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

EMERGING LEADER / AASL IN RENO / RENO ATTENDEES CLASS REGISTRATION / SNIPPETS FROM AASL / JUDY FREEMAN PUBLICATION / ASSESSMENT TITLES / VAMPIRE TOME TOPS THE TEEN LIST

ALASKA’S EMERGING LEADER

Huge congratulations to Barrow’s own Sara Jeffress, who has been named an Emerging Leader by the American Library Association. She will be attending the next two ALA national meetings and engaging in activities with other librarians recognized as library leaders of tomorrow. In Sara’s case, she is already taking an active role as a leader as she is not only the Youth Services Librarian at the Tuzzy Library, but is also on the SLED committee and chairs the Public Library Roundtable. Way to go, Sara!

AASL IN RENO AND BEYOND

The American Association of School Librarians in Reno week before last offered varied programs and endless exhibits by library vendors. This year, for the first time, Alaska had around 30 school library representatives at the event, which convenes every other year. (A few of our colleagues spent an extra day in Reno because of a flight cancellation, but considering the balmy weather in Reno when we arrived this could only have been a bonus–although I have not heard reports of whether they had to spend a night in the Reno airport?!?!?!?!)

For those of you who were not able to attend in person, here is an opportunity from AASL to capture some of the conference’s content:

“AASL has just launched its first ever Digital Institute.
Available as part of the AASL e-Academy online offerings,
the “Minding Your Students’ Future” institute offers a rich
continuing education experience through multiple media,
including podcasts, vodcasts, and video.

Focusing on the future of learning in school library media
programs, the institute pulls together a variety of digital
sessions captured during the AASL 13th National Conference
& Exhibition in Reno, Nevada, October 25-28. Highlights
include clips from the Opening General Session with Dan
Pink in a montage with the One Book, One Conference
discussion session of his best-selling book “A Whole New
Mind.” Another main attraction is a session on the
“Standards for the 21st-Century Learner,” presented by
Cassandra Barnett and Barbara Stripling. Other topics
explored in the digital sessions include teaching
information literacy, research, podcasting, book
challenges and more. A complete list of Digital Institute
offerings can be found at
http://www.ala.org/aasl/eAcademy

Read more at
http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2007/october2007/diginstitute07.htm “

RENO CLASS REGISTRATION REMINDER

For those of you who were lucky enough to attend the Reno conference in person, Ann Morgester of the Anchorage School District has this reminder for you:

“Don¹t forget to register with UAA if you are intending to take the RENO conference class.

The registration form can be found at:
http://libraries21stcentury.wikispaces.com/RENO+LS+590.701+Class

SNIPPETS FROM AASL

Also from the national association comes this piece of advocacy information:

National test scores prove need for School Librarians

The U.S. Department of Education’s recently released
national test scores further confirm the need for a
library in every school staffed by a state-certified school
library media specialist.

According to the results of the test – the National
Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) – with only a few
exceptions, reading and math scores have remained flat for
the years under No Child Left Behind, 2002-2007.

“This news comes as no surprise to school librarians, who
know from both experience and from concrete data just how
vital school libraries and librarians are to academic
achievement,” said ALA President Loriene Roy. “More than 19
state studies show that school libraries that are
well-stocked and well-staffed can and do raise test scores,
especially reading test scores. That’s why the SKILLs Act
is so important.”

The SKILLs Act would require that each school have a school
library staffed by a state-certified school library media
specialist. Introduced in June, the bill is vital to the
future of today’s school libraries and, therefore, student
achievement.

Read the full news release at
http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2007/october2007/naep2007.htm

See the NAEP report at
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard

Get more information about the SKILLs Act at
http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslissues/SKILLS_Act.cfm

First online resource dedicated to 21st-Century skills
teaching and learning is launched

Washington, DC – Nov. 7, 2007 – To help education leaders
and policymakers implement 21st-Century teaching and
learning, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills launched
Route 21, an online, one-stop shop for 21st-Century
skills-related information, resources and tools.

