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Textbooks
Activities
The library opens each day at 7.30am and closes each day at 5.30. We are also open each break. We provide spaces for silent individual study, collaborative work and silent reading. The library has numerous board games and other activities for students to enjoy. We have two photocopiers for student use. These should be accessed by students before/after school or during break time.
Reading
It is no surprise that the evidence overwhelmingly confirms that students who read for enjoyment perform better academically than those who do not. However, we enjoy numerous other benefits when we choose to read for enjoyment. The Villanova College Reading Program promotes reading for enjoyment and specifically targets our Years 5, 6 and 7 students. Students play an enormous role in promoting this pastime. Your positive attitudes around reading helps build a supportive culture in your classroom. This is the link to our Reading Program details.
We hold an extensive print collection of fiction and non-fiction as well as audiobooks and ebooks. Click on this link to search the library's print collection using Infiniti, the library's catalogue. Click on this link to find out about our audiobook and ebook collection.
Information Literacy
The library collaborates closely with Curriculum Area Leaders and classroom teachers to deliver a series of lessons targeting specific information literacy skills that students require to become effective users of information. Information literacy, especially in an increasingly digital world, is foundational to the skills of 21st century learning, which underpin the Australian Curriculum. These skills stay with us well into our adult lives because they allow us to critically evaluate the information we encounter. As these lessons are delivered, you will be reminded that the details of the presentation will sit with the relevant LibGuide. All our presentations are supported by resources on the Library's iCentre.
LibGuides
LibGuides are Library Guides put together by the library to support you with the study of a particular unit. These guides provide students with a myriad of assistance, ranging from: the construction of their references, search tips, tutorials on the use of databases and more. The guides also provide you with a springboard into your research. Sources have been carefully selected to help you with your search for information. Click on the following links to navigate to these example guides: Place and Liveability (Year 7 Geography), Prophets, Covenants and Social Justice (Year 8 RE), World War 1 (Year 9 History), Biotechnology (Year 10 Biology), Hamlet (Year 12 English). Guides have also been constructed to help you develop your research skills. Click on these links to navigate to these example guides: Note-taking, Referencing, Inquiry Skills, Search Engines (including how to search Google and Google Scholar effectively) and more.
To access guides which support Research, click the Research link in the Header of the iCentre. To access guides specific to subjects, click Year Level in the Header and then choose the relevant subject to navigate to the guides for that subject.
Databases
Villanova College subscribes to an extensive mix of databases. You are encouraged to use these databases to access quality scholarly works for your research and study needs. Please use these resources when researching for an assignment or studying for an exam. Click here to be directed to our list of Databases. These paid subscriptions require usernames and passwords to gain access, the link to the usernames and passwords are available at the top of the Database page.
Given the number of databases you can navigate, for ease of use, we have also subscribed to a "Discovery Service". This service allows you to search via the one portal most of of our database subscriptions. This is called OneSearch. The Junior, Middle and Senior School have their own OneSearch portals. These portals give you access to the age appropriate database.
Library Books
Over 3,000 library books are turned over each month. The loan period for all fiction and non-fiction loans are three weeks (magazines and graphic novels are borrowed for one week). Our fiction collection is divided into three collections: Senior, Young Adult (YA) and General. Seniors are welcome to borrow from each collection, Years 7, 8 and 9 students can borrow freely from our General and Young Adult sections. Years 5 and 6 students can borrow from our General collection. If a Junior or Middle School student wishes to borrow from our YA or Senior collection respectively then we require written parental permission. You can search the library collection via our Library Catalogue system: Infiniti. Click this link to be directed to the catalogue. You can reserve books you wish to read, keep lists of books, manage your loans, use Syndetics (embedded in Infiniti) to find your next book. See the library staff for more assistance.
Physical Textbooks
The library issues approximately 4,000 physical textbooks to students each year. These books belong to the College but used by the students. Once you receive your books, you should immediately return the books if they are damaged in any way. Another book will be issued to you. You are personally responsible for the book you have been issued. We do not recommend you leave you books in the classroom.
Box of Books
Students across Years 7-12, have access to digital copies of every textbook the school provides. These digital textbooks sit on the Box of Books platform. The platform provides access to your digital texts as well as the digital resources for each textbook. Through Box of Books, you will be provided with the username and password you require to access the publisher resources. Click here for more information on how to get the most out of your digital texts.