Library
Welcome to the Central Library Media Center
Library hours are 7:00 AM- 3:00 PM daily.
Library Checkout Policy
- The Central High School library has a circulating collection of over 10,000 titles. At this time, any currently enrolled student in good standing may check out up to three items and may keep each item for two weeks.
- The library offers unlimited renewals – unless an item has a hold request from another student. Students can renew their checkouts in person (with no need to bring in the book) or by email.
- The school library charges a fine on overdue books. The fine is 5¢ per item, per day, with a maximum fine of $2 per item. These fines are due when a student withdraws from Central or graduates.
Databases
The following are direct links to all SJSD library databases. Databases are accessible without a password while on the SJSD network. EBSCO HOST, Gale, and Heritage Quest are accessible at home, with passwords provided through your school library.
A-C
Academic Search Elite
Academic institutions worldwide depend on this database as their core resource of scholarly information. Academic Search Elite contains full text for more than 2,100 journals, Nearly 150 journals have PDF images dating back to 1985.
Book Collection Nonfiction: Elementary School Edition
Contains searchable full text for more than 1,300 popular nonfiction books. The database includes high interest titles on animals, weather, holidays, adventure, sports, Native Americans, United States, Canada, biographies, nature, civics and more.
Book Collection Nonfiction: Middle School Edition
Contains searchable full text for more than 3,100 popular nonfiction books. The database includes high interest titles on careers, health, life skills, ethnicity, disabilities, adventure, sports, technology, biographies, history, science, women, civics and more.
Book Collection Nonfiction: High School Edition
Book Collection Nonfiction: High School Edition is a rich research database for school and public libraries. It contains informative abstracts and searchable full text for more than 2,440 popular nonfiction books. The database includes high interest titles on careers, health, ethnicity, disabilities, technology, biographies, music, science, history, civics and more.
Consumer Health Complete
Consumer Health Complete is a comprehensive resource for consumer-oriented health content. It covers all areas of health and wellness from mainstream medicine to the many perspectives of complementary, holistic and integrated medicine.
D-F
Digital Literacy
Empower learners with digital citizenship skills to navigate today’s virtual landscape. Interactive activities guide students through project-based learning activities using digital tools to create podcasts, multimedia presentations, social media campaigns, and more. Database articles explore cyberbullying, digital research skills, citizen journalism, and more. Digital Literacy will give your students and patrons the skills to be savvy digital citizens!
eBook Public Library Collection
With a collection of over 33,000 titles chosen specifically for public libraries, this general reference collection features fiction and non-fiction titles for both adults and juveniles, as well as best-selling and highly-recommended titles from industry leading publishers. A wide range of subjects and topics are covered to meet various patron research needs, including substantial offerings in Self-Help, Health & Fitness, Games, Crafts & Hobbies, Medical, Cooking and Religion. This collection also features titles on Recreation and Leisure, Geography, Commerce, Finance, The Family, Marriage, Women, Folklore, Social and Public Welfare, and Home Economics.
ERIC
ERIC, the Education Resource Information Center, contains more than 1.3 million records and links to more than 323,000 full-text documents dating back to 1966.
Explora - Elementary School
This interface is designed specifically for elementary school students according to their needs and search abilities. This interface is graphically rich and provides access to age-appropriate materials. Now includes topic overviews that provide students with a starting point for research and 60,000 top videos from the Associated Press. Databases Searched: Book Collection Nonfiction: Elementary School Edition, Primary Search, Topic Overviews K-5
Explora - Middle School
This interface is designed specifically for middle school students according to their needs and search abilities. This interface is graphically rich and provides access to age-appropriate materials. Now includes topic overviews that provide students with a starting point for research and 60,000 top videos from the Associated Press. Databases Searched: Book Collection Nonfiction: Middle School Edition, Middle Search Plus Topic Overviews 6-12, Science Reference Center, Newspaper Source
Explora - High School
This interface is designed specifically for high school students according to their needs and search abilities. This interface is graphically rich and provides access to age-appropriate materials. Now includes topic overviews that provide students with a starting point for research and 60,000 top videos from the Associated Press. Databases Searched: Book Collection Nonfiction: High School Edition, Book Collection Nonfiction: Middle School Edition, MAS Ultra - School Edition, Newspaper Source, Science Reference Center, Topic Overviews 6-12, eBook Public Library Collection, Consumer Health Complete, Middle Search Plus
Financial Literacy
The Rosen Financial Literacy database makes economics and personal finance easy to understand and highly engaging. Articles explore macro-, micro-, and global economics as well as personal and household finance. Users will learn to manage credit and debt, save and invest with confidence, plan for college and retirement and avoid fraud and scams. Financial Literacy is an online economics and personal finance resource specifically designed for students in grades 7–12, but can easily benefit adults.