Route 21 showcases how 21st century skills can be supported
through standards, assessments, professional development,
curriculum and instruction and learning environments. The
site represents the first comprehensive, go-to online
resource for high-quality content, best practices, relevant
reports, articles and research to assist practitioners in
implementing 21st century teaching practices and learning
outcomes.

Learn more at
http://www.21stcenturyskills.org

JUDY FREEMAN PUBLICATION

Some of the youth services librarians statewide and school librarians in the Mat Su were lucky enough to participate in a September workshops with storyteller and children’s book expert, Judy Freeman. Her latest book, ONCE UPON A TIME: USING STORYTELLING, CREATIVE DRAMA, AND READER’S THEATER WITH CHILDREN in GRADES PreK – 6 (Libraries Unlimited, 2007) ISBN 978-1-59158-663-0, is in the process of being added to the Anchorage collection of the State Library. If you are interested in borrowing it when it is available, please contact: Priscilla.McAdara@alaska.gov or call her at 1-800-776-6566 outside of Anchorage.

ASSESSMENT PUBLICATIONS

Also being added to the Anchorage State Library collection are two titles on assessing student learning in school libraries:

ASSESSING LEARNING: LIBRARIANS AND TEACHERS AS PARTNERS by Violet H. Harada and Joan M. Yoshina (Libraries Unlimited, 2005) ISBN 1-59158-200-8

ASSESSING STUDENT LEARNING IN THE SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA CENTER, edited by Anita Vance (American Association of School Librarians, 2007) ISBN 978-0-8389-8446-8.

To borrow either of these when they are available, contact Priscilla McAdara using the contact information above.

TOP TEN TEEN READS

The vote from Teen Read Week is in. The place to go to see what teens who voted online chose as their favorite title of 2006 is: http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/teenreading/teenstopten/teenstopten.cfm Hint: The top author’s initials are SM, and the topic is….what else? …. Vampires.

Happy Children’s Book Week next week! Sue

PS If you don’t have plans to celebrate Children’s Book Week November 12-17, just go ahead and cook up some good ideas because you’ll have a second chance this school year as the annual event makes a move to May (May 12-18, 2008). In future years it will be a May celebration instead of a November one, and will be a perfect time to advertise the statewide summer reading program!  See the Children’s Book Council Website for more details: http://www.cbcbooks.org/cbw/

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. 

You can post a comment to this blog by clicking on the grey number next to the title.

Sue Sherif

School Library/Youth Services Coordinator

Alaska State Library

Set in Fairbanks, this new tween novel, depicts young Deet, whose world changes when his father goes to jail.  This novel will be of interest to kids who may be in the same boat.  With the growing incarcerated population in the U.S. and Alaska, more and more students face this experience, a fact they may choose not make known at school.  Publication  Information:Margaret K. McElderry Publisher, January 2007 , ISBN-13: 978-1-4169-1400-6, Grades 4-9. 

Kirkpatrick Hill is the author of such  Alaskana modern classics as Toughboy and Sister and The Year of Miss Agnes.

Add your comments if you’ve read the book. Click on the grey number next to the post title above.  You can also read anyone else’s comments, if the number is greater than zero, by clicking on the number.  Try it!

ONLINE CLASSES FOR LIBRARIANS WHO SERVE TEENS   YALSA, the Young Adult Services Association of the American Library Association, announces that, on December 15, registration will open for several online classes that YALSA is offering in February and March.  Most of the classes last 6 weeks.  Among the course offerings are:

• FINDING THE RIGHT BOOK FOR THE RIGHT TEEN AT THE RIGHT TIME
• NEW TECHNOLOGY AND NEW LITERACIES FOR TEENS
• OUTREACHING TEENS
• PAIN IN THE BRAIN: ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT AND LIBRARY   BEHAVIOR
• POWER PROGRAMMING FOR TEENS

To find out more about these and other online courses, how to register, the tuition, and tech requirements, go to:http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/onlinecourses/info.htm 

