Monday Media Center Medley for September 8, 2025

 

  Photo by Zoshua Colah on Unsplash

Database Updates

Several days ago, the Boston Public Library announced that access to Hoopla will be discontinued on September 30, 2025.  If you are an educator using this service to access content in support of your curriculum please know that I will work with you to find alternatives.

This discontinuation of service follows the previous cuts to statewide database access that was announced by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners back in May 2025. View a list of databases that have been discontinued as well as a list of resources that have been maintained.

The High School Media Center does subscribe to additional databases that support the high school curriculum. In addition, Boston Public Library continues to offer a variety of databases, eBook/Audiobook platforms and streaming services that can be used by educators and learners at the high school level. In the upcoming weeks I will be highlighting department specific resources that can be used to support the curriculum. In the meantime, you can access the North Reading High School Media Center's Database page. If you hover your cursor over any of the icons on the page you can view a description of the resource. Some of the resources on the page are provided by Boston Public Library and require logging in with a BPL eCard. The link for signing up is available as a link on the database page.

Monday Medley: Special Collections Available Through Hoopla Digital

 Good Morning and Happy Monday!

In case you still haven't had the time to explore Hoopla, here are a few things that may motivate you to "check it out":

1. EBooks, Graphic Novels and Comics, Movies, Music, and Television shows on Hoopla are always available with no waitlists

2. Every student in your class can access the same content simultaneously

3. All content is easy to access via a school issued Chromebook or laptop. (And if you have a Smart TV at home you can access content through your TV)

4. If you have children at home there is an entire section of Hoopla just for kids.

3. It's FREE

Here are some special collections you may be interested in exploring: 

AP Courses

Be Calm-eBooks

Conversations Around Race

Conversations on Race (Young Adult Reads)

Critics' Picks: Can't Miss Books of 2020  

Festive Baking

Hoopla Book Club Hub

Music-2021 Grammy Award Nominees

PBS (Movies and Television)

Teacher Professional Development:  ASCD    Dave Burgess Consulting  

Science (Videos from National Geographic, Nature, NOVA, PBS)

Stories for Everyone-Diversity in Comics

World Languages-French

World Languages-Spanish

Still not on board? 

Here's a brief description from Hoopla about the platform: 

"hoopla digital partners with libraries across the United States and Canada to provide online and mobile access to eBooks, comics, music, movies, and TV. With hoopla and a valid library card, patrons can borrow, instantly stream, and download dynamic content via hoopla’s mobile app or www.hoopladigital.com. Simple to access and use, with no waiting and no hassles, hoopla digital is a service of Midwest Tape – a trusted partner of public libraries for over 25 years. All you need to get started is your library card and a web browser, smart phone, or tablet. Sign up today!"

Here is a direction sheet to help you get started today.  

Monday Medley: Print Books, eBooks, and AudioBooks

Good Morning and Happy Monday!

In case you haven't heard, students and teachers now have the ability to request print titles from the Media Center.  Want to check out a book from the HS Media Center but don’t know where to begin? Scan the QR code on the doors to the Media Center or go to http://bit.ly/NRHSBookForm to get started.

Please spread the word about this!

High School students and staff also have access to a collection of bestselling eBooks and Audiobooks from Sora, the student reading app. The app is available via CLEVER log in and works on a Chromebook, laptop, and desktop computer. You can also download the app to read/listen on your phone. Attached is a one page direction sheet you can share with your students to get started. This collection is built on the one book, one user model. This means that it's not possible for all of your students to be reading the same title simultaneously unless the title is part of one of the special collections in Sora that allows for an unlimited number of users.

Students and staff who sign up for a free Boston Public Library eCard have access to eBooks, Graphic Novels, Movies, and Music. This collection supports an unlimited number of simultaneous users for all materials. Users can borrow up to 10 titles each month. Attached is a directions sheet for getting started with Hoopla.

Last of all, students and staff have access to a new collection of reference titles available from Infobase. Please contact me directly if you need the username and password.