FROM THE MEMBERSHIP
1. CONNIE HULL MINI-GRANT - ****11/10 deadline**** ---- Allen Kopf
2. MEMBERCLICKS UPDATE --- JoAnn Klassen
3. INTERCHANGE ---- Kelly Btyant
4. OREGON BATTLE OF THE BOOKS ---- Debbie Alvarez
5. CONFERENCE COMMENTS ---- add yours for the next issue!
6. HARRY POTTER MEETS BEND ---- Linda Bilyeu
7. TEEN READ WEEK --- Linda Bilyeu
8. CONTEST POSSIBILITY ---- Gregory Lum
9. BAD BREATHE IN THE LIBRARY? ---- Mary Livermore
10. DON'T MISS THIS READ! ---- Patty Sorensen
11. OSLIS 2.0 UPDATE---- Patty Sorensen
12. OASL BLOG JOIN THE CONVERSATION ---- Linda Ague
FROM THE STATE
1. HORNER FELLOWS ----- Teresa Landers
2. LSTA AWARD TO OBOB ---- Robin Speer
3. LETTERS ABOUT LITERATURE ---- Katie Anderson
4. NUMBER OF SCHOOL LIBRARIANS DOWN AGAIN ---- Jim Scheppke
5. OREGON VIRTUAL REFERENCE SUMMIT ---- Caleb Tucker-Raymond
FROM ALA and AASL
1. RENO 2007 ---- Linda Ague
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
FROM THE PRESIDENT --- Gregory Lum
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Wow! October should be the official month for library professional growth!
By attending the OASL Fall Conference in Seaside and the AASL National Conference in Reno, I learned new ideas for my library, reconnected with old friends, met new members and authors, and evaluated new products in the exhibit hall. During the sessions, I learned about Web 2.0 in the school library (OASL and AASL), great government websites for students (AASL), new nonfiction books for teenagers (OASL), and how to better prepare students for college (AASL). I also served on two panel discussions at OASL and presented our schools summer reading program at AASL.
The OASL service project was a tremendous success! I must admit I was a little nervous when I dropped off my three coloring books and crayon sets in the trunk of the Prius hybrid on Friday afternoon. However, by Saturday afternoon, the trunk was overflowing with coloring books and crayons for the Clatsop County Womens Resource Center! Special thanks to Lums Auto Center for donating $500.00 as a matching challenge, the Womens Resource Center for agreeing to join our service project endeavor, and Kathy Jensen, conference hospitality chair, for organizing this event.
During the Proquest Culturgrams breakfast in Reno, I took a fun quiz. Here is one of the questions:
What sport would you be most likely to pursue?
A. Sepak Takraw (South Asian volleyball using your feet)
B. Kokpar (Kazakh polo using a headless goat carcass)
C. Sabong (Filipino cockfighting)
D. Kirkpinar (Turkish grease wrestling)
Whatever new sport or activity you pursue, remember to continue your professional growth. Happy Thanksgiving!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
FROM THE MEMBERSHIP
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
1. CONNIE HULL MINI-GRANT ---- Allen Kopf
Do you have an idea you would like to try out in your school library to promote literacy and student achievement? Perhaps you have heard about a new activity in one of the OASL Fall Conference sessions that you want to implement at your school. Here is a wonderful opportunity to try out that idea for a parent-child book club, a student storytelling festival, a visual literacy activity, or that intriguing collaborative project germinating in your brain.
On behalf of the Connie Hull Endowment Fund, Oregon Association for School Libraries (OASL) is offering a unique opportunity for current OASL members to apply for one of six mini-grants ($250) designed to give school library activities a little boost.
See the attachment below or the application is just a click away from:
http://www.oasl.info/scholarships/scholarships.html
2. MEMBERCLICKS UPDATE --- JoAnn Klassen
It is very important that everyone log into Memberclicks to provide accurate information for the directory.
go to:
http://www.oasl.info
click on login
If it is your first visit, click on the forgot your password link and they will send you the username and password that were created for you originally.
You can change your username and/or password if the default created by MemberClicks is too cumbersome. Also, if you shared your username and password with district personnel, please login and change your password. The security of this system depends on each of you keeping your username and passwords private.
If you have questions, concerns or have problems getting your username and password contact:
oaslmembership@comcast.net (thats really me)
New members who attended the conference and registered need to do this in particular, since info didn't transfer from the registration form to the memberclicks Profile (live and learn). All members need to understand that if their mailing info is not correct, they won't receive the Interchange.
