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Last updated June 9, 2006
The Executive and the Legislature have approved the Legislature's proposal for a $19.75 million increase in state aid for libraries and library systems for 2006-2007. It is our understanding that the Legislature's intent is for this new funding to be allocated as follows:
The New York Library Association is encouraging all library supporters to send
legislators and the Executive a note or invite them to a program or event to
thank them for supporting this much needed increase in State funding for libraries.
The funds for library systems and public library construction are clearly one-time
increases, so it is important that legislators know how much the funding is
needed not only for this year, but also for future years.
Label designs to promote summer reading are now available on the Books: A Treasure! Summer Reading Website: http://www.summerreadingnys.org/planners.html
Ask administrators if you can use them on report cards or end-of-the-year mailings to parents.
The State Library and the NOVEL (New York Virtual Electronic Library) Steering Committee have initiated two major projects intended to ensure that all New Yorkers can take full advantage of high-quality electronic information resources and services through NOVEL. The two projects are distinct. However, they are closely coordinated and will serve to assess the impact of NOVEL, reveal where improvements are needed, and increase public awareness of and access to NOVEL resources.
LSTA EVALUATION OF NOVEL
As part of the required evaluation of New York's Library Services and Technology
Act (LSTA) Five-Year Plan 2002-2007, the New York State Library will focus on
NOVEL in an evaluation to be conducted with the assistance of Himmel & Wilson,
Library Consultants. This evaluation includes a web survey to capture opinions
and comments from NOVEL end-users and librarians, focus groups of users and
librarians, site visits to libraries and interviews.
This program evaluation is required for receipt of federal LSTA funds under the Museum and Library Services Act which is administered by the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services.
The first phase of public input into this evaluation has begun with posting of web surveys at http://www.libraryconsultant.com/NOVELMenu.htm . Your input is extremely valuable in helping the State Library evaluate the usefulness and impact of the NOVEL initiative.
You can choose a survey from among several categories (student, teacher, librarian, business or personal interest and other), and you can submit more than one survey. For example, you may submit one as a librarian and another about your use of NOVEL for personal interests. The survey takes less than five minutes to complete.
The State Library asks everyone who sees this message to submit a survey and encourage your colleagues and users of all types of libraries to submit one as well. We would also appreciate your distributing this message to other lists so that we can obtain as broad a response as possible.
Please send any questions about this message to Sara McCain, LSTA Coordinator, Division of Library Development, New York State Library, at smccain@mail.nysed.gov.
NOVEL STATEWIDE EDUCATION AND INFORMATION PROGRAM
The New York State Library has begun a Statewide Education and
Information Program for NOVEL. This project, developed from a
recommendation by the NOVEL Steering Committee, will receive assistance
from the Ivy Group, Ltd., as a consultant during the three-year effort.
The NOVEL Statewide Education and Information Program is intended to educate and inform the public about NOVEL through a statewide communications plan that will bring about a broad and deep awareness of NOVEL among New Yorkers and promote its use through local libraries. The program will include communications focused on media relations and outlets such as newspapers, radio, and television, as well as topnotch professional products to be used by libraries to inform their local communities about the new information resources available through their libraries. An evaluation component will measure the effectiveness of the program through techniques such as telephone surveys to determine public awareness of NOVEL, use of NOVEL, and levels of local library participation and promotion.
Use of NOVEL resources has soared in recent years. NOVEL use has increased 1400 percent since its inception, with more than 27 million searches reported as of April 1, 2006. The number of visits to NOVEL through driver-license access jumped 350 percent after announcement of the NOVEL Driver License Access Project through a joint effort of the State Education Department Public Information Office, the State Library, and the Associated Press.
NOVEL, a high priority of the State Education Department as a critical resource for New Yorkers in the information age, is currently funded by temporary federal funds granted to the New York State Library by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The LSTA evaluation project and the NOVEL Statewide Education and Information Program are intended to ensure that New York State optimizes its use of this limited LSTA funding.
If you have questions about these projects, contact Randy Ericson, Chair of
the NOVEL Steering Committee, at rericson@hamilton.edu
or (315) 859-4489; or Carol Desch, Coordinator of Statewide Library Services,
New York State Library, at cdesch@mail.nysed.gov
or (518) 474-7196.
Dr. Anne-Imelda M. Radice, the recently appointed director of the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services, announced from Carnegie Hall in New York City that the agency will partner with the National Endowment for the Arts on the Big Read. The Big Read is a new national reading program designed to revitalize the role of reading in America. The Institute is the primary source of federal funds and leadership to the nation’s 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums.
“Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America” a 2004 National Arts Endowment report, documented a dramatic decline in literary reading – among all age groups, ethnic groups, and education levels – and galvanized a national discussion. The Big Read was developed to help reverse this trend by giving citizens in more than 100 communities in all 50 states an inviting opportunity to read and discuss great books. Each city or town that participates will host a community-wide read that involves collaborations with libraries, schools, local government, and the private sector.
The Institute will contribute $1 million in the first year of the national program and cast America’s libraries and librarians in a central role to encourage community participation. “We are delighted to be a partner in The Big Read,” noted Dr. Anne-Imelda M. Radice, Director of the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services. “Libraries are ‘information central’ in communities everywhere. Encouraging library participation will assure that The Big Read has big impact in cities and towns across the United States.”
“We are so pleased to have the Institute of Museum and Library Services as
a partner,” said Dana Gioia,
Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. “They bring expertise and a
capacity that will not only make the Big Read bigger but better.”
The Big Read will be administered by Arts Midwest, a regional arts agency based in Minneapolis, MN. The partners invite cities and communities nationwide to participate in 2007. The Big Read will award grants generally ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 to more than 100 communities to conduct programs that encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment. To find out how your organization can submit a proposal to join the Big Read, please visit: www.neabigread.org
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal
support for the nation’s 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. Its mission is
to grow and sustain a “Nation of Learners” because lifelong learning is essential
to a democratic society and individual success. Through its grant making, convenings,
research and publications, the Institute empowers museums and libraries nationwide
to provide leadership and services to enhance learning in families and communities,
sustain cultural heritage, build twenty-first-century skills, and increase civic
participation. To learn more about the Institute, please visit: http://www.imls.gov.
Two of the world's largest membership-based information organizations have agreed to come together. The combined organization will offer an integrated product and service line, and will give libraries, archives and museums new leverage in developing services, standards and software that will help them support research and disseminate knowledge online.
The RLG Board of Directors and OCLC Board of Trustees have recommended that the two service and research organizations be combined effective July 1, 2006. If approved by RLG member institutions, RLG's online products and services will be integrated with OCLC products and services, and RLG's program initiatives will be brought forward as a new division of OCLC Programs and Research.
A combined organization would provide an opportunity to leverage program strengths, services and innovative research initiatives, and to deliver more value to a greater number of libraries, museums, archives and other research organizations around the globe.
RLG is a nonprofit organization of over 150 research libraries, archives, museums and other cultural memory institutions that designs and delivers innovative information discovery services, organizes collaborative programs, and takes an active role in creating and promoting relevant standards and practices. OCLC Online Computer Library Center is a nonprofit, membership, library service and research organization whose public purposes of furthering access to the world's information and reducing library costs dominate its plans and activities. OCLC provides computer-based cataloging, reference, resource sharing, eContent, preservation services and research to 54,000 libraries in 109 countries.
"The last few years have instilled in us all an urgent need to find innovative, cost-effective and compelling ways to bring research collections into the heart of the online environment and into the hands of those who can benefit from them," said James Neal, Vice President for Information Services and University Librarian at Columbia University, and Chair of the RLG Board of Directors. "It is time that RLG and OCLC take united action if we are to realize our long-held and long-shared mutual goal of providing information to people when and where they need it. New challenges demand new thinking, so after deliberation and careful thought, both RLG and OCLC came to the conclusion that the best way to serve our members' interests was to combine forces."
