Fall 2009 Alabama Instructional Media Association
AIMA Officers President Suzy Spiceland Constantine Elementary (256) 231-5040 President-Elect Michelle Wilson North Highland Elementary School (205) 379-4950 Secretary Carolyn Starkey Alabama State University (334) 229-6832 Treasurer Steven Yates Spain Park High School (205) 439-1442 Past President Meg Brooke Shades Valley High School (205) 379-5350 Legislative Advocacy LeeAnna Mills Northside Middle School Intellectual Freedom and Web Master Annalisa Crews Homewood High School Membership Tywanna Burton Vestavia Hills Elementary West Amy Jackson Homewood Middle School Board of Directors Jennifer Anders June Chandler Gabriella DuBose Phyllis McClure Mary Powers Nikki Robertson
Greetings from AIMA President Suzy Spiceland Greetings! For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Suzy Spiceland, and I am your AIMA president. I am currently in my 14th year as a Library Media Specialist, having served in a myriad of situations. I started out in a private K-12 Christian school. Talk about totally isolated—I had no supervisor, no system colleagues, no listservs to consult! I would never have survived had I not sought out my state’s professional organization. I went to meetings/conferences to create my own personal network of colleagues, steal (I mean “borrow”) ideas, and learn about new and creative
ways to enhance both my library and my instruction. When I moved to Alabama, one of the first things I did was seek out the statewide professional organization. I went to AIMA meetings with an eager look on my face, asking about what I could do to help (we love people like that, by the way)! I was asked to become a board member and served for two years before accepting the position of president-elect. The opportunity to serve our state’s library media specialists has been an honor, and I welcome you to join our organization. We would also love to have you attend our conferences. This sum-
mer, we were especially excited to have Doug Johnson, renowned library and technology consultant, as our keynote speaker. You will find that we offer very helpful breakouts on a variety of subjects at our conferences. For the investment you will make in registration fees, you will not find a better bargain anywhere! We will feed both your body, with breakfast and lunch included, and your mind, with tons of professional ideas. Come join us this January for our mid-winter conference in Montgomery. Watch for more information as date draws near.
Midwinter Conference 2010 Planning is Underway! Where were you on January 16, 2009? If you are like many other AIMA members, you were spending the coldest day of the year at the Governor’s House in Montgomery, Alabama! Yes, it was cold and our location presented a few minor challenges…but WOW, what a day! We were able to hear from some very well-known authors unique to our state and we also had a wide variety of breakout sessions that were geared specifically for the needs of LMS’s in our state. It was a great
conference! In response to such positive feedback from Absolutely Alabama, AIMA is already planning to continue this new tradition with a second midwinter conference on January 15, 2010. Because our state has taken such a hard hit with pro-ration and the elimination of Library Media Fundamental Funding, Alabama LMS’s are looking for creative programming ideas as well as some helpful guidance in becoming true advocates for our library media
centers and our profession. Midwinter Conference 2010 will target those needs. We are already accepting proposals for presenting breakout sessions, so please see the Conferences page on our new website for that information. Contact Michelle Wilson at mwilson518@gmail.com or mwilson@jefcoed.com if you have questions. Hope to see you in January! Contributed by: Michelle Wilson
Alabama Instructional Media Association National Library Card Month How about celebrating National Library Card Month by highlighting the AVL? You can put up a bulletin board, issue cards, demonstrate AVLfor your faculty and parents, and collaborate with teachers to teach students about using it! You might also want to invite your legislators to your school as a thank you for supporting the AVL and providing funding for it. This would be a great opportunity for photos and positive promotion for your library, school and the legislators. Another idea is to write thank yous to your legislators especially from your students, and or write a letter to the editor about how we use the AVL and how helpful it is to school libraries. Be creative and post your events to the listserv, alaima@yahoogroup s.com , so others can benefit from your creativity! Contributed by: LeeAnna Mills
