Valley HS Library Info

Hours and Policies
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 8:00 to 3:00
Wednesday 9:00 to 3:00
Closed first 15 minutes of each lunch period if no classes are scheduled
Closed at lunch if a class is visiting, and when school is dismissed early

Students must have their current year Valley High School ID card in order to check out a library book or computer station.  If you have fines for lost or damaged books, you must pay the fine in full before checking out a library book. Most books are checked out for three weeks and can be renewed once.  Students may have up to three books checked out at any time.  Please be careful with books as damage charges will be assessed if the book is damaged while it is checked out to you.

When your teacher brings their class to the library, the teacher librarian may provide whole class or individualized instruction on acessing databases, searching the internet efficiently, evaluating websites, crediting sources, software programmes, etc.  Other visits may be dedicated to finding books to read for pleasure or using them for research.  Keep in mind that the library is intended as a quiet location for studying or reading.  Please speak quietly and respect other students’ right to work without interruption, follow the directions of library and school staff, and leave your food, gum and drinks outside.  All school rules, including those that apply to passes, electronic devices and the dress code, will be enforced.

How to Find Books on the Shelves
The Valley library divides its books into seven sections
Fiction– novels and made-up stories- arranged by the last name of the author eg. FIC TOL
Paperback– also novels and made-up stories- arranged by the last name of the author eg. PB WIC
Story Collection– collections of short stories- arranged by the last name of the editor or author, or the title eg. SC CRA
Biography/Autobiography– stories about peoples’ lives- arranged by the name last of the person the book is about eg. B WAS or B WASHINGTON
Non-fiction– true or fact-based, plus poems and literature (like Shakespeare)- arranged by Dewey Decimal Classification 000-900 according to the subject of the book (sports, art, medicine, birds) eg. 598.2 OLE
Reference– a special group of non-fiction books that stay in the library for you to look up information- arranged by the Dewey classification for the subject of the book
Oversize– really big books that don’t fit in their normal location

The label on the spine of the book is called the Call Number.  The top line tells you which section of the library it’s in and the bottom line tells you where it is within that section.  Our fiction books are arranged alphabetically on the perimeter walls.  Paperbacks are on the left side of the furthest left angled shelf.  Story collections are on the furthest right angled shelf.  Biographies are under the windows.  Non-fiction are on the angled shelves, which are labelled by Dewey number. Reference and oversize are on the two shelves across from the circulation desk. Please refer to the signs on the end of the shelves to locate books.

Using the On-line Catalogue
The two computers just inside the security gates are to look up books in the library collection.  You may search by keyword or subject (close enough to the same thing) if you are researching volcanoes or Judaism or the Civil War.  If you are looking for a particular book you may search by title.  You may also search by the last name of the author if you want to look up all the books we have by that author. And finally, you can search by series or special categories that I have created for a particular teacher or assignment or language.

The closest result to what you typed in will appear in bold on the top of the right column.  You can browse forward or back.   Click on the subject that is closest to your interest and then click on the title to see its call number and to see if it is available or already checked out to another patron.