OEMA NEWSLETTER

 

Electronic Newsletter of The Oregon Educational Media Association

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Volume 18 No.4                              December, 2005

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CONTENTS:

FROM THE PRESIDENT

the "official" letter***** Jim Tindall

 

FROM THE MEMBERSHIP

1. Region 2 conference --- Carol Dinges

2. From your Higher Ed Rep --- Ruth Murray

3. OSLIS Ideas --- Patty Sorensen

4. NEA Members: Library Information Literacy Caucus (LILT) --- Jenny Takeda

 

FROM THE STATE

1. Capitol report from OLA Lobbyist --- Nan Heim

2.  Library Science Classes at LINN-BENTON Community College

3.  Employment Opportunities ---- from OLA

 

FROM ALA, AASL and BEYOND

1. Missed the AASL conference? Read the blog!

2. AASL offers Pre-Midwinter Institute in San Antonio

3. ALA Katrina Relief

4. Resource helps build information literacy

5.  Patriot Act ----From the Washington Office of ALA

 

SPECIAL SECTION - Book Recommendations for the Holidays or any other day

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FROM THE PRESIDENT --- Jim Tindall

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On November 12th Martha Decherd and I had the opportunity to speak at the Oregon School Board Association Conference in Portland. We were one of many advocacy groups to be part of the Hot Topics Breakfast. Attendees moved among three stations following their meal. OEMA was fortunate to be represented. Thanks, Martha!

We held three sessions, each with about a half dozen school board members. The hot topics that came up included the following:

**Designing a public/school library facility**

This topic often comes up in hard times. I've experienced the discussion in three states and it's always a little unnerving for a school librarian. We addressed the very different missions of the two library types, provided models to study including Dufur and Sherman County, and mentioned some design issues. In isolated, rural regions of Oregon, this can be a healthy solution, but all leadership, voters, and the school community need to have ownership in the concept for staffing and services to meet the needs of all library users.

**OEMA's impact at the state level**

We were asked by a business manager, new to Oregon, why our organization wasn't more visible at the state level. We shared with the group our progress with ODE and changes in OSLIS, but had to admit, that we could be more effective with the legislature. Is there anyone in education in Oregon who doesn't feel that way to some extent? The fact is, OEMA needs to work harder and more creatively to be heard in the halls of the capitol.

**Collaboration**

One of our groups included a board member who had spent years in the classroom as an AP English teacher. He made a strong case for healthy licensed staffing by pointing out how well his students were utilizing the books and computers in the library, skills that were developed because he was collaboratively teaching with the licensed media specialist, or teacher-librarian.

**Staffing**

The Scholastic summary of library research was a huge aid to us. It offers strong statements for staffing levels that provide robust licensed and classified staffing. If you haven’t passed along copies of this booklet to leadership in your district, consider doing so prior to the budget building process for next school year. Contact Scholastic for copies of the updated "School Libraries Work".

 

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FROM THE MEMBERSHIP

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1. Region 2 conference --- Carol Dinges

News item -  The Region 2 Winter Conference will be held on Saturday, Feb. 25, at Sprague High School in Salem.  Children's author David Michael Slater will be the featured speaker, and there will be the usual array of concurrent sessions, vendors, door prizes, and a great lunch.  Conference details and registration information will be sent to all Region 2 schools in early January, and it will be available online at <http://www.oema.net>www.oema.net at that time, as well.

Hope to see you there!

 

2. From your Higher Ed Rep --- Ruth Murray

From your Higher Ed Rep.......

Great courses from PSU and George Fox. Most are online- need hours for your certification? Just want to learn new things- sign up! Contact Ruth Murray  murrayr@pdx.ed or Deanna Draper draperd@pdx.edu 503 725-8579-  if you have PSU questions or Karen Wedeking kwedekin@georgefox.edu 503-554-2858  Coordinator of the George Fox library media endorsement program

PSU classes-

**Children's Literature

LIB 428/528 3 credits

Course # 45178 Undergrad

45177 Grad

Instructor: Delores Johnston

Dates: Sat 9:00-1:00 1/14 and Tues 6:40-9:20 pm 1/31, 2/21, 3/14

Optional WebCT Orientation 8-9 am 1/14      310 Graduate School of Education

Location: 333 Smith Memorial Student Union

Fee: $381.50 Undergraduate/$795.50 Graduate

 