"The OCLC Board of Trustees and OCLC management believe that it is in the best interests of the library and cultural heritage community in general, and the research library community in particular, for RLG and OCLC to create a united organization that leverages our respective strengths," said Betsy Wilson, Dean of University Libraries, University of Washington, and Chair, OCLC Board of Trustees. "We must work together, so that in the years to come, the people and institutions we serve will point to our alliance as a signal achievement in advancing research, scholarship and education."
The entire press release can be viewed at http://www.rlg.org/en/page.php?Page_ID=20942.
New York's nine public television stations have received information about "Books: A Treasure," the 2006 Statewide Summer Reading Program from the New York State Library. They have been invited to help publicize this important educational program to parents, teachers, and students.
Many stations will be putting a link to the Summer Reading Program web site on their station web sites.
School and public libraries across the state are encouraged to contact the Education Manager at their local public television station and talk about how both can partner to promote this and other library and public television reading and literacy programs in their communities.
You can contact the Education Manager at your local public television station by going to the web site of the New York State Office of Educational Television and Public Broadcasting at www.oce.nysed.gov/etvpb/ and point to "NYS Public Television Stations."
For more information, contact Valerie Chevrette, Communications Coordinator, New York State Library at vchevret@mail.nysed.gov.
The Chairman of the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS), Dr. Beth Fitzsimmons, announced the publication of a report from the symposium "Scholarship and Libraries in Transition: A Dialogue about the Impacts of Mass Digitization Projects." The symposium was held at the University of Michigan on March 10-11, 2006. The URL for the free 24-page report is http://www.nclis.gov/digitization/MassDigitizationSymposium-Report.pdf. Persons wishing to request a hard copy of the report may send a request to info@nclis.gov.
The idea for the symposium was inspired by the announcement in December 2004 for a partnership between Google, Inc. and five major research libraries to digitize over 10 million unique titles. This partnership launched a new era of large-scale digitization heretofore not imagined feasible or affordable. However, the "Google 5" project has generated many questions about the legal, social, economic, and other impacts of this and similar projects that will inevitably follow Google's lead. The symposium brought together scholars, librarians, publishers, government leaders to discuss their concerns and issues. NCLIS cosponsored the symposium, which was planned and organized by the University of Michigan Library staff and funded mainly by the University of Michigan.
After the symposium, because of their responsibility to address the information and learning needs of the American people, NCLIS Commissioners summed up nine major issues that have information policy implications and connected them to key points made during the symposium. The nine issues or areas that the Commission identified to have potential impact on national information policy are:
This report sums up the key points under each of these nine topics and concludes that finding workable solutions will have to involve authors, scholars, publishers, libraries, associations, and government agencies. The solutions will involve education and awareness, policies, responsibility, standards, quality, cooperation, rights, sustainability, technology, and assessment.
The Webcast of the entire symposium may be found on the symposium Web page: http://www.lib.umich.edu/mdp/symposium/.
In this informative, all-day seminar, Kathleen Odean ( www.kathleenodean.com
) presents the best NEW young adult books with practical strategies for using
them in schools and libraries.
Audience: School library media specialists, classroom and reading teachers,
public librarians
Grade Level: 6-12 Credit Hours: 6 (30 minute lunch)
Cost/Fees: $65/pp Team of 2 or more from the same building (SLMS/teacher)
Team of 2 or more public librarian/teacher(s) or public librarian/SLMS
$75/pp Individuals
Light breakfast, lunch and materials included
-------------------------
Register by June 14th, payments must be received by June 21st, or you will
be dropped.
Payable to Dutchess County BOCES.
Questions or help with registration? Contact Dutchess BOCES School Library System, (845) 486-4840.
The 2-day Big6 Academy is held in Rochester, NY and presented by Mike Eisenberg and Bob Berkowitz, the original Big6 Co-creators. This leadership seminar is especially valuable for teacher librarians who want to develop and sustain a Big6 program within their school or district. A 20% discount to special groups and the NYS Library System is available.
Here is a link to the brochure: http://www.big6.com/showarticle.php?id=518
By Sara Kelly Johns, SLMS Educational Leadership Chair
How does the Information Fluency Continuum that will be the program at the
Retreat differ from other K-12 scope and sequences of information literacy skills?
The Information Fluency Continuum, which combines AASL, NETS and NYS standards,
is more a way to extend and deepen the problem-solving approach to one based
on questions and independent thoughtfulness -- the students are defining the
questions and developing the meaning. This also makes it more "real-world"
because in the real world, we don't have discretely defined problems. The continuum
moves students from the "report mentality" to the process of wondering…
and finding answers they care about.
What will I take back that I can use to improve my program?
The Retreat will be useful for everyone from newbies to the profession to those
who provide training for others. Barbara Stripling and Pam Berger have defined
the outcomes below:
Who do I contact if I have questions?
If you have questions about registration, contact Registrar Sally Daniels (H:
315-695-2686 sallydaniels@twcny.rr.com)
If you have questions about continuing ed or the program, contact me (W: 518-523-2474,
ext. 4132, H: 518-891-2339; johns@northnet.org
How can I attend the Retreat for the lowest amount?
For the best rates, register by June 15th for Early Bird registration. Registrar
Sally Daniels will accept registrations after that date at higher rates until
July 15th.
What if I am being sponsored by my local SLMS affiliate or my School Library
System or my school district and their check will be delayed beyond June 15?
Is it still possible to get Early Bird rates?
If you know your registration check is "in the works," contact Sally
Daniels to make a reservation before June 15th and you will get the lower rate.
Why is there a $50 charge for canceling my registration?
That covers the registration fee that Cornell charges SLMS for each person.
SLMS pays that for each person whose name is sent to Cornell Conference services
by July 15th and canceled after July 21st.
Why are there rates for two nights or one? What if I live nearby and want
to commute to Cornell?
The Retreat starts at 8 am on Monday; the program lasts until noon on Tuesday
with activities (including the auction) on Monday evening. Most people drive
to Cornell on Sunday and check in the dorm on Sunday night. You can however,
check in early on Monday morning. Commuting? Contact Sally Daniels for registration
rates.
My school has specific requirements for continuing education credits. Is
there a way to get prior approval that will meet their requirements so that
I get the full 15 credits?
The SLMS Leadership Retreat has been accepted as meeting continuing education
needs for most districts. All participants will receive a certificate for 15
hours of continuing ed. If you need anything more , contact me by e-mail, outlining
specific requirements, and I will tailor a letter or fill out a form to make
it possible to meet your school's needs.
This will be my first time attending. What is the Leadership Auction about?
What should I bring?
On Monday evening, we will gather after dinner for a program-related activity
and then will have a chance to help raise funds for the Carol Kearney Leadership
Retreat Scholarship by bringing items, library-related or white elephant, to
donate to the auction. Rocco Staino will again be our auctioneer extraordinaire.
Thus, bring items to donate and cash or a checkbook; there will be some real
bargains.
Where do I find the registration brochure?
The brochure can be downloaded from the SLMS website: http://www.nyla.org/slms.
There is a link to a Word and PDF version on the front page.
The Regents Advisory Council on Libraries and EBSCO Information Services are cosponsoring this year's Joseph F. Shubert Library Excellence Award. The $1,000 award will recognize a library or library consortium in New York State that has taken significant steps to improve the quality of library service to its users.
For more information about the Shubert Award and the application form, please go to http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/adviscns/rac/index.html, or contact Tina Murphy at (518) 474-5957 or via e-mail at tmurphy@mail.nysed.gov. Applications must be received by August 1, 2006.
The Youth Services Section of the New York Library Association is pleased to announce that the winner of the 2006 Empire State Award for Excellence in Literature for Young People is Donald Crews. Mr. Crews will be honored at a luncheon Friday, November 3, during the Association's annual conference in Saratoga Springs.
