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

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

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!

 SURVEY REMINDER / SCHOLARSHIP REMINDER/ NEW GRANT FOR SCHOOL LIBRARIES / AUTHORS HONORED 

SURVEY REMINDER 

Thanks to all of you have filled out and returned a 2006 Alaska School Library Census Form.  This information is not only useful for me, but it may be useful for you as well.  The Alaska Association of School Librarians and the Alaska Library Association are working to propose a school library collection development grant to add to your library materials budget.  Their efforts will be more effective if they can explain to legislators what the current situation with school libraries is, particularly the current per student expenditure on library materials.  This information is not available statewide from any other source but from you who work in school libraries.  So far the responses I have received for school library budgets have ranged from $0 (several) to $75,000 (a one-time federal grant).     For those of you who haven’t sent me a completed form, I urge you to take a few minutes to fill one out.  Please remember to indicate the name of your school and the number of students that you serve at the top of the form.  If you won’t have time until next week after the holiday, that’s fine.  Have a great holiday, and then take about 5 minutes to fill out the form when you return next week. If you no longer have the form I sent out last week, don’t be shy.  Just write to me at the address below, and I’ll be glad to send you another one. 

SCHOLARSHIP REMINDER  I have been asked to remind you that if you are pursuing a masters degree or school library certificate, or if you know someone who is interested in doing so, you should check out the information at the AkLA/AkASL scholarship site at: http://www.akla.org/scholarships/index.html   The deadlines for the two types of scholarships offered are both January 15, 2007. NEW GRANT FOR SCHOOL LIBRARIES “Where can I get a grant for my school library?”  is one of my most frequently asked questions.  As of this year, there is a new award program, the Sara Jaffarian Award, from the American Association of School Librarians.  The award is for $4,000 plus a plaque to the selected school library that has conducted “an exemplary program or program series in the humanities.”  The program should have been conducted in the previous school year with a humanities focus, which might include social studies, poetry, drama, art, music, literature, foreign languages and culture.  “Programs should focus on broadening perspectives and helping students understand the wider world and their place in it.”  Award rules and an application form are available at: www.ala.org/jaffarianaward  and the deadline is February 28, 2007. Other awards available through AASL are to be found at: http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslawards/aaslawards.htmThe deadline for most of them is February 1, 2007.   AUTHORS HONORED Earlier this fall, children’s book illustrator David Macaulay was honored with a “genius grant” from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for his works that “demystify the workings and origins of objects as mundane as a stapler and as monumental as a cathedral.”

More recently M. T. Anderson’s novel THE ASTONISHING LIFE OF OCTAVIAN NOTHING, TRAITOR TO THE NATION, VOLUME ONE: THE POX PARTY (Candlewick Press) was named the 2006 National Book Award for Children’s Literature.
Anderson’s earlier work, FEED, was a finalist for the 2002 award. 

Enjoy your holiday!

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 “