**Computer Applications for the Classroom

CI 432/532 3 credits

Course # 45181 Undergrad

45182 Grad

Instructor: Dave Bullock

Dates: Tues 4-6:30 1/10-3/14

Location: 310 GSE PSU

Fee: $381.50 UG/$795.50 Grad

 

Endorsement Courses

**Collection Development and Evaluation

LIB 542 3 credits

Course # 45175

Instructor: Rebecca Macy

Dates: Sat 11am-2pm 1/14 and 11-4pm 3/11 plus online

Optional WebCT Orientation 8-9 am 1/14 310 Graduate School of Education

Location: 310 GSE PSU

Fee: $795.50

 

**Library Media Instructional Programs, K-12

LIB 547 3 credits

Course# 45170

Instructor: Tracy Russell

Dates: Sat 9-11 1/14 and 3/11 plus online

Optional WebCT Orientation 8-9 am 1/14 310 Graduate School of Education

Location: 310 GSE PSU

Fee: $795.50

 

**Planning and Evaluation of Library Media Programs

LIB 576

Course # 45172

Instructor: Dave Bullock

Dates: Sat 2-4 1/14 plus online

Optional WebCT Orientation 8-9 am 1/14 310 Graduate School of Education

Location: 310 GSE PSU

Fee: $795.50

 

**Multicultural Literature, K-12

LIB 432/532 3 credits

Course # 45424 Undergraduate

45425 Graduate

Instructor: Leigh Ann Morlock

Dates: Wed 4-6:30 Jan 11, 3/15, and 3/22 plus online

Optional WebCT Orientation 8-9 am 1/14 310 Graduate School of Education

Location: 209 Neuberger Hall PSU

Fee: $381.50 Undergraduate/$795.50 Graduate

 

**Multicultural Storytelling

LIB 408/508 1 credit with Noncredit Option

Course # 45429 Undergraduate

45171 Graduates

TBA Noncredit

Instructor: Merna Hecht

Dates: Fri 5-9 pm Jan 20

Sat 9am-4pm Jan 21 + TBA

Location: PSU 408 Graduate School of Education

Fee: $159.50 Undergrad/$297.50Grad/$!56 NonCredit

 

**Information Literacy and Online Searching

LIB 408/508 1 credit with Noncredit Option

Course # 45423 Undergraduate

45179 Graduate

TBA Noncredit

Instructor: Leigh Ann Morlock

Dates: Fri 4:30-8:30 pm Feb 24

Sat 9am-4pm Feb 25 + TBA

Location: PSU 310 Graduate School of Education

Fee: $159.50 Undergrad/$297.50Grad/$!56 NonCredit

 

Coming this spring:

LIB 408/508 Picture Books and Information Literacy

1 credit with Noncredit Option

LIB 408/508 Literature for At-Risk Students

1 credit with Noncredit Option

LIB 592 Contemporary Children's and Young Adult Literature

3 credits

LIB 587 Video Production

3 credits

 

And from George Fox -

**EDFL 554 Core Collection Development

3 semester hours This course introduces the Library Media specialist to

Information Access and Delivery, including the development of

information resources, learning characteristics of students and staff,

and methods for matching student needs with appropriate materials. The

course will also emphasize reference and information sources and

services in the school media center.

Offered spring semester Format: Combination of two Saturday sessions at

Portland Campus and Online. January 14 and April 15 9:00-4:00

 

**EDFL562 Multi Media Design and Production

2 semester hours This course will give the examination and practice of

effective design concepts for content delivery. Design and production of

lessons and student projects keyed to national standards will use

various multimedia software programs.

Offered spring semester Format: Combination of two Saturday sessions at

the Portland Center January 21 and April 22  9:00-3:00

 

3. OSLIS Ideas --- Patty Sorensen

Newspaper Lesson Ideas

Another great resource available from the OSLIS website is the Newsbank Oregonian newspaper.  This is much more than the <http://oregonlive.com>http://oregonlive.com  website.  It is more comprehensive and ncludes archives of past issues from 1988 to the present.

