8
September
2006
REQUEST FOR HELP / NEH GRANTS / STRUGGLING READERS GRANT / REMINDER FOR PUBLIC LIBRARIANS
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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.
Posted: Books, Public Libraries, School Libraries, Summer Reading, Uncategorized
1
September
2006
PRINCIPALS / NEW ALASKA TITLES / LIBRARY SIGN-UP MONTH / UPCOMING
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PRINCIPAL CONNECTION
In its never-ending effort to keep principals aware of what an asset to the instructional program school librarians and libraries are, the Alaska Association of School Librarians is sponsoring a session at the October principals conference here in Anchorage, October 16, in addition to a booth in the exhibit area. AkASL’s speaker will be Michael Sullivan, who some of you may remember from the 2006 Alaska Library Association Conference and is the author of Connecting Boys with Books. You can read his School Library Journal article, “Why Johnny Won’t Read” at http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA439816.html
It may be too early to talk up this session with your principal (I’ll send a reminder out closer to conference time). However, this time of year is a good one, despite how busy you and your principal are at the first of school, to make a 5-15 minute appointment with your principal to talk about what you plan to do in the library this year. If you can schedule the appointment in the library, all the better.
Try to focus on anything new that you’ll be doing. If your principal is not too familiar with your program, use the time as a brief way to orient your principal to the library.
If you, like many school library media staff in the state, do not have a formal budget, this is a good time to ask how much money you’ll have for library materials for the year, whether there are any new grant programs for the school that might include the library, and whether the principal would like you to prepare a wish list, so that if there is any money that needs to be spent quickly a library order will be available.
NEW ALASKA TITLES
Big Alaska: Journey Across America’s Most Amazing State by Debbie S. Miller, illustrated by Jon Van Zyle (Walker, 2006) 0-8027-8069-5
A bald eagle takes young readers on a tour of Alaska’s superlatives starting with the largest concentration of bald eagle nests (Admiralty Island), heaviest vegetables (Mat Su Valley), strongest North American earthquake (Anchorage), most active volcanoes (Katmai), biggest North American river delta (Yukon Kuskoquim), tallest North American mountain (Denali) and ending with the largest gathering of eagles (Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve). Jon Van Zyle’s double-page paintings are in a looser style than we are accustomed to from him, but younger children will be taking a close look to find the eagle in each spread. There are more facts about the state in end notes, and the endpapers are maps of the state. (K-6 grades)
Up on Denali: Alaska’s Wild Mountain by Shelley Gill illustrated by Shannon Cartwright (Paw IV/Sasquatch, 2006)1-57061-366-4 hbk 1-57061-365-6 pbk
The popular team packs a lot into this picture book. For younger readers and listeners, there is a rhyming poem about the Great One. For older readers there are text and graphic sidebars that tell about the natural history of the mountain and its area. (K-6 grades)
SEPTEMBER IS…
Library Card Sign-Up Month for public libraries http://www.ala.org/ala/pio/otherinit/card/librarycard.htm School librarians can encourage children who live in communities with libraries to use their community libraries in larger communities simply by bringing in your own library card and asking kids if they have one. Your community library may have some brochures for those students who don’t have cards.
In smaller communities have someone take a digital picture of the community library (if it isn’t the school library), and ask kids if they know what the building is.
If they are no other libraries at all in your community, you might want to advertise the Books-By-Mail program sponsored by the Alaska State Library. More information for communities with NO library service whatsoever is available online (IMPORTANT NOTE: The service does not cover homebound people or people at the far edges of large boroughs where there is a library system.) In all areas except Southeast Alaska, check:
http://www.juneau.org/library/mailserv/fa-contact.php
For Southeast Alaska, try: http://www.juneau.org/library/mailserv/se-contact.php
If you recommend this service to families of your students who qualify, please be sure that you read the guidelines on the web pages first.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Banned Books Week, September 23-30, 2006
For more info: http://www.ala.org/ and search for Banned Books Week 2006
Teen Read Week, October 15-21, 2006
For more information, use the URL above and search Teen Read Week 2006.
Posted: Public Libraries, School Libraries, Uncategorized
25
August
2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 10, 2006
Contacts: Barbra Holian, ADHSS, (907) 465-8116, cell (907) 321-2610
Christine Lynch, ADHSS, (907) 269-7954, cell (907) 529-1520 Sue Sherif, ADEED, (907) 269-6569
State Health Officials Warn of Unsafe Levels of Lead in Children’s Toys Distributed by Libraries
(Juneau, Alaska) ─ Bendable dog and cat toys given away at many public libraries this summer might contain unsafe levels of lead. State health officials in the Department of Health and Social Services today issued a consumer health alert regarding the toys, which were distributed as part of a statewide summer reading program at public libraries throughout Alaska, and in at least 30 other states nationwide.
The rubbery toys are roughly four inches long, with round heads and long bendable arms and legs. They come in various colors. The toys are stamped “Made in China” on the back of the head, and “China” on the back of the body. In recent tests run on three of these toys, lead levels ranged from 0.24 to 0.4 percent lead. The Code of Federal Regulations stipulates that lead may constitute no more than 0.06 percent of the weight of the paint applied to a toy.
The main risk posed by these toys is the possibility that children might chew on them and swallow part of the toy, and thereby absorb unsafe amounts of lead into the bloodstream. The toys are not hazardous to touch. Young children, infants, and developing fetuses are at greatest risk of lead poisoning because their bodies absorb more lead and their brains and bodies are still developing.
“We are currently unaware of any children in Alaska who have become ill or who have elevated lead concentrations because of the toys,” said Dr. Joe McLaughlin, Medical Epidemiologist with the Alaska Division of Public Health. Since prolonged exposure to lead in young children has been associated with lifelong learning disabilities and behavioral disorders, he encourages parents to consult with a healthcare provider if they think their child has swallowed any portion of the toys.
Approximately 2,400 toys were obtained by about 72 libraries in Alaska. It is not known how many toys may have already been given away to children. The company that supplies the toys to libraries, Highsmith Inc., has issued a voluntary recall of the product.
“Librarians involved in the summer reading program are appalled to think that something they distributed might pose a risk to the children they serve, so we notified the health department and the libraries involved right away. We really hope parents will search their children’s toy boxes and return these toys to their local library as soon as possible,” said Sue Sherif, School Library/Youth Services Coordinator for the Alaska State Library.
State public health officials advise parents whose children have the toys to return them to the library where they were obtained. Local libraries will either return the toys to Highsmith Inc. or send them to a central collection facility for safe disposal.
For more information on the hazards of lead, please visit:
http://www.cpsc.gov/BUSINFO/leadguid.html or http://www.epa.gov/lead/
or call the Environmental Public Health program in the Alaska Division of Public Health at 907-269-8000.
Posted: Public Libraries, Uncategorized
