Services for Teachers

Services for Teachers

The following services are offered by the library for teachers. To organize a library tour or to order books & media for your classroom, please contact the librarians directly at (0721) 7 27 52.

American Library in Karlsruhe/Services for Teachers

Library Tours

Library tours can be taken on most days, but they must be reserved in advance. We strongly recommend Tuesday, Thursday, or Friday morning, as the library is closed to the public at this time.


Participants will be introduced to the library and its collections and will be able to learn via hands-on practice how to research a subject or a title in the catalog, how to find a book on the shelves, etc. The visit takes about an hour—a half hour for the tour itself and a half hour for the participants to explore and browse on their own.


To make an appointment for a library tour, contact one of the two librarians, Julia Arnold and Ruth Schneider. Please tell us the number of participants (and in the case of school classes, their age level) and whether the tour should be given in German or English.

In the case of school classes with pupils under 18 years of age, we recommend giving the pupils library registration cards in advance so that they may be signed by their parents or guardians. These can be sent to you or download from the Stadtbibliothek Karlsruhe website (Anmeldeformular für Minderjährige (PDF)). Then the pupils will be able to borrow books at the end of the tour. At the beginning of school class tours the amusing short film “Mr. Bean in the Library” may be shown on request.

American Library in Karlsruhe/Services for Teachers

Theme Packages for Classrooms

The American Library offers "packages" of literature and, when available, other media related to certain themes, which can be borrowed in entirety by a school class.

For example:

Native Americans
Nonfiction about native North Americans, fiction including narratives and Indian myths and legends.


African Americans
Nonfiction books, stories and poetry by and about African-Americans in the U.S., including biographies of black civil rights activists. If desired, the package can contain the documentary DVD "Dr. Martin Luther King — the Authorized Biography", the award winning movie "Selma" about the life of Martin Luther King Jr., and the book Speeches that Changed the World with a CD including the famous "I Have a Dream" speech.


Easy English
This package contains media suitable for kids who are learning English. It contains bilingual magazines and books, easy readers in English and basic audio books. This package can be used as a small "library in a box" in the classroom.

Comics
Because comics with their picture/text combination are easy to understand and because they are very popular with most children and teenagers, the theme package "Comics" is designed to inspire interest in reading English texts.

Please order the theme packages at least two months in advance, as the books are taken from our lending collection and may already have been checked out.

If you are interested in other themes, please contact the librarian, who will be happy to put together an individually designed package f or your class.

American Library in Karlsruhe/Services for Teachers

Class Reading Materials in English

The American Library offers two English-language books for young people (32 copies) for reading in English class:

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, 2013, 316 p.

Content: Hazel Grace Lancaster is a sixteen year-old girl who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. At the request of her mother, she reluctantly attends a weekly cancer support group where she meets Augustus Waters, a sharp-witted, handsome survivor of osteosarcoma. Augustus takes an immediate liking to Hazel and the two embark on a romantic roller coaster of love and loss as they search for answers in Hazel's favorite novel, An Imperial Affliction .

The Fault in Our Stars is a moving blend of romance, comedy and tragedy. This young adult novel is recommended for students with B2 language proficiency and suitable for grade six and up.



About a Boy by Nick Hornby, 1998, 278p.

Content: At thirty-six, Will Freeman is a hip, carefree bachelor who has discovered a key to dating success:  dating single mothers. Where better to find single mothers than at SPAT (Single Parents — Alone Together), a support group that Will decides to attend after concocting a story about a fabricated son named Ned. It is at SPAT where Will meets Marcus, an eccentric and precocious twelve-year-old with a complicated home life. Marcus quickly latches on to Will and the two develop an unlikely friendship.

About a Boy is a charming and humorous coming-of-age story that realistically depicts the trials and tribulations of an adolescent male. This modern day classic is a straightforward and easy read that is suitable for students from grade 8 and up.



If you need more information, please contact the librarians directly at (0721) 7 27 52.

American Library in Karlsruhe/Services for Teachers

DVD/Blu-Ray Collection

The American Library currently offers about 3000 DVDs and Blu-Rays and the collection is constantly growing and changing. Most of these are movies in the original version; in addition there are documentary films about geography, history, and daily life in the U.S.A.

We recommend reserving DVDs two to three weeks in advance to be sure the films are not checked out on the desired date. For schools the usual lending period of two weeks can be extended.

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