COMING UP TALLER AWARDS  One of the questions the Alaska State Library receives most often from school and public librarians is:  Are there any grants available for my library?  This fall I have included news of at least one grant possibility in almost every e-newsletter.  This week’s award is one from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the National Endowment for the Humanities called the Coming Up Taller Award that provides a grant of $10,000 to “recognize and reward” outstanding after-school and out-of-school programs in the arts and humanities.  The deadline for this grant is January 31, 2007.  For more information, see http://www.imls.gov/news/2006/112906.shtm  I urge Alaska libraries with something special to share to go for awards or grants like this one.  You may feel like your library is small and far from the Center of the Library Universe, but small Alaska school and public libraries have won such national grants and awards as the U.S. Department of Education’s Improving Literacy through School Libraries, the National Endowment for the Humanities Prime Time Family Reading Award,  Laura Bush Foundation Grants, NEH Bookshelf Awards, IMLS Leadership and Enhancement grants, and many more.  Most recently the Anchorage Municipal Libraries and the branch of UAA in Homer were two of 72 national winners of National Endowment for the Arts BIG READ awards.  Anchorage chose the Ray Bradbury book Fahrenheit 451 and will be sharing their program with the state; Homer will focus on The Joy Luck Club and is planning to have author Amy Tan there in person. 

ART IN SCHOOLS?  Does your school principal go all out to create an active and vibrant art program in your school?  Is there a principal in your district who is known for making art education happen in a big way despite all the pressures of NCLB?  If so, the Alaska State Council on the Arts is looking for names and addresses.  They would like our cooperation in finding some outstanding instructional leaders who have integrated arts into a wide range of school activities and curricula.  If you know of someone who fits this description, please let me know, and I’ll pass the principal and school names along to Charlotte Fox, the director of the Arts Council. 

IT’S NOT TOO LATE  I am receiving more school library censuses every day, so don’t be shy or feel like you’ll be the only or last one.  If you need one of those pesky forms, please send me an email and I’ll get another one to you.  And who knows, you might even get a nice Red Lantern award if you are indeed the last to turn in your school’s form!  And if the prospect of a possible award isn’t enough, just think:  if you turn your completed in form, you won’t have to hear from me on this subject again!  A big thanks to those who have returned forms to me this week and to Lynn McNamara of the Anchorage School District, who spearheaded a local effort! 

GREAT NEW BOOKS?  This week, rather than listing more of the new professional books that we’ve received here at the State Library in Anchorage, I am going to turn the tables and ask you to let us know what the best new book that’s arrived at your library this fall is.  It doesn’t have to be a 2006 title, just something that you have read or library has just added.  You can respond in this blog version by clicking on the grey number to the right of the #10 above. Cheers!

FUNDS RAISED / TRAVEL GRANTS /BATTLE OF THE BOOKS / LEARNING COMMUNITY GRANTS / MORE NEW PROFESSIONAL TITLES  

You can add a comment or question by clicking on the grey number next to the blogletter number above.

FUND RAISERS SCORE BIG TIME 

Tiki Levinson of the Delta-Greely School District reports a recent $10,000+ book sale that put $3,000 in the elementary school library budget.  Amanda Austin of the Tri-Valley School/Community Library in Healy wrote to say that their Mystery Night, directed by school librarian
Peggy Menke, raised over $16,000.  Both of these communities are lucky to have these active and energetic librarians. Have you had a fundraising success?  Let me know what you did and how it worked, and I’ll be glad to share the information.

TRAVEL GRANTS FOR THE AKLA CONFERENCE – Deadline November 15 The Alaska Association of School Librarians will be awarding 15 travel grants for up to $600 for school librarians and $250 for Southeast members to attend the Alaska Library Association Conference in
Juneau from February 22-25, 2007.   Watch the AkLA site (http://www.akla.org/juneau2007/index.html) for additional conference presenters and information about the conference.   To apply for the grant, send a letter of interest to Suzanne Richards bethelbooks2@aol.com. Describe your library position. Tell if and when you have attended AkLA conferences in the past, and if you have ever received an AkASL travel grant. Describe how attendance at this conference will affect you, your school, and your students. Tell if you will be receiving any other monies for attendance of this conference from other funding sources.  Those selected to receive the grant will be required to write an informative article about a beneficial conference session attended.  These articles will be published in the AkASL newsletter, the Puffin.

