Available on the website at <http://www.oasl.info>
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Volume 20, Number 5 January, 2008
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FROM THE MEMBERSHIP
1. OASL.WLMA conference proposals ----- OLA hotline
2. Verona Library Relief ----- Andrea Keifer
3. Librarian of the year nominations ----- Erin Fitzpatrick-Bjorn
4. Unexpected Reaction to Read-A-Loud ----- Mary Livermore
5. Music... in the library... and also life outside ----- Debbie Alvarez
6. 2007 Connie Hull Mini-Grants Awarded ----- Allen Kopf
7. School Libraries PAC ----- Linda Ague
FROM THE STATE
1. OLA/WLA showcase possibilities ----- OLA Hotline
2. Congress reduces funding for LSTA ----- Robin Speer
3. Jim Hayden represents school libraries on LSTA advisory council ----- Robin Speers
FROM ALA. AASL, and BEYOND
1.H.R. 1429 ----- Katie Anderson
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FROM THE PRESIDENT --- Gregory Lum
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Looking back this past year, I am thankful for the many blessings in my life including:
OASL - For the association's work on promoting school libraries
The new School Libraries Political Action Committee ... Thanks Jim, Allen, and Linda.
The OASL Fall Conference in Seaside ... Thanks to Janet and her committee for a successful conference.
The new fall conference service project with the Clatsop County Women's Resource Center. Thank you everyone for all of those coloring books and crayons.
The upcoming joint OASL/WLMA Fall Conference in Portland ... Thanks Sheryl, Jim, Mary, Deanna, JoAnn, Allen, Linda, Betty, Sue, and Deb.
Jim Hayden - For his leadership and direction as executive director of OASL.
My administrators at Jesuit - For all of their support for my library program.
My wonderful co-workers and parent volunteers at Jesuit.
My family - my wife Joann and our four children for their love.
My church - Solid Rock Fellowship in Tigard for the strong teaching and wonderful worship.
I trust that you are enjoying the remaining days of your Christmas Break. Have a Happy New Year!
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FROM THE MEMBERSHIP
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1.OASL / .WLMA conference proposals -----OLA Hotline
The OASL WLMA 2008 Fall Conference committee invites you to submit a
proposal to present a concurrent sessions at next fall's Joint WLMA
OASL Conference. The conference theme is "Elect to Lead - Vote for
Libraries, Literacy and Learning!" The conference location is the
Oregon Convention Center in Portland. Conference Dates are October 9,
10, & 11.
In this year of national elections, political candidates, and the
democratic process, we pause to think about leadership in every arena
and what it means to us, as American school librarians, in Oregon and
Washington states.
Please complete the call for proposal form at
https://web.memberclicks.com/mc/quickForm/viewForm.do?orgId=wmla&formId=36420
on a topic you would like to share with other Oregon and Washington
school librarians. The form is easy to complete when your pay
attention to formatting convention examples.
Don't be shy, each one of you has at least one thing to share with
other librarians. Think about how you collaborate with a teacher and
ask the teacher to co-present. The teacher would be honored that you
asked, and your stature would rise in your school.
Sounds like a
win-win situation.
2. Vernonia Library Relief ----- Andrea Keifer
Recent flooding in Vernonia has left much of the Vernonia High School
library collection damaged beyond repair. The height of the flood
waters reached above the bottom two shelves, submerging them in mud and
river water.
This would indicate a loss of over one-third of their
collection of 4,475 volumes. The majority of items lost were reference,
fiction and non-fiction books and instructional videos. The
professional library was damaged, too.
Vernonia Middle School received the same level of flooding as the high
school. The school shares library resources with Washington Grade
School next door.
Fortunately, the two-story grade school was spared
damages to the upper floor where classrooms and the library are housed.
The middle school had a curriculum library which was completely
destroyed.
Middle and high school students will be attending school in Scappoose
for the foreseeable future. Elementary classes are being held at
various locations in Vernonia.
Donations to rebuild their school library collections are welcome!
For long term help, checks can be made payable to Vernonia School Libraries and sent to:
Vernonia School District
Attn: Marie Knight
475 Bridge Street
Vernonia 97064.
Donations of recently published books, especially on the K-5 level can be sent to:
Vernonia School Libraries
c/o Northwest Regional ESD
Attn: Andrea Keifer
5825 NE Ray Circle
Hillsboro, OR 97124-6436
3. Librarian of the year nominations ----- Erin Fitzpatrick-Bjorn
Nomination forms for OASL Elementary, Secondary and District Librarian of the year as well as Paraprofessional of the Year should be arriving in
your principals' mailboxes over break. An administrator OR colleague can nominate someone. Nomination forms are due Feb. 7
(changed from Feb. 1 due to late date for most of us coming back from break). Nominees will be sent an application packet.