First awarded in 1990, the Empire State Award is given to an author and/or illustrator currently residing in New York State to honor a significant body of work in the field of literature for young people.
Mr. Crews has been writing and illustrating books for children for nearly 40 years. His first book, entitled We Read: A to Z, was published in 1967. He has received two Caldecott Honor Medals: for Freight Train in 1979 and for Truck in 1981. His bold graphic illustrations depict concepts in an eye-catching and highly appealing manner.
Past recipients of this prestigious award include Maurice Sendak, Madeleine L'Engle, and Vera Williams. The Empire State Award committee is pleased to welcome Donald Crews to this group.
A nomination form for next year's award can be found at http://www2.lhric.org/libsys/news/Empire_State_Award.htm.
The New York Public Library and the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation are pleased to announce the 2006 winners of the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer and New Illustrator Book Awards. Mary Ann Rodman has been selected as an outstanding new children’s author for her picture book My Best Friend (Viking), and Yunmee Kyong has been chosen as an outstanding new illustrator for Silly Chicken (Viking). The Ezra Jack Keats Awards recognize and encourage talented new children’s book authors and illustrators who, in the spirit of Ezra Jack Keats, create vividly written and illustrated children’s books that offer fresh and positive views of the multicultural world inhabited by children today. Each winner receives a $1,000 cash prize and a bronze medallion. The presentations were made on Thursday, May 11 at the Donnell Library Center, 20 West 53 Street.
ALA's latest press releases included the winners of this year's AASL
awards and it is heartening to see several New York school librarians
among them. Congratulations to:
Melissa (Missa) Bergin (Niskayuna High School) for winning the AASL Collaborative School Library Media Award of $2,500.
Judith Dzikowski of the Onondaga-Cortland-Madison School Library System which was awarded the AASL/Highsmith Research Grant for the research project titled "Partners in Achievement: Libraries and Students (PALS), Improving Student Achievement through Data Use for Library Media Specialists."
Julie Masterson-Smith from Manor Intermediate School in Honeoye Falls, N.Y. who is the Elementary category winner of the Information Technology Pathfinder Award which recognizes and honors a school library media specialist demonstrating vision and leadership through the use of information technology to build lifelong learners.
And former New Yorker Mike Eisenburg, a dean emeritus and professor at University of Washington Information School, and an accomplished conference presenter, writer and advocate for school library media issues, who is the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award. The $3,000 award recognizes an individual member of the library profession who has, over a significant period of time, made an outstanding national contribution to school librarianship and school library development.
We're all building networked info databases and resources but do we really know if they are useful to our constituencies? Reality check time. Course at SU this summer.
EVALUATION OF NETWORKED INFORMATION SERVICES:
PRACTICAL STRATEGIES
Syracuse University, School of Information Studies
IST 600 -011
July 15-July16, 2006
Room: TBA
Charles R. McClure, Ph. D., Francis Eppes Professor and Director
Information Use Management and Policy Institute, Florida State University
cmcclure@lis.fsu.edu
http://www.ii.fsu.edu/~cmcclure/
and
Joe Ryan, Senior Research Associate
Information Use Management and Policy Institute, Florida State University
jryan@mailbox.syr.edu
Description
This course provides a practical introduction to the evaluation of networked
information services (NIS). NIS may include e-gov web sites, virtual reference
services, digital libraries, school electronic learning environments, virtual
museums, non profit online information providers and commercial information
vendors. The class introduces basic requirements and strategies to complete
a successful e-information service evaluation, explores the range of NIS and
types of evaluation, presents basic evaluation techniques used in e-information
service evaluations, discusses effective ways to present results and examines
the issues, challenges and politics of effective evaluations and their use.
Course emphasis will be on practical evaluation of networked information services
using straightforward techniques.
The course will help students work in an organizational setting and be
able to design an evaluation approach for a specific networked service,
design and use measures and statistics to describe their networked
services, and describe the quality of those services. Such assessment data
are essential to improve and promote the services, justify services,
engage in successful planning, and insure that the services are meeting
user needs.
Objectives
The overall purpose of the course is to assist participants learn how to successfully evaluate a range of networked information services. Specific objectives include:
Overall, the workshop will stress practical approaches to NIS evaluations and evaluations that are "quick, clean, and efficient" and also useful.
For more information please contact Dr. Charles R. McClure at cmcclure@lis.fsu.edu
Dr. Charles R. McClure
Francis Eppes Professor and Director
Information Use Management and Policy Institute
Florida State University
McClure's URL: http://slis-two.lis.fsu.edu/~cmcclure/
MARC records provide bibliographic information in a format that can be read and manipulated by library computer systems. These free, PBS MARC records allow librarians to move bibliographic data into their own catalogs to make it easier for patrons to find PBS programs taped off-air and stored in the school library. See http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/library/marc_archive.shtm.
A state grant of $6.9 million in the 2007-08 budget moves millions of New Yorkers one step closer to having their human service questions answered with all the ease of dialing 2-1-1. The new 2-1-1 service, which will be available across the state over the next three years comes after a difficult budget process and years of behind the scenes work by United Way of New York State (UWNYS), local United Ways, and the New York State Alliance of Information and Referral System (NYS AIRS).
Every hour of every day, someone in New York needs essential services - from finding substance abuse assistance to securing adequate care for a child or an aging parent. While New York State is blessed with a rich infrastructure of services, finding out about those services can be a challenge for the average resident. Faced with a dramatic increase in the number of agencies and help lines, people often don't know where to turn. In many cases, people end up going without these necessary and readily available services.
With 2-1-1, an easily remembered telephone number already "live" in 11 counties of New York State, they will gain access to human services information and referrals to services.
Eight regional 2-1-1 call centers will provide callers with information about and referrals to human services for every day needs and in times of crisis. 2-1-1 services will be available all day, every day, responding to callers in person, with language translation services available. In the event of an emergency, calls can be transferred from one center to another to avoid disruption in service.
NYS AIRS and UWNYS are providing leadership to 2-1-1 development as the single point of access for people seeking assistance. Together with their community members and other partners, they comprise the 2-1-1 New York State Collaborative, charged by the New York State Public Service Commission with planning and overseeing 2-1-1 service in New York.
2-1-1 services are funded through a public private partnership, which includes United Way, foundation, and local government funds in addition to the new state funding, which will play a critical role in 2-1-1 development and services. Susan Hager, President of United Way of New York State and co-chair of the Collaborative, said, "We are deeply appreciative of the bipartisan support shown by the Senate and Assembly in providing state funding in the new budget."
According to Leta Weintraub, NYS AIRS co-chair of the Collaborative, "2-1-1 offers consumers the assurance of a quality, professional, and confidential response to their needs." The system will benefit individuals, communities, employers, service providers and governments by reducing unnecessary phone calls for both consumers and service providers, saving time, developing valuable planning information, and reducing pressure on the existing 9-1-1 emergency response system.
In New York State there are two regions with 2-1-1 service. The Finger Lakes region began service in January 2005, followed by the Hudson Valley region in September 2005.
In 2000 the Federal Communications Commission assigned 2-1-1 to serve as the three-digit number for access to information and referral services. As a result, 2-1-1 serves approximately 164 million Americans - over 55% of the US population; 188 active 2-1-1 systems cover all or part of 38 states (including 13 states with 100% coverage) plus Washington, DC and Puerto Rico.
For further information:
2-1-1 New York statewide - Susan Hager, United Way of New York State Office 518-463-2522 cell 518-852-9176 or,
Linda Daily 2-1-1 Consultant - 914-924-7356
2-1-1 Hudson Valley - Rosemary Calderalo, 2-1-1 Hudson Valley
Office 914-993-3711 Cell 203-536-6620
Throughout the Ages, a new teacher resource, was developed by the New York State Archives with support from the Archives Partnership Trust and the JPMorgan Chase Foundation.
