the evidence you collected is strong and that is directly supports your thesis.
Develop an outline or storyboard or construct a visual organizing tool to organize your ideas and evidence. You may choose to use Inspiration or any of many Web-based (See Mind Mapping, Graphing, Timeling Tools tools.)
Prepare a rough draft WITHOUT USING NOTES, making sure that your own voice as a writer is clear.
Add research documentation to the draft. (See In-Text Documentation.) (If annotations are required, use this model as a guide.)
Revise the draft.
Have a classmate or friend peer review your work.
Revise the draft.
Edit the draft.
Prepare, proofread, and submit the final copy.
If your teacher requires it, upload a copy of your work to Turnitin.com.

Remember, you may ask for help anywhere along the way!

"How It Works" is taken directly from Joyce Valenza and the the Springfield Township High School Virtual Library website.

SAT

SAT Test Preparation - Daily diagnostic quizzes. Our list of 5000 SAT test vocabulary words is broken down into "easy-to-learn" daily lists and quizzes.
Official SAT Practice Test from the College Board Website - Sign in or register to access your free practice test (registration is free).
Online Test Page - Free online tests for ACT and SAT.
Practice Questions - The SAT Preparation Center provides you with exercises where you can learn about question types and their answers, as well as approaches for test day.
SAT / ACT Math Reasoning
SAT Practice Exam - Online practice from 4tests.com.
SAT Sentence Completion Quizzes - Sentence completion questions account for about one quarter of the marks for the verbal section of SAT I. Each question contains one or two blanks, and you have to find the best answer choice to make the sentence make complete sense. Click the quiz you wish to complete on the right side.
SAT Question of the Day from the College Board Online - You get an answer, an explanation of the answer and a rating of the difficulty of the question. Rx - visit this site every day!
SAT Vocabulary Enrichment - Each Quiz picks 10 questions from a fifty word list and you can hear the word spoken, allowing you to not only learn its definition, but how its pronounced.
SAT Vocabulary Practice - Online quizzes.
Test Prep Review is a free service of a group of educators. This web site was created to provide free practice test questions for students in a variety of career situations. The site contains a modular approach to learning the content on these exams.
Vocabulary Builder Flashcards - FREE downloadable and printable flashcards online from InsideStory.
Vocabulary Practice for Sentence Completion, Analogies, and More
100 Most Common SAT Words - Online vocabulary quiz.
Vocabulary Tests - Online practice from Vocaboly.
Word of the Day - Vocabulary skill building from number2.com.
Peterson's College Search - Numerous websites on SAT testing.
Princeton Review - SAT Subject Test courses are available in multiple subject areas: Math Level 1, Math Level 2, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and U.S. History.
Language Form and Meaning Sample Questions - Test your ability to demonstrate proficiency in key language skills such as grammar and vocabulary in context.
Free Practice Tests

AP

LGBTQ+ Resources

General Resources

The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning youth. --from website

GLSEN works to ensure that LGBTQ students are able to learn and grow in a school environment free from bullying and harassment. Together we can transform our nation's schools into the safe and affirming environment all youth deserve. --from website

Parents and Friends of Lesbians And Gays (PFLAG) is the extended family of the LGBTQ community. We're made up of LGBTQ individuals, family members and allies. Because together, we're stronger. --from website

Lambda Legal, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and everyone living with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work. --from website

Movement Advancement Project (MAP) is an independent, nonprofit think tank that provides rigorous research, insight and communications that help speed equality and opportunity for all. --from website

College Resources for LGBTQ Students at TheBestColleges.org

Hotlines

The Trevor Project Lifeline - If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgment-free place to talk, call the TrevorLifeline now at 1-866-488-7386. --from website

Trans Lifeline is a trans-led organization that connects trans people to the community, support, and resources they need to survive and thrive. Our Hotline: (877) 565-8860 --from website

Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence is Connecticut’s leading voice for victims of domestic violence and those agencies that serve them. We are a membership organization of Connecticut’s 18 domestic violence service agencies that provide critical support to victims including safety planning, emergency shelter, court advocacy, counseling and support groups, among other services. Hotlines: English: (888) 774-2900, Español: (844) 831-9200 --from website

Local Resources for Parents and Families

The Gay Straight Alliance is a club with branches at all three high schools in Stamford, which hosts educational events throughout the middle and high schools (and also manages this website). For more information about LGBTQIA+ in the Stamford Public Schools, you can reach out to your child’s guidance department, or contact the GSA heads:

AITE

Christine Bisceglie, cbisceglie@stamfordct.gov

Westhill

Emily Handy, ehandy@stamfordct.gov

Stamford High

Emily Segal, esegal@stamfordct.gov

PFLAG, or Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, is a national group with local chapters for the families of LGBTQIA+ people.

Norwalk (http://www.pflagnorwalk.org/, monthly meetings in Norwalk) and Westchester County (http://pflagwestchester.org/, bi-weekly meetings in White Plains and Mahopac).

Triangle Community Center (Norwalk) empowers and advocates for LGBTQ people in Connecticut through programming focused on health, community and learning. --from website

The Center for Family Justice provides high-quality support and services to all victims and survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence, human trafficking and child abuse in the six Fairfield County towns we serve: Bridgeport, Easton, Fairfield, Monroe, Stratford and Trumbull. --from website

Additional Resources

The Family Acceptance Project Booklet

Human Rights Campaign (HRC) - The Human Rights Campaign represents a force of more than 3 million members and supporters nationwide. As the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer civil rights organization, HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are ensured of their basic equal rights, and can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community. --from website

Advocates for Youth - A free, K-12 sex education curriculum that fully meets the National Sex Education Standards, includes resources for educators at every grade level, covers all topics recommended by the CDC for sexual health education, and reflects the diversity of modern classrooms. --from website

Recursos en Español por los Padres: Somos Familia

Books Available from the SHS Library Learning Commons Catalog

The Beauty That Remains By Ashley Woodfolk
Call #: FIC WOO Published 2019

Autumn, Shay, and Logan, whose lives intersect in complicated ways, each lose someone close to them and must work through their grief.