BATTLE OF THE BOOKS
SALE ITEMS FROM SHELLY LOGSDON

As you start your Battle of the Books groups, remember we have several cool items for sale to help advertise
Battle in your school. 

• The new
  Battle of the Book Bracelets come in 2 different sizes, colors, and slogans. These are a big hit with students young and old.

• A great tip from
  Bonnie Cavanaugh: To help support Battle in her school she purchased
  Battle of the Book posters for her teachers to show their interest in battle.

• Don’t forget to keep them from folding the pages in your battle books, by giving students the
  Battle bookmarks.

• Have your students/teachers wear the battle logo with pride in the form of battle pins.

Remember proceeds help keep the registration costs down and also go to the B. Jo Morse Scholarship Fund.  Check out the Sale Items @   http://www.akla.org/akasl/bb/salesitems.pdf 

GRANTS FOR 21^st CENTURY LEARNING COMMUNITIES  

 The Alaska Department of Education is advertising the availability of federal grant money for community learning centers that promote after-school activities that will extend the academic enrichment programs as well as activities that complement the regular academic program (sounds like it could be a library to me!) at: http://www.eed.state.ak.us/forms/SharedForms/05-07-039.doc  These centers are supposed to provide students and their families opportunities to “continue to learn new skills and discover new abilities after school.” Public or private organizations are eligible to apply, and priority (10 bonus points on the application scoring) will be given to proposals that will serve students in schools designated as in need of improvement AND that are “submitted jointly by school districts receiving Title I funds and community-based organizations or public or private organizations.”  The range of the grants appears to be $50,000 -125,000. The grant outline specifically mentions programs outside of regular school hours including the summertime, and lists extended library hours, homework help, and parent involvement activities as desirable activities.  There are school libraries in the state that have benefited from these funds in the past.   Check out the link above, and take this to your school or district administrator if you have a good plan for how your library could create a competitive proposal.  The deadline for letting the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development know that you intend to apply is November 30, 2006, and the deadline for the actual grant proposal is December 29, 2006 by 4 PM. 

MORE NEW PROFESSIONAL TITLES 

To borrow any of these new books for school and youth librarians, please contact:  Priscilla McAdara at: priscilla_mcadara at eed.state.ak.us  If you want them mailed to you, please be sure that you include your complete mailing address for your library.  BIG IDEAS IN SMALL PACKAGES: USING PICTURE BOOKS WITH OLDER READERS by Molly Pearson (Linworth, 2005) 

BRINGING FANTASY ALIVE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS by Tim Wadham (Linworth, 1999) 

BRINGING MYSTERIES ALIVE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS by Jeanette Larson (Linworth, 2004)  Get a head start on next summer’s statewide summer reading theme:  Get A CLUE @ YOUR LIBRARY! 

COLLABORATING FOR REAL LITERACY: LIBRARIAN, TEACHER, AND PRINCIPAL by Sharon M. Pitcher (Linworth, 2005) 

GET THEM THINKING: USE MEDIA LITERACY TO PREPARE STUDENTS FOR STATE ASSESSMENTS by Sue L. Summers (Linworth, 2005)

 NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION IN LIBRARY MEDIA: A CANDIDATE’S JOURNAL by Peggy Milam (Linworth, 2005)    

You can add comments here by clicking on the grey number to the right of the blogletter number.
PRINCIPALS CONFERENCE
 

Last week the principals conference brought administrators from all over the state to Anchorage.  As they have for the past several years, the Alaska Association of School Librarians sponsored a booth to promote the value of school library programs and trained personnel.  This year AkASL also sponsored a speaker, Michael Sullivan, author of Connecting Boys with Books, who had appeared earlier this year at our library association conference. 
 

