The mission of the DVUSD Library Media Center staff is to work collaboratively with teachers and students to support academics, to promote reading for pleasure and information, and to prepare our community of learners with the life-long skills necessary to be competent, critical, ethical and independent seekers and users of information.
Using the Union Park Library Media Center
Getting around the LMC is easy if you know how to use it. First, you can see that all of the shelves are labeled by the type of books that are on those shelves. All books are arranged on each shelf in very specific ways, so it's important to understand book types in order to find the book you need/want. It's also very important that you keep the books properly shelved. Students are required to use our yellow Toro shelf marker while visiting the shelves. This helps everyone to find what they need by keeping the books in the correct order. If you do not know where a book goes, please give it to the librarian or put it on the book return cart. You can improve your library skill by playing some very special games!
Remember, the more you use the LMC, the easier it will become to find things on your own. So come in regularly!
Union Park Book Collection
Want to find a book in our collection? Visit Destiny from any computer! Log in with the student's username and password.
Remember, if you can't find what you're looking for at the Union Park Library Media Center, you can always look for books at the Phoenix Public Library by accessing Browse the Library.
Deer Valley Unified School District is providing each student with an incredible research tool, free access to the Arizona State research databases. We want students to realize that academic research goes far beyond simply "Googling" something.
The Deer Valley Education Foundation (DVEF) will sponsor the 2024-2025 Battle of the Books for Deer Valley School District students. The reading incentive program is open to students in fifth and sixth grades. Students read books and come together to demonstrate their abilities and test their knowledge of the books they have read. The competitions are lively academic competitions. Battle of the Books improves reading comprehension, builds vocabulary, and teaches teamwork and good sportsmanship.
Fifth and sixth-grade students will be teamed in groups of 3 (with a maximum of 12 teams per school) to compete and test their knowledge in three competitions during the 2024-2025 school year. There will be 3 rounds held throughout the school year in September/October 2024, December 2024, and February/March 2025. Each round has 4 books for students to read and teams earn points based on correctly answering questions about each round's books. The top team from each school will compete in a District Battle in March 2025, with the top team representing our District in an inter-district battle in May 2025.
2024-2025 Battle Books:
Battle I (September/October)
Healer of the Water Monster, Young (362 pages, Adventure; Myth, 750L)
The Union Park Library Media Center (LMC) collection consists of more than 10,000 items, available to students, staff and parents. Additionally, the LMC has Chromebook computers with Google Chrome and access to the Internet. The LMC is open daily from 7:30 AM-4:00 PM for staff members and 8:00 AM-3:15 PM for students. The LMC closes 12-12:30 daily for lunch.
Circulation
Children from kindergarten through the 8th grade may check out books as follows:
Kindergarten - 1 book for 1 week
1st Grade - 1 book for 1 week
2nd Grade - 2 books for 2 weeks
3rd - 5th Grades - 2 books for 2 weeks
6th Grade- 2 books for 2 weeks
7th/8th Grades 1 book for 2 weeks
Books may be renewed once if there are no holds on the title. Students are required to renew the book on the due date. Library privileges are suspended until an overdue book is returned, renewed, or paid for if lost/damaged. Fines for damaged or lost books may be paid here. This is available for library book fines as well as Chromebook fines.
It is suggested to students that books be kept in a Gallon-sized zip-lock bag in backpacks when not being read. This will allow students to have their books when it’s their day to visit the LMC and to protect them from harm. Please be mindful of water bottles placed in backpacks. This can quickly ruin books! Always use the outside holders.
Please remember… students are responsible for the books they check out. If a book is damaged/lost, the student will be asked to pay for the book. Until the book is paid for or returned, a student’s checkout privileges are suspended. The care of books helps maintain our library collection for all of our students. These fines help to purchase replacement copies of damaged/lost books.
Finally, if parents would like to limit the number of books their child can check out, they may do so by contacting the media center.
Accessing the Collection and Student Account from Home
Our library computer system is called Destiny. Students and parents can access this Union Park collection from home by visiting Union Park Destiny. In addition to checking the availability of books and creating lists, students and parents can review a student’s account, including due dates of books on loan, overdue materials, and holds. Parents and students may access My Info by logging in. Students can also check out ebooks by logging into their account and typing in ebooks into the catalog search or clicking on Destiny Discover on the left side of the page.
Internet Usage
Computers are available for student use during regularly scheduled class visits as well as for students on passes. They may be used for assigned classwork, research, and testing. Students and parents/guardians must read and understand the Internet and E-mail User Agreement, and both must sign the Acknowledgments and Verifications form before students are allowed to use the computers. Computers are monitored and privileges can be canceled for violations of this agreement. The District offers students space on the server to save school projects; however, students must provide their own USB drive to save files for use elsewhere.
