Academics

Library

A center for literary-based programs, the library serves as a welcoming hub for reading, small group work, and grade-level activities. It supports The School’s educational programs through numerous resources and services. Classes are scheduled for library lessons, research, and recreational reading time on a weekly basis. Librarians are responsible for student instruction in information literacy skills, and have designed a curriculum that supports The School's integrated learning environment.

School librarians develop and promote a library collection of current fiction and non-fiction materials including audio/visual formats such as audio books and e-books. The library also circulates books on e-readers. A core aspect of the program is development of a love of reading through author visits, Banned Books and Teen Read week activities, and student participation in mock Caldecott Award selection, called the Leo's Choice Award (Leo the Lion is The School's mascot). In an ever-expanding information age, learning to access information is a necessary skill; students learn to develop these skills using library resources. Students can access The School's Destiny Book Catalog and recommended databases (below) from anywhere (password required).

Databases

The School at Columbia librarians are committed to developing a collection of age-appropriate, multidisciplinary online resources. Please read the descriptions below to determine the databases that are best suited for your research project. Resources are listed alphabetically.

ABC-CLIO’s Social Studies Databases: Provides a wealth of primary sources, including photographs and government documents that challenge students to evaluate historical evidence, interpret current events, and make comparative analyses. (Grades 5-8)

Biography in Context: Is a comprehensive database of biographical information on more than one million people from throughout history, around the world, and across all disciplines and subject areas.

Britannica Kids: Britannica Kids has designed a safe and trusted site that allows students to access age-appropriate content gathered from great intellects across the globe — including leading educators, Pulitzer Prize winners, and Nobel laureates. Britannica Kids provide a complete package of high-quality, standards-aligned resources that make learning and exploring exciting again. Encyclopædia Britannica has nearly 250 years of experience creating trusted and reliable content.

(Grades 4-8)

CultureGrams: Links students to country reports that go beyond mere facts and figures to deliver a one-of-a-kind perspective on daily life and culture. In-depth reports covering 190+ countries and all 50 United States. (Grades 4-8)

EasyBib: An automatic bibliography and citation maker that provides students with tools to enhance critical thinking skills and research habits, learn how to prevent plagiarism, and improve information literacy. (Grades 5-8)

Newsela: Access to primary sources, reference texts, essays, fiction, issue overviews, and more–all at 5 reading levels. Students access is directly through their Google Apps.

NoodleTools: NoodleTools is an online research management platform that promotes critical thinking and authentic research. Students stay organized as they evaluate information, build accurate citations, archive source material, take notes, outline topics, and prepare to write. Three differentiated levels support individual students across grades and abilities. The classroom environment allows librarians and teachers to provide feedback, monitor individual contributions to group work, and view statistics about source use. In contrast to an auto-cite, auto-evaluate product, we support students to engage deeply in research and produce original work. NoodleTools is also designed with online student privacy in mind.

NovelNY: Comprises of several academic databases including:

Gale in Context: Contains current, authoritative, media-rich information in the form of magazine, newspapers, primary sources and videos for students in grades 6 to 8.
Opposing Viewpoints: Contains a range of perspectives on many important issues, with over 21,000 pro/con viewpoints. Includes a variety of resource types: reference, news, primary sources, multimedia and more.

PebbleGo: A database specifically geared toward the needs of K-2 learners. It helps your student learn foundational research skills plus provides critical early-reader supports like audio voice-overs and text highlighting.

PebbleGoNext: A science and social studies database with information in a wide variety of formats, including articles, videos, images, and activities. (Grades 3-5)

Science In Context: Contains hundreds of today's most significant science topics, showcasing how scientific disciplines relate to real-world issues.

SIRS® Discoverer®: Is a multidisciplinary database specifically designed for upper elementary and middle school learners, researchers, and educators covering curriculum areas such as history, health, language arts, math, science, social studies, and technology.

Teaching Books: A time-saving portal to thousands of online resources you can use to explore children's and young adult books and their authors. (Teachers and Parents)

TumbleBooks: An online collection of animated, talking picture books which teach young children the joys of reading in a format they'll love. (Grades K-3)

Additional Library and Web Resources:

Columbia University Libraries
New York Public Library
United Streaming
U.S. Copyright Office

Library

Databases

The School at Columbia University