Sullivan not only held the interest of a standing-room only crowd of 40 principals, he actually moved some of them to take notes and ask questions! A number of you urged your principals to attend, and those principals announced loudly as they entered, “My school librarian told me that I had to come to this session.”  If you were not able to hear Sullivan last February or when he appeared for Anchorage audiences last week, you might want to check out his web site at:
http://www.talestoldtall.com/  
 

The Alaska State Literacy Association may try to bring Michael back to the state to their conference next fall.  If another appearance is scheduled, I’ll let you know.
 

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR LIBRARY STUDIES 
 

Do you know someone who has expressed an interest in becoming a librarian, or would be a good addition to our field?  Is that someone you?
 

The AkLA scholarship that provides a small grant to students seeking a graduate degree in library science and the B. Jo Morse Scholarship that provides a similar grant to certified teachers who wish to obtain a graduate certificate of school library media studies are now open for application.
 

If you know someone or are someone who would like to become a professional librarian and obtain a masters degree in library and information science, you must be an Alaska resident who possesses a bachelors degree or higher from an accredited college or university, is eligible for acceptance or currently enrolled in an appropriate program in Library and Information Science accredited by the American Library Association and will be student when the scholarship is received.  You must also agree to work in Alaska for one year. 
 

The B. Jo Morse Scholarship, instituted by the Alaska Association of School Librarians, has similar qualifications but one must pursuing graduate studies leading to a library media specialist/school librarian certificate. The Morse Scholarship applicant must have a State of Alaska Teaching Certificate.  Applicants who wish to become school library media specialists can apply for either scholarship depending on their degree intentions.  The B. Jo Morse Scholarship supports study for a candidate for a graduate certificate, and if one is working on a combined certificate/masters program, one can apply for this award.  If the candidate is seeking a masters degree alone, one may apply for the other scholarship.
 

For detailed information and an application and reference forms, please visit the AkLA Scholarship Web Site at: http://www.akla.org/scholarships/index.html Candidates may be enrolled or accepted in either on-campus or online programs.
 

The deadline for both scholarships is: January 15, 2007.  Both require receipt of reference forms, so now would be a good time to begin working on the application.    If you have questions, please contact: Aja_Razumny at eed.state.ak.us
 

NEW ALASKANA

Wind Wild Dog by Barbara Joosse. Illustrated by Kate Kiesler. Henry Holt, 2006
ISBN-13: 978-0-08050-7053-8 
 

Barbara Joosse, author of the perennial Mama, Do You Love Me?, tells a story of a pup named Ziva and The Man who trains her to be a sled dog.  Despite young Ziva’s encounter with a wolf that might be a tad more pacific than real-life encounters between the species sometimes are, the oil paintings by Colorado artist Kate Kiesler evoke the mid- winter twilight to dark feeling that Alaska picturebook readers will recognize.  Grades Pre – Third.
 

Alaska’s Glaciers: Frozen in Motion by Katherine Hocker. Alaska Natural History Association, 2006 ISBN-13: 978-0-930-38176-5
This overview of the geology and geography of Alaska’s glaciers touches on all sorts of other related information including glacier safety, several ice and glacier activities, and a timeline of glacial activity in Alaska.  A glossary doubles as the index, and a brief bibliography includes some standard and stable related websites.  Although a few of the pictures and the activities imply an elementary audience, most school libraries will want to have this book available to their students.  Expert geologists and educators reviewed the contents, so this should be an authoritative work in school or public library collections.  Be warned that it is spiral bound, so you may want to add more than one copy to you collection. All ages.
 

PROFESSIONAL TITLES
 

Thanks to a grant of Alaska Association of School Librarians, the professional collection of the Anchorage office of the Alaska State Library will be enhanced this fall.   Among the new titles available now from the grant or regular State Library purchases are:
 

Cataloging Cultural Objects: A Guide to Describing Cultural Works and Their Images (American Library Association, 2006) Valuable to school or community libraries that have valuable cultural objects in their collections.
 

