Library
Gateway Library Hours
Monday: 7:45 am – 2:30 pm
Tuesday: 7:45 am – 2:30 pm
Wednesday: Closed – 2:30 pm
Thursday: 7:45 am – 2:30 pm
Friday: 7:45 am – 2:30 pm
Book Fair Next fair dates April 21- 25, 2025
Harry Potter at Home: Starting Harry Potter
Kern County Library card required:
eBooks: visit Kern County Library
databases: visit Online Resources
Need an eLibrary card for access now? Have a card but can’t find it?
Visit We’d Love to Hear From You, Get in Touch With Us! and expand “+Learn More About Getting a Library Card”:
Only available to Kern County residents
Attach a photo of California Drivers License/ID, Kern County school ID, or military ID. For minors, attach parent’s CA DL/ID or military ID.
If a card already exists, a new account will not be created, but a temporary number will be issued for use.
Online Databases
These content resources, sometimes referred to as "library databases," provide teachers, school librarians and students with a massive amount of digital information: magazines, books, scientific research, newspaper articles, photos, videos and more — all aligned with the standards that California has created for its schools.
NOTE: Login information is only needed when working from home.
World Book Online:
Username: sierra
Password: sands
Introductory Video: World Book Student Overview
The following resources are provided by the California State Library's K-12 Online Content Project (now called COMPASS).
Capstone PebbleGo Science (PreK-2)
Site Username: ca07916
Site Password: ca07916
Encyclopedia Britannica is the classic reference compendium of summary informational articles on a wide range of subjects. The online offerings are crafted by research experts and updated continuously — more than 1,000 new articles per month.
Britannica School is the go-to site for K-12 research. Britannica School offers an automated translation tool for over 50 languages, as well as quick dictionary definitions and audio pronunciation.
Britannica Escolar is the leading knowledge-building resource, made for native Spanish speakers, bilingual students, and students learning Spanish. Escolar articles are original works, not translations.
Encyclopaedia Britannica: Britannica School
Access ID: sierrasands
Passcode: ssusd

Environmental Studies: Broadens student understanding of environmental
issues that affect people globally through topic overviews, journals, news, and multimedia
content.
Science: Allows students to manipulate 3D interactive models to visualize and understand biology, chemistry, earth, and space science concepts.
National Geographic Kids: Allows students to adventure in science, nature, culture, archaeology, and space.
ProQuest is used by researchers and librarians around the world. ProQuest has a growing content collection that encompasses 90,000 authoritative sources, six billion digital pages and spans six centuries. Students have access to various ProQuest collections through this project.
ProQuest:
Username: ssusd
Password: Sierrasands#1
Summary of ProQuest offerings: Students - California K-12 - LibGuides at ProQuest
TeachingBooks.net features a suite of instructional resources that enrich the fiction and nonfiction books read by children and young adults. Databases include:
Book Guides & Lesson Plans Diverse Books Meet-the-Author Videos and Book Readings Resources for Award-Winning Books
TeachingBooks
Username: ssusd
Password: teachingbooksK12
Introductory video: 3-Minute Overview
Sora: Library App for Staff and Students
Check out Sora, in use at the BHS library. This app allows users to access FREE eBooks and audiobooks on Chromebooks or other devices.
How to Log into Sora for all staff & students of Sierra Sands School District: Sora, sign in using your regular school Google Login
Add the Kern County Public Library to access even more content.
Under your Profile, select + Add a library and search for Kern County Public Library.
Click Borrow or Place hold on any title to be prompted to sign in.
Select Sierra Sands Unified School District from the list and log in using your Google information
Also, have you checked out TeachingBooks? The library's new Sora App collection has teaching resources available for free on the teaching book website! The link below provides a complete list of books and materials from our eBook collection on the Sora app: Resources from Teaching Books for Sora books