Using Topic Lists to find resources by grade level- a quick tutorial!
Ever wish you could just pop into the Learning Commons to see all of the resources on the shelves, but you can’t because you don’t live in Kelowna? It’s tough to search for items if you don’t even know where to start. Well, we’ve been curating lists to help you explore the resources! The Topic Lists are curated by subject and/or by grade. Not every item in the library has been curated yet, but all unit studies, home education materials and all items purchased in the last year have been catalogued with topic lists.
In the Search Portal click on the icon that says “Topic Lists”
The next screen will show a list of topics by grade and by subject. Many have sublists. Click on the Grade you are interested in:
On the left, you will see a scrolling list of Subjects. When you click on one you will see a large scroll box that shows the titles. If you hover over the title, a balloon pops up with information about the title. You can scroll through this list, or use the smaller scroll bar at the bottom which shows more titles at once. Unit Studies are included in Science and Socials, and also have their own list so you can see all of them in one place.
These lists allow you to see what resources we have for a variety of topics.
Please note:
- An item that is “out” can still be booked for a future date (unless it is fully booked for the year)
- Some items have links that will take you to an external website for more information
- Some items have downloadable content, so technically that are not “out” because you can access the content via the link. Just click on the link to go to the website.
- The loan period is 49 days for most materials.
Once you find a resource you would like to book, click on the cover which shows a description, then click on the title of the item.
- Then click Book Item:
When you click on “Book Item”, a calendar will appear (see image below).
The small, red numbers indicate how many copies are available on that requested day. On the left, you will see your unique shipping “Site”.
In the screenshot below, we’ve selected HCOS5, which means this patron is 5 shipping days from Kelowna. Be sure to choose a date that allows the number of shipping days before you want to receive your items. *The system will automatically change your date to allow for the correct shipping days.
Click on the date. In this example, Sept. 12th was chosen. Next, click “Book Items”. Most items are loaned for seven weeks and mini unit studies are loaned for four weeks. If your item is available for the full loan period, there will be a pop up box that says it has been booked. You should also receive a confirmation email. If the item is not available, the booking will not be successful. You can contact Shandra at swiebe@onlineschool.ca to see if it’s available for a shorter period. (Patrons cannot book for shorter loan periods). For further information on booking, please read the applicable document: enrolled patrons tutorial or registered patrons tutorial.
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