Help Needed If you are interested in becoming a website contributor for your district, please let me know. We are in need of one person from each district to be in charge of uploading news and calendar events for your district to the AIMA website. Once we have a representative from each district, we will have a training session either online or at our mid-winter conference, depending on which would work best for those involved. If you are unsure of your district, please just email your interest and where you live to: Annalisa Crews, Webmaster acrews@homewood.k12.al.us
205-871-9663 ext. 1267 Page 2
Books, Blogs, and Beyond! Summer Conference 2009 is a Roaring Success Books, Blogs, and Beyond, our AIMA Summer Conference had one of the largest attendances in AIMA history! Comments about keynote speaker Doug Johnson and authors Chris Rumble and Alan Gratz, along with comments about the breakout sessions, were so positive that we consider the conference to have won a blue ribbon for success! The lunch provided by David and Brenda Burrow was delicious, and rooms for the vendors and breakfast were great places to visit and learn more about
new products. We appreciate all vendors, presenters, volunteers, and attendees who made our conference one of the best ever! Special thanks to Ann Marie Pipkin and her school, ASFA, who graciously served as our host. If you were a part of the conference and would like to have some of the presentations, go to www.alaima.org, our AIMA website, and find Conference Resources under Conferences and then Summer Conference. Several of the presenters have posted
their work here. Also, we loved Doug Johnson’s card with the roll of toilet paper that said “Sometimes Paper Is Essential…but not for this presentation”! Information about the support materials on his cache of presentations can be found at https:// dougjohnson.wikispaces.com. There’s some great information there! Thanks to everyone who helped to make the conference a huge success! Contributed by: Meg Brooke
Information for Alabama National Board Candidates 2009-2010 The Alabama Instructional Media Association initiated and continues to sponsors this National Board Candidate Support Group for library media specialists in our state who wish to become a National Board Certified Teacher in Library Media. We look forward to meeting our 2009-2010 candidates. If you are interested in becoming a National Board Candidate (Library Media) during the 2009-2010 candidate year, please contact Tywanna Burton (burtontb@vestavia.k12.al. us). We will meet monthly beginning August 23, 2009. Each session is scheduled to begin at 1:30pm at the Vestavia Hills Elementary West School, 1965 Merryvale Road, Vestavia, Alabama 35216. For more information about this process, please visit the NBPTS website (www.nbpts.org). Go to the Candidate Resource Center, read and download the portfolio for Library Me-
dia. You may also want to consider TAKE ONE! http://www.nbpts.org/ products_and_services/ take_one1/ take_one_participants Please note the schedule of the proposed monthly meetings. Sept 27 Entry 4 DEA Oct 25 Portfolio #2 Nov 15 Portfolio #3 Dec 13 Portfolio #1 Jan 24 Portfolio #2 Feb 28 Portfolio #3 Mar 14 Portfolio #1 Mar 17 Packing April 17 Assessment Study Session June Additional Session (if desired) Please join the ALMS listserv at the Alabama Learning Exchange
(http://alex.state.al.us/showp age.php?lnk=teacherzonedirc ommentteacherzone). Also,
join the Library Media listserv at YAHOO GROUPS. Visit the Alabama State Department of Education NBPTS site to apply for a state grant. The deadline to submit is September 15, 2009. The requirements for this grant are listed at this site. ftp://ftp.alsde.edu/docum ents/74/AlabamaNational BoardCertApplicationdoc. Contributed by: Tywanna Burton
Alabama Instructional Media Association Celebrate Banned Books Week Banned Books Week will be held this year September 26 through October 3. This ALA sponsored event, which has been observed since 1982, celebrates our freedom to read, and reminds students and teachers of how precious this freedom is. The Intellectual Freedom Manual (ALA 7th Edition) states: Intellectual freedom can exist only where two essential conditions are met: first, that all individuals have the right to hold any belief on any subject and to convey their ideas in any form they deem appropriate; and second, that society makes an equal commitment to the right of unrestricted access to information and ideas regardless of the communication medium used, the content of the work, and the viewpoints of both the
