Students Can Find Resources at Their Fingertips at the Fenton Library

Students of all ages, from elementary school to college, can find books, computers and other resources to help them at Fenton’s Jack R. Winegarden Library.

Tutors meet students there, and students go to work on projects by themselves or with a group. Librarian Sue Misra, who has been filling in for Chris Heron, said the children’s and teens’ rooms are on the lower floor of the building.

The children's library has books and magazines for young readers. The magazines include Ranger Rick, Girls Life, Boys Life, American Girl, Seventeen, and Sports Illustrated for Kids. There are Book Mouse lists with age- and grade-appropriate books for young readers, and books on CD for teens and junior readers.

Circulating encyclopedias can be checked out for four weeks. Other, non-circulating encyclopedias can only be used in the library. Regular books can be taken home for four weeks, bestsellers for two, DVDs for one, books on CD for four weeks, music CDs for two and older magazines for one week.

In addition, the Fenton branch of the Genesee District Library has computers downstairs, and upstairs, with Internet access. Once a library card holder registers to use the Internet once with library staff, he or she can go right to a computer and use it for 30 minutes at a time, Misra said. More computer time can be obtained after the first 30 minutes, if no one is waiting.

The library’s teen room also is downstairs. Teens can work together on school projects there, or take a break with a book. Manga books are popular with this age group.

“It’s a little crowded, but they circulate a lot of the teen books,” she said, of the teen room.

Upstairs, there are documentary DVDs and DVDs to help students prepare for GED and SAT tests, for example. Other DVDs help people with Microsoft Office computer programs.

Resources include books on graduate programs, scholarships, the “10 Best College Majors,” an encyclopedia of careers and a vocational guide. Animal and plant anatomy books are available upstairs in the library for those doing research.

If there’s a book the Fenton library doesn’t have, staff can order books from another branch of the which has 18 other locations. The library patron can pick up the book at the other library, or have it shipped free of charge to the library in Fenton.

Besides books, Genesee District Library patrons also have access to many databases, including a job and career accelerator that is very good for teens, Misra said. There’s access to the World Book encyclopedia online, along with Info Trac Junior and Kids Info Bits. TumbleBookCloud Junior has animated talking books to teach children the joy of reading, she said.

For older students, Academic OneFile (MeL), has leading journal articles and other reference sources. General OneFile (through MeL) has news and periodicals, with current events on a wide range of topics.

If someone is having difficulty finding something or has a question, “we are always there to help,” Misra said.