The 5 W's +1

Many Oregon students were born after 1988 so one fun reading activity would be to use their birth date in the “custom date” box. to read about an event that occurred on the day they were born. Then ask them to answer:

Who is involved in the story?

What is the story about?

When did the action take place?

Where did the action take place?

Why did it happen?

Invite students to share their birth date articles in class.

 

This is a variation of a lesson found at:: <http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/articles/newspapertools/index.htm>http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/articles/newspapertools/index.htm

Missing Headlines

Here’s a great idea about having students write headlines for newspaper articles. <http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/02/lp258-04.shtml>http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/02/lp258-04.shtml

----Print articles from The Oregonian online.  An easy way to accomplish this is to go to a recent issue listed on the Oregonian page from Newsbank.  Go to:  <http://www.oslis.org/>www.oslis.org, select a level from the list on the right yellow box, then select the Newsbank Oregonian link listed again on the right.  Select a date from the main page you retrieve then choose articles.  Once you are in the article, you can copy the text and paste it into a word processing document minus the headline.  If you want to check the lexile of this article you could do so by putting it through the Lexile Analyzer at: <http://www.lexile.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?view=ed&tabindex=2&tabid=16&tabpageid=335>http://www.lexile.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?view=ed&tabindex=2&tabid=16&tabpageid=335

(Be sure to write down your username and password as you create it on this resource.)

 

 Websites to Explore for Newspaper Ideas:

--Using the Newspaper in Classrooms from The Teacher’s Desk: http://www.teachersdesk.org/news.html

--Newspapers in Education  (Check out the various major newspapers listed on the right for lesson plans.) <http://nieonline.com/nieonline/lessons.cfm>http://nieonline.com/nieonline/lessons.cfm

--Oregon Newspapers that participate in the print Newspapers in Education program are listed at: <http://www.orenews.com/nie/programs.html>http://www.orenews.com/nie/programs.html

Some of these sites have lesson plans which can be easily used with electronic newspapers.

 

4. NEA Members: Library Information Literacy Caucus (LILT) --- Jenny Takeda

NEA members are encouraged to join this NEA caucus on school libraries.  An annual $5 membership is all that is required to join.  LILT Purposes from the membership form:

*Advocate for the issues which concern and affect School Library Media and Information Technology Programs in the public schools.

* Participate in NEA/RA business which impacts upon the library and technology community and intellectual freedom.

* Inform NEA members of those issues which affect the library and technology community and intellectual freedom.

Please write the $5 check payable to LILT and mail to:

 Janet Henderson

1717 W. Brady St.

Tulsa, OK  74127 

 

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FROM THE STATE

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1. Capitol report from OLA Lobbyist --- Nan Heim

    In just five months, we will take the first step towards choosing  the next Oregon Legislature by voting in the May Primary. We already know that some good friends of libraries will probably not return to the Capitol. Senator Ginny Burdick, OLA's current Legislator of the Year, is running for Portland City Council. Rep. Steve March, a vocal library supporter, is running for Multnomah County Auditor. So, as always, we need to encourage more legislators and candidates who support libraries.

   You can help by contributing to People for Oregon Libraries, the library PAC. If you contribute up to $50 by December 31 of this year, you can take your contribution as a credit on your state income tax - up to $50 on a single return and up to $100 on a joint return. It is a tax credit, not a deduction, so your contribution costs you nothing.

   People for Oregon Libraries has three purposes: to support campaigns of legislative candidates who are supportive of libraries, to support campaigns for local library funding measures; and to support or oppose statewide ballot measures with impact on libraries.

   People for Oregon Libraries is a registered political action committee with the Secretary of State. OLA's current president, immediate past president, president-elect and legislative chair serve on the Board.

   A few OLA members have already contributed to People for Oregon Libraries this year when they paid their OLA dues. They deserve our thanks for helping to advance library interests. If you would still like to support People for Oregon Libraries, it is not too late! Send your contribution now to: People for Oregon Libraries, 833 SW 11th Ave., #315, Portland OR 97205

   Please join us in supporting People for Oregon Libraries and help elect legislative candidates who will stand up for libraries next session.