author and receiver of information. Freedom to express oneself through a chosen mode of communication, including the Internet, becomes virtually meaningless if access to that information is not protected. Intellectual freedom implies a circle, and that circle is broken if either freedom of expression or access to ideas is stifled. Think of ways you can celebrate at your school. Create a book display of banned books, read banned books with your book club, ask to go to classrooms to booktalk banned books and discuss the importance of intellectual freedom with your students. Make sure to communicate your programming ideas with your administration, and let them know the
importance of this event. Also, if you haven’t reviewed your challenged book policy lately, take this time to go over it, or create one if you don’t have one. It is imperative that you are prepared to defend your collection if the case arises. Do not hesitate to call or email if you have any questions about book challenges in your school. Contact: Annalisa Crews Intellectual Freedom Chair acrews@homewood.k12.al .us 205-871-9663 ext. 1267 Downloadable materials can be found at http:// www.ala.org/ala/ issuesadvocacy/banned/ bannedbooksweek/ ideasandresources/ index.cfm Contributed by: Annalisa Crews
Library Media in Alabama The 2009-2010 school year will be a busy one for the library media specialists in Alabama. Even though we did not receive library enhancement funding this year, excellent library media programs will continue across our state because of your enthusiasm and dedication. I do know that it is difficult to remain positive about what is happening in our media centers when we have little or no funding with which to operate. Terry and I will be searching for alternative
ways of funding that may be available for school library media programs. If you find grant information that may help other library media programs, please contact us. Remember to check the ALMO website at www.alex.state.al.us/librar ymedia for information concerning all topics about school library media programs. First Fridays and Tech Tuesdays have been scheduled, as well as a copyright session that is important for library media
and teachers. We have sent the first email to the central office library media supervisors containing information that is pertinent for all of the library media specialists. If you do not receive that email, please contact us. Have a wonderful school year and remember to contact us if you have questions. We look forward to seeing you at Library EXPO this year! Contributed by: Dr. Ginger Eastman ALSDE
Membership Goes Paperless In an effort to cut down on paperwork, AIMA would like to encourage you all to enter your member information online! Even if you plan on paying at Lbirary Expo, you can still enter your information online. Just let us know on the online form which form of payment you will be using. Please make sure, though, that your name is in some way attached to your cash or check when you bring it to Expo. Of course, you may still print out a member form from our website and bring it in, but hopefully this year will be a transition to a completely paperless process. You may also pay online with Paypal! To complete your membership online go to www.alaima.org. Click on Membership Resources. From there, you will see our link to Paypal. Click on Forms on the left hand side of the page, and select your option. Questions? Contact Tywanna Burton burtontb@vestavia.k12.al.us or Amy Jackson ajackson@homewood.k12.al.us
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Carolyn Jo Starkey, Secretary Alabama Instructional Media Association 8980 Crosswind Circle APT 105 Montgomery, AL 36117 http://www.alaima.org/
TO:
Expo 2009
2009 Alabama Library Expo Schedule Exhibits open at 7:45am General Session begins at 10:30am. Presenters will rotate throughout the week during the following session times: 11:00-12:00; 1:00-1:45; 1:45-2:30. Monday, September 14 - Mobile Asbury Park Suites & Hotel 600 West I-65 Service Road South Mobile, AL 36608 251.344.8030 •
Tuesday, September 15 - Montgomery Taylor Conference Center, Auburn University at Montgomery Auburn University at Montgomery 7440 East Drive Montgomery, AL 36124 334.244.3343 •
Wednesday, September 16 - Birmingham Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center: South Exhibition Hall 2100 Richard Arrington Boulevard North Birmingham, AL 35203 205.458.8400 •
Thursday, September 17 - Scottsboro Scottsboro Goose Pond Civic Center 1801 Ed Hembree Drive Scottsboro, AL 35674 256.574.3100, Ext. 237 •
Friday, September 18 - Tuscumbia Colbert County Office Complex and Board of Education 1101 Highway 72 East Tuscumbia, AL 35674 205.531.8829