Throughout the Ages allows teachers to:
This new resource can be found at http://www.archives.nysed.gov/projects/throughout.
The New York State Library has posted the February 2006 "Checklist of official Publications" to the Internet at http://purl.org/net/nysl/nysdocs/1644873_2006.
The New York State Library has posted the March 2006 "Checklist of Official Publications" to the Internet at http://purl.org/net/nysl/nysdocs/1644873_2006.
Links to individual monthly issues, as well as to the annual cumulations in HTML, are at http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/edocs/education/chcktext.htm.
Published and distributed through March 2004, the 'Checklist' became an electronic-only title beginning with the April 2004 issue. Current monthly editions are designed to be printed (double-sided) in your library and housed in the same binder as prior months.
Are you looking for something off the beaten path to draw children and teens to the library this fall? Why not try a recipe that calls for pure pop-rock joy packed with energetic hooks and infectious melodies?
Nashville's own tidy and clean-living rock band Jetpack UK are sending a message to future rockers: Kids, you can be a college graduate, love your family, be drug-free and rock at the same time! The independent band is the subject of the forthcoming children's book aptly entitled Inside a Rock Band. The book will be published this summer by Minneapolis book publisher The Child's World. It will be a 32-page hardcover book aimed at third through fifth graders. The book exclusively follows Jetpack UK through the processes of forming a band, writing songs, rehearsing, performing and everything in between.
The band will be out touring American libraries and schools this fall to promote the book as well as its new CD The Art of Building a Moat. We dare you to listen to the opening track “Mathematics” without bopping your head or tapping your feet. Listen to what leading music journalists are calling, “sassy, Brit-pop vocals, churning guitars and a killer rhythm section that drive this impossibly catchy bopper straight through your brain.”
The band will take a “Storytellers” approach to it’s act by talking to young people in between songs about the inspiration for the songs, how they were written, how a song is presented to the rest of the band for interpretation, booking tours, growing beards and getting Beatle haircuts.
For further information, to inquire about cost or to book the band for your Fall Programming call William Harmer, Head of Adult Services at the Chelsea District Library at 734-475-8732 or e-mail bharmer@tln.lib.mi.us. Bookings will be on a first come, first served basis. Don’t let your teens be left out of this unique experience. The deadline to book the band for your fall programming is August 14, 2006.
Learn more about the band and the tour by visiting them at www.jetpackrock.com.
With the forthcoming vacations in sight two leaflets are now available in four languages (English, Italian, Arabic and Hebrew) from the Kindersite at: http://www.kindersite.org/Flyer.html and can be downloaded and printed (no charge, of course).
In each language two versions are available, in color or with a white background. They can be attached to Notice Boards or given out to students for their parents, or even sent as e-mail attachments to personal networks and groups, in fact feel free to distribute them as you see fit.
Joel H Josephson. Executive Director, is recruiting volunteers for translations into other languages.
Go to: http://www.kindersite.org
for additional information.
Where children play and teachers learn
Stockholm Prize Finalists
The Colorado Association of Libraries (CAL) Intellectual Freedom Committee has updated its award-winning brochure on the USA PATRIOT Act to reflect the changes made in 2006. You are welcome to share information about the Act with library patrons by reproducing this flyer for distribution in your library. This pdf document can be customized to add your library's name and contact information. You can find a link to the brochure here: http://www.cal-webs.org/if_patriot.html.
The Spring issue of JLAMS, a peer reviewed electronic journal from the Library Administration and Management Section of the New York Library Association, is available on the LAMS web site at: http://www.nyla.org/index.php?page_id=922.
If you think you might be interested in submitting an article to JLAMS, or be willing to be a Referee, please send an e-mail to naylorr@uhls.lib.ny.us or call 518.810.0316 to discuss it.
At the web site you can also find out how to submit articles, volunteer to be a Referee, and about other LAMS initiatives.
Articles in the issue include:
"Tenure and Recruitment: A Survey of Library Human Resources Officers", by Stewart Brower, Christopher V. Hollister, Cynthia Tysick, and Thomas Pirrung.
"Transition Mentoring: Transmission of a Professional Culture" by Beatrice Baaden and Jean O'Neill Uhl.
"Navigating Campus Politics: The Key to Embedding Information Literacy Across-the-Curriculum", by Gail M. Staines, Ph.D.
"Is Open Access the Answer? The High Price of Scientific, Technical and Medical Journal Subscriptions", By Henrietta Thornton-Verma.
This biweekly e-letter published in partnership with NAMTC (National Association of Media & Technology Centers) includes information on grant and funding opportunities, award and competition opportunities, free and inexpensive resources, technology solutions, and more. You can subscribe for FREE to the Bigdeal™ e-letter by visiting: http://www.bigdealbook.com.
Our end of year celebration featuring our retiring/retired school library media specialists is scheduled for May 19th. To date, we have received the names of two honorees. Debbie Squire Cestone, school library media specialist, Pelham High School will be retiring at the end of the 2005 - 2006 school year. Debbie has been a school library media specialist for 32 years. Ms. Cestone has served as an elementary librarian for the Mt. Vernon School District and a middle/high school librarian for the Pelham School District. Debbie was involved in the Planning Grant for the School Library System and later served on the first School Library System Council in 1985, subsequently serving as Council Chair. Carol Schelin retired on January 1, 2006 from the New Rochelle High School Library after 20 years of service.
Information on the festivities will be sent to all School Library System participants.
NYLA's advocacy efforts have paid off and the Governor did not veto the $20 million increase in Library Aid included in the 2006-07 state Budget by the Legislature. The additional aid is broken down as follows: $2.7 million using the 2000 Census with hold-harmless provision $3 million increase for all types of library systems $14 million in construction and renovation aid for public libraries.
This is the largest increase in Library Aid ever. Special thanks to Jennifer
Morris, NYLA President and Kathy Miller, Legislative Committee Chair for their
leadership in our advocacy efforts and to Janet Welch, state Librarian and Carol
Desch, Director of Library Development for their assistance.
On March 29, New York State Librarian Janet M. Welch introduced Brooklyn-born magician David Blaine as the spokesman for the 2006 Statewide Summer Reading Program. The theme for this year's program is "Books: A Treasure!"
At the Park Slope Library in Brooklyn, Blaine spoke to children from Public School 107 gathered in the reading room, the same room where he first developed a love of magic. "My Mom was on her own and had to work several jobs, so I came here and read about Houdini and other magicians. In this library, I got lost in the world of books and developed a love for magic," said the world-famous magician. "I can tell you from my life's experience: Books are a treasure and the library is truly a magical place."
Public libraries throughout the state present the annual Summer Reading Program, which makes reading activities fun and appealing to young people and helps them continue their educational growth throughout the summer. According to Ms. Welch, "When children read what they enjoy, they learn to love reading and become better readers. The summer reading program is particularly important to children in less advantaged families where books might not be readily available. This program can be a very effective tool in helping to close the achievement gap between rich and poor."
Participation in the Summer Reading Program has soared in recent years, reaching considerably more than one million in 2005. This year's program kicks off in early June.
Check with your local public library regarding its plans for their Summer Reading Program. Collaborate with the children's librarian in promoting activities that involve both the school and public libraries. In previous years, school librarians have held an end of season program in September for all students who participated in the Summer Reading Program.
To learn more about the Summer Reading Program, go to http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/summer/index.html. It includes links to the press release, photo, and video clip.
Planning for the 2006 Statewide Summer Reading Program "Books: a Treasure!" is funded with Federal Library Services and Technology Act funds awarded to The New York Public Library by the New York State Library from the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services. If you have questions about the program, contact Anne Simon at (518) 486-2194 or e-mail asimon@mail.nysed.gov.
