OEMA Newsletter
An Electronic Newsletter
of The Oregon Educational Media Association
Volume 16 No. 8
April 2004
On the positive side of the ledger this month, day's are longer and I can now go to school in the daylight and come home in the daylight AND the 2004 directory is hopefully already in your hands AND there are more than 5 pages of library folks still alive and well in Oregon (an attempt at sarcasm). As I gather the responses from folks out there to take with me to Washington for Library Legislative Day, it is clear that resources are dwindling but determination is high. I have also learned to hate the term "economic reality" as in, "The information in the Oregon Study is impressive and we agree that library services are essential but the ECONOMIC REALITY..." We can only hope that we can hang on until someone with enough chutzpah to change the way things work emerges from the political murk. Speaking of hanging on...
The LSTA grant group met during Spring Break and came up with an extensive plan to provide training for all folks currently running our libraries whether they be new to the scene, holders of degrees in need of dusting, or just part of the enlightened crowd who recognize the demands of our ever changing profession. While we were madly trying to figure our how to designate the funding details, Jim Sheppke, the State Librarian, realized that we would be in competition with another grant request aimed at schools so .... we have another year to continue to perfect this grant request which means more opportunity for folks to provide input and expertise. And if you are still hanging on.....
OSLIS is alive and well and not homeless as may have been rumored in some parts of the state. It is potentially in a position to become even better. The final details depend on decisions being made by multiple groups of folks who are quite likely not working on the same timeline as any of your budgeting committees so the best we can do is plan for the best. I know that this phrase ends with "while we prepare for the worst" but I'm torn between making sure there are enough bailing buckets to keep the boat afloat and letting the guy who pulls the last plug figure out where I keep those #$@& buckets. Besides, to add that part would but on the side of those "economic reality" folks.
Finally - have you all finished The Messenger by Lois Lowry. It completes her Giver, Gathering Blue companion book group. I can't decide if I should write and tell her how grateful students are to have the answer to what happened in The Giver or be irate that she has ended one of the greatest philosophical, literary conversations to smoke the air in my library. Of course, I could ban the book so kids will never know. Do you think Lowry would enjoy the irony? Have a great spring, keep those books moving and those computers humming and don't let the turkeys get you down (It's not their season anyway!).
Linda
OEMA NEEDS YOU! 2005 FALL CONFERENCE
It's time to form the committee to plan and organize the 2005 Fall OEMA conference, which will be held at Eagle Crest near Bend. I'm looking for both experienced conference committee folks and new people to work on all aspects of the conference. I am most anxious to find someone to chair the committee, so they can shadow Gregory Lum as he works on this year's conference.
If you are interested, please reply directly to me, Martha Decherd, OEMA President-elect, at martha_decherd@ddouglas.k12.or.us .
Thank you!
Circle July 12 and 13 on your calendar and be ready to head to Newport for this year's Summer Institute : Building Influence - Influence Building featuring Gary Hartzell.
For more information on the conference and Dr. Hartzell go to the OEMA website http://www.oema.net/ and click on Summer Conference 2004!
If you would like to help with the summer institute, email conference chair Mary McClintock marymc@teleport.com. Help is always appreciated.
HOW TO HAVE A GREAT SUMMER! PSU SUMMER GOODIES
Have some time this summer? Want to gain more skills?
Experience new things? Connect with old friends? Make some new ones?
Perhaps you are in a library for the first time and need to make that step that helps you be better prepared.
Come to Portland State University! We have a great selection of courses this summer for you to renew your skills or add some new ideas to your curriculum. Some of our library classes are only two days long. Some are online. We have a history of training some of the best media specialists in the state.
The Haystack program is offering a weeklong course on Writing Children's Books. The class is lead by Linda Zuckerman, who has been a book editor for Viking and Harcourt for 35 years, and taught by great children and young adult authors, such as Susan Fletcher, Ellen Howard, and Publisher Arthur Levine. What a great place to try your creativity. (http://www.haystack.pdx.edu/children/)
Two day classes being offered through the library media program, are Information Literacy, Literature for At-Risk Students, and Multicultural Storytelling. For those of you who are in need of more extensive training or a chance to finish your Master's degree, we are also offering Administration of the School Library Media Center, Advanced Methods and Procedures in the School Library/Media Center, Research Strategies for library Media Specialists, Directed Field Experience, and Planning and Evaluation of Library Media Programs. (http://www.ceed.pdx.edu/lib_media )
PSU will even be offering credit to the OEMA summer institute featuring Gary Hartzel. (http://www.oema.net/conferences/Summer04/index.htm)
Thanks for listening! .For more information, go to the websites. Hope to see you there - Ruth Murray
OEMA FALL CONFERENCE APPAREL AVAILABLE!
