Library Club Manual

We recently came across a bunch of Mepham High School Library Club Manual's from the 1960s. The purpose of these handbooks was to describe some of the important duties of Library Club members. It was intended to be used for training the apprentices recruited each spring and to be kept for reference and review. The junior and senior students were to certify the sophomores under their tutelage as each branch of training was completed. The first manual was published in April 1962. It was intended to revised each year and suggestions were solicited. The hope was that both masters and apprentices will learn from this process. While most of the Library Club activities are outdated, the premise still rings true today:

"The smooth operation of the Library is very important to the high school, and the Library Club is very important to the smooth operation of the Library." - Wilma H. Cope and Mildred E. Klips, Librarians, W. C. Mepham High School  

Library Club Manuals from the 1960s

The Great American Read

"The Great American Read is an eight-part series that explores and celebrates the power of reading, told through the prism of America’s 100 best-loved novels (as chosen in a national survey). It investigates how and why writers create their fictional worlds, how we as readers are affected by these stories, and what these 100 different books have to say about our diverse nation and our shared human experience.

Voting will open online and on social media with the launch of the two-hour premiere episode and continue throughout the summer, leading up to the finale in October 2018. Over the summer, viewers can vote online and through hashtag voting via Facebook and Twitter. In the fall, viewers will also be able to cast their votes by using SMS and toll-free voting."

Watch the trailer above for more information.

Quiz: How Many Books Have You Read From the List of 100?

NoodleTools

Watch this short video below to see how you (Mepham students) can quickly access NoodleTools to create online citations. This is just in time to finish up all those research papers!

Revamped Website

The Mepham High School Library's Website recently received a much-needed face lift. Using our Weebly Pro subscription, we updated the content of our pages to reflect the changes to our program. You can still find all the information you need to locate books and access our numerous databases. We hope you like this new look.

New library website

Uncovering the Past

Our dear friend, Ms. Dennis has taught the Gilder Lehrman class, Uncovering the Past, here at Mepham for over 8 years. Her class can often been seen in the school library researching many different aspects of our strong and rich history. There is a plaque (see below) in the Mepham Library on the classroom side, and I have always wondered about it. Who was Donald F. Thompson? How did he serve Mepham High School? I enlisted Ms. Dennis's class to help solve the mystery. 

This plaque hangs on the classroom side of the Mepham Library 

Her class headed straight for the yearbooks. They picked up the 1964 Treasure Chest. Sure enough this yearbook was dedicated to Mr. Thompson. 

Mr. Donald F. Thompson

 In Memoriam

"Donald F. Thompson's untimely death has meant the loss of one of its ablest and most beloved teachers. Of his thirty-three years in teaching, twenty-four were spent here. His career was interrupted for a time during which he served in the North African campaign in World War II. Although we think of him primarily as a classical scholar, he taught English as well as Latin, bringing to both subjects the enthusiasm, learning, and inspiration which brought him the respect of faculty and students alike. We mourn his passing, but we take comfort knowing that his influence, like his memory, will remain ever with us."

"No place is perfect," he would say.
Ours is less so; he's gone away.
The ready smile, the earthy wit,
The cheery voice, th' endearing bit
Of boyishness within the man -
Can we forget them? No one can.
And if we learn from him to be
Patient, gentle, kind, and free
From all envy, malice, guile
As we mourn for him the while,
We'll thus improve our earthly lot.
And he? In pace requiescat.

Spring Cleaning

Ahh, spring is FINALLY here. We are trying to do some spring cleaning around the library, including weeding books and technology. Not many people outside of the library world know what the term "weeding" means, as we apply it to books. Weeding is the systematic removal of resources from a library based on selected criteria.

"...weeding is the most undesirable job in the library. It is also one of the most important. Collections that go unweeded tend to be cluttered, unattractive, and unreliable informational resources." - Will Manley, "The Manley Arts," Booklist, March 1, 1996, p. 1108.

This quote still rings true over 20 years later. A well-maintained collection is far more useful than one filled with out-of-date or unused materials. We weed books that are of poor content (racist, sexist, outdated, obsolete, irrelevant to patron needs, etc.) poor condition, poor circulation, multiple copies that are no longer necessary and other selection criteria.

When we weed:

• We make room for relevant material to be added
• Our students are able to access useful material quickly
• The collection is more reputable because it is current
• Gaps can be seen and filled more easily
• The materials on the shelf are of good quality and physical condition (Students actually want to pick them up!) 

We are also cleaning up our technology. We have condensed the larger, bulkier Chromebook carts to one sleeker version. We welcome suggestions regarding our space and making it more user-friendly. Stop by today to chat to a librarian about any wants/needs.   

Our NEW Chromebook cart is more compact and saves space

3D Printing

The Afinia H400 in the school library's MakerSpace

We are busy today 3D printing chess pieces. We are repurposing an old checkerboard with some chess pieces designed by our students. #wearemakers

Once a Pirate, Always a Pirate

On May 2, 2018, Lance Blackshaw representing Mepham's Class of 1954, stopped by our school library to present Ms. Stack, librarian, with another generous donation from the alumni. This is the Class of 1954's third donation in the amount of $1954 (not including their initial donation of $5,400). The funds go to support projects like our iPad reference bar, 3D printer, ELITE events, 3Doodler, Silhouette Cameo and so many others. The donations we receive enhance our library programs and make every student feel welcome. Thank you so much for your continued support.   

Mr. Blackshaw presents a check for $1954 to Ms. Stack