La Crosse
Polytechnic School
608-789-8940 | 228 5th Ave S, La Crosse, WI 54601

Library Databases & Resources

Welcome to the Polytechnic Library! This website is designed to provide basic resources for the Polytechnic learning community as we all pursue lifelong learning, the love of reading, and academic endeavors.

Library Resources

Catalog

Destiny Discover, our district library catalog, allows students and staff to browse our print and MackinVIA digital collections.  Sign in using your school issued login and password to request books by placing them on hold.

eBook & Audio

MackinVIA is a Central digital collection, including ebooks and audiobooks.  Browse the collection using the filters on the side. Download the app to take MackinVIA off your laptop and on the go.

MackinVia video tutorial

Comics Plus

Comics Plus offers students access to thousands of graphic novels, comics, and manga titles, using their district MackinVia accounts. Sign in to you MackinVia (tutorial above if needed) and click the Databases link on the left. Select Comics Plus. All resources are multi-user.

Public library

The La Crosse Public Library offers students at Central the opportunity to read and research using their resources.  Click on the icon for their website and catalog.

Subscription Databases

Badgerlink is Wisconsin’s Online Library, offering WI residents access to many reputable, high-quality resources such as test prep, reading lists, historic newspaper archive access, newspapers and magazines, and more.

Britannica School is an online encyclopedia and more! With encyclopedia articles, multimedia, primary sources, and other learning resources, Britannica provides 3 levels of access for all ages.

eLibraryFull-text sources, that includes magazines, newspapers, books, television/radio transcripts, maps, pictures, and audio/video clips.

Flocabulary – helps students learn concepts and vocabulary for all content areas through interactive lessons and hip hop videos, bringing the K-12 curriculum to life.

Gale Databases –Includes many databases: Gale in Context: Biography, eBooks, High School, Opposing Viewpoints, Science, as well as OneFile- High School, Interactive Science, LitFinder.

SIRS -Issues Researcher is a Pro/Con site with hundreds of topics to browse.  All results are full-text.

BrainPOPEngaging learning games, animated movies, and activities.

Swank – Movie streaming platform for teacher use.

Wisconsin Public Television

Includes PBS Learning Media, Wisconsin Biographies, Wisconsin First Nations, The Ways, Climate Wisconsin.

Growing Readers

The 14 library teachers of the School District of La Crosse worked together to create the district-wide Growing Readers initiative in 14 buildings for 6000 students and 1000 staff. Over the course of the school year, we focused on three facets of librarianship: advocacy for reading, finding the right books for students, and creating a culture of reading where students can progress as readers. This grassroots project was designed not only to advocate for our libraries but also to create lifelong learners, readers, and library users among all of our students and staff.