Our library media program at Irby is designed not only to encourage the acquisition of reading skills, but also to foster a love of reading. By providing materials for both home and school, we hope our students will gain an appreciation of how books and reading can support and enhance all other learning throughout their lives.

What do we do in the library media center? We...
1. Check out books every week to take home and use in our classrooms.
2. Come in for regular story times and library skills sessions.
3. Use our Smart Board to do activities about library and class subjects.
4. Learn how to take good care of our books and magazines.
5. Learn about our favorite authors and illustrators.
6. Participate in special library activities during School Library Media Week, the Florida Reading Association Book Contest, and two Book Fairs.
7. Learn about different types of libraries.

How can you help your child enjoy books?
1. Read to your child regularly and always encourage silent reading.
2. Introduce your child to all varieties of printed materials. Magazines, newspapers, maps, catalogs, menus, even comic books are all good reading sources!
3. Come in and visit us. Parents are encouraged to check out books to take home.
4. Encourage your child to participate in our reading enrichment program called ACCELERATED READER.

AR is very popular at Irby -- nearly all of our first and second graders, and even some of our reading kindergartners participate. It is a program designed to teach children the love of reading -- to hook 'em on books.

Each student reads a book from the Library AR collection, and then takes a short computer test on that book in the Computer Lab. Students accumulate points to reach goals and win prizes, progressing from the 5-Point Twinkler Club all the way on up to the 150-Point Superstar Club. Since a perfect test score usually adds 0.5 points to a student's record, a Superstar must have read at least 300 books! Their certificates and prizes are awarded every Tuesday morning over our closed-circuit morning announcements.

Click on the links below to go to our Irby AR Title List and to some other wonderful sites for our primary students.