5
April
2008
2008 RURAL SCHOOL PARTNERS WANTED / BOOK BONANZA REMINDER / NATIONAL POETRY MONTH, WEEK, DAY / SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA MONTH / LIBRI FOUNDATION GRANTS FOR RURAL LIBRARIES / SCHOOL LIBRARY COORDINATOR POSITION RURAL SCHOOL SIXTH-GRADE PARTNERS WANTED Robin Turk writes:
Sixth grade classes at Colony Middle School in Palmer are looking for rural schools who would like to partner in having online broadcasted discussions about Alaska literature. CMS students will be developing book reviews of Alaska books, creating podcasts and broadcasting them on Radio Free Palmer this summer. Partnering rural schools would be welcome to join us on this technological literature adventure as well. Interested schools would need to have the available technology to use Skype. Skype is a free VOIP service (voice over IP), or talking for free over the Internet. We also hope to use video over IP also supported by Skype. Using Skype would require some kind of broadband connection to the Internet, but other then that is very easy to use and we are just learning too. See http://skype.com/ Interested? Read the letter below from our 6th grade teacher with more details.
My name is Robin Howell and I teach 6th grade language arts at Colony Middle School. My students (about 120 kids) are dedicated readers, writers, and thinkers. We have all made one podcast and we are ready for more. Our 4th quarter goal is to read Alaska genre books, write short, critical, yet entertaining book reviews, and then make a podcast of the written narrative (about 30 sec. to 1 min). It is our thought that tourists who may be visiting Palmer and wandering the aisles of Fireside Books (in Palmer) will be inspired to purchase an Alaskan book to take home to remember our great state. Students will use a first or nick name only so we won’t need to worry about protecting their identity. We would be happy to share some of our better podcasts as a sample of their level of work. We are actively working with our librarian, Robin Turk, in the podcast process. We are also planning on using Skype to expand their understanding of Alaska and the genre by developing “Skype Pals”. Our intention is to connect with students across Alaska to form a technology relationship so they will better understand the book they are reading. Robin Turk is supporting our efforts by sending messages out to state wide librarians. Steve Krueger, our techno wizard for MSBSD is supporting our Skype efforts. Like all great ideas, many hands make light work! We hope to form a partnership with you and support good reading, writing, listening and community building. Thanks so much for your time,
Robin Howell, 6th grade, Colony Middle School
If your rural school is interested in partnering with Colony Middle School, please reply to the school librarian, Robin Turk at: Robin.Turk@matsuk12.us
BOOK BONANZA REMINDER - Deadline April 30, 2008
The deadline for the 2008 Book Bonanza competition is coming up at the end of the month. This year there is an entry form AND the usual essay. For details about how you can enter to win book credits for your school or public library, click:http://www.akla.org/akasl/bonanza/index.html
IS THERE A POEM IN YOUR POCKET: POETRY MONTH, YOUTH POETRY WEEK, POETRY DAY?
April is National Poetry Month, and this year the week of April 14-20 is Youth Poetry Week (almost matches National Library Week), and to make it even better, April 17 is the first Poem in Your Pocket Day.
Poetry may seem obscure to many, but for the last several years the love of poetry has experienced a revival among young people. Poetry slams and contests are flooded with contestants these days.
For some interesting suggestions about how you can make a Poem in Your Pocket day work in your school, library, or community, look at: https://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/406 They even offer a selection of online pocket poems. Guide poetry readers young and old to the pocket poem link at: https://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/409
Several poets have web pages featuring their poetry for younger students. Among them are:
Kristine O’Connell George: http://www.kristinegeorge.com/for_students.html
Joyce Sidman: http://www.joycesidman.com/teachers.html (You can hear her reading her poems, and students can submit their own.)
Joyce S. Wong: http://www.janetwong.com/poems/index.cfm
SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA MONTH 
Not only are we celebrating poetry this month, but we can boast that April is School Library Media Month. If you would like to spread the word in your community or just within your school, check the American Association of School Librarians web site at:
http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslissues/aasladvocacy/schoollibrary.cfm
Here you will find some downloadable School Library Media Month audiospots by Carmen Agra Deedy, a storyteller extraordinaire. There you’ll find spots of a variety of lengths and also some suggestions of how to get them aired outside your school if you have a radio station in your community. At the simplest level, you could air them during school announcements (and possibly throw in a poem, too?).
