Brochures
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Address & Phone Numbers
100 Med High Drive
Mercedes, TX 78570
(Mile 2 West and Expressway 83)956.565.2454 (switchboard)
956.565.0710 (fax)
800.217.8839
Direct Lines:
956.514.4265
956.514.4266
956.514.4267
956.514.4268
Science Academy
956.565.4620 or 866.611.3622
Med High
956.565-2237 or 866.546.2263
Biblioteca Las Americas at night.
Hours
Monday - Friday
7:45 AM - 7 PM
Facility
TopSize: 33,370 square feet.
Capacity: Currently serves 1,300 high school students. Built to serve up to 2,500 high school students. Currently contains over 40,000 volumes. Built to house up to 50,000 volumes.
Design Highlights: Brick sculpture of school district logo; domed foyer with a skyscape by L. Wichi Guevara, Jr. of Brownsville, TX.; terrazzo tile mosaic images of Pre-Columbian designs; display cases for exhibits; expansive windows with northeast light for reading.
Facilities: 128-seat lecture hall; e-training lab; video editing rooms; two small conference rooms; one classroom; fully accessible for use by people with disabilities.
Groundbreaking Date: November 21, 1996.
Opening Date: January 5, 1998.
Dedication: January 21, 1998; featured speaker Barbara Bush.
Collection
Books: 40,000+ volumes; health and science specialization.
Periodicals: Over 150 print titles; 7 newspapers; extensive online access. The library subscribes to over 150 magazine titles covering health, science, and technology issues, as well as leisure reading. Magazines are received on a monthly, weekly, bi-weekly or quarterly basis. Patrons of the library may check out magazines. Current magazines are checked out overnight only. Back issues for these titles are stored for five years and may be checked out for two weeks. Back issues are available in the stacks. Additional magazines are available on microfiche and through the library's web subscription databases.
Videos/DVDs/CDs: 4,800 titles; may be checked out overnight.
Art: 35 framed prints on display; Over 600 framed prints for circulation.
Computers: Windows network with 85 PCs for student use; 50 take-home laptops; laser printers; scanners; video editing and presentation equipment.
MS Word, PowerPoint, Access, PhotoDraw, Publisher, and Excel; Macromedia Suite and Dreamweaver MX; Inventor; and Adobe Creative Suites are available on PCs. Laser printouts may be retrieved at the circulation desk at a charge of five cents per page. Word processing which is solely a patron's own work OR printouts from subscription services are free.
Online Resources: Access to library catalog, word processing, Internet access to subscription databases.
The library catalog provides patrons with call numbers for the books, vertical files, and videos in Biblioteca Las Americas. Items can be accessed by key word/phrase, title, author, or subject and may also be accessed from home.
Special Collections: Rice University Professional Collection, Rice University Patent Collection, Baylor University Medical Collection, Spanish Collection.
Research Assistance: Class orientation and instruction; individual reference help.
Reading Program: A wide range of materials in a variety of print and electronic formats is available at BLA. The collection reflects the personal interests of the staff and students, as well as meeting the needs of the curriculum. Materials are selected cooperatively by the teachers, students, and media specialists. Book talks, displays, and reviews by staff and students are promoted. A new addition to the reading program is a formal book club, THE NEXT CHAPTER. For details, see Ms. Vickman.
Interlibrary Loan: Agreements and partnerships with local and regional institutions.
Satellite: Video recording or downlink capability. Satellite programs may be recorded upon request.
Video Editing Equipment: The library has three rooms off the elab which are equipped with Pinnacle and MovieMaker video editing capability. There is also one Casablanca video editor. Students must complete a training sequence before the equipment may be used. Videos produced must adhere to consistent academic standards. The elab has 24 machines with MovieMaker.
Exhibitions: Rotating displays of student work and art exhibits.
Microfiche: Patrons of the library may locate magazine articles on microfiche covering the period from 1985-present. Articles may be viewed on the microfiche reader/printer and can be printed at 10 cents a page.