The OEMA Fall Conference, School Libraries: The New Corps of Discovery, is currently taking pre-orders for conference apparel. From t-shirts to sweatshirts to fleece vests, you can proudly wear any or all of these items. Click here for the order form: http://www.canby.com/nkelsey/OEMAapparelOrderform.pdf (It will be transferred to the OEMA website later).
OEMA FALL CONFERENCE EXTENDED SESSIONS
School Libraries: The New Corps of Discovery Extended Sessions will be Friday, October 8, 2004 at Astoria High School. Special thanks to Jamie Miller, extended sessions chair; and Jordan Martin, equipment chair, for organizing these great sessions!
Wayne Free, our keynote speaker, explores the multimedia tools of the trade. As library media specialists, we need to keep current on the latest developments of multimedia and their practical uses in the library setting.
Join Rich Pomery, Columbia River EcoTour guide, for a boat trip down the Columbia River. Mr. Pomery will guide the librarians through Lewis & Clark's journey. Bring your camera to take pictures of the native plant life and wildlife!
Dr. Gail Bush, Director of the School Library Media Program and Associate Professor at Dominican University, will share her ideas on collaboration between school librarians and classroom teachers.
Is your library linked to the web? Would you like to develop your own webpage? Join Sheryl Steinke and Allison Connor, Eugene School District, for a repeat performance on webpage design. At the end of the session, you will have your own library webpage!
Would you like to use videostreaming? Ken Brock, OPB teacher consultant, will demonstrate the highlights of Video On Demand. Participants will customize their own videstreaming playlists.
In the afternoon, take a trip to Fort Clatsop. Jill Harding, Fort Clatsop park ranger, will give participants a behind-the-scenes tour of Fort Clatsop. This tour is especially designed for educators.
What is copyrighted? Can I download a document legally? Learn about the legal issues of copyright with Leonard DuBoff, Portland attorney and copyright expert.
What's HOT in young adult literature? Jerene Battisti and Angelina Benedetti, public librarians from Washington state, share their love of YA literature. Ms. Battisti and Ms. Benedetti are active leaders in ALA's YALSA Division. These two return after successful sessions at our 2002 joint conference.
Vern Fowler, Fowler Electronics, will share his knowledge of AV Repair and Troubleshooting. This hands-on session will allow participants to examine overhead projectors, VCRs, and other projectors.
Are ripped pages and broken spines getting you flustered? Carolee Harrison and Kris Kern, Portland State University, share their expertise on book repair. Bring your worn, tired books for this hands-on session.
As all of these sessions sound intriguing and useful, it will be difficult to choose which sessions to attend. See you on October 8th at Astoria High School!
You are invited to participate in the AASL Leadership Institute:
Leading Through Collaboration.
Leading Through Collaboration ties into the three basic ideas -
collaboration, leadership and technology - that underlie the vision
of library media programs as outlined in Information Power: Building
Partnerships for Learning.
You will have an opportunity to increase your understanding of the components of leadership, identify your own leadership skills and
professional priorities and apply leadership strategies to the
challenges we face in our schools and profession. There also will be
time to connect with other library media professionals. Some of the
topics included during this day are:
Date: Friday, April 30, 2004The institute will be geared toward media professionals, however, you should feel free to invite your principal, curriculum director, etc., to team with you, if you like.
Location: Clackamas ESD, Milwaukie Campus, room 4
(directions: http://www.clackesd.k12.or.us/maps/milmap.pdf )
Time: 8:30am - 4:30pm
Registration:$150.00 -
lunch and workshop materials
included in the registration fee
$210.00 - Media Specialist and administrator
Sarah Backlund, Media TechnologyPlease register by noon, Friday, April 16, 2004.
