Peifer Library
The library is open every school day from 7:45 AM to 4:45 PM.
Library
A dramatic, domed resource center is the focal point of Tampa Prep's 150,000-square-foot complex. The Tampa Prep Peifer Library, located on the third floor of the school, serves both the Upper and Middle school divisions. The library offers students access to 15 Apple eMac computers, a variety of videos, DVDs, CD-ROMs, laserdiscs, scanners, cassette recorders, a laser printer, a copier, digital cameras and a video camera. The Sagebrush InfoCentre software, an integrated library automation software, is also available for faculty and students to use to locate books, videos, laserdiscs, software, and equipment.
Staff
The Peifer Library staff manages the procedures and the organization of the library. The staff consists of the Librarian/Media Specialist and a Library Assistant.
Tampa Prep's Technology Services Department oversees the hardware and network for the school and is available for instructional support.
Profile
The Peifer Library is home to 7,958 volumes to serve the Upper and Middle School, and there is always room for expansion. The collection includes encyclopedias, fiction, nonfiction, reference and professional books. There are also twenty printed periodicals, in addition to the online subscription services. The collection evolves from the needs and expectations of the faculty and students. Throughout the year, the Librarian/Media Specialist purchases books to support the curriculum and to fill patron requests whether for research or general interest. Book donations are also accepted during the course of the year. The collection expands with easy access from the Peifer Library web site to the patron catalog of the Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco County Public Library systems.
A Challenged Book Policy Committee consisting of the Head of School, Librarian/Media Specialist, Upper and Middle School teachers, parents, and the student council president is in place in the event that a book is challenged.
Online Subscription Services
The library media materials collection includes the following: Encyclopedia Britannica Online, several modules of Gale (Expanded Academic, Opposing Viewpoints, Professional Collection, Scribner Writers Series, Student Resource Center Silver, Twayne Author Series), that includes periodical and reference book articles, Lexis-Nexis and SIRS Researcher and SIRS Discoverer, all of which are accessible from school or home. The online periodical sources serve upper and middle school grade levels.
Computer Programs
The library's computer programs include the following: internet access, Web Browser (Safari), real player, windows media player, Appleworks, Adobe Reader, Microsoft OfficeX (Word, Excel, Powerpoint), World Book Encyclopedia, Data Studio (for TI calculators), TI connect, Epson scanner software, calculator, image capture, iPhoto, iCal, DVD player, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Sound Studio, text edit, patron’s catalog.
Availability and Services
There is open scheduling for classes in the library. The Librarian/Media Specialist and the Library Assistant handle scheduling for the library.
There is constant communication to acquaint the school community with the library’s resource services. Teachers inform the Librarian/Media Specialist of what their research needs will be. In addition, observance of individual student research in the library and student requests provides leads for the Librarian/Media Specialist to research additional resources for a specific assignment. The Librarian/Media Specialist can create a presentation on the NetTV of the print and online services that will meet the needs of a particular class topic.
On occasion the Librarian/Media Specialist goes to the Middle School computer hubs to do research presentations and assist students with research. The Middle School students also come to the library for research. Throughout the year, topic specific books are pulled and kept on carts in the library for easy access for both the Middle and the Upper Schools. This service is usually by teacher request only. Sometimes a cart of topic specific books is rolled into a classroom for the duration of a project.
Sunshine State Young Readers’ Award Program
Tampa Prep Middle School students who wish to participate in the Sunshine State Young Readers’ Award Program meet with the Librarian/Media Specialist in the library workroom once a week, during lunch, to discuss the authors and titles on the Sunshine State Young Readers’ Award list. The program is conducted from October to the first week in April. Multiple copies of the Sunshine Readers' titles are purchased to accommodate the students' interests. At the end of each year’s program, several copies of the Sunshine titles are sent to Middle School English classrooms. At the request of the participants, the group continues to meet once a week until the end of the school year to discuss and sometimes read out loud the titles of the participants' choices.
