learning & media online
DESCRIPTION
Fall 2011 issueTRANSCRIPT
Inside this issue: Special points of interest:
Within articles, weblinks have a box •around the text, simply click to launch your web browser.Each • Learning & Media Online will be archived at issuu.com/psla.Results of the • School Library Staffing Survey are available online.Submit your article, idea or story to •[email protected] & Media• ’s next publication deadline is November 15, 2011
Volume 39, Issue 4Fall 2011
Lear
ning
& M
edia
Onl
ine
President’sWelcome
TechnologyTidbit:Prezi
DigitalCollectionCurationWorkshop
MoreThanJustSocialBookmarking
Legislator@YourLibrary
TheNewWorldWorldofReading
MemberProfile&Calendar
AASLAdvocacyTipoftheDay
LearnabouttheCommonCore
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OnOctober5,2010,thePennsylvaniaHouseofRepresentativesunani-mouslyadoptedHouseResolution987,whichencouragedthePAStateBoardofEducationtoundertakeaquantita-tivestudyofthestateofschoollibrariesinPenn-sylvania.TheresolutionchargedtheStateBoardtoconductastudyofschoollibraryresourcesandservicesforstudentsinkindergartenthroughgrade12,measuringandcomparingfunding,facilities,accesstoprintandelectronicresources,professionalsupportandinstructionintheuseofinformationandresearchamongtheCommon-wealth’spublicschooldistrictsandevaluatinghowfundingandresourc-esareallocatedforschoollibraryservicesinrelationtostudentandcommunitycircumstances.
Asapartofthepublica-tionprocessoftheSchoolLibraryStudy--thePAStateBoardofEducationheldaseriesofthreeroundtablestoreceivecommentsandholddiscussionsonthereport.ThesesessionswereheldinAllentown,Harris-burgandErieinSeptember,2011.PSLAwaswell-rep-resentedatallthreesessions.Allentown•Parentsofstudentswithdisabilitiestalkedaboutthelackofresources,assistivetechnologyandequipmenttoservestudentswithdisabili-tiesinschoollibrariets.Theissueofhowtocreatetimeforlibrariansandteacherstocollaboratewasstressed.•SupportwasvoicedforaddinganappendixtothereporttoreflectthechangesinstaffingsinceJune30,2011whichmakesthesitu-ationallthemoreserious.TheStateBoardremindedthosepresentthatstaffingdecisionsaremadeatthe
locallevel--sothatiswherelibrariansupportismostneeded.•TheresearchlinkingeffectiveschoollibrarieswithstudentachievementwasdiscussedbyMaryKayBiagini,NancyLatanision,EllieLong,andEileenKern.•PSEAspokeinsupportoftherecommendationsdealingwiththere-estab-lishmentoftheDivisionofSchoolLibrariesinPDE,thepreparationofmodelcurriculum,andtherestora-tionoffundingtoPOWERLibrary. HarrisburgMaryKayBiaginipre-sentedanoverviewofthestudy,whichisrichindatatopresentasnapshotofthe2010/2011schoolyear.Mostschools(975publicschools)haveaschoollibrarian.Philadelphiahas120schoolsthatdonot.96oftheschoollibrariansareNOTcertifiedlibrarians.Mostlibrariansaverage1-2hoursperweek
RoundTablesonSchoolLibraryStudy
Volume 39 Number 4 PIN: 2011-6126-4 Fall 2011
EditorMichael [email protected]
Associate EditorMargaret [email protected]
Online EditorKimberly [email protected]
Kelly [email protected]
Eleanor [email protected]
Allison [email protected]
Beth [email protected]
Christine [email protected]
Lynn [email protected]
Sonya [email protected]
Editorial BoardA Note about Navigating Learning & Media Online
ThisinauguralissueofLearning & Media OnlineissomethingnewforPSLAandtheEditorialBoard.Wehopethatyoufinditworthyourtime.ThegreatthingaboutpublishingdigitallyisthatyounolongerhavetotypelongURLsintoyourbrowserwindowwhilesquintingatthetypeonthepage.Instead,youcansimplyclickontheoutlinedboxesaroundlinkingtextinarticles.Seebelowfortwoexamples.
BackisueswillbemaintainedonlineatIssuu(http://issuu.com/psla)soyoucanrefertothemwhenneeded.Wehopethatintheinterestofcon-servationofresources,youwillconsiderreadingonascreenratherthanprintingoutthefollowingpages.Onethingthatyou’llfindistheprintedversionsdonotshowvisiblelinks,soreadingwhereyoucanclickwillbemostefficient.Weareopentoyoursuggestionsandfeedbackaboutthisnewmedium.Weexpectthatitwillchangeandgrowaswehearfromyou.Pleasesendfeedbacktopslapubs@gmail.com.Wewanttheonlineissuestoworkforyou.
Publication Guidelines
Learning & Media,theprofessionaljournalofthePennsylvaniaSchoolLibrar-ian’sAssociation(PSLA),publishesarticlesthatareofinteresttolibrarymediaspecialists,libraryeducators,librarystudentsandothersconcernedwiththedevel-opmentofschoollibraryprogramsfrompre-schoolthroughhighschool.Authorsareencouragedtodrawontheirownexperiencesandactionresearchaswellastheirinterpretationsofprofessionalliterature.Athemeisannounceforeachissue,butallarticlesthatrelatetotheprofessionarewelcome.Manuscriptsareacceptedyearround.PleaseemailsubmissionsinMicrosoftWord(.docpreferred)formattotheeditoratpslapubs@gmail.com.Imagesshouldbeatthehighestresolutionpos-sibleandin.jpgformat.AuthorsdonotreceivefinancialremuneratifromPSLAforpublishedarticles.TerminologyinmanuscriptsouttobeconsistentwithPSLApolicyandpractie,andwiththephilosophyofInformation Power(ALA1998).ThejournalispublishedtwiceperyearandcirculatedtoallPSLAmembers.ManuscriptsshouldfollowtheModernLanguageAssociationstyle.Theeditorreservestherighttoeditandreviseacceptedarticlesforclarity,accuracyorlength.AllmaterialspublishedinLearning & Mediamaybecopiedordistributedwithoutpermissionforthenon-commercialpurposeofeducationaladvancement.Publica-tioninLearning & MediadoesnotimplyendorsementoftheexpressedopinonsbyPSLA.Contacttheeditorforbackissueinformation.
