Students may check out one book each, which are due in two weeks.
Students must pay for lost or damaged books. If damages are minor, the fee may be smaller than the full cost. If damages severely curtail the use of the books for future readers, students may have to pay the entire price of the book so that a replacement may be ordered.
We do not accept a replacement book instead of payment. Generally the price we pay for a book includes the processing materials like labels and covers and pockets. Altogether, the price we pay is usually more expensive with the cost of processing materials.
Books that get wet are subject to growing mold which may infect the entire library rapidly, so we strongly urge that students keep liquids away from all library books and protect their books from the rain. Sometimes mold grows slowly in the spine area and may take weeks to grow there because that is where the materials are thickest. Mold can cause severe reactions in students and staff with respiratory difficulties. And mold may not grow immediately, so we do not risk putting the book back into the library circulation. We cannot risk a mold infection throughout the library from one wet book.
Libraries do not accept checks or credit/debit cards for fines. Please send cash only.
Libraries do not hold report cards for library fines.
Students may be denied participation is school activities, such as games or dances, if they owe a library fine.
Students owing a library fine are not permitted to check out library materials until they pay their fines.
Fines travel from campus to campus until they are paid.
Seniors are not permitted to participate in graduation until their fines are paid.
Refunds are given if a lost/paid book is found before the final day of the school year for students. After the last day of school, the book fine money will be spent to order replacements. All refunds are handled via checks to parents/guardians. No cash refunds are given.
Students may log in to http://destiny.springisd.org, select their campus, and log in with their school username and password. Under the My Info tab, they can see their library materials that are checked out and their fines if they have any.
Students may also download the Destiny Discover app to their phones or tablets and check their fines that way as well.
We seldom pass out paper fine notices. Students should check their account in Destiny online.
Students in our library are free to choose a book for themselves without restrictions. We do not support using purchased reading programs like AR (Accelerated Reader) for sound reasons supported by research. Most of these programs rely on "reading levels" which, in fact, have very little meaning. Even Fontas and Pinnell, creators of a teaching system known as Guided Reading are opposed to letting a child know what "level" they are reading on. They view the levels they created as a tool for teachers, not a tool for students.
Leveling and labeling books with levels work on a child's psyche by making the child feel labeled. The algorithms that create levels, such as Lexiles, are based strictly on counting things like vocabulary words and length of sentences. No algorithm can correctly evaluate the higher order thinking required to comprehend and interpret texts. Fontas and Pinnell suggest that only teachers should use these tools, but balanced with the teacher's understanding of a reading selection. The American Library Association's policy statement on labeling books is opposed to libraries using such programs. The best policy is to allow a child to select a book based on their interests and a quick reading of the first few pages to see if the child is comfortable reading it.
The wiser plan, based on many decades of solid research, is to invest in books for the school library, to have a certified librarian on campus, and allow students time to freely choose what they want to read.