This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
LONGMONT, Colo. – Local students struggling to imagine and create projects for National History Day have a new set of allies this year – the librarians at the Longmont Public Library. With a simple online registration form, sixth through twelfth grade students can request an hour-long, one-on-one appointment with a professional librarian during the month of December or January. The librarians can help the students develop ideas for their project, conduct research, locate resources, and identify useful contacts. Librarians can provide as much or as little help as needed, and additional appointments can be scheduled if necessary. While the librarians are happy to guide students in their research, the librarians will not review or edit any project.
This year’s National History Day theme is “Conflict and Compromise in History.” Students are challenged to create a project that goes beyond “the antiquated view of history as mere facts and dates and drill down into historical content to develop perspective and understanding,” according to the National History Day website. Students can create one of five project types: Documentary, Exhibit, Paper, Performance, and Website. There are also multiple categories within the five project types, and they include Junior Group, Junior Individual, Senior Group, and Senior Individual. More than half a million middle and high school students and more than 30,000 teachers participate annually. The top two projects nationwide of each project type and in each category will be invited to compete for final honors June 10 – 14 at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD.
Beginning today, local students in the 6th-12th grades can request a librarian appointment on the Just for Teens webpage at http://bit.ly/LibTeens. The final day to request an appointment is Wednesday, January 31. No email address or internet? Call (303) 651-8477 to request an appointment. Students will be asked some questions about their projects so that they can be matched with the librarian who can best help them.
This is a press release from the Longmont Public Library and is published by the Longmont Observer as a public service.