Access ebooks and eAudiobooks from the library! All you need is your library card number and pin. You can search by Lexile and Interest Level to find the right book for you! There's no reason to ever be without a book!
Reading with and to young readers is essential to developing a love of reading. Discover how you can make a difference with the Tips to Help Support Your Beginning Reader.
Our goal is to make reading a family affair. Help us by adopting family reading habits.
AT LEAST 15 minutes before bedtime, turn off all electronics.
Read TO your child or read WITH your child (take turns reading a paragraph or page, then switch.)
If you have too much to do yourself some days, have a sibling or a relative or a friend read to your child.
If your child can read themselves, have them read to a stuffed animal, a dog, a cat or any pet.
5. BE AN EXAMPLE. Let them see you reading as much as possible. If you don't like books, read magazines or newspapers. Reading is reading, it doesn't matter what form.
Older students with devices assigned to them should learn to update their devices as needed and troubleshoot when issues arise. Below are some files that can help students and parents. Devices with issues that cannot be resolved should be brought to the Library Media Center.
These sites offer more information about the Dewey Decimal Classification System and challenging games and activities to test your knowledge of library skills.
Non-fiction: books that are about real things - animals, countries, space, etc.. They are a combination of numbers and letters (550 DOB) Biographies: are located in 921 by the subject - Abraham Lincoln would be found in (921 LIN.) Fiction: books are made up by the author, (FIC) Everybody: books that everyone can enjoy, a lot of pictures and some words.(E) Easy non-fiction: generally, easy non-fiction books for grades K-3 (E 550.2 DOD) Beginning Chapter Books: fiction books for grades 1-3 (BC ABD)
Spanish: books that are written in Spanish, they may be everybody, fiction or non-fiction (SP E 200 ADV)
Graphic Novels: Books can be fiction or non fiction and are written in a format that is like a comic book, with pictures and word bubbles
ebooks: books that can be accessed and read on a computer, ipad, iphone or other smartphone. These are accessed going to destiny.dvusd.org , logging in and clicking on destiny discover. 1 checkout limit.
Young Adult: YA books are for 7th & 8th grade students only due to more mature content.
Every book in the LMC will have a spine label located on the book's spine, easily visible when on the shelf. It contains the book's call number. This is the book's "address." This address will identify to the reader what type of book it is and where on the shelf it belongs relative to the other books. Using a yellow shelf marker is very important to keep books shelved properly so that other students may find them.
Non-fiction Organization
Non-fiction books are organized using the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC). This system was developed by Melvil Dewey, one the greatest librarians of all time. He used 10 numerical categories to organize books by their subject matter. This graph of a caveman considering himself and the world around him, makes remembering the Dewey system a little easier. While the number identifies the category, the first 3 letters of the author's last name are also used for further classification.
Examples: Believe It Or Not: Space Facts by David Baker - 501 BAK Cats That Roar by Kimberly Weinberger - E 599.75 WEI (Everybody Non-fiction) Arizona the Beautiful by Herb McLaughlin - REF 917.91 MCL (Reference)
Fiction Organization
Fiction is organized by using the first 3 letters of the author's last name.
Examples: The Giver by Lois Lowry - FIC LOW (Fiction) The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss - E SEU(Everybody) Junie B. Jones - BC PAR (Beginning Chapter)
Graphic Novels
All Graphic novels, Fiction and Non Fiction is organized by using GN and the call number whether it is Fic or Non-Fiction
Spanish Books
Spanish books will be organized by using SP and the call number.
Shelving Books
It is very important to shelve books correctly. Some important things to remember:
The spine of the book should always be facing out so that the call number is visible and readable.
Occasionally, a book is too tall to fit on the shelf properly. In this case, the spine should face up and out towards the reader.
Shelf markers help to hold a book's place when the book is removed to look at. After looking at the book, it is then placed back where the shelf marker is holding it's place. It is than properly shelved for the next patron.
Call numbers for non-fiction books begin with numbers, followed by the first 3 letters of the author's last name. For example: Did you Know? Science by Emily Dodd- 500 DOD
Decimals are used to further refine the location of non-fiction. In this case they should be shelved as follows:
Fiction books have call numbers that contain letters, using the first 3 letters of an author's last name. For example: The Giver by Lois Lowry- FIC LOW
There are two sections for Everybody books-picture books and non-fiction. The call numbers for both of Everybody books are the same as fiction and non-fiction, except they will both start with E.
Beginning Chapter books have call numbers like Fiction, however, they begin with BC.
Graphic Novels have call numbers like non-fiction, but they start wit GN and are located in their own section. There is an Everybody Graphic novel section for younger readers and a regular Graphic novel section for older readers. This is based on content.
Young Adult books may be fiction or non-fiction and are organized as such, and they begin with YA.
Spanish books may be Everybody picture books, Non-Fiction, Fiction or Beginning Chapter books and begin with SP.