Girl Made of Stars By Ashley Herring Blake
Call #: FIC BLA Published 2018

When Mara's twin brother Owen is accused of rape by her friend Hannah, Mara is forced to confront her feelings about her family, her sense of right and wrong, a trauma from her past, and the future with her ex-girlfriend, Charlie.

What Causes Sexual Orientation? Genetics, Biology, Psychology By Bill Palmer
Call #: 306.76 PAL
Published 2011

Examines factors that may influence sexual orientation, discussing genetic, biological, and psychological theories, and explores issues related to the civil rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals.

Honestly Ben By Bill Konigsberg
Call #: FIC KON
Published 2017

Ben Carver returns for the spring semester at the exclusive Natick School in Massachusetts determined to put his relationship with Rafe Goldberg behind him and concentrate on his grades and the award that will mean a full scholarship--but Rafe is still there, there is a girl named Hannah whom he meets in the library, and behind it all is his relationship with his distant, but demanding father.

How to Make a Wish By Ashley Herring Blake
Call #: FIC BLA
Published 2017

A small town pianist ponders a new life away from her embarrassing mother when a beautiful girl shows up and changes everything.

Jack of Hearts (And Other Parts) By L.C. Rosen
Call #: FIC ROS
Published 2018

An unapologetically sexually active queer character works to uncover a blackmailer threatening him back into the closet.

Jaya and Rasa By Sonia Patel
Call #: FIC PAT
Published 2017

In Hawaii, seventeen-year-old Jaya Mehta is a transgender outsider with depressive tendencies and the stunningly beautiful Rasa Santos thinks sex is her only power. Will their love transcend and pull them forward or will they remain stuck, separate, in the chaos of their pasts?

Love & Other Carnivorous Plants By Florence Gonsalves
Call #: FIC GON
Published 2018

Nineteen-year-old Danny returns home after a disastrous first semester of college as a pre-med student and struggles with first love, grief, identity, and self-destructive behavior.

The Music of What Happens By Bill Konigsberg
Call #: FIC KON
Published 2019

It is summer in Phoenix, and seventeen-year-old Maximo offers to help a Jordan, a fellow student in high school, with the food truck that belonged to Jordan's deceased father, and which may be the only thing standing between homelessness for Jordan and his mom; the boys are strongly attracted to each other, but as their romance develops it is threatened by the secrets they are hiding--and by the racism and homophobia of those around them.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower By Stephen Chbosky
Call #: FIC CHB
Published 1999

Charlie, a freshman in high school, explores the dilemmas of growing up through a collection of letters he sends to an unknown receiver.

Picture Us in the Light By Kelly Loy Gilbert
Call #: FIC GIL
Published 2018

Daniel, a Chinese-American teen, must grapple with his plans for the future, his feelings for his best friend Harry, and his discovery of a family secret that could shatter everything.

The Red Scrolls of Magic By Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu
Call #: FIC CLA
Series: Eldest Curses; Book One
Published 2019

High Warlock Magnus Bane learns that a demon-worshipping cult, the Crimson Hand, is wreaking havoc across Europe, threatening more than just his romantic getaway with new boyfriend, Alec Lightwood.

Super Late Bloomer: My Early Days in Transition, an Up and Out Collection By Julia Kaye
Call #: 306.76 KAY
Published 2018

A collection of comics in which Julia Kaye documents her gender transition.

Unbroken: 13 Stories Starring Disabled Teens Edited by Marieke Nijkamp
Call #: FIC UNB
Published 2018

An anthology of stories in various genres, featuring disabled characters and written by disabled creators, ranging from established best selling authors to debut authors.

Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit By Jaye Robin Brown
Call #: FIC BRO
Published 2016

Joanna Gordon has been out and proud for years, but when her popular radio evangelist father remarries and decides to move all three of them from Atlanta to the more conservative Rome, Georgia, he asks Jo to do the impossible: to lie low for the rest of her senior year.

Boy Meets Boy By David Levithan
Call #: FIC LEV
Published 2003

Paul's simple high-school life is confused by his desire for another boy who seems unattainable, until Paul's friends help him find the courage to pursue him.

The Art of Being Normal By Lisa Williamson
Call #: FIC WIL
Published 2016

David Piper, always an outsider, forms an unlikely friendship with Leo Denton who, from the first day at his new school wants only to be invisible, but when David's deepest secret gets out, that he wants to be a girl, things get very messy for both of them.

Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda By Becky Albertalli
Call #: FIC ALB
Published 2015

Sixteen-year-old, not-so-openly-gay Simon Spier is blackmailed into playing wingman for his classmate or else his sexual identity--and that of his pen pal--will be revealed.

Symptoms Of Being Human By Jeff Garvin
Call #: FIC GAR
Published 2017

A gender-fluid teenager who struggles with identity creates a blog on the topic that goes viral, and faces ridicule at the hands of fellow students.

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue By Mackenzi Lee
Call #: FIC LEE
Published 2017

A young bisexual British lord embarks on an unforgettable Grand Tour of Europe with his best friend/secret crush. An 18th-century romantic adventure for the modern age.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson By John Green & David Levithan
Call #: FIC GRE
Published 2010

When two teens, one gay and one straight, meet accidentally and discover that they share the same name, their lives become intertwined as one begins dating the other's best friend, who produces a play revealing his relationship with them both.