GMS

pdate Library Update

Quarter 2
2014-15

Book Fair!
The Book Fair took place from October 27 to 31
earlier than past years to avoid the scheduling crunch
from Thanksgiving to Christmas. It was a great success!
Our goal was to increase our sales by 5% over last year,
but we actually surpassed last year by a whopping 14%.
The library earned profits and Scholastic Dollar rewards of
$1724.94 on sales of $5653.16.
Mrs. Whittemore and the Easley Book Club once
again donated hundreds of dollars to enable selected
students from every English class to spend $10 each on
books. Over the past few years, GMS book fairs have
placed over 3,250 books in students hands.

Happy Book Fair shoppers

The cash register was manned by Mrs. Shivali

Desaione of the most dedicated volunteers we could
ever hope for. Although her children have since moved on
to high school, Mrs. Desai continues to come back to
Gettys to be a Book Fair volunteer extraordinaire!

Minecraft books were hot!

Mrs. Desai is an amazing volunteer!

Dozens of students bought books

thanks to the Easley Book Club!

The eBooks Collection Has Grown!

We added 44 new eBook titles during the second quarter. Many of them are nonfiction
titles in a variety of subject areas, including Adaptation, Discover Ancient Egypt, Drone Pilot,
Electricity in the Real World, Green Berets, The Jamestown Colony, The Scientific Method in
the Real World, and many more. 36 titles are unlimited, which means every student could have
a copy at the same time. 30 of the unlimited titles came with a free print copy as well! Please
feel free to stop by the library for more information on how to find and access these books in
the Destiny catalog for use in your classroom.

These are just five of our unlimited simultaneous checkout books

Anna's History Table

Our student library helpers perform many tasks every day by assisting with checkouts,
shelving, deliveries, answering the phone, and much more. They learn numerous real-world job
skills each semester, and we'd have a hard time running the library at our current capacity without
them. After all, it takes a lot to assist an average of 348 students per day, as we did in the second
quarter! Sometimes, though, our assistants go above and beyond, and we definitely encourage
them to do so! Seventh-grader Anna Pearson (an avid history buff) did an exceptional job of
volunteering to design and maintain a table display featuring numerous history books. She selected
them from many time periods and included biographies as well as items from the graphic collection
to appeal to a wide range of readers. Many of the books were checked out! Good job, Anna!

The Library on Display

Library displays change with the seasons and with the holidays to entice readers
to try new arrivals and old favorites. In addition, the library does a special display called
Americas White Table during the annual GMS Veterans Day remembrance. This table
features the book of the same name and reproduces the symbolic items described in the
story about three children who set a special white table in memory of service members
fallen or missing in action, and especially in honor of their Uncle Jim, a Vietnam POW.

Fall into a Good Book and Seasons Greadings!

New Purrfect Picks / Top Tens

Three Purrfect Picks titles (Loser, The White Gates, and The Great Gilly Hopkins)
were retired during the second semester and three new ones were added:
Sisters: Really a prequel to Smile, in Sisters the author shares the story of her
relationship with her younger sister Amara.
If You're Reading This: Sixteen-year-old Michael Wilson has a lot of
problems--his father was killed in Afghanistan in 2005, his overworked and
overprotective mother will not talk about their situation, and he has suddenly
started to receive letters that his father wrote before his death.
Surrounded by Sharks: The title says it all!
PurrFect Picks books were checked out 780 times during quarter two, and it's not
surprising that they are 6 out of the 10 top titles in the media center:
Top 10 Books for Quarter 2

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Sisters*
Smile*
Drama*
Guinness World Records, 2015
Guinness World Records, 2014
Mockingjay
The Raft*
The Hunger Games
If You're Reading This*
Just Listen: A Novel*

Telgemeier, Raina
Telgemeier, Raina
Telgemeier, Raina
Glenday, Craig, ed.
Glenday, Craig, ed.
Collins, Suzanne
Bodeen, S. A.
Collins, Suzanne
Reedy, Trent
Dessen, Sarah

*PurrFect Pick
Top 10 Magazines for Quarter 2

1. J-14 August 2014

2. J-14 December 2014
3. J-14 March 2014
4. J-14 May/June 2014
5. Gameinformer October 2014
6. Sports Illustrated October 27, 2014
7. Sports Illustrated September 15, 2014
8. Bowhunting March 2014
9. J-14 April 2014
10. J-14 January 2014

A Command Performance
We were honored to host Mrs. Atkins and the strings
orchestra for a holiday mini-concert on December 18th,
Thanks for the beautiful music!

Our Library by the

Numbers
2nd Quarter

We were open for 37 days

of regular business.
Teachers reserved the
library for 240 classes.

6,149 students visited

independently
Average number of students
per day: 348

Did You Know . . . ?

Compared to 2010, more girls age 12-17 are
connecting through technology 5-7 days a week.
Among girls, there has been a decline since 2010 in
frequent readers (42% to 36%), reading enjoyment
(71% to 66%), and the importance of reading books
for fun (62% to 56%).
Among kids who have read an eBook, one in five
says he/she is reading more books for fun,
especially boys.
Half of children age 9-17 say they would read more
books for fun if they had greater access to
eBooksa 50% increase since 2010.

Visit Library Chat with Bibliocat

Click the cat to go to http://gmsmc.blogspot.com

7,459 books were checked

out and returned.
Students checked out
1,478 graphic novels and
411 magazines.

Year to Date AR Totals

Grade 6: 439.0 points
Grade 7: 350.8 points
Grade 8: 5,864.4 points

Contact us:
Christina Connell
Gettys Middle School Media Center
510 South Pendleton Street
Easley, SC 29640
864-397-3947
christinaconnell@pickens.k12.sc.us
gmsmc.blogspot.com