Library

Library

The library at Evans High School is a double storey building located in the centre of the school. It is a welcoming, safe and positive learning information centre and a vital provider of resources and services that promotes reading for pleasure and supports the informational, recreational and curriculum needs of students and staff at Evans High School and Evans Intensive English Centre.

The library aims to:

guide and support students in locating relevant, suitable and up to date information in a variety of media.
promote and develop students’ reading for pleasure by providing a wide range of books and differentiated resources.
develop students’ competence in the use of the information skills and process to define access, locate, select, organise, present and assess needed information for research tasks and assignments.

Library hours

The library is open every day between 8:45 am to 2:45 pm except for Friday recess time (10:45 am – 11:05 am).

Borrowing

Students can borrow books for up to two weeks, and renewed for a further two weeks.

Students are encouraged to borrow books over the school holidays periods.

Years 7/8 – 2 books for 2 weeks

Years 9/10 – 3 books for 2 weeks

Years 11/12 – 5 books for 2 weeks

Staff – unlimited

Recess and lunchtime activities

During recess and lunch, the library is an inviting place where students read quietly, finish school work, research, play various and engaging activities such as chess, boards and cards games and jigsaw puzzles. They can also use their devices and do fun relaxing activities such as Soduko, word search and relaxation colouring in.

Resources

The library has an up to date and extensive collection including:

Fiction and non-fiction books.
Teachers resources.
Short stories.
Biographies.
Graphic novels.
Quick reads.
Picture books.
Bilingual books.
HSC support materials.
Magazines.
Items of equipment such as laptops, Chromebooks, iPads, data projectors, and video cameras are available for loan for classes.

Online Oliver Catalogue

Oliver is the new library management system for all NSW DoE schools. Students can access the Oliver Catalogue using the Oliver Library OPAC in the library or using their student DoE portal.

To access it, students need to:

1. Login to their device and to the DEC student portal.

2. Select the icon “My School Library / Oliver”.

3. The personnel Oliver Homepage will appear

Facilities

The library provides areas for independent learning, small group discussions, three computer labs for class learning, a Senior Study Room and a Non-Fiction class area.

Services

Photocopying: B & W 10c/ page, Colour 50c/ page
Printing: B & W 10c/ page, Colour 50c/ page

Homework centre

Every Monday and Wednesday the library is open after school for students to work on homework and assignments with some assistance from teachers. The Homework Centre runs from 2:45 pm – 4:45 pm.

New books

We are continually getting fantastic new reading resources on our shelves, including fiction, non-fiction, bilingual picture books and graphic novels. We update the New Books Collection, located outside P Lab, every few weeks. Please visit your library and check out some of our newest titles as we are sure you will be able to find an amazing read.

eBooks / eAudiobooks/ eMagazines/ databases / digital library

Students can join the Max Webber Library in Blacktown (Cnr. Flushcombe Road and Alpha Street, Blacktown) for free. Here, students will have access to various, valuable and up to date electronic resources. Also, students can use the Blacktown City Libraries card to register and access a range of NSW State Library eResources.

For further information please follow this link. https://www.blacktown.nsw.gov.au/Services/Libraries

Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC)

The school participates in the Premier’s Reading Challenge through the school library. The challenge aims to encourage a love of reading for leisure in students, and to enable them to experience quality literature. It is not a competition but a challenge to each student to read, to read more and to read more widely.

Students in years 7-9 are encouraged to participate in the challenge. They need to enter their own books online through the PRC website by using their DoE Student Portal username and password. They also must enter at least 15 PRC books and up to 5 personal choice books which they have read. Books that are on the PRC booklists have been labelled with stickers to help students identify them.

Wide Reading Program 7-10

This year we are running the Wide Reading Program 7-10 in conjunction with the English faculty. This program aims at engaging students in reading while developing a positive school-wide reading culture. The program helps increase the length of time students read on a daily basis and explore a wide variety of genres.

Most Frequent Library Borrowers Program

We are continuing with our Most Frequent Library Borrowers Program this year to encourage reading for pleasure. At the end of every term, the librarian identifies students who have been the most frequent borrowers of books. These students are recognised and awarded at assembly with a Most Frequent Borrower certificate and gifted a present based on their previous term’s borrowing.

“Get Caught Reading” Raffle Draw

The “Get Caught Reading” raffle is a great initiative to encourage students to use the library to read for pleasure during recess and lunch. When students are “caught reading”, their picture is taken and added to a display in the library. Students are also entered into a raffle which is drawn at the end of each term.

Authors’ visits

Each year, Evans High School hosts a number of authors during Book Week. Author visits are considered an invaluable enrichment experience for students and help encourage them to read for pleasure and engage in creative writing.