G-I
Gale in Context: High School
Gale In Context: High School is an engaging online experience for those seeking contextual information on a broad range of topics, people, places, and events.
Gate in Context: Middle School
Gale in Context: Middle School is offered exclusively to middle schools. Each document type fulfills specific information needs. Students will find primary documents from the American Journey series; a wealth of award-winning reference content that includes overview and critical essays; biographies, multimedia features and much more.
Gate in Context: Opposing Viewpoints
Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints is the premier online resource covering today's hottest social issues, from capital punishment to immigration to marijuana. This cross-curricular resource supports science, social studies, current events, and language arts classes. Informed, differing views help learners develop critical-thinking skills and draw their own conclusions.
Gale Virtual Reference Library
This database consists of ten reference ebooks available to all SJSD users on a variety of topics in English, history, science, and medicine.
Global Issues in Context
Global Issues in Context offers international viewpoints on a broad spectrum of global issues, topics, and current events. Featured are hundreds of continuously updated issue and country portals that bring together a variety of specially selected, highly relevant sources for analysis of these issues. Rich multimedia, including podcasts, video, and interactive graphs enhance each portal.
HeritageQuest Online
HeritageQuest® Online is a comprehensive treasury of American genealogical sources—rich in unique primary sources, local and family histories, and finding aids. Discover the amazing history of you with HeritageQuest Online. It delivers an essential collection of genealogical and historical sources—with coverage dating back to the 1700s—that can help people find their ancestors and discover a place's past.
J-L
Kids InfoBits
Kids InfoBits is Gale's exciting database designed especially for students in kindergarten through grade five. Complete with engaging, developmentally appropriate graphic interface, premier reference content, and the best magazines for elementary students.
Learning Express Library
Whatever your goal, LearningExpress Library's resources will help you succeed. Each of its Learning Centers offers the practice tests, exercises, skill-building courses, eBooks, and information you need to achieve the results you want—at school, at work, or in life. Looking to land a job? You'll find an entire Learning Center dedicated to helping you get the one that's right for you.
M-O
MAS Ultra - School Edition
Designed specifically for high school libraries, this database contains full text for nearly 500 popular, high school magazines. MAS Ultra - School Edition also provides more than 360 full text reference books, 85,670 biographies, over 107,000 primary source documents, and an Image Collection of over 510,000 photos, maps & flags.
MasterFILE Premier
This multidisciplinary database provides full text for nearly 1,700 periodicals with full-text information dating as far back as 1975. Covering virtually every subject area of general interest, MasterFILE Premier also contains full text for nearly 500 reference books and over 164,400 primary source documents.
MEDLINE
MEDLINE provides authoritative medical information on medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, pre-clinical sciences, and much more.
Middle Search Plus
Middle Search® Plus contains full text for more than 150 popular middle school magazines. All full-text articles are assigned a reading level indicator (Lexiles). Full text is also available for thousands of biographies and historical essays.
New York Times
Online access to the New York Times daily newspaper; this subscription only works while staff or students are on campus using an SJSD IP address. Includes full access to editions of the newspaper from 1851 to the present; sections of the website include World or U.S. News; Business; Technology; Science; Health; Sports; Opinion; Arts; Style and Travel.
Newspaper Source
Newspaper Source provides cover-to-cover full text for more than 40 (U.S.) & international newspapers. The database also contains selective full text for 389 regional (U.S.) newspapers. In addition, full text television & radio news transcripts are also provided.
Opposing Viewpoints in Content
Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context is an engaging online experience for those seeking contextual information and opinions on hundreds of today's hottest social issues.
P-S
Primary Search
Primary Search® contains full text for more than 80 popular elementary school magazines. All full-text articles are assigned a reading level indicator (Lexiles).
Professional Development Collection
Designed for professional educators, this database provides a highly specialized collection of nearly 520 high quality education journals, including more than 350 peer-reviewed titles. This database also contains more than 200 educational reports.
ReadIt!
Read It! is designed for middle and high school students and adults who have a basic foundation in English grammar and reading but need adapted reading material for a variety of subjects. It offers resources to help build background knowledge, conduct research and improve study skills.
Science Reference Center
Science Reference Center is a comprehensive research database that provides easy access to a multitude of full text science-oriented content. This database contains full text for nearly 640 science encyclopedias, reference books, periodicals, etc.
Search MoreNet
Contains a variety of full-text magazines, newspapers and journals and reference materials to support the education and research needs of Missouri citizens. This information is from reliable sources that provide accurate information. With the database, students can: find help with a school project; research a new purchase in Consumer Reports; study for the ACT, SAT, etc.; job search or research a company; find images, multimedia, etc.
