The Card Catalogue

The Card Catalogue is a piece of furniture found in most libraries. It holds many small drawers. The drawers hold many small cards - 3 inches by 5 inches to be exact. On each of these cards there is printed information about books. You will find these books on the shelves in the library.

To find out if a certain book is owned by the library, you look in the drawers of the card catalogue.

Some drawers are marked AUTHOR, these cards are filed alphabetically.

Some drawers are marked TITLE, these cards are filed alphabetically.

Some drawers are marked SUBJECT, these cards are also filed alphabetically.

How do I find the books on the shelves???

All the books in the library are divided into two sections. There are fiction books and nonfiction books.

Fiction books contain stories that have been made up; they are not "true" stories. Some fiction books may be about a real person who lived a long time ago but the author invents a story using the name of this person in their story.

Nonfiction books give you information on subjects such as history, geography, languages, poetry etc.

Fiction books are put on the shelves alphabetically by the author's last name.

Nonfiction books are put on the shelves by their subject area. That is to say, all the history books are shelved together in one section; all the religion books are shelved together in one section etc. Nonfiction books will have a number on the spine; underneath this number is printed the author's last name. The number will tell you what subject area the book has been put into. This number is called a "Dewey Number".

Kinds of Catalogue Cards

In the upper left corner of each card is a number (e.g. 782.1) which is called the "call number". This number is also called the "Dewey number". This type of book is a nonfiction book and you will find it on the shelves with a lot of other books that also have numbers on them.

There will also be a letter underneath the number (in the upper left corner of the card) which represents the first leffter in the author's last name.

Author Cards: are found in a drawer in the Card Catalogue marked "Authors". The first line on the card tells you who wrote the book. The author's last name is always printed first, then his first and second is printed after. The second line tells you the TITLE or name of the book. The third line tells you what company published the book and the year in which it was published. The fourth line tells you how many pages the book has and if it has pictures in it. At the bottom of the card, in CAPITAL (like this) letters are words (e.g. MUSIC:OPERA). This tells you what the book is about (e.g. music and operas).

Title Cards: are found in a drawer marked "TITLES". The first line on this card tells you the title or name of the book. The second line on this card tells you who wrote the book or the author. Remember, the author's last name is always printed first. The third line again gives you the title. The Publisher, date the book is published and how many pages and if the book is illustrated is also printed on this card.

Subject Cards: are found in a drawer marked "SUBJECT". The first line on these cards is printed in CAPITALS. This tells you what the SUBJECT is for this book (what the book is about). Some books may have more than one subject card so there is a card in the Card Catalogue for each subject that the book has in it. The second line tells you the author's name. The third line tells you the title of the book. The fourth line tells you the publisher and date the book is published. The fifth line tells how many pages the book has and if it has pictures.

What is the Internet?

The Internet is a global, de-centralized network of computers taking advantage of common protocols permitting the transfer of information. No individual, company or government controls the Internet.

What are the risks?

There are many risks and security issues involving the use of the Internet. Parents and their kids should be most concerned about:

• Viewing inappropriate material
• Possible sexual assaults
• Harassment
• Hate crimes
• Frauds and scams

Tips for kids

• NEVER give out any personal information such as your address, telephone number, parents' place of work or their phone number, the name and location of your school or any other information that may identify you
• NEVER agree to get together with someone you 'meet' online without checking with your parents first - make sure you meet in a public place and take one of your parents with you
• NEVER send anyone you picture - don't accept any pictures either
• NEVER respond to any messages that make you feel uncomfortable
• NEVER lose your common sense while online - remember you are talking to a stranger! The people you are talking to may not be who they say they are
• NEVER send an insulting or rude message to anyone online. 'Flaming' is not good 'Netiquette'
• Use a 'code name'
• Report any harassment or inappropriate messages to your online service and to the Police
• Set your browser to say NO to cookies

Tips for parents

• Learn about what your child is doing on the Internet - know what Web Sites they are visiting, know what types of chat rooms, email and messages your child is involved in online
• Find out about Filtering Software Packages that are available to block out objectionable material
• Keep computer usage a family activity by putting the computer in a family room rather than in the child's bedroom
• Set reasonable guidelines for computer use by your children - monitor the amount of time spent on the computer and when
• Create a password that is hard to guess but easy to remember and change it often (the best method is to think of a sentence or phrase and use the frist letter from each word... also try to add numbers and symbols to further confuse would-be crackers)
• Have your child use a 'code name' while online
• Be wary of any offers that involve your child going to a meeting or having someone visit your home - remember that someone who says they are a '12 year old girl' could actually be a '40 year old man'

The Essa Centennial Library would like to encourage the use of 'safe sites' on the internet and has, thus, made some links available, just for kids, which can be accessed at the bottom of this page or at our World Links page. You can be sure that anything on our site and any links from our site will be safe for any agegroup :-)

Let the games begin! Here is a list of some online games that are on the Essa Centennial Library's site. That's right! You can play video games right in your browser! Pretty cool, eh? Click on the underlined links and have fun:-)

• A Girl's World Online Clubhouse
• Yahooligans - a web guide for kids
• Owl Kids Online
• Sports Illustrated for Kids
• Cyberkids
• National Geographic Online for Kids
• The Canadian Kid's Page
• World Surfari
• Kids After School Clubhouse
• Ask Jeeves for Kids
• Kid's Health
• Media Education - Just for Kids - ages 7 - 13
• Kid Safety Tips
• Bonus.com - Supersite for Kids
• Emmett Scott's Cartoon Corner - cartoon drawing
• A World of Kindergartens
• Kid's Web Page - literature links
• Magic School Bus
• The Adventures of Hip-O
• Buils a Monster
• Ckickadee Net
• Kid's Space Connection: Penpal Box
• Lemonade Stand
• Kratt's Creatures - animal facts
• Net Eye - magazine for young computer artists
• CLN's Origami Theme Page
• Kindersurprise