AccessMyLibrary: School Edition App Offered to BCPS Students Monday, March 05, 2012 By Cassidy Higdon - BCPS Advertising     Students all over the country have at one time or another said to themselves, “Man, oh man, how I wish there was a way that I could access my school library on the go!  If only...”  Well now, thanks to the AccessMyLibrary: School Edition app, that dream can be realized by all scholars who own iPads, iPods, and iPhones.     According to our own beloved bibliophile and librarian, Ralph Doyle, one must snap a pic of the Access QR code located on the library computer, which acts as a hyperlink to the school database, or simply go to the app store and find it.  Once you’ve downloaded the app, you go to “Maryland,” then “Baltimore County Public Schools” which is located under “Baltimore,” then click “View Gale Resources” and “Enter Website.”  You will then be prompted with a password request into which you enter the code “bcps.”       Then you can browse the entire Gale resource center and also many resource books in the library.  However, not all books are available because the school is given a budget for e-books, so they have to pick and choose which books to convert to the digital world.  Nevertheless, the app is still very useful. Mr. Doyle said he believes that it will be helpful for kids because they can access the library anywhere at any time.      “You could read your Tom Sawyer SparkNotes in class,” he said jokingly.    Mr. Doyle also said that in order to spread awareness, the app should be addressed at the freshman assembly.     “It’s new and unknown and not used because it’s so new and unknown,” he said.     Now, Mr. Doyle is a realisitic man, and realizes that most students probably will not make use of this app; when asked whether or not he thought students would use it, he replied, “Yeah, in a pinch.  It would be a good backup to a computer going down or if they are in an argument about something that can be proven through a Gale resource as opposed to Google.”     “You could also read reference books that you can’t take out of the library,” said Mr. Doyle.     So not only could you use it in a pinch, but you could use it to look through reference books if you were sick and home from school, or if you didn’t get enough time to the library to complete your assignment.     Although most students will ignore this app as useless or just laugh it off, it’s not a bad idea to get used to this sort of thing now, seeing as how it could be the way of the future for books in school.     “My guess is that this is what your textbooks will be in ten years.  It’s a lot cheaper to buy things digitally,” Mr. Doyle explained.     So all in all, whether you’re a bookworm or a procrastinator, the AccessMyLibrary: School Edition app is made for you.  If you want to be a part of the future of school books, just hit up the app store and snatch that bad boy up.     Or, in Mr. Doyle’s words, “Come down to the library and check it out!”

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