DCIS Primary Libraries:  Information for families

Students in Primary will have barcodes provided with their login details.

They can also use their 365 Microsoft Login details.

For students in Primary, barcodes have their login information for Destiny Discover (our library catalogue). It will look something like this:

Updates for the 2024-2025 Academic Year

We are thrilled at the ongoing development of the DCIS Primary Libraries curriculum, teaching our students the importance of research skills, whilst nurturing a love of reading and supporting engagement in a range of genres and topics. 

The enhancements that have taken place in the Upper Primary Library, as well as the purchasing of new books across school has made a significant impact to the children’s reading opportunities and experiences.

All of the DCIS Libraries are proud to promote further opportunities to access the spaces through extended borrowing hours:

LOWER PRIMARY LIBRARY

BEFORE SCHOOL 08:00-08:40

• EYFS and Pathway 3 students: With a member of staff

• Year 1 and Year 2 students: Independently

AFTER SCHOOL 15:00-15:150

• All Lower Primary Library students: With a caregiver

UPPER PRIMARY LIBRARY

BEFORE SCHOOL 08:00-08:40

• All Upper Primary Library Students: Independently

AFTER SCHOOL 15:00-15:15

• All Upper Primary Library Students: Independently

 We can’t wait to continue to update families with more exciting news this year!

DCIS Primary Book Bags

Students can borrow two books at a time.

The DCIS Libraries team have designed new book bags over the last academic year and introduced them for a number of reasons:

• They have been measured to ensure that our books, including the larger non-fiction books, fit inside them. We have found that other shop-bought folders do not always fit the books and that those folders with zips have broken and have needed to be replaced.

• The Book Bags have a water-resistant lining inside which we hope will help offer protection from the unpredictable weather in Singapore. Again, many of the backpacks that students use do not offer this lining and it has results in library books being water-damaged and needing replacing.

• The Book Bags have been designed to include the student barcodes, which the students will need for borrowing. This will also help with identifying who they belong to.

• By being branded, it helps any book bags that may get lost outside of school to be returned successfully.

• We believe that the new design and quality will last students throughout their time in Primary, with the cost being a one-off and hopefully, in the long run, saving on the cost of a replacement book.

As we continue to update our resources in the library, our aim is to ensure that the books are protected and kept safe, allowing them to be borrowed over an extended period of time. 

Ideally, we would like students to use the new book bags for the above reasons but appreciate there needs to be a period of grace to these changes. Students can use their old book bags until a time when they are ready to upgrade, at which point our preference is that a DCIS Book Bag is purchased as a replacement. 

The DCIS Libraries' priority is to encourage not only a love of books and reading but to ensure that students are able to keep all books safe and protected.

The DCIS Primary Libraries Team

LOST OR DAMAGED A LIBRARY BOOK? 

Don’t worry! On this page you will find all the information on what to do. 

PLEASE NOTE: Any attempted repairs by families will not be accepted and a replacement of the same book will be requested. The DCIS Libraries have specialist equipment to fix damaged books. 

For hygiene safety, and to respect our diverse community, we are unable to reshelve books damaged by pets and would also require a replacement of the same book to be purchased. This is also the case for any books that suffer severe water damage. We have found that these books start to go mouldy and this then spreads through other books. 

Please inform your child’s Librarian at your earliest convenience, should they bring home a book that shows signs of possible previous damage.

Book Replacements can be purchased online or in-store. We recommend:

• Online: Kinokuniya, Blackwells UK, 

• In-Store: Kinokuniya, Popular

Replacement books can be shipped directly to school using the following address format:

DCIS Libraries Book Replacement (Student initials and class.)
Dover Court International School
301 Dover Road
Singapore
139644

Once the replacement book has been ordered, please forward confirmation to the relevant DCIS Library, with your child’s name and class as the subject heading. For Example: Siobhan Walker 6S Book Replacement.

We are unable to accept used or second-hand replacements. If you are not able to find a suitable replacement, please contact the DCIS Libraries team for further guidance and they will be happy to help.

REPONSES TO CHALLENGES AND CONCERNS ABOUT LIBRARY RESOURCES 

Should any member of our community need to challenge a book within our collection, concerns should be raised immediately with the Class Teacher and DCIS Library Team. They will remove the book from the collection and a thorough investigative process will be carried out before reshelving takes place.

 The process of cataloguing is thorough and multiple sources are checked before books are shelved, such as within our international school library communities here in Singapore, and publishing guidelines. We use publisher ratings as our preferred method to confirm age appropriation, as well as reputable bookstores and Common Sense Media as additional reliable resources. 

 The DCIS Primary Libraries team’s aim is to ensure all students have access to topics of interest and that these are appropriately sourced in terms of content and suitability for various ages, and that the information provided to them is factually accurate and up to date.