22
November
2006
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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!
Posted: Grants, Scholarships, School Libraries, Uncategorized
3
November
2006
SAYL MailNovember 3, 2006
FUNDS RAISED / TRAVEL GRANTS /BATTLE OF THE BOOKS / LEARNING COMMUNITY GRANTS / MORE NEW PROFESSIONAL TITLES
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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 21st 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)
Posted: Books, Grants, Scholarships
28
October
2006
PRINCIPALS CONFERENCE /SCHOLARSHIPS / NEW ALASKANA / MORE NEW TITLES
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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 21st 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
Posted: Alaskana, Books, Grants, Scholarships, Uncategorized