President’s WelcomeWelcometothefirstissueofthenewPSLAjournalonline!CalledLearning & Media On-line,thisisaventureforusintoelectronicpublishing.Theprintformatwillbeissuedtwiceayear.Thisisamovepromptedpartiallybyeconomics,asthecostsofprintingandmailingtheprintissuekeeponrising.Wehopethatwecanusetheelectronicjournaltogetthingsoutinamoretimelywayandthenusetheprintoneformorescholarlyinformation.ThebignewsforusrightnowistheHR987study.Afterthesurveylastspring,acommittee
headedbyDr.MaryKayBiaginifromtheUniver-sityofPittsburghtooktherawdataandformulatedthisintoareport.Adraftofthisreportisnowavail-ableonthePSLAwebsite,alongwiththePSLAresponsetothesurvey.ThankstoMaryKayandEileenKernforalltheirhardwork.The3roundtabledis-cussionshavebeenheld,andafollow-upsurveywasconductedthisfalltolookatanystaffingchang-esfromlastschoolyear.Hopefully,wearetakingthefirststepsintorecov-ery.ThanksalsogotoDebKachel,DebHooverand
therestoftheLegisla-tionCommittee,andBaruchKintischoftheEducationLawCenterforgettingtheballroll-inginthefirstplace,andtoallthosewhohostedandparticipatedintheroundtables.Speakingofthesewonderfulpeoplewhoaredoingsomuchforourprofessionandourassociationbringsmetothetopicofvolunteer-ing.KeepingPSLAgo-ingtakesalotofwork,andthemorepeoplehelpout,thelightertheloadbecomes.ManyofthePSLACommitteeswould
welcomenewmemberstohelpthemcarryouttheircharges.Evenvolunteer-ingtoserveasamoderatorattheconference,ortohelpwithregistrationforacoupleofhourswouldbeagreatservice.Ifyouareinterestedinservingonacommittee,pleasecontactmeatdouglas_francis@comcast.net.InthespringConnieBurlingameandMargaretTatrowillputoutthecallsforhelpattheconference.CheckouttheCommitteesonthePSLAwebsite.Comejointhefun!Bestwishesfortheschoolyear!Doug Francis
RoundTablesonSchoolLibraryStudy(continued)forplanningandcollaborat-ing.Themajorityofel-ementarylibrariansworkwithfixedschedules.Onehalfoftherespondentshaveacurriculumthathasbeenwrittenwithinthepastfiveyears.91%haveautomatedcirculationsystems.Mostlocalbudgetsprovide$1-$10perstudentforschoollibraryprogramming.•AspeakerfromthePALawCentertestifiedthatthelibraryprogramdramaticallyimpactsthestudenttest-ing.Sincethereisnolegalrequirementforemployingschoollibrariansorhav-ingaschoollibrary,deci-sionmakingismadeatthe
school/principallevel.Hefurthercommentedthattheinvestmentinmaintainingaschoollibraryfaroutweighstheinvestmenttorebuildoneafterithasbeeneliminatedordramaticallyreducedinfunding.•GlennMillercommend-edtheBoardforunderwrit-ingthisstudy.Hestressedtwoissues:Thedevas-tationoffundingforthePOWERLIBRARYwidensthegapbetweenthe“have’s”and“have-not’s”andthewasteoflocalmoneybyforcinglocalschooldis-trictstonegotiatepricingforpurchasingthedatabasesprivately.Thesecondissue
wastheimportanceoftheSchoolLibrariesDivisionwithinPDE.•AspokespersonoftheDisabilitiesRightsgroupadvocatedfortravelinglibrariesandtheneedforli-brariansintheIEPprocessforeachchild.AstaffmemberfromPhiladelphiaCouncilmanGreen’sofficeemphasizedtheimportanceofastatemandateand/orconcreterecommendationsthateverystudentshouldhaveaschoollibrarywithacerti-fiedlibrarian.Thereare48schoollibrariesinPhiladel-phia.Themostneedyhavetheleastaccess.Astrong
recommendationforschoollibrariesneedstocomefromtheStateBoard.ClaireZales,PDE,spokeoftheimportanceofthePOWERLibraryresourcesnotingthatforsomanydistricts--thesearetheonlydatabasesthattheyhavetousewithstudents.Throughoutthecourseofthedialog,schoollibrarianspresentprovidedspecificexamplesoftheirimpactandthestateoftheirdistrict’slibrariesorlackthereof.LillianHobbsspokeaboutthedifferenceagoodschoollibrarymadeinPottsville.CathiFuhrmantalkedabouttheneedforschoollibrarians
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Digital Collection Curation WorkshopThisworkshop,developedbyDr.JoyceValenzaandDebraKachel,willapplytraditionalcollectiondevelop-mentmethodologiestothe“curation”–selection,organization,andprofes-sionalpresentation--ofdigitalcontent,services,andtoolsforK-12studentsandteachers.Designedforschoolandpubliclibrarianswhoworkwithchil-drenandteens,theworkshopassumesthatparticipantsarefamiliarwithappropriateK-12webresourcesandsometools.TheworkshopfocusesontheapplicationofLibGuides,amedia-rich,easy-to-useplatformthatcanbecomeyourvirtuallibrary“park-inglot”topresentwebresources,bothcontentandtools,appropriatetostu-dentsandschoolcurriculum.ADigitalCollectionCurationLibGuideprovidesothermostlyfreedigitalorganization
andcommunicationtoolsforyouandyourteachersandstudentstousewithexamplesandtutorials.AmongthoseresourcesareWikispaces,LiveBind-ers,Sqworl,Netvibes,GoogleSites,Only2Clicks,andGlogster.Specifically,participantslearnto:1.Embraceanexpandedconceptof“collection”toincludedigitalcontent
andtools,2.Applycollectiondevelopmentstrategiestodigitalresources,3.Recognizethelibraryuserasselector,collab-orator,andinformationproducer,
4.LearntousesomebasictypesofdigitaltoolsappropriateforK-12students,5.CreateadigitalguideorpathfinderwithLibGuides,selectingtraditionalresourcesanddigitalcontentandweb-basedtools.Allworkshopparticipantsreceive
freeaccesstoLibGuides,acommer-cial,licensedwebproductuntilAugust31,2012.SeeallScheduledWorkshops.Librarianswantingtoholdawork-shopneedtomakelocalarrangementstoholdaregionalsession.Usingthelistoftrainedpresenters,theyshouldcontactsomeoneclosetotheirlocationandrequestatrainingsession.Over30schoolandpubliclibrariansfromacrossthestatehavebeentrainedtoofferregionalworkshops.Thereisnochargeforthisworkshopotherthanprovidingmileagereimbursementandlunchforthetrainerduringthework-shop.ContactSusanPannebakerorDebKachelforthelistoftrainers.
