OEMA Newsletter
  
An Electronic Newsletter
of The Oregon Educational Media Association
Volume 16 No. 5
January, 2004

FROM THE PRESIDENT'S KEYBOARD

Welcome to 2004 and the wonderful notion a calendar provides us that we can begin fresh! Many of you may not know that I have been in Ohio since Nov. 10 taking care of my Mom following her stroke. She passed away on Dec. 14 which meant that I was out of my building for all of six weeks. I'm hoping I remember how to do everything ( I went back to school today and found myself locked out of the copy machine because all the codes were changed!) but more importantly I'm hoping they noticed I was gone. Were there projects rescheduled because my direction was needed? Were students glad they kept a list in their agenda planners of interesting sounding book-talked titles to refer to when I couldn't make suggestions? Did the principal miss my annoying reminders at leadership meetings? Will all the mouse balls that walked out in my absence walk back in when I reappear? All of which bring me to an idea for a New Year's Resolution - find the ways to make you and your library program something your school would miss. These days we are stretched so thin, running in and out of so many buildings, it would be easy to feel that nobody even notices you were there. Change that. I know there were many things that didn't get done when I was gone. Things that would have taken my time but nobody ever notices. They weren't done and nobody cared. We need to give ourselves permission to let those things go so we have time to matter - one student, one teacher at a time.

And to inspire you along the way - a book suggestion ( of course). I was overwhelmed by the cards and gifts and generous goodness that came my way during all of my time with my Mom but one of the things that most impressed me was a book ( Once a librarian, always a librarian ) and a children's book at that. It is The Three Questions by Jon Muth. It is based on a short story by Leo Tolstoy which you literary types might already know (and can read online at http://koapp.narod.ru/english/tales/book6.htm. Take time to read either because that's the last break you get because we're ba-a-a-ack. Happy New Year!!!

SCHEPPKE CHALLENGES OEMA BOARD

This column is reprinted from the January Letters to Librarians Online, An Electronic Newsletter of the Oregon State Library.<http://www.osl.state.or.us/home/ltlo/ltlo.html>

PS. (FROM THE STATE LIBRARIAN)
It is very disheartening for the State Library Board and staff to witness the disinvestment in school library media services that is occurring in Oregon public schools. Part of the original mission of the State Library was to promote and establish school libraries in the state. When the State Library was designed and built in the late1930's, part of the original design was a "model school library." We have pictures of the model school library that occupied a room in the southeast corner of the first floor, where a conference room is now. The idea was that school principals and superintendents could come to Salem and see for themselves what a school library looked like and how it operated.

As we have reported, the number of school media specialists dropped 12%, to only 510 for the entire state, between 2001 and 2002. We expect to see another drop when statistics are published for 2003. In 1980 there was one media specialist for every 547 students in Oregon schools. Today there is one media specialist for every 1,027 students. There are now entire school districts with only one media specialist, and some that have none. While we don't have data on this, the anecdotal evidence is that it has become the norm for most Oregon students not to have a media specialist in their elementary school, though it seems that most middle schools and high schools still have media specialists. I have often thought that it might be more important to have media specialists in elementary schools than in the higher grades.

What makes the problem worse for our students is that unlike other types of libraries, school libraries don't scale very well. When a public library loses funding, or an academic library loses funding, services can be scaled back. Public libraries can reduce their hours; academic libraries can cut back on their acquisitions. Budget reductions, even severe ones, can be managed to do the least harm to library services. This tends not to be true in school libraries. The typical scenario is that an administrative decision is made to eliminate the media specialist from a school, and the library soon languishes and becomes ineffective. Untrained, low-wage aides run the library (basically a circulation function), or maybe even volunteers. In either case, the library is on the path, at that point, to becoming of little value to student learning.
Short of a miraculous turnaround in the funding for Oregon schools, maybe it's time to think about organizing school library services that do scale. Reforming school library organizations might be a constructive first step, if we ever are able to build back our school libraries. What this might look like is a more traditional library organization, with a library director at the district level, and what are essentially branch libraries in the schools. If a district could afford media specialists in all the schools that would be great. They would all work with the library director in a collaborative and efficient service delivery system, as most public and academic libraries do. But if this was not affordable, there could still be well-trained library paraprofessionals in the school libraries that worked collaboratively with what librarians there were in the district to still deliver a consistent standard of quality service in every service outlet, again, like most public and academic libraries do.

It's time for the Oregon Educational Media Association to look ahead to better days for our schools, and explore new organizational models for the delivery of quality school library media services in every school. If we get the chance to do it over again, let's invent a better future, and not just return to the past.-- Jim Scheppke

SCHOOL LIBRARIES: THE NEW CORPS OF DISCOVERY

While the speakers are not all locked up, here's a tentative rundown to whet your appetite.

