OEMA Newsletter
An Electronic Newsletter
of The Oregon Educational Media Association
Volume 15 No. 4
December, 2002
NOTES FROM THE PRESIDENT - Kelly Kuntz
Do you realize you belong to a unique and wonderful association
made up of people who truly care and continue to give
their all....above and beyond their normal workday? Many
of you enjoyed and delighted in the recent joint conference
which required a herculean effort on the part of the Oregon
and Washington conference committee so ably led and inspired
by our own Mary McClintock. It takes an incredible amount
of volunteer time and energy to "grow" a conference.
And I want to thank those of you who responded to Linda
Ague's call for assistance on the 2003 conference which
will be at the brand new conference center in Corvallis.
Of course, I must admit, if you ever heard Carol Burnett's
Tarzan yell, then you have some idea of the power of Linda's
vocal cords and persuasive powers! Linda has assembled
a top-notch team who are working diligently to design
another amazing, author-filled and exciting conference.
Get out those 2003 calendars and circle October 10-11
as dates to remember!
And as you send your students out the door prior to the
Winter Break, make sure their backpacks are filled with
books to read over the vacation. Unlike the Ever-ready
Energizer, a book (or a librarian) will never run out
of power! Over the holidays, I urge you to relax, rejuvenate
and read.
2003
BEVERLY CLEARY CHILDREN'S CHOICE NEWS CONFERENCE
OEMA Promotions chair Jim Tindall is pleased to announce
the venue for OEMA's news conference regarding the Beverly
Cleary Children's Choice Award.
OEMA will be hosting a press conference at McMenamin's
Kennedy School at 5736 NE 33rd Avenue on Saturday 12 April
beginning at 2:00 P.M. in the famous Jordan Room. Please
mark your calendar and join us for a little literacy hoopla.
If you know of a news organization that you believe should
be contacted, please forward your leads on to Jim at jtindall@gorge.net. Contact info would be
greatly appreciated.
2004 BEVERLY CLEARY CHILDREN'S
CHOICE NOMINEES REQUESTED
Now is the time to send suggestions for titles to be considered
for nomination for next year's contest. Please email your
suggestions to Jann Tankeresley at
tankersleyj@yesd.k12.or.us
The books must meet the following criteria:
- copyright date of 2001
- third grade reading level (taking into account text, illustrations,
layout of book)
- literary merit, including characterization, plot, language,
theme
- for nonfiction, accuracy and authenticity, use of illustrations
- books that students might not otherwise come across on
their own
KEEPER OF THE KEYS IS 2003
FALL CONFERENCE THEME
Mike Eisenberg and Will Hobbs will be among the featured
speakers at next fall's annual conference. The conference
will be held in Corvallis at the LaSells Stewart Center
and CH2M Hill Alumni Center.
If you have suggestions for speakers please contact conference
chair Linda Ague at ague@4j.lane.edu.
Watch your mailbox for news about the conference.
NATIONAL CERTIFICATION
GOAL FOR JIM TINDALL
As the only Oregonian school librarian attempting national
certification last year, Jim Tindall sadly reports that
he did not pass. Of the four entry portfolio, six part
exam process, two of the exams brought him down ... but
he plans to retake the tests and succeed.
Jim reports that it was a glorious project, full of reflection
on student learning. It is a worthy endeavor and truly
challenges the professional to analyze the way school
librarians impact society.
SENATE BILL 12 READY FOR LEGISLATIVE
SESSION
On November 18, 2002, the Senate General Government Committee
approved pre-session filing of Senate Bill 12. The bill
is the work of the Senate Interim Task Force on Library
Cooperation chaired by Senator Cliff Trow. It would redirect
LSTA funds in the State Library budget to address the
priorities of the Oregon Library Association's Vision
2010. The bill would enable a statewide database licensing
program to begin at the State Library in late 2003, including
LSTA funded subsidies for some databases. The bill also
enables a statewide E-reference service and possible future
support for statewide courier delivery.
In order to fund the new statewide database licensing
program, the bill eliminates the Oregon LINK net lender
reimbursement program that was established in legislation
in 1993. To prevent libraries from reinstating interlibrary
loan fees to other Oregon libraries, in the absence of
net lender reimbursement, the bill requires libraries
to lend freely to other Oregon libraries as a condition
of participation in the statewide database licensing program
and other resource sharing programs funded by LSTA. "This
is a good proposal to move us forward and address our
highest priorities in tight budgetary times," commented
State Librarian Jim Scheppke. "Every Oregon library
will benefit from the database subsidies that would result
from the passage of Senate Bill 12." The Oregon Library
Association will work to get an early hearing for SB 12
in the Senate, possibly in conjunction with OLA Legislative
Day.