Susan PannebakerPhone:[email protected]
Debra E. Kachel Phone:[email protected]
toteachtheskillsintheCommonCoreandthePDEstandards. ErieManyofthesameissuesfromthefirsttworoundtableswereraisedattheEriesession.Inaddition,BobMcConnellsummedupseveralrecommendationswiththeacronym“IDEA.”•I=Inequitiesoflibraries….restorePOWERLibraryandACCESSPAfunding•D=ReestablishtheDivisionofSchoolLibrariesintheOfficeofCom-monwealthLibrariesaswellascreateaDirectorforthedivision•E=Eliminationsofschoollibraries
•A=AccesstoInformationLiteracyCurriculumforallschoollibraries•Adiscussionoftheuseofnewertechnologieslikecellphonesandsmartphonesinschooltookplace.•TheErieSuperintendentexpressedtheideathatallspecialareasofthecur-riculumandsupportservicesareunderscrutinybecauseofthecurrentfundingcrisisinschools.ThefinaldraftoftheSchoolLibraryStudywillbeavailableinamatterofweeks.TocontinuetofollowthisongoingeffortofPSLA,pleasetaketimetoreviewafewofthedocumentslinkedbelow.Yourstateorganizationisadvocatingonyourbehalf--butso
muchofthesolutionliesinworkatthelocallevel.Knowthefacts--andfollowthroughwithyourlocalschoolboardmembersandlegislators.School Library Study Documents • Staffing Study (created to document changes since June 30, 2011) • Draft of School Library Study • Appendix C - responses to questions • PSLA Statement Read at the Roundtables • PSLA Response to the Draft of the Study
RoundTablesonSchoolLibraryStudy(continued)
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Technology Tidbit: Prezi
Ifyouyawnatthethoughtofcreat-ingyetanotherPowerPointpresenta-tion,youmightconsiderthenewkidintown.Prezi(www.prezi.com)de-scribesitselfas“acloud-basedpresentationsoftware.”Pr-ezigivesuserstheopportunitytocreatevisuallyinteresting,creativepresentationsontheweb,andonceyougetthehangofusingPrezitoolsitonlytakesafewminutestocreateafantasticpresentation.Don’tbeintimidatedatthethoughtoflearningtouseyetanothernewtool.Prezihassimple,easytofollowvideotutorialsthatteachnewusersalltheyneedtoknow.There’sevenavideotutorialshowingusershow
tochangePowerPointandKeynoteslidesintoPrezipresentations.Theyincludecheatsheetsforeverystepof
theprocess.CreatingaPreziissimple.Onceyouwatchthevideotutorials,youarereadytobegin!YourPrezibegins
withaclickablecanvas;addtextandimagesandusethePrezitool,calledazebra,toedit,move,orrotateyourtextandimages.YouTubevideosareeasilyaddeddirectlytoaPrezi.Addapathwaytoyourobjectstoshowthesequenceofyourpresentation.YoucanalsoaddhiddenframestohelporganizeyourPreziandlayerob-jectsandtext.Withsomanyoptions,youcanmakeyourPreziasbasicor
uniqueasyouwant.TherearealsooptionstosaveadownloadedversionofyourPrezisothatyouarestillabletoshowitwithoutinternetaccess.VisitthePreziwebsiteandclickonthe“Explore”tabtowatchPrezisandgetideasonhowtousethistoolinyourschool.Youmight…—BeginbasicandcreateaPreziwhenyouwouldusuallyusePower-PointorKeynote.—UsePrezitoaddvisualappealtoyourbooktalks;youcouldlinktotheauthor’swebsiteorbooktalkanupcomingbook-turned-movieandin-cludethemovietrailerinyourPrezi.—HavestudentscreatetheirownPrezistopresenttotheclassafterresearchingatopic.Thepossibilitiesareendless,sogotowww.prezi.comandtryitforyourself!
LindseyLongTechnology Committee
PSLA Legislator@YourLibrary--Sign Up Today!Therehasneverbeenamorecriti-cal timetobeaschool libraryadvo-cateandshowlegislatorshowschoollibrarians and librariescontribute to studentlearning.PSLA’sLeg-islationCommitteehascreatedanefficientandsuccessful program toassistmembersinhold-ing these visits. Re-tired school librarians,Lin Carvell, John Emerick, SylviaFirth,JanetMalloy,BobMcConnell,and Judy Speedy, have been trained
as“eventplanners”toassistyouwithselecting a legislator, scheduling thevisit,andpreparingpublicity.Apre-
paredpacketofmaterials willbe sent to youto give to thevisitinglegisla-tor.Ifyouonlydo one advo-cacyeventthisyear, let it be
this!WehavelotstosharesincetheSchoolLibrarySurveyhasbeencon-ducted.Contactmeatdkachel@psla.
orgsothatIcanassignyouaneventplannertoday!Itoftentakesamonthortwotoplantheevent,sodoitnow!MoreinformationisavailableonthePSLALegislationwebsite,includingourPhotoGalleryofcompletedvisits.ThiseventalsocountsintheGetVO-CAL(Visible,Outreach,Connect,Ad-vocateforLibraries)ContestinwhichaflipcameraandothergoodieswillbegivenoutatthePSLAConference.