RENEW YOU MEMBERSHIP NOW!!!! And if you didnt attend the conference and have not renewed you membership, this is probably the last newsletter you will receive and you will miss out on the next Interchange all about using picture books in the curriculum at all levels. Go to http://www.oasl.info to see how to continue your membership. Remember our strength as a group relies on our size. Your membership will give is the kind of big voice that policy makers will listen to.
3. INTERCHANGE ---- Kelly Btyant
The Interchange Wants You!
The staff of the Interchange is looking for a guest editor for the Spring 2008 issue. Specific guidelines for what a guest editor does, can be emailed to you by contacting assistant coordinating editor, Kelly Bryant. <mailto:kelly_bryant@soesd.k12.or.us>kelly_bryant@soesd.k12.or.us. Guest editors get to choose a theme for their issue as well as select contributors for that issue. Throughout the process, guest editors get help from the Interchange Staff. You would not be alone, traveling the editing world by yourself. The dates for the Spring 2008 Interchange are: Articles from contributors to guest editor-March 15, 2008. The guest editor then has until March 25th to get all the content of the issue to the assistant coordinating editor(Kelly).
Here's some possible themes(or maybe you have 1 you would like to do that isn't on the list?)
THEME: Keeping School Libraries Growing and Relevant (this theme could be narrowed depending on the focus the guest editor wishes to take)
Articles could include:
QEM
Advocacy
Staffing (professional and non-professional) and student achievement
First Year Librarians and 5 Year+ Librarians- Experiences and changes in student achievement levels
Managing Multiple Libraries
Partnering
Outreach
Resources and Activities
Scheduling and Usage Styles
THEME: RESOURCES and TECHNIQUES using Technology
Articles could include:
handheld devices
web 2.0
technology made simple
smartboards
webinars
digital materials
4. OREGON BATTLE OF THE BOOKS ---- Debbie Alvarez
Greetings OASL!
I'm thrilled with the huge response to Oregon Battle of the Books and thank all who have shared their time with this project. Presently 160 schools are registered for OBOB.
For those of you interested in applying for the LSTA OBOB Grant for 2008-2009, the application is available now at http://www.oema.net/OBOB/registrltr0809.pdf. You can go to the OBOB website for other information at: http://www.oema.net/OBOB/
There is an additional resource for OBOB now: A WIKI! Please go to: <http://oboblsta.pbwiki.com/>http://oboblsta.pbwiki.com/ for information on the new 2008-2009 OBOB registration and grant application. Also, this WIKI provides a resource for various ideas, slideshows, tips and tricks to be posted.
When are the Regional Battles and where? (State Battle April 19th, Location, TBD)
Region 1: Jesuit H.S., March 15th.
Region 2: Linus Pauling M.S., March 15th.
Region 3: Roseburg H.S., March 15.
Region 4: West Orient M.S., March 1st.
Region 5: Due to registration presently, organize local battle, come to state with two 3rd-5th and two 6th-9th teams. (if possible)
Region 6: Due to registration presently, organize local battle, come to state with two 3rd-5th and two 6th-9th teams. (if possible)
Region 7: Due to registration presently, come to state directly.
Do you want to get more involved with the OBOB planning process? Please personally contact me, Debbie Alvarez, OBOB Chair, and let me know if you'd like to attend the next OBOB meeting. Email: <mailto:lsta_oema@yahoo.com>lsta_oema@yahoo.com
JUST IN CASE YOU CANT CONNECT TO THE LINKS HERE IS THE APPLICATION!!!!!!
( just copy and paste to apply)
The LSTA grant will fund participation in the OBOB program for 100 schools in the 2008-2009 school year. The grant will provide participants with five copies of twelve of the selected sixteen books. Participating schools will need to purchase additional copies of the other four book titles. Schools who received the OBOB grant in the 2007-2008 school year will not be able to request any further LSTA grant funding. Schools who participated in the project the first year are encouraged to continue participation with local funding. If more than 100 schools express interest by submitting the attached grant application, there will be a drawing to determine which schools will receive the free book sets. The questions will be made available to all schools who submit the form whether or not they are selected to participate in the OBOB program funded by the LSTA grant.
The OBOB competition poses questions based on sixteen books selected from a variety of genres. Teams of students race to answer the question and earn points for correct responses. Half of the questions require students to supply the title/author of the book. For the other questions, students will be given the title of a book and will be required to answer specific questions about the book. School level questions will be provided for all schools participating in OBOB.
Participation is open to all Oregon public or private schools. We are excited to be bringing this program to schools throughout Oregon and look forward to supporting you. If you are interested in more information, please visit our OBOB website: <http://www.oema.net/OBOB/>http://www.oema.net/OBOB/ . You also are welcome to email: <mailto:lsta_oema@yahoo.com>lsta_oema@yahoo.com for more specific answers.
