Tag Archives: School Library

CMLE, Communication, School Media Specialist, Visits

A Trip to the Elk River High School Library!

This was another fun school library to visit! It’s always great to visit our members: most of the services and materials are similar across all our libraries, but every library has a few interesting individual features!

Right at the front door was one of the individual features of this library: a Little Free Library, with books available to everyone! I’m such a fan of the Little Free Libraries, and it was so fun to see it here!

You can see how nice the desk area is, with displays, handouts, and all sorts of things to look at as patrons are processed.

Thinking about those patrons is always a good idea, and this is (hopefully!) a fantastic idea for summer reading! The library books can be checked out for the entire summer now – giving students a great opportunity to get some fun (or even educational!) reading done over the summer!! This is the first year they are trying this idea; so everyone cross your fingers that it is a big success!

 

Continue reading A Trip to the Elk River High School Library! →

Books, Communication, Materials

American Library Association Urges Schools Not To Remove ‘13 Reasons Why’

13-reasons-why-5888f5cfd8122

“The popularity of the series might really save lives and so might more reading and talking about the issue.”

From Huffington Post, By Katherine Brooks 

“Following what’s been described as a “rash of suicides in southern Colorado,” a school district in the state ordered librarians to temporarily remove the book Thirteen Reasons Why from its shelves.

The YA novel, written by Jay Asher, is the source material for a wildly popular and highly contentious Netflix adaptation of the same name, about a high school girl who decides to commit suicide after compiling a series of tapes that chronicle her reasons for doing so.

The show, considered a smash success for the streaming service, has been both praised by critics for its unsettling take on teenage-centric TV and denounced by psychologists for its irresponsible depiction of mental illness.

Teachers and parents have expressed similar concerns, claiming that the TV show glorifies and romanticizes suicide ― taking issue with the graphic depiction of the lead character’s actual suicide, which some have claimed opens the door for copycats.

In response, the curriculum director at Mesa County Valley School District in Colorado, Leigh Grasso, told her schools’ librarians to temporarily pull copies of Asher’s book from circulation. “I think we were just being cautious until we had the opportunity to look at the book and see how closely related to the movie it was,” she told The Associated Press.

According to the AP, the order “rankled some librarians who called [the decision] censorship.” Following protests, the books ― 19 of which were already checked out by students at the time ― were officially returned to circulation.

“Censorship is a slippery slope,” one librarian wrote to the school, according to emails obtained by The Daily Sentinel through a Colorado Open Records Act request.”

Advocacy, Children's services, School Media Specialist

Woodbridge School Board President Explains Vote To Fire Librarians

Fired stamp

From the Woodbridge Patch By Carly Baldwin (Patch Staff)

“WOODBRIDGE, NJ — The president of the Woodbridge school board talked to Patch Wednesday and defended the board’s unanimous vote last week to eliminate the district’s remaining librarians.

“I will candidly admit I did not anticipate how much backlash there would be on this,” said school board president Daniel Harris. He said the board received “dozens” of emails from people upset with the library changes, many from Woodbridge residents but some from all over the country. About 15 parents attended last Tuesday’s Board of Ed. meeting, causing one Board member to remark that she’d never seen the room so packed.

There are only three librarians left in the Woodbridge school system, and all three are at the high school level. Two have teaching certificates and will be offered teaching jobs in the district, Harris said. At least one librarian will be kept as a traveling librarian between all three high schools, Colonia, JFK and Woodbridge High.

It’s part of dramatic changes ahead for Woodbridge school system’s libraries.

With the librarians gone, Woodbridge school libraries will be transitioned into “a more flexible space for the district,” Harris said. “I don’t want to use the word ‘lounge,’ but it will be a place where students can work on projects together. You’ll see it look more like a college library, with couches and a coffee-shop style set-up.”

“A lot of the books will be recycled or donated,” he said. “Especially the encyclopedias and atlases, those are very outdated. The more popular books will be sent to classrooms or kept. We’ll probably look into an electronic method of allowing students to borrow books.”

And expect these changes to be happening very soon: The library at Colonia Middle School will be converted into a computer lab this summer. The new look for the district’s libraries will be in place by the time students return in the fall.”

(Read the rest of this article here!)

Advocacy, Communication, Programs, School Media Specialist, Training

AASL President’s Program addresses “What an administrator wants”

Dr. Scott Beck

Contact:

Jennifer Habley
Manager, Web Communications
American Association of School Librarians (AASL)
312-280-4383
jhabley@ala.org

CHICAGO – Scott Beck, head principal at Norman (Okla.) High School, will conclude the American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) Awards Ceremony & President’s Program taking place at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 24, as part of the 2017 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago.

“As school librarians, we know how critical it is to the success of our library programs to have a supportive administrator,” said AASL President Audrey Church. “I am very excited to have Dr. Scott Beck as my President’s Program speaker. Dr. Beck knows what a 21st-century library program that contributes to student learning looks like and understands the key role that today’s school librarian plays in instruction in his/her school. We look forward to him sharing his perspective on how school librarians transform student learning.”

Beck is currently the head principal at Norman High School, serving 2,000 students in grades 9-12. Over the course of his 17-year career in education, Beck has also served as an assistant principal and a National Board Certified social studies teacher. As principal, Beck has overseen a 30-million-dollar renovation at the high school, including a state-of-the-art learning commons and a 1:1 laptop initiative.

Beck presents nationally and internationally on educational issues. Past presentations include “Library as School Hub” and “Building the Eclectic High School” presented at the 2012 and 2013 High Schools that Work National Conferences. He holds a Master’s degree in education administration, curriculum and supervision and a Ph.D. in education leadership and policy studies from the University of Oklahoma.

The AASL Awards Ceremony and President’s Program is an annual event featuring prominent experts on issues relevant to school librarianship and is open to all registered conference attendees. For more information about this and other AASL programs at the 2017 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago, visit www.ala.org/aasl/annual.

The American Association of School Librarians www.aasl.org, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), empowers leaders to transform teaching and learning.

Books, Children's services, School Media Specialist, Services, Tech

The Four Basic Ebook Models for K-12 Libraries

EBook between paper books
(From No Shelf Required, by )

“This is the second article in a three-part series on ebook business models in K-12 libraries. In the first article, we looked at what a business model is and at the four main kinds of ebook business models that K-12 librarians need to know about. In this article, we will look at each of the four basic models in more depth and glance at some examples of them. We will not attempt to compare product offerings in depth, but I will mention an example or two of each model. Because ebook technology is still in its early stages, the platforms and feature sets of each offering change rapidly, so any comparison is bound to be a snapshot at best. Continue reading The Four Basic Ebook Models for K-12 Libraries →