LIBRI FOUNDATION GRANTS - Deadline April 15
The Libri Foundation is devoted to give grants for collections in rural public libraries through the country. A number of Alaska libraries in small communities have won in the past. For information about how you can apply by the nearest deadline check:
http://www.librifoundation.org/apps.html Here you will find the application and guidelines. School libraries cannot apply, but combined school/community libraries are eligible.
There is also a fall deadline on August 15, 2008 and a winter one on January 15, 2009.
SCHOOL LIBRARY COORDINATOR STILL WANTED - Deadline April 25, 2008
If you or someone you know is interested in a job that allows one the opportunity to travel throughout our wonderful state and to use your expert knowledge in a way that benefits Alaska school libraries, please checkout the job posting on Workplace Alaska at: http://notes5.state.ak.us/wa/mainentry.nsf/WebData/1hp1HomePage/?Open
The job, listed as School Library Coordinator AND Librarian III, is located in Anchorage and provides the opportunity to work with a great Library Development team of the Alaska State Library.
Hopefully,
Sue
Sue Sherif
Posted under Grants, Public Libraries, SAYL Mail, School Libraries
5
March
2008
SAYL MAIL
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
SCHOOL LIBRARIAN OF THE YEAR & LINDA K. BARRETT SERVICE AWARD / BATTLE OF THE BOOKS / NOVELIST & NOVELIST K-8 CHANGES / INTERLIBRARY COOPERATION GRANTS DEADLINE APRIL 1 / KUDOS
SCHOOL LIBRARIAN OF THE YEAR AND LINDA K. BARRETT SERVICE AWARD
At the Alaska Library Association Annual Conference last weekend in Fairbanks, Bonnie Cavanaugh of Wasilla Middle School was announced as the 2008 School Librarian of the Year, and Barbara Bryson of Valdez City Schools was presented with AkASL’s Linda K. Barrett Service Award. The other nominees for this award were also recognized at the Awards Banquet on Saturday night.
Bonnie and Barb are the school librarians that inspire us all. Congratulations to them both for being recognized for all their hard work. Bonnie sponsors an annual reading motivation program for her middle schoolers called Shred Fest, in which students win the opportunity to see world-class snowboarders in action as a reward for reading. She has also served as chair of Authors to Alaska and arranged for the amazing Deborah Ellis, author of The Breadwinner, to appear at the conference.
Barbara has been the fearless leader of AkASL’s efforts to secure an annual school library collection grant in the Alaska State Legislature and is a former AkASL School Librarian of the Year herself.
The School Librarian of the Year Award is cosponsored by Follett Library Resources, who provide a $500 check for the honored librarian.
NOVELIST & NOVELIST K-8 INTERFACE CHANGES THIS SPRING
EBSCO, the vendor of NoveList and NoveList K-8 available on the Digital Pipeline on SLED (http://sled.alaska.edu ), makes this announcement about forthcoming changes this spring:
“As announced on 1/22/08, the NoveList and NoveList K-8 interfaces will include not just a brand new look, but several new features to make them even more valuable to you and your users. You will see the new release in just a few days, and may experience down-time for a very short period as we migrate to the new platform.
