This message was provided by Joyce McCombs of the Delta Community Library:

Acclaimed Delta Junction author and photographer, Cindy Lou Aillaud, has asked me to let you know that she is now retired from teaching and is ready to begin her long anticipated book tour – and of course she’s starting right here in Alaska!

You already know that “Recess at 20 Below” became a best seller as soon as it was published. “Recess” has sold out time and again and is currently in it’s 5th printing. If you have a signed first edition – you’re one of the lucky ones!

Cindy is starting her book tour in the Anchorage area in October and dates are filling up fast. She is glad she can finally say “Yes” to road trips during the school year and is eager to meet you.

To schedule an assembly or visit to your library anywhere in the state, and to learn more about her educational and fun filled presentation, check out the brand new “Recess” website:

http://www.recessat20below.com/

Winter is on it’s way and now the perfect time to plan a program that will encourage your students, families and patrons to do as Cindy does and…

“Bundle up and play outside!”

In a hurry?

Email Cindy now at: smiles99737@yahoo.com and she’ll get back to you asap.

ALASKA LIBRARY NETWORK NEWS 

Kerri Canepa asked me to post this to you all:   

The Alaska Library Network has a new web page! Check out http://alaskalibrarynetwork.org/  for loads of promotional materials for SLED and the Digital Pipeline all available for download and printing. You’ll find brochures, bookmarks, posters and other items. Just click on Products & Services in the lefthand column. Keep up with what’s happening with ALN by clicking on News and also Schedule & Events. As ALN grows, so will the web page so make sure to bookmark the site and visit regularly! SLED has a new toolbar that can be added to your browser! It’s customizable and will search SLED from anywhere on the Internet. Go to sled.alaska.edu and click on “Download the SLED toolbar!” text in the lefthand column. Please note, the toolbar does not work with Safari, so if you use Apple products, download the toolbar in Firefox. The Digital Pipeline now features a series of video tutorials! These are designed to provide step-by-step instruction for using the EBSCOhost interface. The tutorials build on each other by explaining the features of the interface and how to use it for searching for information. Each tutorial is approximately 2 1/2 to 3 minutes in length and can be viewed over and over again. Go to sled.alaska.edu/databases/ and click on the “Need Help?” box on the righthand side of the page to get to the list of tutorials. Please send any comments or suggestions about any of the web sites to: 

Kerri Canepa, Coordinator, Alaska Library Network                                                    Alaska State Library, 334 W. 3rd Avenue, Ste 125, Anchorage, AK
99501907-269-6567 kerri.canepa@alaska.gov 

LIVE HOMEWORK HELP PASSWORD (AGAIN!) 

Live Homework Help is a valuable afterschool service offered on SLED (http://sled.alaska.edu/) or on a number of public and school library websites each day from 1 to 9 PM for students who need help with their homework.  As I wrote last time, it now works with PCs AND Macs, but it requires a password.  Although we can not post or mail that password electronically, we can tell you that it is the password that one uses for the databases on the Digital Pipeline.  If you do not know the password, look at the Live Homework Help page for the toll-free number to obtain it.  Feel free to distribute it freely in paper format, but just DON’T post it on a website or send it to students, teachers, or parents via email.  Remember that students will need to know to use the password if they are asked for a library card number.  Library card numbers will NOT work despite what the screen asks. 

If you would like a couple of cute posters to advertise LIVE HOMEWORK HELP in your school, please contact Priscilla McAdara at priscilla.mcadara@alaska.gov  

SCHOOL LIBRARY COORDINATOR DEADLINE EXTENDED TO 10/1/2007 

Because there were insufficient applicants for my position, the search has been broadened and the deadline extended.  Take a look at the job description to learn how you can apply on Workplace
Alaska at: http://notes4.state.ak.us/wa/PostApps.nsf/0/5A5E395DFF0E09438925735300655EFC?OpenDocument

The position is listed under Librarian III and School Library Coordinator.  It’s one job listed two different ways.  

HOORAY! 

Cheers for all the energetic youth services librarians who gathered in
Anchorage September 11-12 for the first-ever Alaska Youth Services Workshop.  Priscilla McAdara of the State Library Anchorage office commented, “I don’t think I’ve ever been around so many people who had so much passion for their jobs.”   There were 32 librarians in attendance, but there was enough energy in the room to stoke a few small power plants.  

 You can post comments on the blog by clicking on the number next to the post title.

It’s a new school year, a new attempt at this blog, and a new job for me.  Beginning September 17, 2007, I will no longer be the School Library/Youth Services Coordinator for the Alaska State Library, but will start a new job as the Head of Library Development, the position formerly held by Nina Malyshev, who resigned in July.

Among my new responsibilities will be designing training for Alaskan librarians in all types of libraries.  Because that has been a big part of my current job, I will still be in touch with you, just in a slightly different capacity. 

We expect to have a new School Library Coordinator starting sometime in late September or early October.  In the meantime, I’ll be working with you all. 

