read • research • relax

middle school / high school library policies

The library opens at 7:30 a.m. and remains open until 3:30 p.m. most school days. Students may visit the library before and after school, during lunch and study halls, and at such other times as their teachers may issue a library pass.

Students do not need a pass to be admitted to the library before or after school, or during lunch.
To protect our computers and books, food and drink are not permitted in the library.

borrowing

Books………Two to four weeks, depending on the collection
Reference Materials…….Two days
Magazines………One week
Chromebooks………may be checked out for one (1) class period, and they must remain in the library

Overdue materials

Overdue fines have been suspended. It is our hope that students will respect the role of a library and always return on time. If an item remains overdue for one month or more, it may be marked “Lost” and the borrower will be billed for the replacement of the book.

Renewals

Library materials may be renewed at the discretion of the librarian. Middle School students must renew library materials in person by bringing them to the circulation desk. High School students may renew materials in person or via our online catalog, OPALS. Your username/password is the same as for RenWeb.

Lost/Damaged materials

If a student loses an item or damages it beyond normal handling, a charge will be assessed up to the cost of replacement of the item. Damage includes watermarks, torn or missing covers, pages and pictures, dog-eared pages, and soiled or marked covers or pages.

finding books in the library

We have an online catalog, OPALS, which contains all library items belonging to the MS/HS and elementary libraries and is accessible from any computer or device with Internet access. Feel free to stop into the MS/HS library at any time for a personal introduction to using OPALS.

Our library materials are arranged in a way that you can easily find them. It’s called the Dewey Decimal Classification system (DDC, for short). With DDC, there are 10 main categories for books, ranging from the 000’s to the 900’s. Once you become familiar with those 10 categories, you will be able to go to the library shelves to browse for books on the topic of your choice. For example, books about religion are found in the 200’s. Books about history are found in the 900’s. The only exceptions are popular fiction, which is assigned an F, and individual biographies, which are assigned a B.

research databases

Our library subscribes to a variety of research databases available for student research, including EBSCO, Britannica School, and Pebble Go! You will find links to those databases on every page of this website. We also provide links to all of our area public library databases on our Research and Writing pathfinders page. All TKCS students are entitled to a free Cherry Hill Public Library card in addition to a card in their place of residence. If you need assistance getting a Cherry Hill library card or using any of the research databases, just ask.

computer usage

Six desktop computers are available in the library for student use. All have Intel i5 7th gen. processors with solid state drives and operate on Windows 10 Professional. These computers are for educational use only. Personal interest searching is permitted if permission is given by the librarian. Computer games are not permitted at any time during the school day. Social networking is never permitted on the library computers.

It is recommended that all work be saved to the student network. If you do not know how to save your work to the student network, please ask the librarian for assistance.

A black and white printer is available in the library for student use. Color printing and photocopying can be obtained through the librarian. The cost of black and white printing and photocopying is $.10 per page. Color prints are $.25 per page. Payment must be made to the librarian at the time of printing/copying.

Please make yourself familiar with the Acceptable Use of Technology policy before using school computers!