September
2007
SAYL Mail September 8, 20070
MADELEINE L’ENGLE / BANNED BOOKS WEEK / LIVE HOMEWORK HELP / NEW BOOK FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LIBRARIANS / AkLA CONFERENCE 2008 / SCHOOL LIBRARY COORDINATOR POSITION / CORRECTION
MADELEINE L’ENGLE 1918-2007
Beloved author Madeleine L’Engle (A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet and at least 60 other titles) died on Thursday, September 6. To read more about this extraordinary woman and her career, go to her website at: http://www.madeleinelengle.com/
BANNED BOOKS WEEK September 29 – October 6
If you will be celebrating or promoting Banned Books Week at your school this year and haven’t ordered materials, you’ll need to act quickly to get materials from the American Library Association at: http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteSolution.tafsn=catalog&_pn=product_detail&_op=2374
One needn’t buy the posters and bookmarks to draw students’ attention to the importance of the freedom to read. Your library probably contains books that have been targeting for banning. Use the American Library Association Office of Intellectual Freedom website to learn more about Banned Books Week: http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bannedbooksweek.htm#wtb
LIVE HOMEWORK HELP CHANGES – IMPORTANT
With the start of the new school year, you may find yourself referring students in grades 4 through beginning college level to LIVE HOMEWORK HELP, available on SLED (http://sled.alaska.edu) or through your own library’s web page. The service is available to people within the state of
Alaska from 1 – 9 PM every day.
The GOOD NEWS is that the people who produce this service, Tutor.com, have finally listened and now offer a Mac compatible version! The BAD NEWS is that students with very old browsers on either Mac or PC platform may not be able to access the live chat with a screened and trained tutor. In addition, right now the service is asking people in some circumstances for a Library Card Number. In Alaska the response should NOT be a library card number, but instead should be the password used for all our proprietary databases on the Digital Pipeline on SLED. If you do not know this password already, you cannot receive or send it via email or on a website. Instead, you can call the toll-free number at 1-800-440-2919 to get the password. Remember you are welcome to share the password with clients of your library to use at the library or at home, but you CANNOT share the password with them via web or email. (This is part of our licensing agreement.)
NEW BOOK FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LIBRARIES
New at the Anchorage office of the Alaska State Library is THE SUPER3: INFORMATION SKILLS FOR YOUNG LEARNERS by Mike Eisenberg and Laura Eisenberg Robinson. This 2007 Linworth publication provides a scaled-down version of the Big6 research method that they claim will work for Pre-K through second grade. The Pre-K claim may be a serious stretch since all the examples on the numerous worksheets involve writing, but the 3 skills (planning, doing, reviewing) are a good framework for younger students who are just embarking on research projects or beginning to identify story elements. Contact Priscilla McAdara at 907-269-6580 or priscilla.mcadara@alaska.gov if you would like to borrow the book.
AKLA CONFERENCE 2008 – PROPOSAL DEADLINE September 15
The state library conference will be held in Fairbanks this year. The dates are February 28 – March 2, 2008. The Alaska Association of School Librarians will be offering travel grants again this year, and information about how school librarians who are members of AkASL may apply will be posted later in the fall. In the meantime there are two things that you can do to get ready: 1. You can talk to your principal about the dates and the importance of participating in the type of professional development that the conference offers 2. If you have something to share with other librarians throughout the state, you can submit a program proposal online at: http://www.akla.org/fairbanks2008/forms/more.php
SCHOOL LIBRARY COORDINATOR POSITION
There are still a few days to apply for my position as School Library Coordinator. The job is posted at: http://notes5.state.ak.us/wa/mainentry.nsf/WebData/1hp1HomePage/?OpenThe position is listed under Librarian III and School Library Coordinator. It’s one job listed two different ways.The closing date is currently posted as September 12 (Wednesday).
This is a great job, so I encourage anyone who has a solid background and an interest in serving libraries and librarians throughout the state to apply.
My official duties as Head of Library Development begin September 17, but I will continue to keep you informed via SAYL Mail until a replacement has been chosen. I’ve just had a wonderful almost two-week vacation with one of my sisters, so I feel energized to wear two hats for a little while, but hope that I won’t be straddling two positions for long!
CORRECTION
As reported in the last SAYL Mail, Helen Clark of Fairbanks is indeed leading the instructional technology program at the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District, but her duties have expanded, so her official title is: Executive Director of Library Media and Instructional Technology. Katie Sanders will be serving with Helen and have the title of Director of Library Media Services as indicated previously.
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Sue Sherif
School Library/Youth Services Coordinator
Alaska State Library