 

2.  Library Science Classes at LINN-BENTON Community College

Linn-Benton Community College's Education/Child & Family Studies Department offers classes in Library Science each academic year term. For winter term 2006, they will be offering two classes taught by Paul Gregorio. Paul teaches juvenile literature in Portland State University's graduate program. Paul is also a librarian and former Education/Outreach person for the Oregon State Library.

 

   ED 7.742 (CRN 35142) "Reference Materials and Services"

   11 weeks:  January 10 - March 22, 2006

   3 Credits, Tuesday evenings, 7 p.m. - 8:50 p.m.

   Room ST-213A, located at LBCC's main campus in Albany

   Introduction to using print and electronic reference materials and providing information services to students. Includes information literacy skills, and working with teacher and student assignments.

 

   ED 7.748 (CRN 34993) "Library Skill Curriculum"

   11 weeks: January 11 - March 22, 2006

   3 Credits, Wednesdays, 7 p.m. - 8:50 p.m.

   Room ST-213A, located at LBCC's main campus in Albany

   An overview of the educational mission of K-12 instruction, library skills instruction and strategies to support classroom educational activities.

 

   Tuition cost per class: $186.00

 

   Please register early, as classes require a minimum enrollment in order to run. Registration for winter term starts December 5. To register, go to <http://sis.linnbenton.edu> and choose "Click here to login to SIS." (NOTE: Classes do not need to be taken in sequence.)

Questions can be directed to Jane Tillman at 541-917-4912 or <jane.tillman@linnbenton.edu>.

 

3.  Employment Opportunities ---- from OLA   

*** Youth Services Librarian, Deadline December 1, 2005 

*** Humanities Librarian, Deadline December 1, 2005 

*** Collections Mgmt/Tech Services Manager, Deadline December 2, 2005

*** Substitute Library Clerk, Deadline January 9, 2006 

*** Library Director, Open Until Filled 

*** University Librarian, Open Until Filled 

*** Systems Analyst, Open Until Filled 

*** Reference Librarian, Open Until Filled 

*** Account Manager, Open Until Filled  

*** Library Technician 3, Open Until Filled 

*** Librarian II - Reference Dept., Open Until Filled  

*** Librarian I - Children's Dept., Open Until Filled 

*** Technical Services and Collection Librarian, Open Until Filled 

More information available on the OLA web site: http://www.olaweb.org/hotline/   

 

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FROM ALA, AASL and BEYOND

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1. Missed the AASL conference? Read the blog!

Check out the AASL National Conference blog, at  http://www.noodletools.com/aasl

 

2. AASL offers Pre-Midwinter Institute in San Antonio 

The 2006 American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting will be held in San Antonio, Texas, January 20-25.

AASL has planned an exciting Pre-Midwinter Institute "Library Media Best Practices Workshop and Tour," which will be held on Friday, January 20, 2006, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

To register for the Institute go to http://www.ala.org/aasl/midwinter

 

3. ALA Katrina Relief

ALA Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund has raised $50,000 for Gulf Coast libraries.  Read full story at http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2005/october2005/katrinafundraises50K.htm  For more information on ALA's response to the Katrina tragedy see http://www.ala.org/katrina

 

4. Resource helps build information literacy

A Syracuse University program, S.O.S. (Situations, Outcomes,Strategies) for Information Literacy, is a free multimedia resource for K-8 teachers and media specialists who want their students to learn more, and become excited, about research.   The S.O.S. project is "a solution to an age-old problem," said Julie Walker, executive director of AASL. "We talk a lot about integrating content and skills, whether those skills are information gathering or technology, but many people have a difficult time doing that."  S.O.S. launched Oct. 7 at the AASL National Conference in Pittsburgh.

Browse the S.O.S. online resources at http://www.informationliteracy.org/training/Home.htm

 

5.  Patriot Act ----From the Washington Office of ALA

We now have the opportunity to continue to spread our message to Members of Congress before they return to Washington. The House  returns to DC next week and the Senate returns on December 12th. We expect negotiations on PATRIOT Reauthorization to resume immediately and we expect a possible vote by December 16th. Please call your Members of Congress TODAY and ask them to support efforts to change the language of the Patriot Act conference report to reflect these concerns:

1.    The current draft has 7-year sunsets-- We want a 4-year sunset that will make it possible to correct an abuse of Section 215 at an earlier date.

