Pueblo Library District, school district 60 and 70 partner to launch Library Connect
PUEBLO, Colo. — Students and teachers in both Pueblo school districts are now connected to Pueblo City-County Library District (PCCLD) resources through the Library Connect program. The program automatically provides students and teachers with a PCCLD account.
Superintendents of Pueblo School District 60 and Pueblo County School District 70 signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) along with the PCCLD Executive Director Sherri Baca, Thursday at the Robert Hoag Rawlings Public Library, to launch the Library Connect account program.
“Partnering with our local school districts and charter schools to provide student library accounts, and now teacher library accounts, reflects our shared commitment to student success. The public library is an essential extension of the classroom, offering access to trusted information, digital resources, books, technology, and learning opportunities for every student,” PCCLD Executive Director Sherri Baca said.
"As part of our Present, Powerful, and Empowered by Reading initiative, where we in D60 are prioritizing literacy, we felt it was important to strengthen our already strong partnership with the library," Pueblo School District 60 Superintendent Dr. Barbara Kimzey said.
How it works
Students and teachers can use their school ID number and eight-digit birthdate to access their PCCLD account. There’s no need to apply for a separate PCCLD library card and no physical cards are issued.
All school district 60 and 70 students and teachers can checkout: books, DVDs, Blu-ray discs, magazines (excluding current issues), puppets and Seed Library packets. Users can also download digital media, access PCCLD databases, borrow Chromebooks and Wi-Fi hotspots.
Students can borrow up to 50 books at a time, including picture books, graphic novels and boardbooks. They can access all PCCLD online database, including HelpNow that provides online tutoring and test prep for grades K-12 as well as the language learning platform Mango. Students also have access to the research site Explora that offers grade-specific, user-friendly interfaces.
For teachers, a Library Connect account offers the same benefits as a regular PCCLD card, but allows users to borrow more materials without using their personal library card. In fact, between books, graphic novels, boardbooks and picture books, teachers can check out more than 300 items.
In addition to books and digital resources, teachers can borrow an item from the Library of Things; State Parks and community passes to local museums; sports and outdoor equipment; a tele-health kit, and tools from the Rawlings and Giodone tool libraries. For a complete list of items and borrowing limits, visit www.pueblolibrary.org/
About the partnership
This renewed agreement grew out of early conversations between Pueblo School District 60 and PCCLD officials centering on strengthening an already successful partnership and formalizing a shared commitment to literacy, student success, access to information and lifelong learning. Recognizing the impact that closer collaboration could have on educational outcomes throughout the community, District 60 and PCCLD worked together to develop a framework that would expand access to library resources and opportunities for students and families.
Dr. Kimzey continued, "The library serves as a vibrant literacy hub for our community, and D60 is honored to be part of that community. Today's agreement solidifies our commitment to partnering with our library to ensuring our entire community is empowered by reading."
As those discussions evolved, it became clear that including District 70 in this same initiative would further strengthen reach and impact. District 70's longstanding commitment to student learning and community partnership made it a natural fit, resulting in a united partnership among all three organizations to advance literacy and educational achievement across Pueblo County. The agreement also solidified the school districts commitment to creating a community of readers by supporting the annual Summer Reading and All Pueblo Reads literacy programs.
“We are proud to work alongside our partners in education to ensure that students and teachers have the tools they need to learn, explore, and thrive,” Baca said.
Stay up to date with PCCLD visit www.pueblolibrary.org