St. Andrew Apostle School

Maryland K-12 (MDK12) Digital Library

When you have to do a research paper, ALWAYS begin by searching St. Andrew’s Library’s SUBSCRIPTION DATABASES first BEFORE YOU try the Internet.

1. What is the MDK12 Digital Library?

   • A partnership of all 24 Maryland public school districts and more than 100 participating non-public schools, of which St. Andrews is one, with funding provided by a No Child Left Behind grant
   • Online subscriptions to pre-selected Web sites and articles providing current and helpful quality information to support learning at school and at home
   • Reduced costs through statewide purchase agreements
   • Accessible at school and at home

2. Why subscribe to online resources through the MDK12 Digital Library instead of just using the free internet? Because MDK12 Digital Library provides:

   • Accurate, reliable information selected by experts
   • Text written at levels students can read
   • Resources not available on the Internet
   • Continual review so that recommended Web sites are appropriate and up to date

3. What resources are available to St. Andrew students through our participation in the MDK12 Digital Library, and how are they accessed?

   • SIRS (Social Issues Resources Series) Databases, including SIRS Discoverer, SKS WebSelect, Discoverer WebFind, SIRS Government Reporter, SIRS Renaissance, and SIRS Interactive Citizenship.
     1. Go to SIRS website
     2. Enter customer # and password in all lower case, then click "Login"
     3. Click on SIRS Discoverer Deluxe or any other database
     4. Begin your search
   • Grolier Online, includes Amazing Animals of the World, The New Book of Knowledge, Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, The New Book of Popular Science, Lands and People Encyclopedia, and the full-text America the Beautiful states series.
     1. Go to Grolier Online website
     2. Enter username and password, then click "Go"
   • The World Book Encyclopedia
     1. To use this site, both cookies and Javascript must be enabled in your browser.
     2. Go to World Book website
     3. Enter temporary login ID and password, then click "go"
   • Teaching Books, including author programs, book guides, book readings, and author websites
     1. Go to Teaching Books website
     2. In the "Sign In" box under Password, enter your password, then click "Submit"

4. What information is available through these MDK12 resources?

   • Material that supports reading, language arts, social studies, science, music and art, humanities and MORE.
   • Includes encyclopedia articles, full-text magazine articles, primary documents, dictionaries, photographs, maps and charts and graphs, biographies, video interviews, biographies, and Web links.

5. May I download or print articles from the MDK12 Digital Library resources?

   • Yes!  Users may download or print content for educational use.

6. How may I learn how to use the resources available through the MDK12 Digital Library?

   • Mrs. Blanco will be familiarizing students with the various Web sites and search techniques during school computer classes.
   • Use the help topics and tutorials available on the various Web sites.

It is my hope that these databases will be a help to all of you at school and at home, whether you are working on homework or a class project. Please keep the 5”x8” bright pink card sent home in October close to your computer so that you have the usernames and passwords handy. We are not allowed to include them on our website.

Remember to always cite your sources. Each of the online databases provides guidelines for citing sources. SIRS is particularly helpful. If you need additional help, go to:

• citationmachine.net or
• www.bibme.org

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me in the Library Media Center by calling 301-649-3245 or via email.

Mrs. Bentley
Library Media Specialist
St. Andrew Apostle School