For details and screen shots of the upcoming interface redesigns, click here. <http://crm.ebscohost.com/app/crm/marketing/campaignlistener.nl?__lstr=__cl&__r=1886343&c=392875&__h=b627a369cc127274b5e0&
_od=aHR0cHM6Ly9mb3Jtcy5uZXRzdWl0ZS5jb20*&url=http://support.epnet.com/
support_news/detail.php?id=434&t=r&page=4&private=true> ”
BATTLE OF THE BOOKS REVISED TENATIVE LIST
Fresh from the statewide Battle of the Books competition and the AkLA Conference in Fairbanks, Shelly Logsdon makes this announcement:
Battle of the Books 2008-2009
It’s that time of year to think ahead. The 2008-2009 Tentative Battle list is posted on the Battle of the Books website… http://www.akla.org/akasl/bb/bbhome.html
If you were at the AKLA conference, there have been a few changes since conference so please download the newest revisions…
Thanks for all the input at conference! Welcome aboard to Erika Drain, from Mt. Edgecumbe, as she takes on the co-chair job of the state battles with Shelly…
Questions? Contact:
Shelly Logsdon
Library/Media Specialist
Wasilla High School 701 E Bogard Rd Wasilla, AK 99654
Phone: 907-352-8227 Fax: 907-352-8288
INTERLIBRARY COOPERATION GRANTS DEADLINE APRIL 1, 2008
Even though you may have to sneak in a spring break between now and the deadline of April 1 for these grants, you may want to take a look at the State Library’s website at: http://www.library.state.ak.us/pdf/anc/ILC2008.doc 
These grants are meant for libraries to try something new, to work on a project with partner libraries, or to develop a project that will benefit libraries statewide. Proposed projects should fall within the guidelines outlined in the grant application. Generally it is good to include another library or libraries in the project. If you have an automation project in mind, you will want to have some sort of local funds to contribute to the project. If you have a training project, you will have to make sure that the training addresses the goals outlined in the guidelines. If you want to propose a marketing or promotion project, you will need to be sure that the proposal is not just to market your library alone, but to promote a specific project or activity of your library or several libraries that meets federal guidelines. The general range of the grants is from several hundred dollars to less than $50,000. We have and do fund projects at a higher level, but these are fewer.
Read the application packet carefully, and if you have any questions, contact Patience Frederiksen, the grants administrator or me, at 1-800-776-6566 outside of Anchorage or 269-6570 in Anchorage. We’d be glad to listen to your proposal to help you make it competitive. The awards are for the period from August, 2008 until June 30, 2009 in most cases.
KUDOS
Cheers to all the organizers of the 2008 AkLA Conference in Fairbanks. They did a great job of making everyone feel welcome and even arranged clear sunny days for our visit there. School librarians Marit Vick and Lynne Krizek served as local arrangements chairs extraordinaire. North Pole Middle School Librarian and new AkASL President Lyn Ballam handled registration and coordinated a large welcoming crew. Katie Sanders and Jimmy Hameister of the FNSB School District provided creative table décor and indefatigable technical support respectively. A whole team of Fairbanksans made the conference a wonderful experience for everyone.
I was very happy to see a large number of people from very small school and public libraries all over the state attend the conference. I hope that many of you will be able to attend the next AkLA Conference which will be held in Kodiak in mid-March, 2009.
Sue Sherif
Head of Library Development
Alaska State Library
344 West Third Avenue Suite 125
Anchorage, AK 99501
907-269-6569 Fax: 907-269-6580
800-776-6566 (Toll-free in Alaska)
sue.sherif@alaska.gov
Posted under Awards, Databases, Grants
13
February
2008
Book Bonanza Winners / Gale/LMC Award / New Alaskana / Certification / Summer Reading / New Job?
BOOK BONANZA WINNERS – AT LAST
In January, I finally announced the winners of the 2007 Book Bonanza. They were:
Klukwan Community - First Prize
Trapper Creek School Second Prize (Tie)
Kaleidoscope School of the Arts Library (Kenai) Second Prize (Tie)
We had 17 entries all together, and this year’s competition was a cliff hanger in more ways than one. We had three rounds of judging with honorable mention going to Willow Community Library and Delta Greely Middle and High School Libraries. Shageluk and Pitka’s Point were also singled out as worthy. AkASL, AkLA and local chapters of AkLA (Anchorage, Northern Chapter, and Juneau) were generous donors along with the Friends of the Ketchikan Public Library. Ron and Lynn Dixon of the late Cook Inlet Book Company, who were founding sponsors of the Book Bonanza, made a contribution of books in the last days of their well-loved store. Individual contributors were Roz Goodman, Joyce McCombs, and Sue Sherif. Barnes and Noble made a valiant rescue of the 2007 Bonanza by making an unexpectedly large, last-minute donation of gift cards for the winners.