DebraKachelLegislation Committee
Get VOCALand win a Flip camera at
PSLA’s Annual Conference!
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More Than Just Social Bookmarking
Asa librarian in thedigitalage, itis important tobeable tonavigate theresources available outside the wallsofyourlibrarymediacenterjustasef-ficientlyastheresourceshousedwithinit.Addingabookmarktoyourinternetbrowserwasoncetheonlywaytokeeptrackofonlineresources.However,withacareerthatreliesheavilyoneffectiveor-ganization,well,itreallywasn’t;hence,“socialbookmarking”emerged.Nowauser could save a limitless number ofwebsitesandaccessthemregardlessofthecomputertheyused.Althoughsocialbookmarkingsiteswerefirstdevelopedin1996,theydidnotbecomepop-ularuntil2005with thereleaseofDelicious.Since then, socialbookmarking tools continue toevolve into incredible informa-tionmanagementtools. One such tool is Diigo(DEE’go).Ifyouhavenotdoneso already, I strongly encour-age you to register for aDiigoaccount – and if you want toshare your bookmarks withstudents, I would suggest the Educa-tor account. Even if you already havean account with another social book-marking site, Diigo will automaticallyimport your bookmarks from anothersite andcontinue toupdate them.But,asthetitleimplies,Diigoismuchmorethanjustsocialbookmarking.Justsomeof its features are explained below: Tags: LikeDelicious,Diigogivesusers the ability to tag their book-marked websites with keyword andsubject terms. Diigo will suggest tagsbased on the content of the website,butonemaycreatetheirown.Istrong-ly encourage you to take advantageof this feature – you will appreciate
it once your list becomes extensive.Annotations: Therearetwowaystoannotate a page usingDiigo.The firstway is touse the“stickynote” tool toleavemessagesonaparticularwebpageforyourselforothers(youcanchoose).OnewayIusethistoolistolisttheinfor-mationofacontactpersonataparticu-larbookvendor.Forexample,insteadofwritingdownthecontactinformationofmyScholasticBookFairrepresentativeinmylittleblackbook, Iplaceadigi-tal stickynoteonScholastic’sWebsitewhichIalreadyhavebookmarked(andtaggedwith“bookvendor”).
Thesecondwaytoannotateawebsiteisduringtheactualbookmarkingstage.Onceyouchoosetosaveapage,Diigopromptsyouwith tagassignmentsandan optional annotation. Here you canleavenotesforyourselfthatwouldnotbe posted on the main webpage forothers toview;forexample, ifIfeelawebsitemaynotbeappropriateformyyoungerstudents,Icouldnotethathere.AnotherwayIusethisfeatureiswhenI locate a resource that Iwant to passalongtoanotherteacher. Highlighting:No surprises here –youcanhighlighttextonawebpage;al-
thoughoneofthesimplesttools,itisun-doubtedlyoneofthemostuseful.Thisreallycomesinhandywhenyoudirectstudentstoapage.Youcanhighlightthetextyouwantthemtoreadbeforetheyaccessit.Andforthe“Ican’tfindit”stu-dents,highlightingcanpointthemtotherightspot. Apps:WhatwouldaWeb2.0 toolbe without compatibility with youriPad, iPhone,orAndroid?Diigohas itall.Whilebookmarkingpages,youcanchooseto“readitlater”.Withthemobileapplication,itisveryeasytoaccessyourbookmarksandreadthesepageswhen
youhaveafewspareminutes.Diigohasmanymorefeatureswithendlesspossibilitiesforuseintheclassroom,manyofwhicharesharedamongthemanyDi-igo groups. Groups are placeswhere users can share specificbookmarks with one another.Someofthegroupscreatedspe-cifically for educators include:Interactive Whiteboard Lessons,Digital Citizenship Resources”,
andGraphic Novels.Withintheeducatorgroupsyouwillfind PSLA’s own Copyright Friendly Diigo.ThisDiigowascreatedbyHeath-erListerforthe2010LeadershipAwardProject.ListerchosetocreatethisDiigosolelyforthepurposeofhelpingeduca-tors locatewebsites that containmate-rialavailableforuseinstudentprojects.Therefore, in addition to the materialbeingcopyright friendly for educators,itmustalsobeavailablefordownloadandmanipulation.TheDiigomaybeac-cessedathttp://groups.diigo.com/group/psla-copyright-friendly.
HeatherListerTechnology Committee
Use Diigo’s highlighting tool to shift stu-dents’ focus to a particular area of a page.
PSLA Member Profile: Patty McClune
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Name:PattyMcClunePosition:HSLibrarian/Dis-trictLibraryCoordinatorSchool:ConestogaValleyHighSchoolEducation:BS-BloomsburgUniversity/K-12LibraryCertificationandSupervisoryCertification-MillersvilleUniversity/MSLS-Vil-lanovaUniversityAwardsReceived:Notreallyanawardassuch,butservingonALA’s2011OdysseyAwardCommitteewascertainlyanhonor,andoneofthehighlightsofmycareer.NumberofYearsinPSLA:27BestmemoriesofPSLA:IhavefondmemoriesoftheVillanovaAlumnipartiesthatBettyWalshwouldhostinahugecornersuiteatthehotel.Whatagraciouslady!Ialsotreasurethememoryoftheyearmystudentspre-sentedthePYRCAtoLaurieKellerforScrambledStatesofAmerica.Lauriewassopersonableandthekidswere
thrilledtoeatchocolatechippancakeswithanauthor,andthenspeakinfrontofthewholegroup.Rememberingtheirexcitementandenthusi-asmstillmakesmesmile.YearsinProfession:26OtherProfessionalOrganiza-tions:ALA,AASL,YALSA,ALANWhydidyouchoosetobe-comealibrarymediaspecial-ist?Initially,becauseIloved
toread….boywasthateversimplis-tic!Weallknowthejobissomuchmore!
