Electronic Newsletter of The Oregon Association of School Libraries
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Volume 21   No. 4   December, 2008

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FROM THE PRESIDENT
the "official" letter ----- Merrie Olson

FROM THE MEMBERSHI
1. OBOB News --- Debbie Alvarez
2. Connie Hull Mini-Grants Awarded --- Gregory Lum
3. Berta and Elmer Hader Exhibit --- Sybilla A. Cook
4. Book Review : Hunger Games --- Gregory Lum

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FROM THE PRESIDENT --- Merrie Olson
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Happy Winter Break!!!

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FROM THE MEMBERSHIP
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1. OBOB News ---- Debbie Alvarez

Here's OBOB's News:

  1. Local Questions for OBOB will be distributed late December/early January.
  2. Regional Battles: Some dates are being determined, here are regional contact people. Please send these wonderful managers your volunteers for the regional battles. Regionals for OBOB:
      Region 1: March 14th at Jesuit HS: Key Person: Karen West - karen_west@beavton.k12.or.us - and Andrea Burke - andrea_burke@beavton.k12.or.us
      Region 2: March 14th at McMinnville HS: Joyce Lowry - jlowry@msd.k12.or.us
      Region 3: March 14th at Roseburg HS: Mary McClintock - mmcclintock@roseburg.k12.or.us - and Judy Kulluson - jkulluson@roseburg.k12.or.us
      Region 4: Feb. 28th at West Orient MS: Mike Weidlich - mike_weidlich@gbsd.gresham.k12.or.us
      Region 5: March 7th at Evans Valley Elementary School : Linda McGuire - lmcguire@rogueriver.k12.or.us - and Lisa Krebs - lkrebs@grantspass.k12.or.us
      Region 6: March 14th- Organize to run by V-Tel: Angela Lattin - Angela.Lattin@vale.k12.or.us
      Region 7: Date/location to be determined: Manager- Linda Bilyeu - linda.bilyeu@bend.k12.or.us
      STATE OBOB : April 4th at Chemeketa Community College in Salem : Libby Hamler-Dupras - hdfamily@q.com - and DeAnn Or - orand_deann@salkeiz.k12.or.us
  3. Registration is CLOSED for the 2008-2009 OBOB year.
    The most recent OBOB participant list is on the OBOB WIKI for your use at http://oboblsta.pbwiki.com/f/0809sprdshDec.xls

  4. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take time to consider titles for nomination... see below, share your ideas.
  5. We have wonderful news! We received the LSTA Grant for our third year of OBOB 2009-2010.
    This means that we will distribute grants to 100 applicants who haven't received a grant previously and will additionally have 3 levels of OBOB now: 3rd-5th, 6th-8th and 9th-12th.
    GRANT APPLICATIONS will be available and publicized in January.
Thank you for all the continued support! -Debbie Alvarez, OBOB Chair

More information on Title Nomination:
Oregon Battle of the Books Titles for 2010 ----- Nominations requested

Teachers and Librarians throughout Oregon are invited to suggest book titles for the 2010 Oregon Battle of the Books. We have extended the deadline for title submission to December 14. Please forward this notice to others who may want to suggest titles for the program (this includes public librarians).
Fill out the form listed to submit titles:
http://www.oasl.info/OBOB/recommendations.htm

The Oregon Battle of the Books Committee is compiling new lists of recommended titles for three grade levels: Grades 3-5, 6-8 and a new high school level of Grades 9-12. An attempt is made to vary the titles chosen according to genre and difficulty so that readers may encounter a broad range of books.

Criteria for the selection of titles ---

Number of titles:16 titles
Grade level/reading level: Balanced grade / reading level.
Grades 3-5, 6-8 and a new high school level of Grades 9-12.

*Interest level: Consider a balance of subject areas, plots, settings and styles and interest for boys and girls.
*List must include a variety of genres, including realistic fiction, nonfiction, fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, mystery, multicultural, and Oregon represented in some way.
*Quality of the books: Select high quality, well-reviewed, age-appropriate titles. Award winners such as the Newbery, Young Readers Choice, will be considered.
*Availability of titles: Books should be currently available in paperback format whenever possible.
*Intellectual freedom: In accordance with the Library Bill of Rights and its interpretations, titles that otherwise meet the selection criteria will not be excluded: "because of the origin, background or views of those contributing to their creation," or "because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval;" or "because of actual or suspected parental objections" or "in an effort to avoid controversy with parents."
*Other considerations: It must be kept in mind that the Oregon Battle of the Books is not meant to be a required program in the schools. A student's participation is voluntary. This being the case, it should be expected that different criteria are used for the selection of these titles than those used in selecting materials for required activities in individual school districts.