A story on NOVEL driver license access released by the Associated Press has appeared in newspapers and media outlets across the state, including "The Wall Street Journal", "Newsday", "The Press & Sun Bulletin", and other newspapers and radio and television stations in Albany, Rochester, Syracuse, and elsewhere. Libraries and library systems across the state may receive calls from local media for information and demonstrations of NOVEL.
The story highlights NOVEL as providing access to thousands of newspapers, magazines, extensive reference works, and cutting-edge research. The story also notes that NOVEL is available through 5,000 local libraries and provides access to the full text of scholarly articles, age-appropriate data bases that feature hundreds of children's magazines, and thousands of business references.
New Yorkers can log on to the NOVEL databases with a New York State driver license or valid non-driver photo ID by going to www.novelnewyork.org. The page first directs users to access NOVEL via their local public library with their library card number and/or password.
While the AP story does not include information about access to NOVEL via local libraries, all information to the media and other outlets from the New York State Library includes this information and urges users to first explore their local library web sites and database access.
Information is available on the New York State Library web site to help public, school, and academic libraries promote NOVEL to their users. Materials include a logo/link to the NOVEL access page that can be downloaded directly to a library or system web site and printer-friendly formats of a list of NOVEL databases available to users, counter cards to invite library users to ask for information on NOVEL, and simple directions for using NOVEL.
To access these materials, go to the New York State Library web site at www.nysl.nysed.gov and point to "Learn About NOVEL." Scroll down the page and click on "Driver License Access Promotion Kits."
To help school librarians navigate the new enhancements to NOVEL, two workshops were sponsored by the School Library System in late March. Trainers, Stacey Knibloe from Thomson Gale and Nancy Grimaldi from EBSCO, demonstrated the features of the various databases freely available through the New York State Library.
The Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) is the nation's most extensive sample survey of elementary and secondary schools and the teachers and administrators who staff them. This report introduces the data from the fifth administration (2003-04) of SASS. It is intended to give the reader an overview of the SASS data for the school year 2003-04 through tables of estimates for public, private, and BIA-funded schools and their staff. For example, one of the findings from the data is that 77 percent of public school districts required full standard state certification in the field to be taught when considering teaching applicants. Also, 82 percent of all public school teachers reported having 4 or more years of full-time teaching experience. These highlights, and others in the report, were not selected to emphasize any particular issue, and they should not be interpreted as representing the most important findings in the data. They are simply examples of the kinds of data that are available in the 2003-04 SASS. In addition complex interactions and relationships have not been explored.
To download, view and print the publication as a PDF file, please visit: http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2006313
For National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) products, as well as hard copy and electronic versions of hundreds of other U.S. Department of Education products, please visit http://www.edpubs.org or call 1-877-433-7827 (877-4-EDPUBS).
This report highlights children's gains in reading and mathematics over their first 6 years of school, from the start of kindergarten to the time when most of the children are completing fifth grade. It also describes children's achievement in reading, mathematics, and science at the end of fifth grade. Comparisons are made in relation to children's sex, race/ethnicity, family characteristics (e.g., family type, poverty status, primary home language), the types of schools attended (i.e., public or private), and residential and school mobility. While all children showed progress, learning gaps persisted. Certain family background variables were found to be associated with reading and mathematics achievement, for example, poverty status and mother's highest level of education. Children living in poverty in all rounds of data collection scored lower in both reading and mathematics, on average, than students who moved into and out of poverty during the same period. Children whose mothers had not completed high school scored lower than children whose mothers had a bachelor's or higher degree. Boys were more likely than girls to score in the highest third of the distribution of mathematics achievement scores. It is the fifth in a series of reports from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99.
To download, view and print the publication as a PDF file, please visit: http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2006038
To obtain hard copy of many National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) products as well as hard copy and electronic versions of hundreds of other U.S. Department of Education products please visit http://www.edpubs.org or call 1-877-433-7827 (877-4-EDPUBS).
Long Island University’s Palmer School of Library and Information Science, which offers the full MSLIS degree in Manhattan at NYU’s Bobst Library, will be holding an open house for interested students on Monday, April 24 from 4:30pm – 6:30pm. There will be a short presentation at 5:30pm and faculty and staff will be present to answer questions.
The ALA accredited Palmer School offers optional concentrations in Rare Books and Special Collections, Archives and Records Management (certificate program), and School Media. Classes are offered weekends and evenings. Palmer has rolling admissions and students may begin in the summer, fall or spring semesters.
The open house will be held at Bobst Library, 70 Washington Square South, room 1135. For more information, please email the Palmer Manhattan Program Director, Alice Flynn at alice.flynn@liu.edu or call 212.998.2680.
The 32nd annual National Library Legislative Day will be held May 1 and 2, 2006, in Washington, DC. NYLA urges as many librarians, trustees, and supporters as possible to join the New York State Delegation in getting our message out in Washington. With so many federal legislation and funding issues affecting our libraries, NYLA would like representation from every US Congressional District in New York at our Senate and House visits. The American Library Association (ALA) will provide a full day briefing on national library legislative issues on Monday, May 1 and visits will be conducted on Tuesday, May 2. The Holiday Inn on the Hill is making rooms available at the ALA rate by calling 800-638-1116 and mentioning ALA's National Library Legislative Day. To register or for further information including a schedule for the days, visit the ALA Washington Office website at http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/washevents/nlld/nationallibrary.htm. At the website, download a registration form and mail, along with a $15.00 registration fee, to the New York State Coordinator:
Robert Bellinger
The New York Public Library
Bronx Borough Office
310 E. Kingsbridge Road
Bronx, NY 10458
718-579-4202
rbellinger@nypl.org
Anyone unable to go to Washington in May can be in touch electronically or by fax with their federal elected officials through the Legislative Action Center available at http://www.ala.org/washoff/washevents/nlld/vitdldhome.htm.
Amy Moulton from Thomson Gale will be conducting a hands-on workshop on Friday, May 5th at the Tuckahoe High School Library from 9:00 A.M. to 11:00 A.M. Ms. Moulton will be introducing Thomson Gale's newest technology platform "Power Search" which enables cross searching from all of their electronic formats. Other topics to be covered include:
Ms. Moulton will also answer any questions regarding Thomson Gale products.
All school library media specialists are invited to this workshop which is being hosted by Evelyn Johnson, school library media specialist, Tuckahoe High School. Please contact Janet Jamal at the School Library System office, 345-8500, ext. 122 or e-mail, jjamal@swboces.org regarding your attendance by May 1st.
Refreshments will be served.
The 2006 WLA Annual Conference will take place on May 12th from 8:30 A.M. to
4:00 P.M. at the Yonkers Riverfront Library. The keynote speaker is Dr. Irwin
Kirsch, Director of the Center for Global Assessment in the Research & Development
Division at Educational Testing Service in Princeton. Dr. Kirsch will discuss
the topic of "Why Literacy Matters." What Does It Mean to Read Well
in the 21st Century? Literacy skills are essential for developing the human
capital that has become so important to modern societies and that studies have
shown influence both the social and economic outcomes of individuals and nations.
But what are the reading literacy skills that matter? What do literacy experts
and policy makers say about the literacy skills that are needed to succeed in
the 21st century and how well do Americans perform on tasks measuring these
skills? This presentation will address these and other questions using information
from recent large-scale surveys.
The scheduled workshops include topics and discussions that are pertinent to K - 12 school librarians. These include: I Didn't Plagiarize-Did I?, Bookconnections 2006, Assessing Scholarly Content on the Web: The Invasion of the Dot.Coms, and Read the Book: See the Movie - Make the Literature/Film Connection. Check WLA's website for complete details and registration forms. This is also a good opportunity to become a member of your local library organization that brings together librarians from public, school and academic institutions.
Registration form available online at: http://www.wliba.org/annual%20conference%20registration%20form%202006.html
Judy Freeman will present a full day workshop on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 at Surf Club, New Rochelle, NY.