Whathaveyouaccomplishedinyourlibraryorprofessionallifethatgivesyougreatestsatisfaction?IfeelpleasedthatourlibraryprogramcontinuestomorphandmoveforwardwithnewinitiativesfromKindlestoLibGuidestoourlibraryFacebookpagewithcloseto500fans.Whatdoyoulikebestaboutyourjob?Wow,there’sso
much!Highschoolstudentsmakemethink,laughandstayonmytoes.ThejobisdifferenteverydayandI’malwayslearningsomethingnew.Butprobablythenumberonethingthatgivesmearushisconnectingakidwiththerightbook,andtheicingonthecakeistolaterhearhimtoutthebooktoafriend!Whatisthebestkeptsecretaboutbeingalibrarian?Yougettoworkwithincred-iblysmart,funandtalentedpeople!Whilethestereotypemightsayotherwise,thetruthis,anyonewhochoosestohangoutinalibraryisinnate-lycool.Thelibrariansinmydistrict,theassistantsinmybuildingandlibrariansI’vemetalongthewayallenjoylearning,growing,laughing,sharingandserving.Goalsforthenext5years:Professionally,tokeepthelibraryprogramvibrantandmovingforwardwithmoreeBooks,eReaders,digitalresources,24/7accessandwhateverelsecomesdownthepike!Personally,Iwanttospendtimewithmyfamily
Books serve to show
a man that those
original thoughts of his
aren’t very new after all.
—Abraham Lincoln
andremainclosewithmyfriends.Whoisyourfavoriteauthor?Favoritebook?Seriously?You’daskalibrariantochooseONEfavorite?!Nextyou’llaskwhomyfavor-itechildis!IuseaShelfariaccounttoratebooksfromourHSlibrarythatI’veread.It’saresourceforstudenttocheckout,butanyonecanlogonandseesomeofmy“favs.”Whatmakesyoulaugh?Specialpeopleinmylifemakemelaughthemost:myhusband,mysisters,myclosefriend,Beth,andmygrand-daughter,Maggieamongoth-ers,havetheabilitytomakemelaughsohardthattearspopoutofmyeyes!Peoplearesurprisedtoknowthat:IrecentlydressedupasLadyGagaanddidamusicvideowiththefootballcoachtopromoteourOneSchoolOneBookreadingproject.(AndIhopepeoplewouldbesurprisedtolearnthatI’mthegrandmotherofsix!)
CalendarNovember12,2011 NationalGamingDayJanuary20-24,2012 ALAMid-WinterMeeting,Dallas,TXJanuary28,2012 PSLABoardMeeting,HolidayInn,GrantvilleMarch2,2012 ReadAcrossAmericaDayApril NationalPoetryMonth,SchoolLibraryMediaMonthApril1-14,2012 NationalLibraryWeek,Theme:YouBelong@yourlibraryApril12-14,2012 PSLAAnnualConference,HersheyJune9,2012 PSLABoardMeeting,Marriott,LancasterJune21-26,2012 ALAAnnualConference,Anaheim,CAJuly16-17,2012 PSLALeadershipSummit,HersheyLodgeandConventionCenter,Hershey
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The New World of Reading: SLJ 2011 SummitWashington,D.C.wasthesiteofthe2011SchoolLibraryJournalSummit–The New World of Read-ing.Thereweremorethan200publishers,technologyleaders,edi-tors,andlibrariansthatgatheredattheWestininArlington,VA–Sept.22–23,2011.Someofthetopicscoveredwere:socialnetworkingandhowitisbeingusedtoengagereaders,transliteracyandhowitistransforminglibraries,graphicnovelsandthevitalroletheynowplay,andeBooksandtheirroleinschoolstoday.BrianSelznick,award-winningauthorandillustratorgavetheOpeningKeynote,New World of Reading Transliterate.Brianbelievesbookscancoexisteasilywithnewmediabecausereadingistransformative.Thenewworldofreadingisachallengeforadultsnotforchildren.Itisnotnewtothem.Itistheirworld.Booksaretech-nology.Thenarrativebookswithpicturestellthestoryjustlikeamovie.Thebookitselfteachesyouhowtoreadit.Youreadthepic-turesandseethetext.Brian’snewbook,WonderstrucktakesplaceinNYduringthesummerof1977.Init,hecreates3differentbookswithnarrative,pictures,andacombina-tionofboth.Heworkedonthisbookfor3yearstravelingaroundtogetpicturesandseeplaces.TheSummitcontinuedwithninesessionsfromavarietyofpresenters.Forfurtherinforma-tionaboutthespeakerspleasesee:http://www.sljsummit2011.com/schedules
1.Transliteracy and the Young Child wasapanelpresentation.Transliteracywasdefinedastheabilitytoreadandwriteandin-teractacrossarangeofplatforms,toolsandmediafromsigningandoralitythroughhandwriting,print,TV,radioandfilm,todigitalsocialnetworks.Educatorsmusthonor
thetraditionalreading,butinfusenewtransliteracyintoreading.TransmediaLearningWorldsarenotpassive,butarereallyabouttheexperience,wherethesocialandemotionalreaderemerges.Trans-literatecollaborationishowwebringallthepuzzlepiecestogethertoexperienceandcreatethestoryandinformation.Transliteracyisnotaboutprintvs.digital.Weneedboth.Manytimessomeofthepiecesaremissingforstudentsbecauseoffiltering,philosophy,standardsandtesting.Weneedtobewillingtobethepioneersandtryandexplorenewthings-using
socialmediatoconnectwithourfamilies-makeourstudentspro-ducersandallowthemtoexplorewithnewtools.2.What is an Ebook? The Cur-rent and Future State of Digital Reading.In1971,ProjectGuten-burgwasthebeginningofelectron-icbooks.Inthe1990’s,electronicdevicesbegantobeused,suchasthePalmPilot.In2011,devicesnowlookverydifferent.TheNookisnowincolorandhasread-aloudandlightmotionbooks,withmuchmoreinstore.AppleiBooks/iTunes,Kindle,andamajorityofEbookshaveenhancedfeatures.InteractiveEbooksdon’texistyet.MostEbookshaveafixedformatthatistext-heavyandgoestotheedgesofeachbook.LibrariansneedtothinkaboutwhatwillmakeachildwanttoreturntoreadingasnewEbooktechnologyisen-hanced.3.Networked Librarians Take Reading Promotion to the Next Level. Twolibrariansexplainedhowtheycollaboratedonprojectsacrosstwostates.Twolibrariesonevoiceistheblogwheretheycollaborate.Theirprojects,usingTwitter,GoogleDocs,Skype,andotherWeb2.0toolstieintomulti-plecurriculaandinfusetechnology.4.ThechallengewaspresentedtofilmmakerstocondensethewholeplotofaNewberybookinto90seconds.Thiscontextshowsanewexcitingwaytopresentbooks.5.What’s Appening?Apanelpresentationthatansweredthequestionofwhatanappcando
“Free is NOT a collection development strategy” slide from SLJ Summit. Photo by Sara Kelly Johns. Used with permis-sion.