For more information, contact Judy Kulluson - jkulluson@roseburg.k12.or.us

2. Connie Hull Mini-Grants Awarded ---- Gregory Lum

The Connie Hull Endowment Committee received eighteen Mini-Grant applications this year by the closing date of November 8, 2008. Most of the grant applications were well-written and addressed the four selection criteria. Many of them had excellent ideas for the promotion of literacy and student achievement. Unfortunately, the Connie Hull Endowment allots enough money to fund six grants of $250 each.

Congratulations to the following members of the Oregon Association of School Libraries who were chosen as award winners. (Listed in alphabetical order by project name)

All applicants have received a letter acknowledging their participation. Each award winner has received a check in the amount of $250. Funds for the Connie Hull Mini-Grant Program come from the Connie Hull Endowment Program. The program is sponsored by the Oregon Association of School Libraries (OASL).

Members of the Connie Hull Endowment Committee are Gregory Lum, Merrie Olson , Victoria McDonald, Nancy Sullivan, Daletta Gonzales, Stuart Levy, and Jim Hayden. For more information about the Connie Hull Endowment, visit http://www.oasl.info/ConnieHull08.pdf .

3. Berta and Elmer Hader Exhibit ---- Sybilla A. Cook

EXHIBIT, ART, ILLUSTRATIONS, AND PICTURE BOOKS BY BERTA AND ELMER HADER
Multnomah County Library, January 9th--to--March 8th.

The Haders were co-producers of over 110 children s books during the last century. They worked with the top editors of the day: Louse Seaman Bechtel, Marion Fiery, and Virginia Kirkus among others. Besides the books, they hand illustrated most of their correspondence to editors and publishers and friends. (Would you believe that they used the book flyleaves to draw individual pictures for each family member and friend to whom they gave a book?) Elmer also did landscape painting and Berta did beautiful miniature portraits.

Beginning January 9, 2009, The Multnomah County Library in Portland is planning an exhibit of illustrations, books, and paper toys created by Berta and Elmer Hader, authors of the Caldecott winning books The Big Snow, The Mighty Hunter and Cock a Doodle Doo and a hundred others. Besides the various illustrations, dummies, color separations and galleys of the children;s books, there will be examples of other art the Haders created. Elmer created book covers (he painted the original cover of Steinbeck s Grapes of Wrath among others) and exhibited his impressionist paintings in many galleries. Berta painted miniature portraits beautiful postage stamp size full color paintings that could be used as lockets, or matted to fit a frame. The exhibit will end March 8th.

There will be a reception and presentation Saturday afternoon, January 17th at 2 PM. Joy Rich, Berta Hader s niece, rare book dealer and restorer Karen Tolley, and I will be doing a presentation on January 17th at 2 PM, and of course you are all invited. At 6 PM Tuesday evening on January 27th Edward and Elaine Kemp will talk about the Haders. They became friends when he, as the rare books librarian at the University of Oregon, sought out the Haders during a New York visit. The couples became close friends, and the Haders donated 30 boxes of their works and papers to the university library.

There will be another exhibit in Eugene at the Jacobs Gallery at the Hult Center, from April 3rd until May 2nd.

4. Book Review - Hunger Games ---- Gregory Lum

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, 0-439-02348-3

Reviewed by Gregory Lum, OASL Past-President

In former North America dwells a new world Panem, with twelve outlying districts. The government keeps tight control over the districts and annually forces each district to send a boy and a girl to participate in the popular Hunger Games, a competition to the death on live TV.

Sixteen year old Katniss Everdeen, who lives with her mother and younger sister, volunteers to represent her district after his sister is chosen. Katniss is a competitor, skillful, and smart.

Collins writes with good details of world-building. Hunger Games is the first of a trilogy. I read this cliffhanger and even woke up at 3 am to finish it! A good page turner.
Share this title with fans of Survivor television show, The House of the Scorpion, and The Giver!

*****Starred reviews: School Library Journal and Booklist.*****

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Monthly Newsletter

Oregon Association of School Libraries