This popular book and idea-packed full-day workshop is now being sponsored by her publisher, Libraries Unlimited. For more than 20 years, Judy's WINNERS! Conference has offered innovative and practical ways to use the best of the year's children's books for curricular connections, thematic tie-ins, resource-based learning, and just plain fun.
Judy Freeman (www.JudyReadsBooks.com) is a well-known consultant, writer, and speaker on all aspects of children's literature, story telling, booktalking, and school librarianship.
The Winners! workshop includes:
Registration costs are $169.00 and includes continental breakfast, lunch, coffee
breaks, an extensive conference handbook, and a certificate of participation
(5 professional development contact hours). To register, please print out the
registration form (available in PDF format or word format) at: www.LU.com/winners,
and send via MAIL or FAX to the address below.
Libraries Unlimited Professional Workshops Department
7570 Thorn Creek Lane
Tega Cay, SC 29708
Office: 803-547-5206
Fax: 803-547-4387
Cell: 720-323-1070
Email: debby.laboon@lu.com
For driving directions, go to: www.LU.com/winners
The New York Library Association is sponsoring the following NYLA Institute programs:
For more information on these programs visit: http://www.nyla.org/index.php?page_id=141
The Institute of History, Archeology and Education is sponsoring the following teacherhostels.
Experience Hatshepsut. Participants will learn about the female Pharaoh who ruled Egypt in the 15th century BCE amidst a special exhibition that will close in July. The workshop examines Hatshepsut's relationship with family and court officials, the luxury arts created during her reign, and the contacts with the surrounding world in the Aegean, western Asia, and Punt. Suggestions for classroom art and writing projects are included along with materials.
10:00 Hatshepsut Workshop (Hatshepsut Gallery)
2:00 Egypt Workshop (Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium)
2:30 Pharaoh's Obelisk: Documentary film of an attempt to raise a monolith similar to those erected at Hatshepsut's mortuary temple using ancient Egyptian technology
4:00 Egypt beyond the Pyramids: Mansions of the Spirits: Documentary film about recent archaeological research in the sanctuaries of ancient Egypt including Hatshepsut's Red Chapel and Deir el-Bahri
Some additional Teacherhostels include:
June 27-30 The American Revolution in the Hudson Valley West Point, Washington's Headquarters, Knox's Headquarters, Constitution Island, Hudson River cruise 30 contact hours
July 10-14 The Iron Heritage Trail on New York/Connecticut Border: Kent Historical Society, Sharon Historical Society, Amenia Historical Society, Sloane-Stanley Museum: 30 contact hours
July 17-20 Historic Hudson River Valley: The Roosevelt Experience FDR Library, Springwood, Top Cottage, Val-Kill, Hyde Park, NY: 30 contact hours
July 17-21 Water for the City: The Croton Aqueduct The Croton Aqueduct from Ossining to Tarrytown, NY: 30 contact hours
July 21-23 Historic Hudson River Valley: Hudson River Art, Thomas Cole House and Olana, Catskill and Hudson NY: 15 contact hours
July 24-27 Historic Westchester: The Hudson River Hudson River Museum, Beczak Environmental Center, Philipse Manor Hall, Philipsburg Manor, Sunnyside, Lyndhurst in Yonkers, Tarrytown, and Sleepy Hollow, NY: 30 contact hours
For additional information about these and other Teacherhostel programs, visit http://www.ihare.org or contact:
Dr. Peter Feinman
Institute of History, Archaeology, and Education
PO Box 41
Purchase, NY 10577
914-933-0440
feinmanp@ihare.org
A new New York State BOCES Media Technology Association Media Literacy grant will be awarded for the first time in June 2007. The submission deadline will be April 30, 2007. Application can be found at http://www2.lhric.org/libsys/news/Media_Lit_Proj.htm.
The finalists have been announced for the first annual 3 Apples Book Award, a New York State Children’s Choice Award. This award is jointly sponsored by the Youth Services Section and the School Library Media Section of the New York Library Association.
Children across New York State have nominated the following titles:
1. Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
2. The BFG by Roald Dahl
3. Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
4. Double Fudge by Judy Blume
5. Eragon by Christopher Paolini
6. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
7. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
8. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
10. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
11. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
12. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
13. Holes by Louis Sachar
14. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
15. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
All New York State children in grades 3-6 (ages 8-12), even those that did not participate in the nomination process, are encouraged to read or listen to at least 3 of these nominated titles before the voting begins January 1, 2007.
For more information including ideas for sharing the books with children visit the website at http://www.3applesbookaward.org.
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The 3 Apples Book Award Committee
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YSS (Youth Services)
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SLMS (School Library Media)
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Peggy Hagen
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Sally Daniels
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Sue Rokos
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Bev Rovelli
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Margaret Tice
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Carole Kupelian
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Cathy Henderson
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Kelly Wilson
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Zahra M. Baird
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Dawn Pressimone
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The 3 Apples Book Award is a joint program of the Youth Services (YSS) and School Library Media (SLMS) Sections of the New York Library Association. This award will also be discussed at the WLA Annual Conference on May 12th in the workshop, Bookconnections 2006.
The Second Annual Thomson Gale/ Library Media Connection TEAMS Award (Teachers And Media Specialists Influencing Student Achievement) recognizes and encourages the critical collaboration between the teacher and media specialist to promote learning and increase student achievement.
The three award winners will receive:
A panel comprised of education industry professionals and Thomson Gale/LMC staff will evaluate the nominations based on:
Who is eligible:
Examples of the types of collaboration that will be considered:
Nominations will be accepted starting April 15, 2006, so act now!
For more information about the award, see the submission form or visit www.galeschools.com/TEAMS.
The New York Library Association (NYLA) has announced the winners of the Books of the Season for Winter 2006.
The winner of the children's category is Getting to Know Ruben Plotnick by Roz Rosenbluth, published by Flashlight Press.
The winner of the young adult's category is Art Geeks and Prom Queens by Alyson Noel, published by St. Martin's Griffin.
The winner of the adult's category is The Shame of the Nation by Jonathan Kozol, published by the Crown Publishing Group.
Books are eligible for seasonal nomination by their publishers according to the guidelines set forth by NYLA and posted on the Association's web site at www.nyla.org. Nominations are posted to the site and voting is opened to members of NYLA. Voting is now open to NYLA members through May 15, 2006 for the Book of the Spring Award.
The winning titles from each season are entered into NYLA's Book for All Seasons Award program, the winners of which are announced at the Association's Annual Conference and Trade Show, to be held Nov 1-4th in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
"This award gives librarians from all types of libraries in New York the opportunity to pick the best book from each season," said Michael J. Borges, NYLA Executive Director.
Project Look Sharp's Media Literacy Summer Institute is a four-and-a-half-day immersion course in integrating media analysis and production into any curriculum for K-12 teachers, technology/media specialists, librarians, community educators, and others interested in the field of media literacy. The afternoon hands-on training is Mac-based. The dates this year are July 10 through July 14, on the campus of Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York. Once again, inexpensive on-campus housing will be available. Registration fee is $572, and cross-contract through BOCES is available. For more information, visit http://www.ithaca.edu/looksharp/services_summer.php or call 607-274-3471.
Southern Westchester BOCES School Library System participants now have an opportunity for a trial subscription to ROYALTY FREE MUSIC from Soundzabound Music Library.
1. Go to www.soundzabound.com.
2. Click on "Customer Downloads" in the left hand menu.
3. In the top, right hand corner of the screen, "Login", and type
in the user name and password. (Please contact Janet Jamal at the School Library
System at (914) 345-8500 ext. 122 or jjamal@swboces.org
for a user name and password.)
From that point, you can:
* Sample music from the library
* Search by key words and categories
* Listen to music on your digital music player.
* And download music files
Best of all, your system will be littered with LEGAL MUSIC
FILES that ensure your copyright protection, (while having A LOT of FUN!)