SENATE TASK FORCE CALLS FOR
LIBRARIANS IN EVERY ELEM. SCHOOL
In addition to drafting Senate Bill 12, the Senate Interim
Task Force on Library Cooperation, in November, sent a
letter to the Quality Education Commission Chair requesting
reconsideration of the Quality Education Model to include
librarians in all elementary schools in Oregon. The letter
notes that in the past 20 years the number of certified
school librarians in Oregon has been reduced from one
for every 547 students to one for every 891 students.
The largest reductions have come at the elementary level.
"It is rare to find and elementary school in Oregon
with a full time librarian … [and] in many districts
there are no librarian in elementary schools," the
letter states.
The letter cites the research of Dr. Keith Curry Lance
in Oregon that indicates that students in schools with
quality library media programs tend to score higher on
state reading tests. It also quotes the remarks of Medford
School District Superintendent Steve Wisely at the recent
White House Conference on School Libraries about how school
libraries are the key to student success in his district,
which does employ full time librarians in all elementary
schools.
The letter asks the Quality Education Commission to reconsider
their model that does not require a librarian in a quality
elementary school. In the current model, librarians are
one of several "specialists" that elementary
schools might choose to employ or not. The Quality Education
Commission will be meeting again in the spring, and the
Oregon Library Association and the Oregon Educational
Media Association hope to get on the agenda to discuss
the issue with the Commission.
NEW OREGON E-RATE SITE
There is a new E-rate support Web site hosted by the Oregon
Department of Education (ODE) http://www.ode.state.or.us/erate/.
The site is designed for libraries as well as for schools
and school districts.
The Oregon E-rate Web page information is intended to
help E-rate applicants and to guide them through the process.
There are numerous links to pertinent information at the
Schools and Libraries Division (SLD) Web site (e.g., Forms,
Technology Planning, the Discount Matrix, Library Consortium,
etc.) as well as local information (e.g., Free and Reduced
Lunch Participation Data, support e-mail discussion/announcement
lists, Oregon contact information etc.)
The new ODE E-Rate Web site is the result of collaboration
between the Oregon Statewide E-Rate Coordinator, Pat Middelburg,
the ODE E-rate Coordinator, Doug Kosty and his staff (for
schools and school districts), and the State Library E-rate
Coordinator, Pam Horan (for public libraries).
TEACH: MAJOR COPYRIGHT BILL
BECOMES LAW
On November 2nd, 2002, the 'Technology, Education and
Copyright Harmonization Act' (the TEACH Act), part of
the larger Justice Reauthorization legislation (H.R. 2215),
was signed into law by President Bush. TEACH redefines
the terms and conditions on which accredited, nonprofit
educational institutions throughout the U.S. may use copyright
protected materials in distance education-- including
on websites and by other digital means--without permission
from the copyright owner and without payment of royalties.
EZRA JACK KEATS MINI-GRANTS
The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation has just announced that,
in celebration of the fortieth anniversary of the publication
of The Snowy Day, $40,000 will be awarded in the Fifteenth
Annual Minigrants in December 2003 for innovative and
imaginative programs in public libraries and public school
libraries designed to combat illiteracy. Minigrants of
$350 are available for such programs. The deadline for
submissions is September 15, 2003.
Applications for proposals may be downloaded from the
Keats website at http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org, which
also provides information of value to the librarian and
the teacher.
SHOULD BARBIE BE A LIBRARIAN?
From the Mattel site at http://www.barbie.com/activities/calendar/icanbe_skater.asp
POLL: Barbie is getting a new career. What should it be?
__ Librarian
__ Architect
__ Policewoman
CALENDAR
OEMA Newsletter -- Editor: Sheryl Steinke,
Eugene 4J Schools
Published monthly on the 5th of the month September through
May; also available on the web. To receive the OEMA Newsletter
by email, subscribe to the OEMA mailing list using the form
at
http://www.oema.net
and then scroll down to OEMA ListServe(s).
Send news items for the Newsletter to:
* Fax: 541-687-3463
* Email:
steinke@4j.lane.edu
* Mail: 2405 Blacktail Dr. Eugene, OR 97402
Deadline: 1 week before publication, except 2 weeks for
the January issue
