ALA offers Obama administration key issues to address December 23, 2008
Posted by Melissa Jacobsen in : Check this out!, Hot Topics , 2commentsALA is one of many associations that provided papers for the Obama transition team. “Opening the Window to a Larger World: Libraries’ Role in Changing America,” a recent report sent to the Obama transition team, identifies key issues for the Obama administration to address.
AASL has identified the development of 21st-century skills as a priority in K-12 education in all states. Through it partnership with Partnership for the 21st-Century Skills (P21), AASL is striving to make this a reality.
ALA is planning a town hall meeting at the Midwinter Meeting in Denver to give member the opportunity to provide input to the new administration, Congress, and ALA’s Washington office. What important key issues affecting school library media programs would you like to see addressed at this meeting?
Contests/Competitions Fun for us December 13, 2008
Posted by Debbie Stafford in : Check this out! , add a commentYesterday In one of those rare quiet moments in the library I had a chance to look at UnShelved’s “Pimp My bookcart” contest. I don’t want to go into discussion about the name of the contest, that is for another place. I just enjoyed looking at the photos (personally I like the 2007 Mystery Machine the best).Then I remembered there was an annual ALA Bookcart drill team competition so this morning along with my coffee I spent some time looking at the videos (just go to youtube and type in bookcart drill team.
And that led me to wondering what other fun, librarian centered competitions there might be. I looked for ones where the library or library personnel were competing not ones that the library itself sponsored. So far I have found two. If you know of more, please add to the comments.
- Librareo video that best portrays a love for a book or author in a unique, compelling or memorable way. My vote would have been for “Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse”.
- Frommer’s Library Display contest
Debbie
AASL offers new toolkits for tough times December 10, 2008
Posted by Melissa Jacobsen in : AASL News , 1 comment so farGraduate Credit available for attending the AASL School Library Advocacy Premidwinter Institute
The University of Colorado Denver School Library and Instructional Leadership Program will offer low-cost .5 graduate credits for attending the AASL School Library Advocacy Premidwinter Institute. The Institute will take place Friday, January 23, 2009, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., at the ALA 2009 Midwinter Meeting in Denver, Colorado.
For more information, please access the following forms:
Two new toolkits focus on advocacy during tough times
AASL recently launched two new toolkits offering step-by-step strategies for building stakeholder support in school library media programs. The School Library Media Health & Wellness and Crisis Toolkits are designed to address the needs of school library media specialists and the resources available to them to advocate for their programs and create advocates within the community. Read the full press release
Patterson to speak at AASL National Conference & Exhibition
James Patterson, dubbed “the man who can’t miss” by Time magazine, will be the speaker at a special author session at the AASL 2009 National Conference, “Rev Up Learning @ your library.” AASL’s biennial national conference will take place November 5-8, 2009, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Patterson will introduce his new Web site, ReadKiddoRead.org, which is designed to help parents, teachers, and librarians find books that will appeal to kids at all reading levels and interest levels. He will also thank school library media specialists for their important role in a student’s educational career. Read the full press release.
AASL delivers Advocacy Premidwinter Institute for SLMS December 3, 2008
Posted by Melissa Jacobsen in : AASL News , add a commentAASL will offer the School Library Advocacy Institute during the ALA 2009 Midwinter Meetings & Exhibits. Led by Deborah Levitov, the institute will be held Friday, January 23, in Denver, Colorado. AASL members can attend the institute for $189. In these tough economic times, it is essential for all school library media specialists to have the tools and resources offered in this institute to advocate for their programs.
Leaders are made by movements December 3, 2008
Posted by Floyd Pentlin in : Check this out! , add a commentNeedless to say, the discouraging reports about the economic malaise continue apace and the repercussions are being keenly felt by school districts. Some of these districts have chosen to diminish or remove completely the LMC budget or the library media specialist as one way to address the crisis. We hear of grave instances where the entire library department is or might be wiped out in a single stroke.
The title of this blog posting came from Marian Wright Edelman who has just published a new book The Sea is so Wide and My Boat is so Small and was interviewed on NPR’s Books podcast on 17 Nov. 2008. I do not want to equate the situation of school libraries and librarians to the magnificent work Edelman is doing on behalf of the rights of children, but I was struck that several of her comments and her “never say die” attitude has a lot to say to our cause of keeping libraries healthy.
Edelman said that “leaders are made by movements” and that her feeling is President-elect Barack Obama will be
as good as a president as we … push him to be.”
Just as we have great hopes that our building and district administrators will be great leaders, sometimes our hope is not enough. In order for the administrators to rise to greatness (in our case, actively supporting the librarian and the library media center) they need to be pushed to greatness. This doesn’t mean that aren’t already lots of administrators who vigorously support library services. I couldn’t help but wonder if there aren’t leaders who might be pre-disposed to supporting the library in a crisis situation but are diverted by other movements who are making their cases with more noise and more support from the community.
Asa Philip Randolph (1889-1979), a great civil rights advocate, was meeting with Franklin D. Roosevelt. Randolph was trying to convince Roosevelt of the need for the government to help get jobs for blacks and deal with the problems of racial discrimination. FDR is supposed to have told Randolph,
I agree with everything you are saying, Philip; now you go out and make me do it.”
Each of us has the responsibility to advocate for our library and for the profession. This means getting involved and help to create a greater movement so we can make our leaders do what is right for students. We have to start with our staff, move onto the state level, and keep right on pushing for the profession as a whole. We have to create the movement.
Edelman is a great admirer of Sojourner Truth (1797-1883) and she related that Truth was being heckled by an old white man when Truth was advocating for civil rights. The old man told her he didn’t care anything about anti-slavery talk any more than an old flea bite. Turner is reported to have said,
That’s all right. Lord willing, I’m going to keep you scratching.”
That’s were we are in the profession. We have to keep making the decision makers scratch the itch that we are.
