Library OPAC (Online Catalog)

Ridgecrest and several other Shoreline schools now have a new OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog) for our library collections. You can access them from any computer with Internet capability and a browser.

The benefits of this online catalog are immense, including:

• students can see covers of many books, increasing interest and their ability to find the book themselves
  
• student use of the OPAC has increased noticeably because it looks familiar to them, more like Google or Yahoo!
• students can reserve titles that are currently checked out
  
• access to the OPAC from home to see what is available in our library at any given time
• links are available on the OPAC home page to AR databases to see if we have tests for books from home or the public library
• the ability to read a short description of a book if it is included in the OPAC
  
• seeing if the library has a book on the research topic your child is doing and comparing that with what is available at the public library (King County Library System online catalog)

The OPAC does not allow you to see what your child has checked out or to pay fines online, like the public library, but we are pleased to offer you this increased access to the Ridgecrest Library collection.

If you as a Ridgecrest parent or guardian would like a Ridgecrest Library card, please contact Ms. Freeman in the library (email: joanna.freeman@shorelineschools.org) or stop by and we would be happy to make you a card and send it home with your child within a few days.

Link to Ridgecrest OPAC

Library-home connections

I enjoy talking to parents who come into the library to talk about their child's needs or interests, in hopes that I can help them select appropriate books that will capture their interests. But this year I have been hoping to make more library-home connections than in my previous six years at Ridgecrest. To accomplish this I am publishing a monthly library newsletter (in conjunction with Mr. Woods, who is publishing a PE newsletter), writing these blog entries, increasing my email messages sent home to families, and I am planning a series of Parent Education Nights in the library.

I would love to talk with you about your child or anything else related to the library. Please feel free to email me at joanna.freeman@shorelineschools.org if you have questions, concerns, or suggestions. I hope to get to know your families as well as I feel I know your children. I can help you navigate the information age we live in, as well as help find wonderful books your family can enjoy together.