Library
The library is central to enriching, implementing and supporting the teaching and learning programme of the College. The library is staffed by a PYP Teacher Librarian (Head of Library), a MYP/DP/CP Teacher Librarian and four library assistants. It is a gateway to access information in a number of forms - books (audio, electronic and print), magazines, newspapers, and online databases and resources.
The College library caters to a wide range of readers and age levels. Our primary school library is located on 2/F and secondary school library on 3/F. Within each library, resources are located within different sections according to different age groups.
Primary students who wish to borrow resources from our secondary school library must have a request form completed by parents/guardians. Secondary students may borrow from both the primary school library and secondary school library.
A separate mature fiction collection is available for Year 11s and up. Students in a year group lower than Year 11 who wish to borrow from our mature fiction collection must provide a note from parents/guardians. The final decision on whether the library will lend the book to the student rests with the Head of Library.
The library is proactive in developing information literate students and supporting an information literate community. The teacher librarians teach and work collaboratively with the teachers at the College as experts in the field of information literacy. Students learn how to access relevant and appropriate databases, online resources and other sources of information while becoming critical thinkers in the research process. Students are also taught the principles of academic integrity.
The library has a policy document covering collection development, donations, challenged materials and censorship. If you would like to read the full document please contact the Head of Library: library@dc.edu.hk
Opening Hours
Library opening hours are: 8 am-4.30 pm on Monday to Thursday and 8 am-4 pm on Friday. The library assistants will cease the check out procedure 10 minutes before closing so please ensure you visit the desk before this time.
The library is open to students before school, during lunchtimes, and during class time. Each primary class has a scheduled borrowing time during the week. Secondary students are able to borrow when they have the need and opportunity and during their scheduled library lessons.
All students in Years 1-13 need to bring a library bag or pouch to borrow resources, and students from Year 4 students and up need to use their smart card to borrow.
Each student may borrow books from the Library according to their year level.
Year 1 - up to 3 books
Year 2 - up to 4 books
Year 3 - up to 5 books
Year 4 - up to 6 books
Year 5 - up to 7 books
Year 6 - up to 8 books
Year 7 up - up to 10 books
Students may not borrow books if they have overdue resources.
The library also oversees the issuance of 3 home readers/fluency books to support the Primary reading programme in Year 1-3.
Parents may also join the Library and borrow up to 10 books. Please complete the parent borrower form at the Library desk.
Different resources have different borrowing time allowances:
Books (Primary school library collection & Secondary school library non-fiction) - 14 days
Books (Senior fiction & Mature fiction) - 21 days
Audiobooks - 7 days
eBooks - 14 days
Magazines - 3 days
All library resources can be renewed twice.
Accessing your child's borrowing record
1. Visiting http://oliver.esf.edu.hk and choosing Discovery College
2. On the upper right of the page, select “Login”
3. Enter your child’s Ding username and password dc12345
4. Click the search icon
5. Your child’s record can be viewed in the upper right section “Loans”
Overdue books
Students who have overdue library resources are unable to borrow until they have cleared their accounts. Lost resources will be billed and sent to students and parents. A $50 administration fee is added to each resource to cover the cost of reordering and processing the lost item. The library offers a seven-day grace period (from invoice date) for students to return the overdue resources, after which, all billed unreturned resources will need to be paid for. The cost of replacing the book will be charged through ePayment. The book replacement cost is refundable if the lost resource is found after payment has been made during the same school year that the resource is lost. Refunds may be issued once a term and will be issued back to the ePayment account.
Ding! has a number of links to online resources, most of which can be accessed 24/7. These include the library catalogue (Oliver), our eBook collection (Wheelers), various research databases, newspapers and digital magazines. The online catalogue can also be accessed HERE.