2.    The current draft requires that the FBI need only assert facts "relevant" to a general terrorist investigation to get an order from a secret FISA court for records. This is a lower and less protective standard than the Senate version of the bill that required the FBI to demonstrate a connection between the records sought and a terrorist organization or a suspected terrorist. We want the Senate language.

3.    The current draft does not provide a meaningful ability to challenge an NSL or order of the FISA court.

4.    The current draft does not provide meaningful safeguards for patron privacy. The Senate language is more protective.

5.    Tell the PATRIOT conferees that you want the conference report to reflect the points above.

6.    Thank you for supporting the civil liberties of library patrons.

 

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SPECIAL SECTION - BOOK SUGGESTIONS

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From Billy Cook

Stranger in the Woods by Carl R. Sams Jr and Jean Stoick  is an absolutely beautiful photographic winter story.  It  should become another classic like the Polar Express, and is a perfect story to read aloud to primary classes  in December because it  has a Christmasssy feel. ISBN 0-9671748, price is 19.95.

 

From Edith Fuller

 The forest lover / Susan Vreeland.  New York : Viking, 2004.

Fictionalized biographyof Emily Carr, painter in British Columbia, of the region's wilderness and Indian carvings and totem poles.  Wildly inspiring.  For teens and adults.

 

From Becky Hickox

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Many librarians and English teachers have already discovered it, but The Eyre Affair was recently introduced to me through Book Lust.   It's a non-techie science fiction set in a present-day alternative England where literature is so important there's a government agency devoted to keeping it safe.  One of its agents, Thursday Next, must track down the villain who kidnapped Jane Eyre from the middle of the original manuscript leaving millions of Bronte fans confused and bereft. There is liberal use of "language" so I'd hesitate recommending it to a student, but it's a very clever, funny, and fast ride packed with literary allusions.  The narrator in the recorded version is excellent.

 

From Lisa Hardey

The Schwa Was Here by Neal Schusterman

When Anthony "Antsy" Bonano meets Calvin Schwa, he is puzzled by his ability to appear and disappear before his own eyes. Antsy concocts a moneymaking scheme based on the Schwa's invisibility.  Everything is going well until the boys are caught by the town's legendary mean millionaire, Mr. Crawley. Their resulting community service project--walking the 7 virtues and 7 vices (Crawley's 14 afghan hounds) and going out with Crawley's granddaughter Lexie--cements and ultimately challenges friendships. This is a book for anyone who's ever felt that they can try their hardest to be noticed but always seem to be invisible. "The Schwa" is a boy that just goes unnoticed in life. A must-read for every teen and people who live and work with them!

 

From Merrie Olson

"Zorro: by Isabel Allende is a great action packed story of the legendary Zorro character.  The character, Zorro, starts from  a young boy and progresses to present legend.  Isabel once again has a great way of developing her charaters with richness.  Purely  for pleasure read!

 

From Carol Dingses

Oh - my favorite new title is a not-so-recent book entitled Thinking In Pictures: And Other Reports from My Life with Autism, by Temple Grandin (Vintage, 1996; ISBN 0679772898).  The author is a high-functioning autistic woman who gives an incredible glimpse into how an autistic person perceives the world and others in it.  Moreover, she explains how her autism has given her the focus needed for her accomplishments (she designs specialized equipment for handling cattle in feed lots), thus debunking some of the conventional wisdom regarding how autistic children should be dealt with.

 This is definitely an adult book, and one that I would highly recommend for anyone associated with education.  High school students interested in autism would likely also find this worthwhile.

 This is not a book that I would ordinarily have picked up - a friend insisted that I read it - but I'm very glad I did.  Not only did it help me to better understand the autistic students in our school, but also a few adults I deal with who display some autism-like behaviors that I've always cheerfully attributed to their simply being jerks.  Hmmm...

 

Home computers are being called upon to perform many new functions, including the consumption of homework formerly eaten by the dog.

 - -Doug Larson