Sincerely,
OBOB Committee Members
Application:
OBOB Participation Includes:
1. Title list of selected 16 books for each division, 3rd-5th grade, 6th-9th grade.
2. Handbook:
*How to run a battle
*Rules for OBOB
*Timeline of regional and state events
3. School level questions (10 questions per book.)
2008-2009 Registration for OASL OBOB:
Contact Person: __________________________________
School Library Contact: _________________________________
Name of School District: ___________________________
Name of School: _________________________
School Mailing Address including City, State and Zip Code:
Email for school site contact person: ____________________________
(For statistical purposes)
Total number of students in your school:
[ ] < 200 [ ] 200-500 [ ]>500
Grade Level of OBOB Participants:
[ ] 3-5 [ ] 6-9
OEMA Region Location:
Region # ________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Optional application for LSTA OASL OBOB Grant: (Schools who were part of the 07-08 grant canot apply again)
If so, what grade level are you applying for:
Grade Level [ ] 3-5 OR [ ] 6-9 (you may only choose one)
If you receive this grant, you are agreeing to participate in OBOB.
Please complete this form to participate in OASL OBOB and return it to: Debbie Alvarez @ lsta_oema@yahoo.com
Deadline for grant application: January 9th, 2008.
5. CONFERENCE COMMENTS ---- add yours for the next issue!
Doug Hoffman -- Last month I had the opportunity to attend the OASL Making Waves Fall Conference in Seaside, but this time as a conference committee member! It was a new role for me, but one that allowed me to experience the conference with new eyes. I encourage all of you you to step up and chair a committee especially when the conference is held in your region. You'll be rewarded for the hours spent organizing in many personal and professional ways. Not only did I meet some wonderful committee members and conference sponsors, but I gained many ideas for my professional repertoire and my network of people grew as well. Don't feel you need any special skills to jump in! There are boilerplates to follow and veterans to lean on, but there is also plenty of room for your personal touches. Next year is the joint fall conference with Washington and by the sheer size of the gathering, there will be plenty of opportunity to get involved!
Vicky Jones -- The Book Repair Class and the instructor was the best class and most
helpful that I have seen in the last 9 years. With the hands on experience, it makes a big difference. Thanks so much!
Linda Fukasawa - I would like to give Janet & the conference committee a big THANK YOU for bringing David Loertscher to the conference. His session was my Rosetta Stone. I am always frustrated watching students copy & paste all their information into a report without the slightest thought as to what it contains. His models and planning guides make so much sense! All those curriculum maps can finally be put into practice with the kids, in a meaningful way, when you address them after the kids have delivered their final research reports. SO WHAT? Leads to the higher order thinking skills and putting the big picture together. Thanks again to the conference committee.
Pam DeFiebre sent some great photos but unfortunately they exceed our newsletter size.
6. HARRY POTTER MEETS BEND ---- Linda Bilyeu
Peggy Whitney, Juniper Elementary's Media Manager, was a winner in the Scholastic's contest to see J.K. Rowling at Carnegie Hall. She and her son Mark got autographed copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and were in the audience
for the "Dumbledore is gay!" announcement. Peggy is such a Harry Potter fan that she traveled to London last summer to try to get through Platform 9 3/4 to apply for the Hogart's librarian job. Sorry, Peggy, the kids need you in Bend.
7. TEEN READ WEEK --- Linda Bilyeu
Bend's Mayor, Bruce Abernethy declared Oct 14-20 Teen READ Week and encourage teens to read for the "fun of it." He set a great example by posing with his daughters, Naomi and Aedin, reading together The Good Earth. The photo was on the district's website during that week. Several schools in Bend celebrated the week with librarians giving banned booktalks.
8. CONTEST POSSIBILITY ---- Gregory Lum
Whats outrageous about Oregon?
Create an America the Beautiful Scavenger Hunt for Oregon and win! To enter, create 10 questions that reveal the most wonderful and wacky facts that answer the question: Wow! What should everyone know about our state?
Two winning librarians in each state will receive a free collection of America the Beautiful, Third Series. In addition, the scavenger hunt will be included in an additional title, America the Beautiful Wow!: Weird, wacky, and Out of the this World state facts. For more information, contact Scholastic/Childrens Press at 1.800.621.1115 x3379.
9. BAD BREATH IN THE LIBRARY? ---- Mary Livermore
This past week, an excited, yet sincere, second grade student rushed to me with an odd question: "Do you have bad breath in the library?"