Keynote Speaker: Wayne Free, national speaker on integrating technology into the curriculum

Major Authors:

Nancy Farmer , author of Newbery Honor Book, The House of the Scorpion.

Dorothy Hinshaw Patent <http://www.dorothyhinshawpatent.com/>, prolific author with a specialty on nature books.

The luncheon on Saturday will focus on celebrating OEMA's organizational and member achievements.

BUILDING INFLUENCE . . . INFLUENCE BUILDING

Mark your calendars for July 12 - 13 to attend the OEMA Summer Research Institute in Newport featuring Gary Hartzell. Hartzell writes a column in School Library Journal and is Professor, Educational Administration and Supervision University of Nebraska, Omaha.

OEMA WEBPAGE HIGHLIGHTS - Overview

The OEMA webpage <http://www.oema.net> is a great resource. Patty Sorensen does a great job keeping it updated. The links on the homepage are obvious, but there lots more useful information behind the scenes.

The "overview" <http://www.oema.net/overview.html > links to the OEMA mission statement.

IT WORKS FOR ME

One of the keys to being a successful media specialist is the ability to multi-task. Our lives certainly are not predictable. One way I try to track tasks that need to be accomplished later in the day, week or month is with the calendar on Microsoft Outlook. The first thing I do in the morning when I turn on my computer is to open Outlook and it doesn't get closed until I shut down at the end of the day. Reminders pop up as scheduled. I have a monthly reminder to write this column, I have a weekly reminder to water the plants in the library. This afternoon I am meeting with a teacher to discuss a webpage we will develop for her class - yep, Outlook will remind me of the meeting. And if I cannot get to the task when it is scheduled (like watering the plants) I hit snooze so the program doesn't let me forget. My plants certainly are healthier since I started using the Outlook calendar for even mundane tasks!

(Note: if you have a suggestion for this column please send it to Meg.Miranda@corvallis.k12.or.us)

PSU WINTER TERM CLASSES

Portland State University offers several Library Media Classes Winter 2004 term.

* Lib 530, 536 and 547 are available online with 2 on-campus Saturday sessions for orientation and summation

Complete course descriptions and registration information can be found at <http://www.ceed.pdx.edu/lib_media>

If you have questions contact Deanna Draper <draperd@pdx.edu> or David Bullock. <bullockd@pdx.edu>

Phone 503 -725-8279

toll free 1-800-547-8887 ext 8279

EDUCATOR'S REFERENCE DESK

The people who created AskERIC announce a new service and name to access the resources you've come to depend on for over a decade. While the U.S. Department of Education will discontinue the AskERIC service December 19th, you will still have access to the resources you've come to depend upon.

Through The Educator's Reference Desk (http://www.eduref.org) you can access AskERIC's 2,000+ lesson plans, 3,000+ links to online education information, and 200+ question archive responses. While the question answer service will no longer be active, The Educator's Reference Desk will provide a search interface to the ERIC Database, providing access to over one million bibliographic records on educational research, theory, and practice.

BROCHURE AT GREAT WEBSITES FOR KIDS

"The Librarian's Guide to Great Web Sites for Kids" is now available on the ALSC Web site as a PDF document. You can access the brochure from a link near the top of the Great Web Sites for Kids Home Page at: www.ala.org/greatsites

This brochure offers tips and guidelines that will help children, parents, and caregivers safely enjoy the benefits of the Internet. It includes special sites for parents and caregivers, suggested family Internet safety guidelines, suggested rules and Netiquette for children when using the Internet, and definitions of Internet terminology.

Please feel free to download this piece and distribute it at your library. Sharing this brochure with your patrons is a proactive way to assist in the positive, safe use of the Internet by children at your library.

NEW RESOURCES AT FREE

Twelve new learning resources in arts, language arts, science, & social studies have been added to FREE.

The Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE) website makes it easy for teachers, parents, students, & others to find learning resources from more than 40 federal organizations.<http://www.ed.gov/free>

The 12 new resources are described below.

Arts

"Colorful Impressions: Printmaking Revolution in 18th Century France" presents 15 pieces from the period of innovation unleashed by German artist Jakob Christoffel Le Blon's breakthrough in the use of color in the 1720s. The resulting "printed paintings" & "engraved drawings," as they were called, allowed the middle classes to hang on their walls replicas of art works found in the mansions of aristocrats & royalty. (NGA)
<http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/colorfulinfo.htm>

Language arts

"A Child Becomes a Reader" tells what parents can do to help children (ages 0-4 & 5-8) become readers. It includes suggestions about what to look for in day care centers & preschools, & a summary of scientific research on how children learn to read & write. (NILF)
<http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/html/parent_guides/>