The School Library Coordinator serves between 300 and 400 teacher librarians and library assistants.  Because of the large number of consultations that this position is expected to provide, the Youth Services aspect portion of the job, which consists largely of the statewide summer reading program and serving as the State Library liaison to statewide early literacy efforts, will be separated from my current position, and I will handle those duties as Head of Library Development.  The new School Library Coordinator will maintain the SAYL Mail and this blog, but that person and I will both communicate any information that might be relevant to children’s and teen services in public libraries.

 If you have any questions, you can leave questions here as a comment (just click on the greyed number next to title above, or contact me at the email address I acquired in June:  sue.sherif at alaska.gov (Replace the word at with the proper sign. No spaces.)

I am very excited about my new position because I see it as a way to find new challenges, but also to continue working with all of you to keep making Alaska school libraries better.  The really neat thing is that for the first time ever, the Alaska State Library will have four school librarians on staff:  Linda Thibodeau (Deputy Director), Valerie Oliver (E-Rate Coordinator), the new School Library Coordinator, and me.  I am sure your voices will be heard more than ever at ASL!

Sue Sherif

 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!

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 “
 
 
 

FREE LABELS / STATE LITERACY CONFERENCE / SURVEY / LETTERS ABOUT LITERATURE / CLIA AWARDS / READY TO READ, READY TO LEARN / KUDOS TO KARI
 

FREE SHELF LABELS—ACT QUICKLY
 

Giving away: 60 plastic shelf label holders. 3/4″ x 3″. Almond color. Will ship free of charge. Email roz99647@yahoo.com if interested.
 

ALASKA STATE LITERACY CONFERENCE
The Alaska State Literacy Association is holding its annual conference in Juneau, October 19-21.  For more information, check ASLA’s website at: http://www.alaskareading.org The theme for the 2006 conference is: Alaska’s Diverse Community: Literacy and Leadership.
 

The state library conference for this year will also be held in Juneau this school year, February 22-25.
 

SURVEY ON MAGAZINES, NEWSPAPERS, AND MORE
 

A survey on SLED has been extended to get more feedback from teachers, librarians, parents, and students.  Check it out on the SLED main page (http://sled.alaska.edu).  Please encourage your students to respond in the next couple of weeks and also take a second to participate yourself.  The group who is working on tutorials for the SLED databases is hoping to get a wide cross-section of users and would-be users to participate.
 

LETTERS ABOUT LITERATURE
 

The Alaska Center for the Book and  the Library of Congress Center for the Book are once again sponsoring this annual competition.  Last year an Alaska student finished in the top 20 nationwide.  To see how your students can participate: http://www.alaskacenterforthebook.org/  Students in grades 4 -12 are eligible, and this year’s deadline is December 8, 2006.  Winners receive Target certificates, which are redeemable online, and lots of glory!
 

CONTRIBUTIONS TO LITERACY IN ALASKA AWARD
 

Speaking of the Alaska Center for the Book, the CLIA Awards were announced last week in Anchorage.  Corey Hall of the Kenai Community Library and her innovated programs and grant proposals on behalf of Kenai students and preschoolers made her the latest librarian to garner this recognition.  (Last year’s winners included school librarian Valerie Oliver.)  Judy Ferri, a retired educator from Fairbanks and, like Corey, very active in the State Literacy Association was one of the other honorees in this year’s recognition.  Congratulations to both of them for all their hard work on behalf of reading and literacy.
 

READY TO READ, READY TO LEARN TASK FORCE PRESENTS REPORT
 

The Ready to Read, Ready to Learn Task Force presented the results of its 10 months of work to Governor Murkowski at a press conference on September 27, 2006 in Anchorage.  The report, which focuses on what it might take to make all young Alaskans ready to read when they enter kindergarten and to succeed in their later school careers is available on the Alaska Humanities Forum website at: http://www.alaskacenterforthebook.org/  The vision of the task force will carry forward under the leadership of Abbe Hensley, the new director of initiative, and the work of parents, teachers, and librarians throughout Alaska.
 

KUDOS TO KARI
Kari Sagel of Sitka School District met with Alaska State Commissioner of Education and Early Development  Roger Sampson to discuss issues surround the certification of teacher librarians.  Although it is too early to discuss a specific outcome, Kari and a committee of the Alaska Association of School Librarians is ready to take the next step in the negotiations.  Hats off to Kari for her leadership in this matter.  Stay tuned for the rest of the story…..
 

TRAVEL
 

I will be visiting our colleagues in Fairbanks Public Library and School District tomorrow and will be working with others from the State Library in the Denali School District and Tri-Valley Community Library, the Delta Community Library and the Delta Greely School District, Tok Community Library, and Northway Community School Library.  I look forward to seeing all of you in the Interior, but will not be answering emails as regularly or my phone at all for the next week.  I’ll try to keep up with my email, but it is always interesting to see how I am able …or not…to connect as I travel.
 

Enjoy this beautiful fall if you still have leaves in your area, and report snow when you have it!
 

To comment on any of these blog entries, click on the gray number next to title of the entry.

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.
 

PRINCIPALS / NEW ALASKA TITLES / LIBRARY SIGN-UP MONTH / UPCOMING 

If you would like to comment on anything in this blogletter, simply move your mouse to the number next to the title above–after Blogletter #2–and you can respond to anything you’d like in this issue.

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.