If you were nominated in 2007, you are eligible for the 2008 award.
Questions? Contact Awards Committee Chair, Erin Fitzpatrick-Bjorn at
erin_fitzpatrick-bjorn@gbsd.gresham.k12.or.us
4. Unexpected Reaction to Read-A-Loud ----- Mary Livermore
I work in a library that serves two co-housed elementary schools: a neighborhood school and also an alternative Spanish immersion school. Spanish immersion high schoolers or Spanish speaking parents come to the library to read stories in Spanish to our first, second, and third grader immersion students (my own Spanish skills are poor at best). Last week, one of the high schoolers was unable to make it in time, so I read a "Spanglish" book to a first grade class. These books have most words in English but throw in a few Spanish words.
The book I read was "Oh No, Gotta Go" by Susan Middleton Elya. It's about a girl who gets in the car with her parents and soon realizes she needs to use the bathroom. I find potty humor to be pretty popular among the primary students. The students laughed in all the right places, but kept raising their hands during the story. I asked the first student if she could wait with her question until the story was finished, but she emphatically said "No! I need to use the bathroom!". By the end of the story at least six kids had to get up to use the restroom. Several more headed out after the story was finished.
The classroom teacher laughed and said I made a rookie move with first graders. You never mention a bathroom unless you are ready for the students to head towards one at that very moment. Libraries are full of important information about life -- this time, it was my turn to learn something.
5. Music... in the library... and also life outside ----- Debbie Alvarez
You know how sometimes you come across something and wonder how in the world you never knew about it before? I had that occur today, TWICE.
I listened to All Things Considered on NPR on the way home and learned about a children's music blog -- which is wonderful. His main page: http://www.zooglobble.com/ --- I like the choice of going to music appropriate by age level...
Once on the blog I decided to search for library songs-- after perusing all the two year old friendly music (because I do have a life outside of the library) -- and found that I've missed something pretty big for years...
The blog review is here: Paws, Claws, and Tales by Monty Harper http://www.zooglobble.com/archives/2006/05/review_paws_claws_scales_and_t.html
Why? How? When? did this musician fly by me? I've been stuck for the past three years playing The Library Song from the
Moonboat albumn by Tom Chapin-- which is wonderful- until you hear it over and over and over for three years. Now I find a
musician that has numerous library CDs. I will be ordering this soon! Monty Harper's music at:
http://www.readingsongs.com/
6. 2007 Connie Hull Mini-Grants Awarded ----- Allen Kopf
The Connie Hull Endowment Committee received 20 Mini-Grant applications this year by the closing date of November 10, 2007. Almost all 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 program had only enough money to fund six grants of $250 each.
Once the grants were received, they were copied and sent with an evaluation sheet to the grant evaluators for reading. Because of the large number and the high quality of the applications, the evaluation committee took extra time reading, rereading, and discussing the applications before choosing the six award winners when the committee met on December 11th.
The following grants were chosen as award winners. (Listed in alphabetical order by project name)
--Project Title: Books Hand-to-Hand. Submitted by Jan Peterson-Terjeson, Nancy Ryles Elementary School, Beaverton.
--Project Title: Contemporary Biographies for Fake My Space Pages. Submitted by Kaycie Hoffman, Harold Oliver Intermediate School, Portland.
--Project Title: Illustrated Book Club. Submitted by Terrie Kuechle, Highland Park Middle School, Beaverton.
--Project Title: Much More Magna. Submitted by Amie Lake, Sprague High School, Salem.
--Project Title: Multilingual Lunchtime Book Club. Submitted by Tamara Fornell, The International School, Portland.
--Project Title: Readers' Choice Awards Book Reviews Interviews and Pod Casts. Submitted by Jone Rush MacCulloch, Silver Star School, Vancouver, WA
7. School Libraries PAC ----- Linda Ague
The School Libraries Political Action Committee is up and running. Many thanks to the three people who beat the December 31st deadline for their 2007 tax credit. So now the rest of you can consider doing the same for 2008. Remember - this is a political contribution - not a donation. A single person can make a $50 contribution and a couple filing jointly can make a $100 contribution. Make checks out to School Libraries PAC and send them to:
Linda Ague
2637 Forrester Way
Eugene, OR 97401
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FROM THE STATE
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1. OLA/WLA showcase possibilities ----- OLA Hotline
Does your library have an innovative, unusual, or highly successful program that youd like to share with your colleagues? Have you recently completed research or grant-funded work that would be of interest and use to the library community in Oregon and Washington? If so, you should consider participating in one of the OLA/WLA Joint Conference program showcases.