GlobaLinks: Resources for Asian Studies, Grades K-8 by Peggy Beck (Linworth, 2002)
 

Learning Right From Wrong in the Digital Age: An Ethics Guide for Parents, Teachers, Librarians, and Others Who care About Computer-Using Young People by Doug Johnson (Linworth, 2003)
 

Redefining Literacy for the 21^st Century by David Warlick

 (Linworth, 2004) [This work was mentioned by two of the speakers in this summer’s School Librarians Leadership Academy.]
 

Tips and Other Bright Ideas for Elementary School Libraries Volume 3 edited by Sherry York (Linworth, 2006) [The secondary version of this title is on order.]
 

And on a lighter and more seasonal note—
 

Scary Stories You Won’t Be Afraid to Use! Resources and Activities for a K-6 Audience by Pamela Schembri (Linworth, 2001) Make a note of this one for next year!
 

To borrow any of these titles or others from the professional collection here in Anchorage, please contact Priscilla McAdara at:  priscilla_mcadara at eed.state.ak.us

Snow has finally come to the Anchorage Bowl.  Hope all of you are staying warm–
 

SS

GOOGLE FOR EDUCATORS/ LHH DISCOVERY / MAT SU SD INTERNET RULES / ALASKA 67 / ALA GRANT

It was good to meet Interior road system school and community librarians in Fairbanks, Healy, Anderson, Cantwell, Delta, Tok, and Northway last week. It was great to know that Nenana, Tok, and Northway all have new school library aides at a time when many of these positions are under the gun.  It was also wonderful to welcome back Mary Dowling, longtime but “retired” Delta librarian, who is back as the Delta High School librarian.
Special thanks to Peggy Menke and Amanda Austin in Healy, Helen Clark and Diana Kramer in Fairbanks, Joyce McCombs in Delta, Kim Roth in Tok, and Lorraine Titus and Rose Durenburg in Northway for their hospitality and special efforts to make training possible in those communities.
GOOGLE FOR EDUCATORS
Have you seen this?  Here is Google’s pitch to make Google a more classroom-friendly research tool:  http://www.google.com/educators/index.html  Recently launched, the site appears to be making an attempt to  make an interactive site complete with lesson plans so that educators will think twice before advising students, “Now, I don’t want you to Google it,” when assigning research projects.  It would be good to take a look, because they do outline some of the newer Google features and some old, but not so well known, ones.  Do you know how to use Google as a calculator, spreadsheet, or calendar?   Give it a look.
LIVE HOMEWORK HELP DISCOVERY
Lyn Ballam of North Pole Middle School has brought to my attention that LIVE HOMEWORK HELP no longer works with the Windows 98 interface.  Tutor.com, the vendor of this service, made some changes this summer, so right now neither Windows 98 OR Macintoshes are supported. 
The good news is that in a year there is supposed  to be a Mac-friendly interface, but when I asked Tutor.com about the Windows 98 problem, the reply was: “Live Homework Help may or may not work with Windows 98, but we don’t support it.”
If your students ARE able to access this great service via SLED http://sled.alaska.edu at home or after school at your library, you might want some of the new posters that we received for the service.  Please contact us if you’d like us to send you a poster.
MAT SU SD INTERNET RESTRICTIONS
Although Superintendent of the Mat Su School District Bob Doyle has not completely banned internet use by students, he has announced some far-reaching restrictions effective next week.  To learn more about the school district’s plan, which involves restricting student internet use to purchased databases and sites ending in .edu and .gov, see the article in Friday’s Anchorage Daily News: http://www.adn.com/news/education/story/8299283p-8195472c.html
ALASKA 67
Attention high school and public librarians (and also small school libraries that collect Alaska materials for their whole communities)!  A new publication called ALASKA 67 is the Alaska Historical Society’s pick of the top 67 Alaska history books for general audiences.  Not all of the titles will be of interest to the high school crowd, but many of them should be of interest to teachers preparing classes for the new Alaska history requirement.  Only about a third of them are still in print, so you won’t be able to order many of them as new books.
Copies are available at or online from Title Wave and Cook Inlet Books in Anchorage as well as the bookstore in Juneau.  It is a locally-produced book, so does not seem to be available through the national online bookstores yet.  This book would be a good measure of your Alaska history collections at the high school/adult reading levels and will be of interest to any Alaska history buffs in your clientele.
For an interesting article about how the list was formed and to also see all 67 titles, try:
http://www.adn.com/life/story/8281998p-8178469c.html
For the list itself:
http://www.adn.com/life/hometown/story/8281993p-8178468c.html
The book is an attractive softcover publication with complete annotations by the committee members, including State Librarian Kay Shelton, that would make a good reference title for collections that emphasize  Alaskana history titles.
GRANT FOR ALA DC CONFERENCE TRAVEL
Here’s a message from the American Library Association:
“Members of ALA’s New Members Round Table (NMRT) can apply to receive a grant, sponsored by 3M Library Systems, which will cover expenses to attend the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. in June 2007.  
Want to read about the ALA experiences of last year’s winners? Take a look at the August 2006 issue of Footnotes (http://www.ala.org/ala/nmrt/footnotes/august2006ab/August2006Footnotes.htm). You will see how professionally rewarding attending an ALA conference can be. The application form and further information about the grant is available on the NMRT website: (http://www.ala.org/ala/nmrt/applyforfunds/3mawardinformation.htm). Remember, you must be a current member of NMRT in order to apply.  To join NMRT, visit the ALA website (http://ala.org) and follow the “Join/Renew ALA” link to add to your ALA membership.  The deadline is December 15, 2006 “
 
