About Our LMC

Information Literacy is what the Spring Brook LMC is all about. It is here that students learn to determine information needs, plan strategies for research, access information, evaluate information, use information and evaluate the process and product. The staff in the LMC continually helps students become good users of information.

There are over 20,000 items in the LMC for students and staff to borrow. We also have a Parent Resource Center that has materials available on various issues facing modern families. If you are interested in being set up with an account to check out materials from this area, please email
amy_madzinski@ipsd.org.

• Students in grades 2-5 may check out 3 items
• Students in 1st grade may check out 2 items
• Students in Kindergarten may check out 2 items after the first quarter. (One item may be checked out until after the first quarter.

The Spring Brook LMC has a flexible schedule. This means that classes do not come in on a fixed basis for a set period of time each week. Instead, this allows the LMC Staff to work collaboratively with the other teachers and students so that lessons are complementing classroom activities. This helps maintain continuity in students' work.

The LMC is a fully automated facility for both circulation and the catalog. Students check out their own materials at the circulation desk. Search stations are available in the LMC. In addition, the catalog can be accessed from computer on the school network. Students are given assistance and instruction in the use of the online catalog on an ongoing basis. Formal class instruction of on use of the catalog usually begins in 2nd grade.

The World Book Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia Britannica, Facts on File and the SIRS Discoverer/SIRS Webfind online, as well as other research resources are available at any computer in the building. There is home access for SIRS and Facts on File. Please contact the LMC Director for these user names and passwords.

Internet access is available through the building's computer network. Teachers who have taken the district training course may use the Internet with students. During school registration, parents are asked to read and sign Spring Brook's Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). The Internet is viewed as another tool available to teachers and students for curricular enhancement. All sites to be used by students are previewed beforehand by the teaching staff.

Access is also available to Indian Prairie's Virtual Museum and Earth Dome for information on social studies and science. Teams of district teachers have developed these resources which contain downloaded websites and curriculum enrichment materials.

Students may come to the LMC anytime to check out library materials, do research, take Accelerated Reader tests or for free reading during the school day with teacher permission. Students are encouraged to come to the LMC as often as needed. There are always qualified and enthusiastic adults to help students find materials.

Our goal is for students to see the LMC as the center of their learning experience at Spring Brook - a place they enjoy, where they find information they need, and especially, a place that prepares them to be lifelong learners.