I took three seconds to consider the question while maintaining a straight face. In the first second, I tried to recall what I had for lunch and whether I'd remembered to grab a stick of gum afterwards. In the next second, I considered if it was possible to have bad breath only in the library and not outside of the library (a strange chemical reaction between onions and books, perhaps?). By the third second, I figured out what he needed and gave the only reply a self-respecting employee of a bilingual elementary library could give, "Do you want that in English or Spanish?"
A huge smile spread across this dear little one's face when we found Dog Breath by Dav Pilkey on the shelf. Bingo! Another sweet library success story.
10. DONT MISS THIS READ! ---- Patty Sorensen
Three Cups of Tea: One Mans Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin ( A Portland author)
VIKING 2006 ISBN 0670034827
One of my book clubs recently read this book. Im not a huge non-fiction fan yet I couldn;t put it down. It gives an incredible insight into areas of the Middle East that we are currently in conflict with from a humanitarian aspect. I didnt read it thinking about its appropriateness for high school but now, I wish I had as I feel there is a remarkable message in this about how each of us can impact the world by the way we interact with other humans. I encourage HS library folks to check out whether it would be appropriate for some high school classes. Lake Oswego is using it as its LO Reads book.
-Tom Brokaw said: "Three Cups of Tea is one of the most remarkable adventure stories of our time. Greg Mortenson's dangerous and difficult quest to build schools in the wildest parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan is not only a thrilling read, it's proof that one ordinary person, with the right combination of character and determination, really can change the world."
This is a MUST read! Be sure to check out the website at: http://www.threecupsoftea.com/Intro.php and encourage others to enjoy read it too!
11. OSLIS 2.0 UPDATE ---- Patty Sorensen
OSLIS 2.0 will incorporate many of the Web 2.0 tools that you are likely hearing about in the news and at conferences. Dont panic! You dont have to learn the intricacies of all of these new tools to add them to your websites quickly. OSLIS 2.0 will help you with their use and appropriateness via the student tools. We are also aware that many districts are blocking some of the Web 2.0 tools and sites so we are being mindful that all students need a pathway through the website both with those capabilities and without. We are confident that the new student-focused OSLIS will enhance student research projects and teacher librarian support. Both Citation Maker and the EBSCO / Newsbank resources will be unchanged! We are reorganizing and updating the OSLIS tab contents focusing on student users.
Our Roll Out date is the first week in January. Please plan ahead and allow a bit of time to quickly acquaint yourself with the new look and feel at that point. We are hoping this roll out date will not interfere with any student projects. We know some schools have their terms ending in late January. Rest assured that NO username/passwords will change with the new OSLIS website when accessing the EBSCO and Newsbank databases!
Watch for future emails to the OASL listserv and the OSLIST listserv as we progress thru the final implementation stages in November and December!
12. OASL BLOG - JOIN THE CONVERSATION ---- Linda Ague
At the 2007 OASL conference at Seaside, a number of bylaw changes related to the design of the OASL Board were proposed. You will all be voting on these in February. However, at the Board meeting following the conference, new information was shared that affected how some board members felt about the proposed changes. We decided that we should try some of the possibilities created by the Web 2.0 environment to bring more folks into the conversation that would be you. While we are still struggling with the design, it is at least a beginning place to share your thoughts. And if you have any blogging expertise, I would be glad to hear your suggestions. So visit
http://oasl-members.blogspot.com/
and let the conversation begin.
If for some reason (probably some design fault of mine) you find you cant comment, feel free to send your comments to me (ague@4j.lane.edu) and I will post them in your name until we get things right. I know there was a time when I felt very much on the fringes of our organization, as if there was some exclusive group in charge who operated on some other level. Now that I am on the board, I know this is soooooo not true. So - maybe as a virtual community, we can have a greater sense of an actual community - but only if you join in. We hope to hear from all of you.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
FROM THE STATE
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
1. HORNER FELLOWS ----- Teresa Landers
The 3 librarians selected as Horner Fellows Rosalind Chou Wang, Gretta Siegel, Teresa Landers will be traveling to Fujian Province next week to begin 3 weeks of cultural exchange with academic and public libraries in Fuzhou and Xiamen.
While there they will be maintaining a blog with pictures and narrative. We welcome you to share our experiences.
<http://hornerexchange.blogspot.com>http://hornerexchange.blogspot.com
2. LSTA AWARD TO OBOB ---- Robin Speer
OASL was awarded $75,500 from Oregons LSTA funding for Year 2 of their Oregon Battle of the Books program. Just in case you missed th article by Debbie Alvarez above, go back now and learn how you can be involved!