 
 

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AUDIO SOURCE HELP
Yvonne Heinbaugh of the Glennallen Elementary School Library would like to know if anyone has had luck finding one-stop shopping source for audio versions of this year’s Battle of the Books list.  If you have a suggestion, please contact me at sue_sherif at eed.state.ak.us, and I’ll pass the message on to her. She’s interested in both CD’s and tapes.
 

NEH GRANTS
This announcement came from the state Department of Education and Early Development newsletter.  As you can see even small Alaskan libraries have snagged some of these grants, so for those of you who are very short of money, here’s something to try:
 

“Ten Alaska libraries have received fifteen classic books from the National Endowment for the Humanities’ Becoming American initiative.The recipients were six branches of the Anchorage Municipal Libraries, College Gate Elementary School in Anchorage, Lumen Christi School in Anchorage, the Innoko River School in Shageluk, and the Thorne Bay Public Library.
Applications for new sets of books will be accepted from public libraries and K-12 school libraries, as well as from private, parochial and charter schools. For more information, click here. Applications will be accepted online from September 19, 2006, to January 31, 2007.
The list of books changes each year. For 2005-2006, titles included “the Lotus Seed” by Sherry Garland for students in kindergarten through third grade; “Immigrant Kids” by Russell Freedman for students in grades four to six; “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” by Betty Smith for students in grades seven to eight; and Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography for high school students.”
 

NEW AASL INNOVATIVE READING GRANT PROGRAM – Deadline Feb. 1, 2007
A new grant program has been established for members of the American Association of School Librarians.  If you are a member, you might want to check out the Innovative Reading Grant Guidelines and application form at:
http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslawards/innovativereadinggrant/2007_Innovative_Reading_Grant.pdf
The purpose of the grant is to “support the planning and implementation of a unique and innovative program for children which motivates and encourages reading, especially with struggling readers.”
 

REMINDER TO YOUTH SERVICES LIBRARIANS
If you haven’t turned in your library’s summer reading program report, it isn’t too late.  Mail them to Priscilla McAdara at the address below OR fax them to 907-269-6580.