Searchasaurus
Place for the beginning searcher to find magazine articles, newspaper articles, encyclopedia entries and more on a variety of topics ranging from animals to history to stories. Lexile (reading) levels of the information found go up to Grade 5.
T-Z
Teen Health and Wellness
This award-winning resource provides middle and high school students with up-to-date, nonjudgmental, self-help support. Articles are correlated to state, national and provincial standards. Topics covered include diseases, drugs, alcohol, nutrition, mental health, suicide, bullying and LGBTQ+ information. It has recently been updated to meet the needs of today’s teens and with new content on bullying, suicide, vaping, opioid abuse, gender identity, school safety, sexual harassment, COVID-19 and more.
WorldCat
WorldCat is a global catalog of library materials. You can search for books, music, video, articles and much more at libraries near you.
LibGuides
eBooks
Axis360
Axis360 is brought to you by the Grand River Digital Library, a consortium of public libraries in northern Missouri working together to bring you access to popular e-books and e-audio.
EBSCO eBooks
With a collection of over 33,000 titles chosen specifically for public libraries, this general reference collection features fiction and non-fiction titles for both adults and juveniles, as well as best-selling and highly-recommended titles from industry leading publishers. A wide range of subjects and topics are covered to meet various patron research needs, including substantial offerings in Self-Help, Health & Fitness, Games, Crafts & Hobbies, Medical, Cooking and Religion. This collection also features titles on Recreation and Leisure, Geography, Commerce, Finance, The Family, Marriage, Women, Folklore, Social and Public Welfare, and Home Economics.
Follett Shelf
Follett Shelf can be used to find eBooks purchased by the Saint Joseph School District. In order to access these books you will use the following for user name and password:
Username: student ID (5 or 6 digits)
Password: books
hoopla
Use Hoopla to access ebooks and Audiobooks with your Rolling Hills Consolidated Library card.
LibriVox
LibriVox offers audiobooks that are in the "free public domain." This means you will find many classics here. You don't need a user name or other special information in order to use this site!
Missouri Libraries 2 Go
The Missouri Library online offers both eBooks and Audiobooks that be read on your electronic devices. In order to check books out from this site you will need to have a library card from the St. Joseph Public Library or the Rolling Hills Consolidated Library.
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg offers over 40,000 free eBooks: choose among free epub books, free kindle books, download them or read them online.
Rolling Hills Library e-Card
Rolling Hills Library offers e-cards to anyone who does not have an existing account. With an e-card you have access to ebooks, audiobooks, and music. Sign up is quick and easy!
Sora eBooks
Open a world of reading. Try Sora, the new reading app for students, by OverDrive.
Citation Resources
Other Research Tools
Search Help
- Sweet Search
- Info Please
- Infotopia
- Ask a Librarian - Virtual Reference Shelf
- Project Gutenberg Free eBooks
- Hathi Trust Digital Library
- Biography
- Thoughtco
Free Sound Sites
Free Photo Sites
Additional Central Databases
Current Biography Illustrated
This site reflects the entire content of the printed monthly periodical “Current Biography.” You’ll find the reliable information about the people making tomorrow’s headlines, plus historical figures dating back as far as World War II.
The Day
The Day is a daily news service for use in schools, colleges, and homes. In our newsroom, editors select the most important news of the day. Our journalists write news analysis and features every day. Each day of term, our articles are published for schools around the world. Our nightly email goes out with links to all our stories and features.
Classroom Video On Demand
A comprehensive streaming video service featuring unlimited access to more than 5,000 educational programs that can be viewed in class, at the library, or from home. Each full-length video has been segmented into predefined clips, making it easy to find specific pieces of content quickly. Videos span the following core subject areas: Science and Mathematics; Social Studies; Literature and Language Arts; Health and Nutrition; Business and Economics; Visual and Performing Arts.
SIRS Issues Researcher
SIRS Issues Researcher is a portal to relevant, best-of content information designed to support student research, study, and homework in key curricula subjects. Search many SIRS resources at once or link to one SIRS collection. Every article, primary source, website, and graphic has been carefully reviewed to ensure its relevancy, credibility, curricular applicability, standards alignment, and appropriateness to students.
World News Digest
For more than 75 years World News Digest has been a go-to resource for context and background on key issues of both historical events and breaking news. With more than 300,000 original articles and a vast archive covering every major event since its inception, this database offers concise summaries of current events and clearly written essays on the top issues of the day.
This is Who We Were - In the 1920s
This is Who We Were: In the 1920s explores American life in the 1920s. This new series is sure to be of value as both a serious research tool for students of American history as well as an intriguing climb up America's family tree. The richly illustrated text provides an interesting way to study a truly unique time in American history.