3. LETTERS ABOUT LITERATURE ---- Katie Anderson
The 2008 Letters About Literature contest has begun! Letters About Literature is a national reading and writing contest for students in 4th -12th grade. Students write a letter to the author (living or dead) of a book that changed the way they perceive themselves or the world around them. Each year three winners are selected from Oregon to go on to compete at the national level. This year, thanks to the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and Target, the national prizes have improved. The six national winners will receive a $500 Target gift certificate and a $10,000 grant for the local public or school library of their choice. The twelve national honorable mentions will receive a $100 Target gift certificate and a $1,000 grant for the local public or school library of their choice. The deadline for entering is December 14, 2007. To learn more about the contest go to <http://www.oregon.gov/OSL/LD/youthsvcs/aboutlit.shtml>Letters About Literature or contact <mailto:katie.anderson@state.or.us>Katie Anderson, 503-378-2528.
4. NUMBER OF SCHOOL LIBRARIANS DOWN AGAIN ---- Jim Scheppke
According to statistics released by the Oregon Department of Education in September, the number of certified school librarians dropped below 400 in the 2006-07 school year to 389. That is less than half the number of school librarians that worked in Oregon schools in 1980. It was the fifth year in a row that the number of school librarians declined, a 6% drop from the previous year. What makes the situation worse is that the number of Oregon schools and Oregon students is growing. The number of schools in 2006-07 grew to 1,302 and the number of students increased by about 1% to nearly 563,000. In 1980 there was one school librarian for every 547 students in Oregon public schools. Last year there was one librarian for every 1,447 students.
A chart with the details of school libraries ia attached to this document... State School Librarian Statistics.
5. OREGON VIRTUAL REFERENCE SUMMIT ---- Caleb Tucker-Raymond
Two podcasts are online from presentations at the 2007 Oregon Virtual Reference Summit, June 1 2007 in Bend, Oregon. Marie Radford gave the plenary session, "I Was Kind of Confused b4".
www.oregonlibraries.net/audio/ovrs2007_radford.mp3
In Mrs. Radford's words, "The talk focuses on the information-seeking and communication behaviors of the youngest Millennials the Screenagers. I discuss their predilections and characteristics (multi-tasking, impatience, practicality, convenience, etc.) as well as their perceptions of librarians ('I don't trust librarians, I trust Google') and fear of cyber-predators in chat rooms that extends to chat librarians ('I don't like to chat with strangers.')" (see her blog post,
http://librarygarden.blogspot.com/2007/10/i-was-kind-of-confused-b4-audio-of.html)
The second podcast, "What students need, what schools need", a panel of teens, teen librarians and school librarians discussing how Oregon's virtual reference service can appropriately respond to students' requests for help. Between 60 and 80% of L-net's users are K-12 students. Often, there is tension between the student's desire to take the shortest route possible to complete an assignment and the school/teacher's desire that visiting the library be a learning experience for the student.
www.oregonlibraries.net/audio/ovrs2007_teens.mp3
Featuring JoAnn Grant and Victoria, High Desert Middle School, Jessica Lorentz-Smith, Bend High School, Patty Sorensen, Oregon State Library, and April Witteveen, Deschutes County Library System.
See more details, notes, slides, etc at www.oregonlibraries.net/summit.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
FROM ALA, AASL and BEYOND
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
1. RENO 2007 ---- Linda Ague
Never dropped a nickel in the one armed bandids myself but maybe we will hear about other lucky librarians who attended the 2007 AASL conference in Reno in the next newsletter. It was a great good time and the only way you could tell those of us attending the library conference from other folks attending the cowboy conference was that our bags held books and theirs were all about the boots. Wendelin van Draanen was a kick as the banquet speaker. She arrived just in the nick of time following a cancelled flight to Reno and a $900 cab ride from San Francisco. The opening session with former Presidential speech writer and author Daniel Pink set a thought provoking tone for the rest of the conference. Get a copy of his book A Whole New Mind and read it. Since I was just all about gathering the goodies at the exhibits, look for summaries and mind expanding suggestions from all the other conference attendees. Mighty Mary McClintock managed to get a grant to send a whole block of Roseburg area librarians cant wait to hear from them.
For those of you who have never attended a national convention, start saving your pennies now. Most of us operate as the only librarian in our school and in many cases our district. We see our resources and our positions disappear. We forget that in other parts of the country libraries are truly the heart of the school. Listening to their stories while waiting in line to chat with Chris Crutcher is as inspiring as all the regular sessions are enlightening. Our profession is changing too quickly to skip this chance at professional development. And best of all it will make you so doggone proud to be doing the job you are doing. Libraries truly are where the future begins. Visit the AASL site at:
http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslindex.cfm
You will find a link there to many of the handouts from the sessions. All this good stuff ought to hold you until the next chance to meet.