6 Ways the Library Can Get You Back-to-School Ready!

Class is back in session! While you’re sharpening pencils and loading up backpacks, make sure your back-to-school prep also includes a trip to your local Mid-Continent Public Library branch. MCPL is a one-stop shop for teachers, caregivers, and students gearing up to head back to the classroom.

Here are just a few ways the Library can help you ace the start of this school year:

1. Use the Most Awesome School Supply Ever!

Getting an MCPL card is the first step to accessing your world! If you or the students in your home don’t have one already, sign up for a card at mymcpl.org/newcard. With an MCPL Access Pass (Library card), students can check out books, DVDs, CDs, and other materials and use all of the Library’s online resources.

If your student attends school in one of the following school districts, they can use their student ID as the basis of their MCPL Access Pass (Library card) number: Center, Fort Osage, Hickman Mills, Independence, Kearney, Liberty, North Kansas City, Park Hill, and Smithville. Visit mymcpl.org/Student to learn more, or see your school’s library media specialist.

2. Free Teacher Assistance Service

Everyone can use a hand during the back-to-school transition! MCPL’s Teacher Assistance Service allows teachers to submit requests to Library staff to obtain items for use in the classroom. Library staff carefully select classroom-appropriate materials matching the criteria given by the teacher, such as specific titles or subject areas, grade or reading level, and type of material. Staff can also recommend digital resources that would be helpful for classroom projects. Get started!

3. Live Homework Help and Test Prep Center from Tutor.com

Live Homework Help from Tutor.com connects students in grades K-12 to live, expert tutors for assistance on homework assignments in almost every subject and even allows students to submit papers for review. This free resource is available seven days a week from noon to midnight for both English- and Spanish-speaking students.

The Test Prep Center's live tutor service is also open from noon to midnight, seven days a week, with assistance in English and Spanish. This resource allows users to prep for many major entrance exams, including the SAT, ACT, PSAT, and AP Tests as well as the GED and U.S. Citizenship Tests. In addition, the Skills Center is open 24/7 and offers resources on the SAT, ACT, standardized tests in all 50 states, graduate schools entrance tests, and more.

4. More than 230 Online Research Tools

The Library’s more than 230 online resources provide information on everything from history, current events, business, and finance, to health, foreign language, and the arts. No matter what your student is researching, the Library is sure to have a book or online resource that can help!  For those English papers, check out Bloom’s Literature. Or, if you’re doing a science project, try National Geographic Kids or Science Reference Center. For those looking to learn a new language, Mango Languages and Muzzy provide detailed lessons on dozens of languages.

To see a full list of resources specifically geared toward homework help for kids and teens, visit mymcpl.org/homework.

5. Check Out These Great Films!

Get in the school spirit with some of these classic student-focused flicks:

• Kindergarten Cop (Rated PG-13)
• Rushmore (Rated R)
• Akeelah and the Bee (Rated PG)
• Breakfast Club (Rated R)
• Footloose (Rated PG)
• Ferris Bueller's Day Off (Rated PG-13)
• Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (Rated PG-13)
• Dead Poet’s Society (Rated PG)
• Monsters University (Rated G)
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Rated PG)

     6. Free Programs for Parents!

Sign up for a Helping Your Child with Homework class at an MCPL branch near you!

So before the class bell rings, take a field trip your local Library, and let us help you make this school year the best yet!

-MCPL Marketing & Communications