To go straight in to the Sound Gallery, click this link: http://www.soundzabound.com/gallery2/main.php
Any questions or need assistance, call Toll Free 1-888-834-1792.
The next College of DuPage teleconference, Library Challenges and Opportunities 2006 - "Google Print: Its Impact on Scholarship and Libraries," will take place on Friday, April 28, 2006, 12:00 noon - 2:00 p.m. EDT.
Viewers can see this live teleconference on a desktop computer via video streaming or via satellite downlink. The New York State Library has arranged a statewide license on behalf of New York's 7,000 libraries and library systems. There is no cost to local libraries and systems. For further information about the content of these teleconferences and information on how to register, visit the State Library's web site at http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/dupage.htm.
Two additional teleconferences have been scheduled for June 2006:
"Information Literacy for the 21st Century" on June 2nd, see http://www.dupagepress.com/COD/index.php?id=1165. This is an IMLS-sponsored program.
"Confronting the Crisis in Library Education," on June 9th, see http://www.dupagepress.com/COD/index.php?id=1164. This is an ALA sponsored program hosted by Michael Gorman.
[Note: Both of these web pages are still under construction. The registration link is not yet active, e.g.]
For satellite coordinates and webcast Information go to: http://www.dupagepress.com/COD/index.php?id=1150
The National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center and the Fairfax
Network present a special Electronic Lesson to celebrate Space DaySM 2006—Living
and Working on the Moon. This special satellite broadcast, for students
in grades 4-8, will air from 1-1:30 p.m. (ET).
More than 30 years ago, the last person to walk on the moon returned to Earth. There were no plans to send another explorer—until now. On January 14, 2004, President Bush announced a new vision for space exploration—return to the Moon by 2020.
America's considering a return to the moon brings with it the prospect of even more spectacular journeys—to Mars and beyond. The Space DaySM 2006 Electronic Lesson offers your students the chance to participate in this historic endeavor.
Today’s students are tomorrow's scientists, engineers, and astronauts. Students can prepare for a future in space exploration in their classrooms through this learning adventure involving the past, present, and future of spaceflight.
Presented from the National Air and Space Museum's dynamic Steven F. Udvar-Hazy
Center in Chantilly, Virginia, this Electronic Lesson examines what it takes
to explore our Solar System by reviewing the technology that allowed us to explore
the moon during the Apollo missions. Students will view aviation and space artifacts
located at the Center and learn the role these artifacts played in our exploration
of space and what they can teach us about exploring the moon again as well as
Mars.
Register
now for this Electronic Lesson and receive satellite coordinates.
Remember, mark your calendars now for Space DaySM 2006—Living and Working
on the Moon on May 5, from 1-1:30 p.m. (ET).
The Rochester Regional Library Resources Conference (RRLC) Information Literacy Continuum Committee was formed to advance academic and school librarians' collaboration in promoting information literacy. The group includes several school library media specialists from a variety of schools, and academic librarians. In an effort to provide students with the foundation needed for a successful transition from high school to college researching, the group developed a document called Library and Information Literacy Core Library Skills Grade 9-14+.
Visit http://www.rrlc.org and check out the "What's New" section for more information.
Through an agreement with the National Archives, Google Inc. has added historic video footage of such events as the Apollo moon landing and Japan's surrender in World War II to its internet search engine. Students, teachers, researchers, and others can now access these digital video clips free of charge through the Google Video search portal. Go to eSchool News Online for more information.
March is blooming with activities for Southern Westchester BOCES School Library System members:
Annual Mandarin Users' Group Meeting - March 16th. Invitations have been sent to all Mandarin subscribers. If you are interested in Mandarin Library automation, please contact Judy Robinson at jrobinson@swboces.org or (914) 345-8500 ext. 158, regarding attendance at this session.
NOVEL Database Workshop - Thomson Gale - March 24th. Two sessions - A.M. and P.M. The focus is on the free databases available through the New York State Library that are suitable for use by middle and high school students.
NOVEL Database Workshop - EBSCO - March 28th - Two sessions. The A.M. session will focus on those databases that are suitable for use by middle and high school students. The P.M. session will focus on those databases that are used with elementary students.
Elementary School Librarians Meeting - March 28th - 3:30 P.M.
Middle and Secondary School Librarians Meeting - March 29th - 3:00 P.M.
Information, including registration, on the NOVEL workshops and librarians'
meetings is being sent to all school librarians. Contact Janet Jamal (jjamal@swboces.org)
or 914-345-8500 ext. 122 regarding attendance at any of these meetings.
The New York Library Association announced on February 27th that three unions representing academic, public and school librarians have joined with NYLA this year to advocate for increased state aid for library services in our communities, college campuses and schools.
New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) and District Council 37 (DC 37 - AFSCME) represent thousands of library workers in our public, academic and school libraries across New York State.
Libraries and library systems have gone without an increase in state aid for the past eight years and have had to endure a $4.5 million cut imposed by the Governor in 2004. The $88.9 million in library aid amounts to less than one tenth of one percent of the $110 billion state budget. "New York's libraries receive a smaller share of the state budget than libraries in other states, like Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maryland, Illinois and Georgia. It is about time that libraries in New York receive their fair share of the state budget", stated Michael J. Borges, NYLA Executive Director.
Last year, Massachusetts increased state aid for library services by $2.6 million and New Jersey increased aid by $6.9 million. This year, Pennsylvania has proposed a 23% increase for libraries. "Other states have seen the wisdom in investing in their information infrastructure, their libraries and library systems. New York needs to follow suit in order to remain competitive in the Information Age," said Danny Donohue, CSEA President.
Library aid has not increased even though state law, Chapter 917 of 1990, requires the state to use the most current federal census to calculate aid to libraries. "It is an injustice to the growing number of library users that the state has shortchanged libraries $12 million in badly needed aid over the past five years by using the 1990 census instead of the more current 2000 census to calculate library aid", declared Lillian Roberts, DC 37 Executive Director.
Library Materials Aid, which is used by school districts to purchase books for their libraries, has also not been increased in eight years. The state currently provides $6 per pupil for both public and nonpublic schools to purchase materials for their libraries. "Sixteen state studies have shown that strong school libraries staffed by certified library media specialists have a positive impact on student academic achievement. If the state is serious about improving test scores, they should invest in libraries", commented Alan Lubin, NYSUT Executive Vice President.
The New York Library Association is requesting that the state Legislature use the 2000 Census with hold-harmless provision to calculate library aid, which would result in a $2.6 million increase in aid as well as providing another $3 million in aid to library systems statewide to make up for eight years of flat funding eroded by inflation and the $4.5 million cut in 2004. NYLA also seeks an increase in Library Materials Aid from $6 per pupil to $9 per pupil, which would result in a $10 million increase in aid to schools to purchase library books.
Listening to their constituency the Senate has included in its budget resolution
the $2.6 million for census funding and hold harmless AND the $3 million for
library systems. Good news!
However, the Assembly has not yet completed its budget resolution. We must keep
after them!
It is anticipated that both resolutions will be completed before NYLA Lobby
Day on March 14th. Then there will be negotiations between the two to arrive
at the final budget proposal. It is fortunate that these negotiations may be
occurring right as library supporters are roaming the legislative halls with
"FAIR SHARE" tee-shirts [see below] and meeting with legislators on
March 14th.
The Legislature and the Governor have agreed on available revenues for the state
to spend this year and it is $750 million more than the Governor proposed in
his $110 billion budget. This agreement is ahead of schedule and bodes well
for another on time budget.
Now that they know how much money they can spend, the real negotiations begin on how to spend it. The Senate and Assembly plan to pass their budget resolutions (language outlining their budget priorities) during the week of March 13th.
Joint conference committees will commence meeting soon after that to resolve differences between the Assembly and Senate's budget priorities.
Also Library Lobby Day comes at a very opportune moment on March 14th as both houses vote on their budget resolutions. So please make every effort to attend. The larger the crowd the more visible the needs of libraries will be at the Capitol and with state policy makers.
