ACT Prep

Thank you to the students and parents who attended the ACT prep seminar at the St. Clair Public Library on Saturday. As promised, I will post how to access the the prep course available through the Michigan eLibrary. I apologize for the late posting and the text only instruction, but I am experiencing computer issues.

The following information is for state of Michigan residents only. Although, other states and communities may have access to the database "Learning Express Library" and can follow the instructions after access. On a side note, going to the official ACT website will also allow you to take practice tests, look at a blog and have daily practice questions.

1. Go to the Michigan eLibrary website.
2. Click on the databases link.
3. Choose the database Learning Express Library. 
4. You will be asked to enter a Michigan identification number or choose from the drop down option    St. Clair County library and enter your SCCL card number.
5. In the middle of the LEL homepage choose new users if you haven't yet created an account or returning user if you have.
6. ACT prep is located under the College Preparation option.
7. Added courses to My Center and begin working.
Remember, the best approach is to complete the entire PREP course first before attempting practice tests. Under the high school tab, there are courses in math skills, grammar, writing and reading. If your prep course work indicates difficulty in particular areas use these courses to increase your understanding prior to attempting the practice tests. Focus on competing courses in the specified time as the timing is something students often struggle with without practice. Please post any questions or observations in the comments. Thanks for joining me and GOOD LUCK!

ALA Book Awards

This past Monday ALA announced the book award winners at the winter conference. Any parent, teacher or student looking for a great read should start with the ALA book awards lists. When starting my profession I tried for several years to reinvent the wheel, looking for the freshest, newest reads that were going to suck in teens and hook them on reading forever. A lot of time and energy was put into the process. When I became successful in this endeavor is when I stopped trying to do it on my own. As a fellow librarian said to me, "They win awards for a reason". Indeed.

At the high school level my favorite award is the Alex Award. The award is given to 10 adult titles published in the last year that are appealing to young adults. They are great reads for teens or adults. My only disappointment this year is that there aren't any sports titles. Past sports titles include Blindside: the Evolution of a game and Eagle Blue. To view the list of this year's award winners, and to see titles of previous winners, go to the following link: Alex Award