Showcases will consist of 12 to 15 drop-in sessions sharing a large room with display tables. Attendees can visit with the presenters one-on-one to discuss their programs, services, and projects. This allows a wide variety of participation from libraries and a more direct, focused interaction from attendees.
For the 2008 Joint Conference, we will be hosting showcases on the following four topics:
" Staff Training and Development - Laurel Steiner (lsteiner@kcls.org)
" Library User Instruction - Sue Kunda (suekunda@hotmail.com)
" Library Outreach Activities - Candise Branum (cbranum@emporia.edu)
" Innovative and Grant-Funded Programs - Ann Reed (ann.reed@state.or.us)
Proposals for each topic will be reviewed by OLA and WLA representatives with expertise in that area.
Interested in presenting at a showcase? Please submit a completed Showcase Proposal (attached) to the appropriate contact above. For questions about specific showcases, please refer to the showcase coordinator. For general questions about the Showcase program, please contact Robert Hulshof-Schmidt OLA Program Co-Chair, at robert.hulshof-schmidt@state.or.us or 503.378.5030.
All proposals are due to the topic coordinator by January 31, 2008. The final list of showcases will be set by February 28, 2008.
2. Congress reduces funding for LSTA ----- Robin Speer
Despite the fact that all year it looked as if the President and the Congress would significantly increase funding for the Library Services and Technology Act state grant program, the final number in the omnibus budget bill that passed before Congress adjourned for Christmas was down 2% from the 2007 funding level. This follows a year in which funding was flat. President Bush recommended, and the Congress agreed, to a funding level for the state grant program of $171.5 million earlier in the year, but the final number was only $160.9 million. At the higher amount, Oregon would have received an increase of about $130,000 in our LSTA allotment. With the reduced appropriation, Oregon will receive about $46,000 less than it did in 2007. Since the State Library Board passed a budget that assumed no reduction in funding, they will need to revisit the budget at their February 14th meeting to consider how the 2008 budget can be balanced.
3. Jim Hayden represents school libraries on LSTA advisory council ----- Robin Speers
The Oregon State Library Board of Trustees elected five new members to the LSTA Advisory Council at their December 14 meeting. Representing library users are Ann Pearson of Portland, Ann Evensen of Bend, and Nancy Brown of Hermiston. Ms. Pearson is currently the President of the Friends of the Multnomah County Library and serves on OLA's scholarship committee. Ms. Evensen will be serving a second term, and brings experience from the Deschutes Public Library District Board and Foundation. Ms. Brown has been a board member of the Umatilla County Special Library District, and is currently serving on the Hermiston Public Library Board. Oregon Association of School Libraries Executive Director and former State Library Board member Jim Hayden will represent school libraries. Disadvantaged library users will be represented by Sherry Stock, the Executive Director of the Brain Injury Association of Oregon and member of the Molalla Public Library Board.
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FROM ALA, AASL and BEYOND
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1.H.R. 1429 ----- Katie Anderson
On Wednesday, December 12, the President signed H.R. 1429: Head Start for School Readiness Act! What does this mean to your library? When the Improving Head Start Act goes into effect, Head Starts in your community will be looking for local entities, like your library, to partner with so they qualify for federal funding. The U.S. House and Senate conference report specifies that Head Starts should partner with local entities, such as a public or school library, for:
--Conducting reading readiness programs,
--Developing innovative programs to excite children about the world of books, including providing fresh books in the Head Start classroom,
--Assisting in literacy training for Head Start teachers, and
--Supporting parents and other caregivers in literacy efforts.
For details from ALA go to: http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/woissues/earlychildhood/headstart/headstart.cfm
For details about the bill go to http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-1429
2. ALA Midwinter ------ ALA website
This year's meeting in Philadelpha will be held from Jan. 9-14 and even if you are not going, we will all be looking for the awards announcement. The 2008 award winners will be announced Monday, January 14, starting at 7:45 a.m. ET. A live Webcast of the award announcements will be available on a first-come, fist-served basis. Award press release will be posted online by 10 a.m. EST at www.ala.org.
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Oregon Association of School Libraries