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alsouseotherformsofsocialnet-workingtogainresearchinforma-tion.Ofcourse,aswitheverythingelse,therearesomedrawbacks.9.The New World of Summer Reading discussedasummerread-ingplaninanewlight.Thegoalofsummerreadingisforstudentstolearntolovereadingontheirown.Mr.Higginsviewsreadingagoodbookassomethingthatmakesyouwanttoshare.Itisatypeofsocialmedia.HeusedGoodReadsandShelfaritoaidintheselectionofbooks.Inordertomakesummerreadingviral-makeitsocial,heusedablog.(hbwreads.blogspot.com)Eachgradegotabuzzbookanditwashighlypromotedandkidswroteaboutitaswellasteach-ers.Thebloghad14,400visitorsshow-ingthesum-merreadingprogramwasahugesuc-cess.Ifyouarepassionateaboutsome-thing,itshouldbereflectedinwhatyoudo.10.Reading Graphic Literaturewasapanelpresentationbythreegraphicnovelistsshowinghowil-lustrationscanreplacewords.
Friday’skeynotespeakerwasLeeRainie,Director,PewInternet&AmericanLifeProject.HebeganhispresentationbylookingatteensandgivingmanystatisticsfromPewStudies.Readingisitsownvirtue,butitisotherthingstoo;Readingisrawmaterial;Readingisreal-time;Readingisasocialcontactsport;Newilliteraciesarebeingelevated.Pewhasstudiedthreerevolutionsintechnology:1).Internet and Broadband-Of12-17yearoldteens,73%ofteenswereusingtheInternetbefore.Now95%areusingitand
theyhavemovedtobroadbandupfromdial-up.Theyareusingitinmanymorewaysandthearrayofdevicesusedareawidevariety.94%useitforresearchforassignments,81%formoviesandTV,57%forvideosharinglikeYouTube,55%forcollegeinforma-tion,and48%boughtitems.Manyareus-ingmediaforcontentcreationactivities–sharing,remix,blogs,i.e.teensrateteach-ers,andteensarein-volvedinfanfiction.
2.)Wireless connectivity–Teensaregettingmorecellphones-now80%havethem.90%ofparentshavecellphones,with35%ofthembeingsmartphones.Textsaretak-ingoff.Emailisoldandnotused
betterthanabook?Itmaybemoreentertainingorcompelling.Itmaybebetterforlearningbytakingadvantageofthemediumandcouldgetkidsexcitedaboutreading.6.We Books: Making Reading Social focusedonusingyourownschool’sdynamicstudentsasthevoiceforthelibrary.Thelibrarianusesatextmessageclub;desig-natedspaceforsilentreaders;andhasagraphicnovellounge.Herstudentsareveryinvolvedinthelibraryprogramandrecruiteachother.Thestudentsareverycon-nected.7.Leadership 2.0dealtwithhowsocietychangesfastbutunfortu-nately,schoolsdon’t.Thisprin-cipalbannednewtechnologyinhisschool,untilhefoundTwitter.Later,herealizedthatsocialmediaisaportaltonewtoolsforabetterlearningenvironment.Thepillarsfortechnologyuseare:communi-cation(Twitter,Facebook,blogs,YouTube),publicrelations(brandpresence),professionalgrowth,studentengagement(studentsinthecenter),andopportunity(technol-ogyequipmentgiven,teachersenttoIsrael,getthebestforstudents).Leadeship2.0musthaveavision,support,flexibility,calculatedrisk-taking,passion,patience,andmodeling8.Authors Engaging Readers Through Social Mediaapaneldiscussionbythreeauthorsdiscuss-ingthegoodandthebadpointsofsocialnetworkingfromanauthor’sviewpoint.ManyauthorslovetouseSkypeforauthorvisits.They
Dr. Joyce Valenza. Photo by Sara Kelly Johns. Used with permission.