Science

"Earth System Science Education Alliance" offers three earth science courses for teachers. The courses are delivered over the Internet for teachers of grades K-4, 5-8, & 9-12. A master teacher mentors 20-24 teachers; an Earth scientist assists with science content. Teachers collaborate & earn graduate or continuing education credit while solving problems, building models, & designing classroom activities. (NASA) <http://www.cet.edu/essea/>

"How Things Fly" answers questions that include: What makes an airplane fly? What makes a wing work? How does a pilot control an airplane? How does a spacecraft stay in orbit? Why does a balloon float? Learning activities & booklists are provided. (NASM)
<http://www.nasm.edu/galleries/gal109/>

"Molecular Workbench Project" offers a "molecular simulation engine" -- a set of tools that can be used to compute & visualize the motion of atoms & molecules. Five units draw on molecular models generated by the simulation engine to help students learn about kinetic energy, states of matter; aquatic solutions in & around cells; monomers & polymers; & protein shaping. Thirty-five activities include how hot air balloons work, how superballs are like atoms, what matter is made of, & "rainstorm in a bag." (NSF) <http://workbench.concord.org/>

"Science Education" includes booklets on cells, genes, health, chemistry, & medicines. The booklets explore advances in the development & delivery of drugs, links between genes & diseases, how genes work, the body's reaction to medicines, & the hundreds of thousands of molecules that perform specialized functions inside the fundamental unit of life (the cell). One booklet, "The Structures of Life," features stories designed to inspire young people to consider careers in biomedical research. (NIH)
<http://www.nigms.nih.gov/news/science_ed/>

Social studies

"The Battle of Bennington: An American Victory" recounts a small but important triumph in the summer of 1777. For two months, General John Burgoyne led his army along the Lake Champlain-Hudson River corridor, capturing several American forts. In August, however, finding himself in need of provisions, wagons, & horses, he sent a force to Bennington, Vermont, to capture these supplies. What happened there contributed to the British defeat at Saratoga & helped decide the outcome of the war. (NPS,TwHP,NRHP)
<http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/107bennington/107bennington.htm>

"Education: U.S. Holocaust Museum" offers teachers an online workshop, teaching guide, chronology, personal histories, lessons, & other publications for teaching about the Holocaust. Online learning activities & resources are provided for students, families, & adults. (HMM)
<http://www.ushmm.org/education/

"Holocaust Learning Center" weaves photos, narratives, & historical footage into a web presentation on more than 20 Holocaust topics, including antisemitism, pogroms, the Third Reich, the "final solution," the camp system, forced labor, mobile killing units, ghettos, the resistance, the U.S. & the Holocaust, World War II, & the liberation of the camps. (HMM)
<http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/>

"The Lewis & Clark Expedition: Documenting the Uncharted Northwest" recounts the expedition's crossing of the Lemhi Pass & Lolo Trail, & the time spent at Fort Clatsop near the Pacific Ocean. Although the Corps of Discovery did not realize its dream of finding a water route to the Pacific Ocean, the expedition overcame many obstacles & dangers to open the Northwest to the influence of the U.S., established relations with American Indian tribes, & gathered useful scientific documentation. (NPS,TwHP,NRHP)
<http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/108lewisclark/108lewisclark.htm>

"Library of Congress LIVE" is a series of free events & webcasts that combine the treasures from the Library's collections with music, dance & dialogue. Webcast archives include the invention, art, & science of Leonardo da Vinci; music & stories from Scandinavia; Celtic stories, songs, & traditions; & the alley communities of Washington, D.C. (LOC)
<http://www.loc.gov/loc/kidslc/>

"Wright Brothers National Memorial: Site of the First Controlled Powered Flight" tells how bicycle makers in Dayton, Ohio, launched the aviation age. After reading about the glider accident that killed Otto Lilienthal, Wilbur & Orville Wright spent four years designing flying machines in Dayton & testing them near Kitty Hawk. Maps & photos show their flying machines & living quarters on the windswept dunes of the Outer Banks where, on December 17, 1903, they made history when they achieved controlled powered flight. (NPS,TwHP,NRHP)
<http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/109wrightnc/109wrightnc.htm>

Acronyms
~~~~~~~~
HMM -- Holocaust Memorial Museum
LOC -- Library of Congress
NASA -- National Aeronautics & Space Administration
NASM -- National Air & Space Museum
NIFL -- National Institute for Literacy
NIH -- National Institutes of Health
NGA -- National Gallery of Art
NPS,TwHP,NRHP -- Nat'l Park Service, Teaching with Historic Places,
Nat'l Register of Historic Places
NSF -- National Science Foundation

CALENDAR

OEMA Newsletter -- Editor: Sheryl Steinke

Published monthly on the 5th of the month September through May
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Deadline: 1 week before publication, except 2 weeks for the January issue.