5
April
2008
2008 RURAL SCHOOL PARTNERS WANTED / BOOK BONANZA REMINDER / NATIONAL POETRY MONTH, WEEK, DAY / SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA MONTH / LIBRI FOUNDATION GRANTS FOR RURAL LIBRARIES / SCHOOL LIBRARY COORDINATOR POSITION RURAL SCHOOL SIXTH-GRADE PARTNERS WANTED Robin Turk writes:
Sixth grade classes at Colony Middle School in Palmer are looking for rural schools who would like to partner in having online broadcasted discussions about Alaska literature. CMS students will be developing book reviews of Alaska books, creating podcasts and broadcasting them on Radio Free Palmer this summer. Partnering rural schools would be welcome to join us on this technological literature adventure as well. Interested schools would need to have the available technology to use Skype. Skype is a free VOIP service (voice over IP), or talking for free over the Internet. We also hope to use video over IP also supported by Skype. Using Skype would require some kind of broadband connection to the Internet, but other then that is very easy to use and we are just learning too. See http://skype.com/ Interested? Read the letter below from our 6th grade teacher with more details.
My name is Robin Howell and I teach 6th grade language arts at Colony Middle School. My students (about 120 kids) are dedicated readers, writers, and thinkers. We have all made one podcast and we are ready for more. Our 4th quarter goal is to read Alaska genre books, write short, critical, yet entertaining book reviews, and then make a podcast of the written narrative (about 30 sec. to 1 min). It is our thought that tourists who may be visiting Palmer and wandering the aisles of Fireside Books (in Palmer) will be inspired to purchase an Alaskan book to take home to remember our great state. Students will use a first or nick name only so we won’t need to worry about protecting their identity. We would be happy to share some of our better podcasts as a sample of their level of work. We are actively working with our librarian, Robin Turk, in the podcast process. We are also planning on using Skype to expand their understanding of Alaska and the genre by developing “Skype Pals”. Our intention is to connect with students across Alaska to form a technology relationship so they will better understand the book they are reading. Robin Turk is supporting our efforts by sending messages out to state wide librarians. Steve Krueger, our techno wizard for MSBSD is supporting our Skype efforts. Like all great ideas, many hands make light work! We hope to form a partnership with you and support good reading, writing, listening and community building. Thanks so much for your time,
Robin Howell, 6th grade, Colony Middle School
If your rural school is interested in partnering with Colony Middle School, please reply to the school librarian, Robin Turk at: Robin.Turk@matsuk12.us
BOOK BONANZA REMINDER - Deadline April 30, 2008
The deadline for the 2008 Book Bonanza competition is coming up at the end of the month. This year there is an entry form AND the usual essay. For details about how you can enter to win book credits for your school or public library, click:http://www.akla.org/akasl/bonanza/index.html
IS THERE A POEM IN YOUR POCKET: POETRY MONTH, YOUTH POETRY WEEK, POETRY DAY?
April is National Poetry Month, and this year the week of April 14-20 is Youth Poetry Week (almost matches National Library Week), and to make it even better, April 17 is the first Poem in Your Pocket Day.
Poetry may seem obscure to many, but for the last several years the love of poetry has experienced a revival among young people. Poetry slams and contests are flooded with contestants these days.
For some interesting suggestions about how you can make a Poem in Your Pocket day work in your school, library, or community, look at: https://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/406 They even offer a selection of online pocket poems. Guide poetry readers young and old to the pocket poem link at: https://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/409
Several poets have web pages featuring their poetry for younger students. Among them are:
Kristine O’Connell George: http://www.kristinegeorge.com/for_students.html
Joyce Sidman: http://www.joycesidman.com/teachers.html (You can hear her reading her poems, and students can submit their own.)
Joyce S. Wong: http://www.janetwong.com/poems/index.cfm
SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA MONTH 
Not only are we celebrating poetry this month, but we can boast that April is School Library Media Month. If you would like to spread the word in your community or just within your school, check the American Association of School Librarians web site at:
http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslissues/aasladvocacy/schoollibrary.cfm
Here you will find some downloadable School Library Media Month audiospots by Carmen Agra Deedy, a storyteller extraordinaire. There you’ll find spots of a variety of lengths and also some suggestions of how to get them aired outside your school if you have a radio station in your community. At the simplest level, you could air them during school announcements (and possibly throw in a poem, too?).
LIBRI FOUNDATION GRANTS - Deadline April 15
The Libri Foundation is devoted to give grants for collections in rural public libraries through the country. A number of Alaska libraries in small communities have won in the past. For information about how you can apply by the nearest deadline check:
http://www.librifoundation.org/apps.html Here you will find the application and guidelines. School libraries cannot apply, but combined school/community libraries are eligible.
There is also a fall deadline on August 15, 2008 and a winter one on January 15, 2009.
SCHOOL LIBRARY COORDINATOR STILL WANTED - Deadline April 25, 2008
If you or someone you know is interested in a job that allows one the opportunity to travel throughout our wonderful state and to use your expert knowledge in a way that benefits Alaska school libraries, please checkout the job posting on Workplace Alaska at: http://notes5.state.ak.us/wa/mainentry.nsf/WebData/1hp1HomePage/?Open
The job, listed as School Library Coordinator AND Librarian III, is located in Anchorage and provides the opportunity to work with a great Library Development team of the Alaska State Library.
Hopefully,
Sue
Sue Sherif
Posted: Grants, Public Libraries, SAYL Mail, School Libraries
13
February
2008
Book Bonanza Winners / Gale/LMC Award / New Alaskana / Certification / Summer Reading / New Job?
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
Posted: Alaskana, Awards, Books, Collaboration, Grants, School Libraries, Summer Reading
7
November
2007
I still have one foot in my old job as School Library Coordinator and one foot in my new job, but I want to try to keep up SAYL MAIL until we have someone who can take it over.
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/
Posted: Assessment, Awards, Books, School Libraries