The New World of Reading (continued)
byteensmuchanymore.Socialmediasitesarehighlyused.31%ofteenswhotaketheircellphonestoschoolsendtextsduringclass.Therearemanyconsequencesforinformationecosystem–anywhere,anytime,anydevice.3).Social Networking–80%ofteenspar-ticipateinthis.Twitterisnowjustcatchingonwithteenswithonly8%participating.Kidsareliv-inginnewattentionspaces.Theypaycontinuouspartialattention,takedeepdivesintoinformation,goinfo-snackingalittleofalotofthings,anddaydream.Theyalsousemediazones–socialstreams,immersive,andcreative/participa-tory.Newilliteraciesfocusonethics-screenliteracyandcontextliteracy.Thisisavaluecontempla-tivetime.Manytimeswearecon-fused.Newstuffkeepsoncoming!Ourworldisnowuncharted,notfixedanymore.Confusionisthepermanentstateofbeingrightnow.Fiveshortsessionsfromava-rietyofpresentersaboutdifferentaspectsofEbooksfollowedthisopeningpresentationonFriday:1.Ebooks – Building Level.AlibrariandiscussedhowEbooksareusedinherschool.InAlabama,staffingisincreasing,butbudgetlinesforresourcesaredecreas-ing.SheusesEbooksfromthepublicdomain,withanEbookrequestformonherwebsite.SheintegratesrecordsforEbooksfromProjectGutenburgintohercatalogandusesaclasssetofNookstoshareEbooks.Sheislookingtocloud-basedsolutionsinthefuture.2.Ebooks - County Level.In
povertyriddenCharlestonCountySchoolDistrict,thecollectionswereveryoldandtherewasnomoneyforresources.UsingaTitle-wisereportthelibrarianconvincedtheBoardtoallocatetwomilliondollarstoimprovethecollection.SheboughtCapstoneInteractiveBooksandtheywerehighlyused.1.Therewasa300%increaseincirculation.Forthenextstep,GaleDatabaseswereadded.Thesewereusedheavily,especiallyafterschool.Scoresstartedtosoar.Thenextstepwastolookatthecur-riculumandmakerevisions.Thelibrarydepartmentprovidedtheseresourcestoallgroupsandthenaskedthosegroupstoinvesttheirmoneytobuyprintresources–specialeducation,ELL,etc.Theyverywillinglydidsoandnowtheirresourcesarerenewed.3.Ebook Models on a District Level,.IntheNorthEastISDinTexas,3differentlibrarycollec-tions,7,000titlesinEbooksfromvariousvendors.Usingdistrictpurchasing,allowsgreateraccesstoresourcessothereisequityforstudentsdistrict-wide.FundingsourceswerefromTitle1andotherareas.3.EbooksRegionalandStateMod-els.Iowahas9regionsinthestate.Theseregionshavebeenworkingtogethertoattainresourcesthroughalargerbuyingpower.Inordertodecidewhatresourceswerethebest,theystartedtalkingtotheexpertstogatherinformation,thentalkedtovendors,andthensurveyedstudents.Aprofessionaldevelopmentpiecewasincluded
soteacherswouldbecomfortable.Continuousaccessforallstudentswasimportant.ThedecisionwasmadetouseNooks.TheypurchasedBookFlicksand12databases.Dif-ferentregionsarepilotingvarioussolutionstogetthebestoneforall.4.Ebooks – Regional Level.Purchasingataregionallevelwouldprovidetheadvantageofgettingthebestpricing.Ifdistrictswouldtake20percentoftheirmoneyandpullittogether,studentscouldhaveaccesstomanymoreresources.ToendTheSummit,JoyceVa-lenza,conductedapaneldiscussionwithrepresentativesfromeachofthevendorsponsors.TherewererepresentativesfromCapstone,FollettBooks,FollettSoftware,Gale,JuniorLibraryGuild,Learner,Mackin,andRosen.Joyceaskedalightningroundofquestions.1. What is happening now? Where are you going? Someoftheanswerswere:Wearelookingformoreeaseofuse,moreapps,betterpricingmodels,tomovingcontentclosertothecurriculum,betterman-agementmodel,andincorporatingCommonCore;Needingtofocusondigital,onlinedatabases,interactiveEbooks;Providingbettertoolsfordigitalcontent,havingonecommonreadertomakethingseasier,access-ingstatisticseasier,andcreatingmobileapps.2.How do they view librarians?Underalotofpressure,challengedtogetthebestresourceforourdol-lars;Notenoughcertifiedschoollibrariansandnotenoughmoneyputintoresources;;economicissuesdrivingdecision-making.
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The New World of Reading (continued)
3.How do we make Ebook content discoverable?Toomanyseparatecontainersorplatforms;Needtointegrate;Couldusesocialnetworkingsitestohelp;Canallowlibrarianstodeterminepointsofaccess.4.What about issues of leasing vs. ownership?Changelicens-ingagreements;Havebothop-tionswhichconsiderbudget;allowpurchaseofadatabaseforamonthwhenweneedit.Onehugeprob-lemwiththisisthatvendorsneeda
revenuestreamtoo.5.What have they learned here at the summit? Thewritingpartofliteracymustbeafocus;Studentcreatedcontentissoimportant;Schoollibrarianshavegreattenac-ity;Mustputourskillstousetogetthefunding;Greatneedforinfor-mation;Timeandeffortweputinistremendous,howcantheyhelpusmore;Excitingtimeforschoollibrarianstobeinvolvedincontentandcreation.TheSummitprovidedallattend-
eeswithatremendousopportunitytotakeacloserlookatthemanyaspectsofthenewworldofread-ingandhowschoollibrariansareentwinedinallofit.Weasschoollibrariansmusttakeanactiveandcommandingpartinallaspects.Aswithprevioussummits,attend-eesleftthesummitwithamultitudeofinformation,aswellasamulti-tudeofquestions.Thediscussionswillnotendhere.