Clackamas ESD
Box 216 Hwy 43
Marylhurst, OR 97036
NOMINATE YOUR ADMINISTRATOR-DISTINGUISHED LIBRARY SERVICE AWARD
Do you have a great administrator? Make a nomination!
Two scholarships of $800.00 each are being offered by OEMA to undergraduate
students working toward an educational media endorsement or
individuals studying
at the graduate level in the fields of educational
media/instructional technology.
The scholarship grants may be used to assist the recipients to further their education in a summer session or academic year of study at any accredited college or university in Oregon. Deadline for application submissions is May 1, 2004.
Application forms are available on the OEMA website at http://www.oema.net under “Scholarships.” Requests for application forms may also be made by e-mail to Jenny_Takeda@beavton.k12.or.us or by calling 503-591-4165 (work).
Don't forget National Library Week this month . . .
April 18 - 24 !!!
You can find some last-minute information at the ALA website: http://www.ala.org/ala/pio/campaign/nlw/nationallibraryweek.htm.
NATIONAL LIBRARY LEGISLATIVE DAY
*Posted for a member of the ALSC Legislative Committee,
ALA Association for Library Service to Children*
You're invited!
Come to Washington D.C. and speak out on school and public library issues for youth at the upcoming Federal Legislative Day on May 4.
The youth divisions of ALA are working on having at least one youth representative in each state delegation. The Legislative briefing on Monday, May 3, will include updates on youth-related issues, so you'll be ready to talk to your legislators with knowledge as well as passion on Tuesday, May 4!
To participate, please contact your Legislative Day
representative -
Jim Scheppke, Oregon State Library, Salem, e-mail: jim.b.scheppke@state.or.us
and let him know that you're attending as a youth representative. He will be expecting your email.
Thanks for making sure that issues affecting children and youth in libraries are front and center on Legislative Day!
There is still time to plan to go to the Region 3 or Region 5 OEMA Spring Conferences yet to be held!
Region 3 (Coos, Douglas, Lane) will meet April 24 at Briggs Middle School in Springfield. Watch from more information from Linda Erickson.
Region 5 conference is planned for Saturday, May 1, from 8:30am to 12:30pm at Oak Grove Elementary School in Medford. Whether you are a Teacher-Librarian, Library Assistant or classroom teacher, there is something for youÉfrom Book Mending to OSLIS, CIM/CAM book correlations to building webpages.It is well worth your time to attend one of OEMA's regional conferences! Linda Ague, OEMA President, and Martha Decherd, President-elect, attended the Region 1 & 4 and Region 6 & 7 joint conferences respectively and said they were amazing, terrific, wonderful, and full of great ideas.
To register, send your Name, Address, Phone number and E-mail address to Suzie Schweitzer at suzie.schweitzer@medford.k12.or.us or by mail to
Suzie Schweitzer
Media Center
112 Lindley Street
Medford, Oregon 97504
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE:
"LITERACY & SECONDARY REFORM"
Mark your calendar for August 16-18. Superintendent Susan Castillo has named expanding literacy to all grades and improving the middle and high school experience as primary goals of the Oregon Department of education. Literacy is the gateway to accessing information in all subject areas and is fundamental to student success. Helping students to make the connection between their individual experiences and education will enable them to truly invest in their own learning. In order to further the efforts to achieve these goals the "Superintendent's Literacy & Secondary Reform Institute" will focus on the integration of literacy into the structure and culture of a community of learners. The guiding tenet for the institute will be creating an environment of rigor, relevance and relationships for all students.
The first of these institutes will target 30 teams (a team consists of 6-10 members) made up of teachers, administrators, district staff, ESD staff and community partners who combine to develop a strategic implementation plan for school improvement focused around literacy. The plan will be integrated into existing school and/or district improvement plans. Teams will be supported with independent facilitators and content experts, and activities will include focused breakout sessions, mini workshops and key note addresses from school improvement and literacy experts.
The Institute will be held in the Portland metro area, August 16-18. Interested teams must apply for admission to the institute, as space is limited. There will be resources available to help defray the cost for teams participating in the institute.
For more information, contact Helen Maguire, 503-378-3600 ext. 4504.