Teacher Resources
TeachingBooks.net
An engaging collection of resources that brings books to life.
The Learning Network
Teach and Learn with The Times: Resources for Bringing the World Into Your Classroom
Gateway Nominees
Year
Genre
![We Were Here]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1675956979/sjsdk12mous/vowku11zyuy2jhvtcqxa/WeWereHere.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1675956979/sjsdk12mous/vowku11zyuy2jhvtcqxa/WeWereHere.jpg","width":294}])
- Coming of Age
- Realistic Fiction
We Were Here
by Matt de la Pena
Miguel struggles to forgive himself for a tragic event that changed his life and his family forever. He willingly accepts his one-year sentence to a juvenile detention center and the requirement that he keep a journal. De La Peña uses the conceit of the journal to tell the story in Miguel's words. At the center, Miguel befriends Rondell, a mentally challenged teen prone to violent outbursts, and Mong, a troubled boy with myriad physical and emotional problems. Mong organizes an escape, and with little apparent thought, Miguel and Rondell agree to join him. The boys' convoluted travels take them up and down the California coast and are recorded in Miguel's journal, along with his personal journey of self-discovery. It is frustrating that the salient event, the one that led to Miguel's incarceration, is kept from readers, and most other characters, until the end of the book. Once the truth of what happened is exposed, it is difficult to comprehend the callousness shown to Miguel by other family members; in fact, readers may question why he was imprisoned at all. The premise of juvenile delinquents on the run, camping out, and trying to survive and to find themselves will appeal to teens, but the story is just too drawn out to hold the interest of most of them.
- 2011-12
![The Morgue and Me]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1675956910/sjsdk12mous/kpevl5lgsul7aqzkqteu/TheMorgueandMe.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1675956910/sjsdk12mous/kpevl5lgsul7aqzkqteu/TheMorgueandMe.jpg","width":331}])
- Mystery Fiction
- Suspense Fiction
The Morgue and Me
by John C. Ford
The summer before Christopher Newell is set to start college, he gets a job in the morgue because it's his life's goal to become a spy and working there should teach him about forensic pathology, if nothing else. Instead he discovers a murder cover-up that points to town officials and close friends. As he works to discover whodunit, the plot thickens with bribery, blackmail, murder, and revenge. With everyone suspect, and danger deepening, it seems that the only person Christopher can trust is Tina McIntyre, an insanely hot, brazen reporter who wants to boost her career with a killer story. Together they might discover the truth, but at what cost?
- 2011-12
![The Chosen One]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1675956839/sjsdk12mous/e3f13dw7kmk2sdvi6ft2/TheChosenOne.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1675956839/sjsdk12mous/e3f13dw7kmk2sdvi6ft2/TheChosenOne.jpg","width":331}])
- Realistic Fiction
The Chosen One
by Carol Lynch Williams
In this thriller, 13-year-old Kyra lives in an isolated polygamist cult. Life in the compound is as dry as the surrounding desert, more confining than the chain-link fence on its perimeter. But Kyra finds small freedoms despite the tightly controlled communal environment and is able to slip outside to wander the desert. There she chances upon a friendly book-mobile driver who opens the world of children's literature to her. Kyra even begins a flirtation with her classmate, Joshua, a dangerous sin for which they will both pay dearly. The brutal leader, Prophet Childs, has plans for Kyra and will brook no disobedience. He assigns her to be the seventh wife of her own 60-year-old uncle. Repelled, she resists. She and Joshua are badly beaten and she is told that other young people have been killed for taking a similarly defiant stand. Kyra's loving father is powerless to help her and counsels her to accept her fate, but she cannot.
- 2011-12
- Fantasy
- Romance
Shiver
by Maggie Stiefvater
Grace, 17, loves the peace and tranquility of the woods behind her home. It is here during the cold winter months that she gets to see her wolf-the one with the yellow eyes. Grace is sure that he saved her from an attack by other wolves when she was nine. Over the ensuing years he has returned each season, watching her with those haunting eyes as if longing for something to happen. When a teen is killed by wolves, a hunting party decides to retaliate. Grace races through the woods and discovers a wounded boy shivering on her back porch. One look at his yellow eyes and she knows that this is her wolf in human form. Fate has finally brought Sam and Grace together, and as their love grows and intensifies, so does the reality of what awaits them. It is only a matter of time before the winter cold changes him back into a wolf, and this time he might stay that way forever. Told from alternating points of view, the narrative takes a classic Romeo & Julietplot and transforms it into a paranormal romance that is beautiful and moving.
- 2011-12