MargFosterAASL Affiliate Assembly Representative
Learn About the Common Core
Coleman, David. “Bringing the Common Core Standards to Life.” New York State Education Department. April 28, 2011. NYSED. 28 Sept 2011. Web. http://usny.nysed.gov/rttt/ resources/bringing-the-common- core-to-life.html Bringing the Common Core Standards to LifewasusedtointroducethenewstandardstoNewYorkStateteacherslastspring.Itincludesanoutline,briefPower-Point,andtenvideosegments.Themust-seevideosclearlyexplainwhatCommonCorestandardsareandhowtheydifferfromstandardssuchSASthatPAandnumerousotherstatesusedinthepast.ItisimportanttonotethatPennsylva-nia--aswellmorethanfortyotherstates--hasalreadyadoptedCom-monCore.Inthiswebinar,DavidColeman,
amajorarchitectandauthoroftheCom-monCore,explainshowthestandardshavebeenbasedonresearchandde-signedasastaircaseofskillsforcollegeandcareerreadiness.Unlikepaststandards,henotes,thesehaveconsiderableteacherinput,focusonwhatresearchindicatesismostimportantforstudentachievement,andhavebeencraftedtoallowtimeforstudentstopracticeinordertodevelopthecompetenciestheyneed.Librariansneedtofocusprimar-ilyonvideoclips2and4,although8isalsorelevant.Part2iscrucialtoviewasitprovidesexamplesofresearchandintroducesthetenetsonwhichallofthestandardsareconstructed.Ofparticularinteresttolibrarians,isPart4,Introduction
toCommonCoreStandardsforEng-lishLanguageArtsandLiteracy.Thissegmenthighlightstheskillsstudentsneedtobecollegeandcareerready–
themostimportantofwhichistheirabilitytoreadandunderstandcom-plextexts.Inordertoaccomplishthis,allstudentsmustbegintobuildastronggeneralknowledgebasebeginningintheirelementaryyears.Finally,inPart8ColemanusesDr.King’sletterfromtheBir-minghamJailtodemonstratewhatismeantbyreadingcomplextexts.Tomaximizetheintendedexperi-enceofviewingPart8,itisadvis-abletoprintout,read,andhavetheletterathandbeforeyoubeginthisparticularsegment. LaVerneMotley
Curriculum Committee
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The New World of Reading (continued)
Librarians: Indispensible Guides“Librarians:IndispensableGuides”isthethemeforthe2012PennsylvaniaSchoolLibrariansAs-sociation’sAnnualConference.ItisscheduledforApril12-14,2012attheHersheyLodgeandConven-tionCenter.SothattheConferenceremainsviableandabletomeettheneedsofschoollibrarians,quiteafewchangesareplanned.Hotelroomratesarethesameaslastyear:$165.00forasingleordouble.Thepriceisbasedontherebeing580roomsusedbyPSLA.Thereforeitisimportantthatev-eryonestaysattheLodgeduringtheConference.Thisalsoprovidesuswiththespacesneededtoholdsessions,workshops,exhibitsandmeals.ConferenceregistrationwillonlybeavailableonlinebeginningonJanuary10,2012.Totalpack-ageregistrationis$225.00formembers.Thefeefornon-membersis$325.00.Re-tiredandfull-timestudentscostis$150.00.OtheroptionsarealsoavailableforthosenotattendingtheentireConference.AfterApril5th,onlineregistrationwillbeclosed.AttheConferenceonsiteregistra-tion,includingapriceincreaseof$25.00ineachcategorywillbeavailable.TheConferenceschedulereflectssuggestionsfromthemembership.Therearenosessionsorexhibitson
Thursdayafternoon.Theeveningworkshopsaresetfor6:00to9:00PM.TheGeneralSessionisFridaymorningfrom10:15to11:30AM.ExhibithoursareFriday11:30AMto6:00PMandSaturday9:00to11:30AM.TimesscheduledonFridayandSaturdayforvisitingtheexhibitsandauthorautograph-ingwillnotconflictwithscheduledsessions.Advanceselectionofsessionsandworkshopswillnotbere-quired.Allwillbeidentifiedintheprogrambythreelevels:interest,participationandknowledge.Theprogramwillalsolabelsessionsandworkshopsaccordingtotheirbroadsubjectareas.Theseare:curriculum,libraryadministration,literatureandtechnology.
PamBerger,librarianandeducationaltechnicalconsultant/traineristheConferenceKeynoter.Shetrainedschoollibrariansusingherprogram“Librar-iesfortheFuture:NationalEqualAccessPrograminPennsylvania”.MsBergerisalsoaProfessoratSyracuseUniversityandauthorof
“InternetforActiveLearners.”HerspeechiscertaintoconnectwithConferenceattendees.Two-timeNewberyHonorBookwinnerJimMurphyisthespeakerattheFridaynightbanquet.HewritesaboutmanyvariedeventsinAmericanhistory.Hislatestbookis“TheCrossing:HowWashingtonSavedtheRevolution.”Othertitlesinclude“AnAmericanPlague:The
TrueandTerrifyingStoryoftheYellowFeverEpidemicof1793”,“ASavageThunder:AntietamandtheBloodyRoadtoFreedom”and“TheGreatFire.”Knownasthe“MasterofDisaster”tohisfriends,itseemscertainthatthispresenta-tionwillbebothinformativeandentertaining.Saturday’sprogramissettopro-videsomethingnewanddifferent.Therewillnotbeaformallun-cheonandspeaker.Initsplaceisaprogramcalled“LunchandLearn”thatwilltakeplacefrom11:30AMto2:00PM.Boxluncheswillbeprovidedforeveryoneat11:30.Atnoonaseriesoftwohourwork-shopswillbeconducted.Thesewillprovideafreshanddiversewaytogiveattendeesplentyofideastotryoutintheirlibrarieswhentheyreturnhome.Plannowtoattendthe2012Conferencewhereyouarecertaintoacquireplentyofnewstrategiesandproceduresthatwillmakeyouanindispensableguideforbothstu-dentsandfacultyinyourschools.
SylviaFirthConference Committee
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The mission of the Pennsylvania School Librarians Asso-
ciation is to enable every student to effectively pursue information
and develop ideas as they construct and share knowledge through
independent and class-based explorations in excellent school li-
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facilitate student learning and ensure access to information for all.
Our ultimate goal is to develop competent, confident, and inquisitive
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Questions? Call or email Kimberly BrosanPhone: 570-323-8411 x 3219
Pennsylvania SchoolLibrarians Association
[ ]AASL’s Advocacy Tip of the DaySo, your administrator comes to you and asks for tips to promote the library at the next school board meeting… A parent asks why their child needs to have a library book in the first place…The local rotary club asks you to speak on reading and library promotion in schools at their next meeting, which just happens to be tomorrow night. Allofthesescenariosaretrue,andformanyofus,havehappenedmorethanonce.AsmembersofthePLSALibraryPromotionsCommittee,oneofourchargesistoassistmemberswith
promotionalideas.Wewillbesharingsomehelpfultipsthataredesignedtodojustthat.ThismonthwewouldliketoshineaspotlightonAASL’s Advocacy Tip of the Dayservice.Subscriberstothisfreeservicereceivetipsviaemailormobilephonethatcanbedelivereddaily,weekly,ormonthly.Theseconcisetipsofferpracticalideasthattoday’sbusylibrariancanusetogetthewordoutabouttheirschoollibrarymediacenters.Tosignupfortheservice,justgotoAASL’shomepage(www.aasl.org),
select“Issues&Advocacy”andthenselectthe“SignupforAASL’sAdvocacyTipoftheDay”linkandfollowthedirections.Thewholeprocesstakeslessthan2minutesandiswellworthit.AASLalsomaintainsanarchiveofpastTipsoftheDayatadvocacytipoftheday.wordpress.com. ElizabethHenry LourieStewart DeniseMancusoLibrary Promotions Committee