New School Year Means Science Experiment Time!

"Hey Mom, I forgot to go to the library to do my science homework!"

If you've heard this line too many times to count, we have some good news for you: The Pottsville Library has some online science resources you can use from home, any time of day or night. These materials don't count as "Internet resources" in teacher's instructions, which usually means the kids can't use Google to find their information. The online resources from the Pottsville Library are authoritative reference materials appropriate for school kids to use for homework assignments.

The Reference Department has purchased a number of science experiment ebooks, available for you to use from your home computer. Just go to the library's home page at www.pottsvillelibrary.org, click on the link that says "Infobase eBooks", and enter your Pottsville library card number. There are a number of subjects available here, in addition to the 12 books just on science experiments. Is your son or daughter interested in Forensics? Biology? Weather? We have books with experiments in these fields!

Additional ebooks are available from the Britannica collection. From the library's home page, click on the link that says "Britannica E-Books", and enter your Pottsville library card number. There are several ebooks dealing with specific parts of the human body, as well as books on fossil fuels and renewable energy.

And if your student needs more information to go along with their project, you can also access the POWER Library, a collection of reference materials available to residents of the state of Pennsylvania. From the Pottsville Library's home page, click on the link that says "POWER Library Network", and enter your Pottsville library card number. Elementary school students can use the "Kids Search", "Primary Search", or "SIRS Discoverer" databases. Middle school students can use "Kids Search", "SIRS Discoverer", or "Middle Search" databases. High school students should use "MasterFILE" (general topics), "GreenFILE" (for environmental issues), or "Newspaper Source Plus" (specifically for newspaper articles).

If you are really stuck trying to find something, and the library is closed for the day, you can also use the "Ask Here PA" service (on the Pottsville Library home page), available to all state residents. A librarian is always available to help you find materials that can be trusted.

Have questions about using online resources? Contact the Reference Department at potref@pottsvillelibrary.org, or by telephone at 570-622-8880.