Encourage your school community to use the NYLA Online Advocacy Center (http://www.nyla.org) to send a fax to their state legislators free of charge. In addition, NYLA will be running advocacy promos on public radio stations throughout the state to encourage public support.
Also on the NYLA Advocacy Page are Legislative Priorities, Sample Letter, and helpful charts/graphs, etc. http://www.nyla.org/index.php?page_id=514.
The School Library Systems Association of New York State website contains information on their advocacy efforts known as "Sunflower Avalance." An entire section is dedicated to promoting awareness of school libraries with state legislators. Check on http://www.crbsls.org/slsa - Advocacy Toolkit to start the process for School Library Advocacy.
Also please make every effort to attend Library Lobby Day on March 14th. Don't miss out on opportunity to meet the new Chair of the Assembly Libraries and Education Technology Committee, Patricia Eddington and show state policy makers in Albany the strength and unity of the library community.
We need to have both the Senate and Assembly include additional funding for
libraries and library systems in their budget proposals/resolutions to ensure
we are in final budget.
LOBBY DAY EVENTS
PLEASE REGISTER and let us know you are coming to help us better plan events.
Chapter 405 of the Laws of 1999 requires the New York State Education Department to examine special education data from all school districts in relation to a number of key areas. The Annual Report for December 2005 is now available on the web and provides information on technical assistance activities that occurred since the last Chapter 405 report was submitted in December 2004.
The efforts described highlight the ongoing collaboration between the Department's Offices of Elementary, Middle, Secondary and Continuing Education (EMSC) and Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID) to provide support and technical assistance to schools with problem areas identified through the Chapter 405 process.
All six years of this report can be viewed in HTML at http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/chapter405/home.html where there is also a link to recent PDF editions. All years are also available in PDF from the New York State Library's digital document management system at http://purl.org/net/nysl/nysdocs/51071627.
This notice is one in a series of regular announcements that the New York State
Library is posting to NYLINE to improve access to New York State government
information. These messages contain a brief description of a New York State
document of interest and links to related online information.
Todd Middle School in the Spackenkill school district will be hosting author Jeanette Ingold the week of April 17th. Jeanette Ingold currently has five books in print - Mountain Solo; Pictures, 1918; The Big Burn; Hitch; and The Window. Her books which are mostly historical fiction are geared toward middle school students. Her newest book, Hitch, deals with Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps. For further information about Ms. Ingold, see www.jeanetteingold.com.
Ms. Ingold's honorarium is $950 plus expenses (she is coming from Montana).
If anyone would like to "piggyback", please contact:
Kristine Chen, Library Media Specialist
Orville A. Todd Middle School, Spackenkill USFD
11 Croft Road
Poughkeepsie, New York 12603
Telephone/FAX (845) 463-7323
kriswerk@yahoo.com
http://www.spackenkillschools.org/schoollibraries/ToddLibrary/index.html
Registration for the 2006 SLMSSENY Spring Conference can be found at http://www.slmsseny.org/pub/2006_Conference_Registration.pdf. General information about the conference can be found at http://www.slmsseny.org/.
Early bird registration for members is $65 (postmarked by 3/10/06)
Conference highlights include:
The luncheon speaker is Mel Glenn whose topic is "Connecting to Kids with Poetry."
The keynote speaker is Robert J. Lackie, 2004 New Jersey Librarian of the Year and Associate Professor-Librarian, Rider University. Mr. Lackie's topic is "Google Book Search (formerly Google Print) vs. Google Scholar: What's All the Fuss About?"
The 2006 Rip Van Winkle Award winner is Amy Axelrod.
The following workshops are scheduled:
Robert J. Lackie
"The Changing Face of the Scholarly Web: Finding Quality Free Full Text
Articles and Books"
Mel Glenn
Author
"The Book within You"
Amy Axelrod
Author, 2006 Rip Van Winkle Award winner
"Observations of a Children's Book Author: How Elementary School Students
Have Taught Me to Speak the Language of Math"
Marileta Robinson
Senior Editor, Highlights for Children
"Writing for Highlights for Children: A Peek under the Covers"
Suzanne Bloom
Author/Illustrator
"In the Picture: One Illustrator's Devotion to Diversity"
Gina Tucci (Author) and Sheila Yoshpe (Illustrator)
ESL teachers
"When Collage Speaks"
Scott Meyer
Merritt Books
"Show and Tell of New Children's and Young Adult Books"
Sarah Chauncey
LMS, Grandview Elementary School (SLJ 9/05)
"Zero to Digital in Eighteen Months"
Pam Schembri
LMS, North Junior High, Storyteller
"Telling and Writing Your Personal Stories"
Carolyn Yoder
Nonfiction Author and Editor
"Writing and Editing History for Young Readers"
Bea Griggs Grants winners (combined workshop):
Paula Gray
LMS, Tri-Valley Elementary School
"Oh, the Places We'll Go"
-and-
Susan Alicea
LMS, AE Smith CTE High School
"Alfred E. Smith CTE High School Career Paths"
Featuring:
Find conference information and registration forms on the Rochester Area School Librarians (RASL) web site at: http://www.ggw.org/rasl/.
Public television stations WNET/Thirteen and WLIW21, in collaboration with regional BOCES, including Southern Westchester BOCES, will be sponsoring a Celebration of Teaching and Learning. This two-day event is designed to engage, inspire and recognize teachers, administrators, students and parents. The event will be held March 24 and March 25, 2006 at Pier 94 - The Unconvention Center - in Manhattan. Follow-up Social Studies workshops will be held on April 3 and April 4, 2006 at Southern Westchester BOCES, 2 Westchester Plaza, Elmsford, NY. Chris Sperry from Project Look Sharp, Ithaca College, will be the presenter. The April 3rd workshop will focus on Social Studies in the K - 6 curriculum, and the April 4th workshop will focus on Social Studies in the 7 - 12 curriculum.
Event features include a professional development conference, a concert, town hall meetings hosted by Tom Brokaw and an exhibit hall featuring the best of teaching and learning. General Admission is now FREE TO EDUCATORS for the "Celebration of Teaching and Learning," presented by Thirteen and Channel 21, on Friday and Saturday, March 24-25 at Pier 94 on 12th Ave. and 55th Street, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. This will be an extraordinary professional development opportunity for educators in our area! Register for FREE General Admission online at www.thirteencelebration.org.
The New York Library Association (NYLA) has partnered with Barnes and Noble stores throughout New York to conduct a statewide voucher bookfair that would raise funds to support public awareness and advocacy efforts that promote increased funding and appreciation for the essential roles libraries play in our communities, schools and college campuses.
The statewide bookfair will take place on April 7-9th at the end of National Library Week. To raise funds for the "Love Your Library" Campaign, Barnes and Noble customers need to present a voucher, which can be found on the NYLA website at www.nyla.org (lower left hand corner front page), at the time of purchase on April 7-9th. Barnes and Noble will donate a percentage of the sale to the New York Library Association.
Special events will take place at many Barnes and Noble stores on those days. Please contact your local store or the Event Finder on www.bn.com for more information on events or to locate the store nearest you. Barnes and Noble stores are looking to collaborate with local libraries in holding events during this time period.
We encourage all libraries to participate and distribute the vouchers to their patrons. The funds would be used to benefit all of New York's libraries through advocacy and public awareness campaigns conducted by NYLA (similar to the ads currently running on public radio stations throughout the state).
The New York Center for the Book will award two prizes of $100 for the most imaginative programs in libraries, museums, and educational institutions that relate in some way to Immigrant Writing in New York State that will take place during April of 2006.
One prize will go to a large institution; the other will be awarded to a small institution. Judges will be drawn from the Advisory Board of the New York Center for the Book, the New York State affiliate for the Library of Congress Center for the book. For more information about the Center see