Arthur D.

Healey School
Library
A HANDBOOK AND RESEARCH GUIDE

HEALEY LIBRARY| 5 MEACHAM STREET | SOMERVILLE, MA 02145

Table of Contents
General Information …………….. p. 2
Library Map …………….. p. 3
The Research Process …………….. p. 4
Locating Resources …………….. p. 6
Evaluating Sources ……………..p. 8

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 General Information
Arthur D. Healey School (PK – 8)
5 Meacham Street

Somerville, Ma 02145

617-625-6500 x6553

School Hours: 8:10-2:35

Library Media Center Hours:
Open for scheduled classes 8:25-2:25 | open afterschool until 3:15

School Mission: The Healey School is an innovative participatory

learning community. Academic competence is highly valued, and we
believe that children learn best in a joyful, creative environment, one in
which their natural curiosity, imagination and thinking are encouraged.
Our curriculum is based on thematic, project based learning, designed
to engage children's interest and best efforts. We are committed to an
educational program that recognizes the importance of community in
the lives of children.

Library Department Mission: Library media specialists collaborate

with teachers and staff, consult with administrators, and instruct
students in order to provide a program and environment that

• Nurtures students’ intellectual and social growth

• Translates curriculum frameworks into authentic learning activities
• Identify, acquire, and organize resources to support all areas of the
curriculum
• Improve the teaching of effective literacy and information skills to
enable students to acquire, judge, and use information, and create
new knowledge.
• Incorporate emerging technologies into programs and curriculum-
related activities

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3
The Research Process
Asking, Finding, Searching, Gathering, Synthesizing & Sharing

Asking
Before you can get very far, you need to be clear on the question(s)
your research is going to answer. Check with your teacher to be sure
you understand both the assignment and the research question
guiding your work.

Finding
Information is at your fingertips in the library! Depending on your
research needs you may decide to use our library book catalogue,
subscription databases, online encyclopedias, magazine collection or
student-friendly Internet search tools to find information that will meet
your needs.

Searching
Identifying strong keywords, using advanced search tools, and
evaluating information sources pave the way for the researcher to locate
information that will be useful in answering the research question.

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Gathering
To always be certain where each bit of knowledge originated from,
researchers need to be. Note cards or a graphic organizer help keep
track of what information came from which source.

Synthesizing
When the information needed is gathered, the researcher synthesizes
what they have learned combining ideas and making connections.
Going back to the original research question, be sure to support your
answer with evidence or details recorded from your research.

Sharing
Sometimes you may need to write a research report, but there are so
many other ways to show off your research – video or audio recordings,
slide presentation, podcast, newscast, oral presentation, diorama,
performance, or public service announcement to name a few.

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 Locating Resources

Search and access the Healey Library collection using out card
catalogue: https://somerville.follettdestiny.com/

What’s on the Shelves?

Early Fiction The picture book section.
Early Chapter Early readers, books that often include a reading
level
Fiction Chapter books; stories from the author’s
imagination
Non-fiction Books containing facts and information
YA Mature titles for students grade 6 & up
Biography Non-fiction books about a person’s life
Spanish Books written in the Spanish language
Magazines Periodicals on a variety of topics including
animals, pets, creative writing, and the world
around us

Online Reference and Resources

Dictionary & https://www.merriam-webster.com/
https://www.dictionary.com/
Thesaurus https://www.thesaurus.com/
Atlas https://www.factmonster.com/atlas
https://www.worldatlas.com/
Internet https://www.sweetsearch.com/
https://www.kiddle.co/
Searching http://www.kidtopia.info/
Open https://www.si.edu/openaccess
https://unsplash.com/license
access https://pixnio.com/
images
Citation https://zbib.org/
https://www.easybib.com/
Tools
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Subscription Resources and Databases
Gale in https://go.gale.com/ps/start.do?p=ITKE&u=mlin_m_healeys&sid=geolin
ks
Context -
Elementary
Gale in https://go.gale.com/ps/start.do?p=MSIC&u=mlin_m_healeys&sid=geoli
nks
Context –
Middle School
Gale in http://libraries.state.ma.us/login?db=BIC&locid=mlin_m_healeys
Context –
Biography
Gale in http://libraries.state.ma.us/login?db=UHIC&locid=mlin_m_healeys
Context – U.S.
History
Gale in http://libraries.state.ma.us/login?db=WHIC&locid=mlin_m_healeys
Context-
World History
Gale Onefile - http://libraries.state.ma.us/login?db=STND&locid=mlin_m_healeys
News
The Boston https://search.proquest.com/bostonglobe/index?accountid=33323

Globe
The New https://go.gale.com/ps/start.do?p=SPJ.SP24&u=mlin_m_healeys&sid=ge
olinks
York Times
Britannica http://libraries.state.ma.us/login?db=eb_es&locid=mlin_m_healeys
School -
Elementary
Britannica http://libraries.state.ma.us/login?db=eb_ms&locid=mlin_m_healeys

School –
Middle
Britannica http://libraries.state.ma.us/login?db=eb_escolar&locid=mlin_m_healeys

Escolar

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Evaluating Sources
Anyone with a computer and an Internet connection can add content to the Internet.
There are no rules requiring information to be accurate or even truthful. As
researchers, we need some skills to recognize websites that we can trust. By
evaluating a website in terms of accuracy, currency, relevancy, authority and
objectivity we can determine if the site is one to use for research.

Question Reliable? Y or N
Accuracy Does the information
make sense? Is it free of
grammatical errors? Can
you confirm the
information on a 2nd site?
Currency Has the website been
updated recently? Do the
links on the page work?
Relevant Does the site look
professional? Is
information complete?
Authority Who is responsible for
the content of the site?
What credentials do they
have? Can you contact the
site directly?
Objectivity What is the purpose of the
website? Does the author
have an opinion on the
topic? Is there too much
advertising?

After following this evaluation process and digging deeper into a

website, the researcher should have a better sense of the shortcomings
that might exist or feel more confident in trusting the source. Be sure to
look at anything on the Internet critically before including it in your
research!

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Plagiarism
Pretending someone else’s words are your own is called
plagiarism and it is a very serious mistake. We must be
responsible and respectful when we use ideas from someone
else and be sure to give proper credit.
We can create citations and give proper credit by following
some very specific rules depending on our information source.
Books
1. Name of author. Last name first, first name second.
2. Title of book underlined.
3. Date of publication.
Ex.
Baxter, Annie. The Solar System. 2017.
Websites
1. Name of author. Last name first, first name second.
2. Title of article in quotation marks.
3. Title of website underlined.
4. Date, month and year published.
5. Web.
6. Date month and year accessed.
Ex.
Conolly, Steven. “All About the Planets.” NASA. 24
March 2019. Web. 17 May 2019.

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Magazines
1. Name of author. Last name first, first name second.
2. Title of article in quotation marks.
3. Title of magazine underlined.
4. Date, month and year published.
Ex.
Lopez, Juan. “The Mystery of Mars.” National
Geographic. 13 Nov 2016.

Online Encyclopedia
1. Topic of article.
2. Title of encyclopedia underlined.
3. Online.
Ex.
Planets. Britannica School Elementary. Online.

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