SHERWOOD STUDENT-PRODUCED BOOK WINS GRANT
A fourth/fifth grade class of Patty Sorensen's at Middleton Elementary in Sherwood, Oregon, recently were invited to present their Service Learning Project at a Youth-Service-Learning Forum. They tied for a second place grant of $100! The forum was held at the NW Regional Education Service District. They competed against groups from one other elementary and several high schools.
Her class worked with the City of Sherwood and local environmental groups to produce a book titled, "Plants of Sherwood" for groups to use on educational walks around the town and at the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge. The purpose of the book was to raise the awareness of homeowners in the are as to what invasive plants are and which native plants they should be planting.
All of this is an effort to try to improve the water that drains into the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge. Currently the water supply is below standards. The books are available at the Sherwood Public Library, all school libraries, and at the City of Sherwood's parks department.
Sometimes when our computers are acting cranky and we can't figure out what the problem is the only thing to do is to shut them down for a day or so.
There is something about that rest time that seems to solve the problem. Who knows why it works but it often does!
Meg Miranda, Westland Middle School Library - CorvallisIf you have simple tricks of the trade to share please send them to Meg.Miranda@corvallis.k12.or.us
ANSWERLAND BECOMES L-NET, AVAILABLE SOON
Answerland became L-Net earlier this year and should be available soon at http://www.oregonlibraries.net . If you are going to the OLA Conference, April 15-16 in Eugene, you can see a demo at the OLA Conference booth #27A.
Have any of you used or heard of someone who has used the Books from Bruce program? Please send in your comments if you have!
Bruce Larkin, the author of over two hundred children's books, has generously offered to donate to every kindergarten and first grade child in the United States a supply of his books to call their own.
The Literacy Empowerment Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, will distribute books through the Books from Bruce Program. Free books are available to educators to give to their students at http://www.colorcodedbooks.org/.
Books are free. Educators only pay shipping and handling.
Literacy Empowerment Foundation
6323 Salem Park Circle
Mechanicsburg, PA 17050 Phone: 717-791-6210
Web site: http://literacyempowerment.org
GERVAIS STUDENT WINS NATIONAL MIGRANT STUDENT AWARD
There we go, changing the world with one book, one student at a time!
Those of you who attended the dessert at last year's conference might remember Alma Tista, the great kid who introduced Pan Munoz Ryan. Bree Guerrero, the Gervais librarian who connected Alma with Pam and the conference has reported that Alma has been selected as one of two National Migrant Students of the Year.
She'll be flying to San Antonio, Texas with her parents in May to receive her award at the National Migrant Educators Association Conference.
Bree was the one who nominated her. She had to include at least 3 pictures of Alma with the nomination form and she included some she took of her at our Conference. Bree thought that these might have helped swing the vote as if someone with a 4.0 Average and Perfect Attendance needed help.
Congratulations to Alma and to Bree.
Daurel Coolidge, Head Librarian at St. Mary's School in Medford, found this punny limerick in an old book......
A BRANCH LIBRARY
There is an old fellow named Mark,
Who lives in a tree in the park,
You can see him each night,
By his library light,
Turning over the leaves after dark.
April School Library Media Month http://www.ala.org/aasl/slmmonth.html April 3 Region 2 Spring Conference Marion Miller Elementary in Salem April 24 Region 3 Spring Conference Briggs Middle School in Springfield May 1 Region 5 Spring Conference Medford May 15 OEMA Spring Board Meeting June 24-30 ALA Annual Conference, Orlando, FL July 12-13 OEMA Summer Institute - Building Influence - Influence Building with Gary Hartzel
Newport - Best Western August 2-3 OEMA Summer Board Retreat August 11-14 PNLA Conference, Wenatchee, WA October 8-9 OEMA Fall Conference at Astoria H.S. and Seaside "Librarians: The New Corps of Discovery"
OEMA Newsletter -- Editor: Sheryl Steinke
Published monthly on the 5th of the month September through May
To receive the OEMA Newsletter by email, subscribe to the OEMA mailing list using the form at http://www.oema.net/telecommunication/list.htmlSend news items for the Newsletter to:
* Email: sherylsteinke@comcast.net
* Mail: Sheryl Steinke at 2405 Blacktail Dr. Eugene, OR 97405
Deadline: 1 week before publication, except 2 weeks for the January issue.