Image by Bionic Teaching. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.
ProQuest, Springer, Library Journal and ER&L are sponsoring a series of upcoming webcasts. The first in the series addresses how academic libraries use data to make decisions. Identifying best practices to effectively communicate data to various stakeholders.
This webcast will include presentations from both Sarah Tudesco, Assessment Librarian,Yale University and Bonnie Tijerina, Head of E-Resources and Serials, Harvard Library.
Image by Jonathan Barragan. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.
Update 9/22/2014: “AASL has received word that the organization that hosts and provides technical support for the Standards for the 21st-Century Learner Lesson Plan Database has refocused their mission and will no longer be providing these services. As such, the lesson plan database will be archived and future plans are currently under consideration” (AASL Lesson Plan Database).
Whether you are looking for a lesson plan on digital citizenship or wanting to share the snazzy lesson plan you created on screen-casting, there is now a place to do so. After all, why should every school media specialist re-invent the wheel, right?
AASL gets credit for creating this database, and contributors get credit for what is in it! This lesson plan database is meant to support school media specialists and other educators too as they teach essential learning skills within the AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner.
You can do free searches by standards and indicators, content topic, grade level, type of lesson or schedule, and of course keyword too. Registered users can bookmark lesson plans, rate and comment on content, print to PDF and socially share content too. Again, it is free.
A recent press release shared an exciting new development in our region. In addition to the expected bibliographic data we see in our GRRL search results, that information is now fortified with a service called NoveList Select!
According to the press release….” It makes book searches fun by providing recommendations readers will see as they browse online. For example, readers who look for Catching Fireby Suzanne Collins will not only see that the library owns multiple copies, but also that it is the second book in a series: the Hunger Games trilogy. They will also see covers of other series and other books recommended for readers of Catching Fire. Additional enhancements include listings for recommended authors, reader ratings and reviews, a link to the NoveList website, and extras from NoveList in the form of award winner listings and booktalk links.
NoveList Select turns a static catalog into a place for book discovery. The recommendations are created by a large team of experts at NoveList including numerous professional librarians. “Traditionally, readers would speak with their local librarian to get book recommendations,” said Jake Grussing, the library’s associate director for collection development. “That reader’s advisory still takes place, but large numbers of patrons now visit us online, and the addition of NoveList Select makes it possible for us to provide an equivalent kind of service to the online browser.”
Great River Regional Library’s website address is griver.org. GRRL provides library services at 32 public libraries in Benton, Morrison, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd and Wright Counties. It provides Central Minnesota residents with nearly 1 million books, CDs and DVDs, 250 public computers, programming and information services.
I love articles that focus on creatively incorporating books and/or bookish themes into functional, whimsical design. At the very least, they can be conversation starters. The post, 22 Things that Belong in Every Bookworm’s Dream Home (October 2013), is sure to please.
Just for fun: Consider constructing one of the featured seating options to double as a workstation for your home office and maybe even your library/media center.
Would new books in a library display similar to #1, #9 or #20, attract attention and draw readers to peruse the titles?
Would students be encouraged to study independently if a library contained seating depicted in #18?
Image by lukew. Retrieved from Flickr. Used under Creative Commons’ licensing.
Over five years ago, the seven regional Minnesota multitype library systems brought you 23 Things on a Stick, a self-paced learning program about Web 2.0 tools. Over 300 people in our Central Minnesota region engaged in the self-paced online learning fun, and we had a large group of people who finished the program too!
When it comes to technology, five years is a long time and there have been a lot of changes. A big change is the shift to mobile devices. We know that PCs are on the decline and mobile devices are skyrocketing. Therefore, we think it only makes sense to continue the learning with a focus on “mobile.” This version of the program will also be a self-paced learning program that will identify 23 types of apps for you to explore or take to a whole new level. As we did in the original program, we will be asking participants to blog about their progress through the program. As noted by a participant from the past program, “the blog posts are where the real sharing happens. By reading the blogs of others in the program, I can easily see how others in the field are using the tools in their work setting, and sometimes in their personal lives too. This application piece is what creates the ‘stickiness’ I need to retain new information”
The program will be open to all staff in any Minnesota library – public, academic, school, or special – as well as members of their Governing Boards, their Friends groups, or Advisory Groups. Experienced users as well as novices and everyone in between are invited to join. Although this is a self-paced and self-directed program, CMLE staffers and additional coaches will be monitoring, coaching, and encouraging bloggers from Aitkin, Benton, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Pine, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd and Wright counties in Minnesota.
CMLE may offer some workshops to support this program, but not for every Thing. This is a self-paced program, and participants are encouraged to work together in their libraries or region and share their discoveries and techniques. Sharing can happen in person or through participant blogs. Registration happens as part of Thing 1 (projected for January), so be thinking about which mobile device you might use, and stay tuned for future updates!
Partnering with libraries for visioning, advocating, and educating