The Book Bonanza 2008 guidelines and entry forms will be posted on the AkASL web page soon, and they will be available at the AkLA Conference February 28- March 2 in Fairbanks as well. This year’s deadline will be April 30, 2008, and the winners will be announced after school starts in September, 2008.
Thanks to the AkASL members who served as judges.
GALE /LMC AWARDS – Deadline April 28
Gale and Linworth Publishing are once again sponsoring an award for teachers and media specialists influencing student achievement, the TEAMS award. The competition is open to all public and private schools in the US and Canada, and entries are due April 28, 2008. The winners receive cold, hard cash, loot (subscriptions and Gale and Linworth products), and glory (recognition at the ALA Conference in June at (oh, yes!) Disneyland, Anaheim, California! I know from the several presentations that some of you have made on collaboration and what I have seen when I have visited schools around the state that some of you could be winners. Check the competition guidelines at:http://www.galeschools.com/pdf/TEAMS-form.pdf
NEW ALASKANA TITLE 
Fans of Pam Flowers (ALONE ACROSS THE ARCTIC, BIG-ENOUGH ANNA) and Jon Van Zyle (oh, we all know his work) will be glad to know that they have collaborated to produce a new picturebook, DOUGGIE: THE PLAYFUL PUP WHO BECAME A SLED DO HERO. The true story of another of Pam’s dog team members and lead dog on her 325-mile expedition to the magnetic North Pole, this picture book is a story of determination with a touch of high Arctic adventure. Let’s just say that a polar bear is involved. (Alaska Northwest, 2008 ISBN 978-0-88240-654-1 )
CERTIFICATION
Kari Sagel, Erika Drain, and other school librarians who have been working diligently to clarify the situation involving certification of school librarians in Alaska have recently posted a letter from the Deputy Commissioner of the Education and Early Development on the Alaska Association of School Librarians web site. Visit the site at: http://www.akla.org/akasl/ to read the letter of January 3 from Deputy Commissioner Spackman and to see all other activities led by the hardworking Alaska Association of School Librarians E-Board.
SUMMER READING NEWS FOR PUBLIC LIBRARIANS
The materials for the 2008 Statewide Summer Reading Program are now arriving in public and community libraries if you submitted participation forms in October. If your library doesn’t receive its CATCH THE READING BUG @ YOUR LIBRARY by March 1, please notify Priscilla McAdara at the Alaska State Library office (priscilla.mcadara@alaska.gov ) or call her at 1-800-776-6566 if you are outside of Anchorage. The artwork for the teen program, METAMORPHOSIS @ YOUR LIBRARY is truly striking.
We will be receiving PSA’s in several formats at the Anchorage office soon. Please let us know if you would like to borrow a copy to promote your program.
NEW JOB? If anyone has been contemplating a change of jobs for the next school year or re-entering the workforce if you retired a little too early, please think about applying for the School Library Coordinator position when it is open again on Workplace Alaska. We are expecting to post it in the near future and will be leaving it open until the end of the school year. It is NOT posted yet, because we are still trying to hire a temporary, part-time version of the job for now until the end of the school year. Consider it if you have a masters degree and have experience in K-12 school libraries. The job involves working in an office most of the time, also but traveling a good deal all over Alaska and sometimes Outside. You must be willing to ride in small aircraft and invest in Arctic gear if you don’t already own it. Willingness to put in long hours when you’re on site visits is a plus. Getting to work with librarians all over the state is the frosting on the cake. The position is in Anchorage, and the work is varied and challenging. The Library Development Team of the State Library is truly that, a team of cooperative and committed people. When the job is posted and Workplace Alaska is ready to accept applications, the opening will be announced often and in a variety of places including the AkASL website, AkLA-L, and through this e-newsletter. You have time to think about it now and will plenty of time to apply when it is posted again Hope to see many of you in Fairbanks week after next at the AkLA conference. If you haven’t registered yet, you still can at: http://www.akla.org
Posted under Alaskana, Awards, Books, Collaboration, Grants, School Libraries, Summer Reading
