Learning & Media Online

Learning & Media Online

Volume 39, Issue 4 Fall 2011

Round Tables on School Library Study On October 5, 2010, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives unanimously adopted House Resolution 987, which encouraged the PA State Board of Education to undertake a quantitative study of the state of school libraries in Pennsylvania. The resolution charged the State Board to conduct a study of school library resources and services for students in kindergarten through grade 12, measuring and comparing funding, facilities, access to print and electronic resources, professional support and instruction in the use of information and research among the Commonwealth’s public school districts and evaluating how funding and resources are allocated for school library services in relation to student and community circumstances.

As a part of the publication process of the School Library Study -- the PA State Board of Education held a series of three round tables to receive comments and hold discussions on the report. These sessions were held in Allentown, Harrisburg and Erie in September, 2011. PSLA was well-represented at all three sessions.

Allentown • Parents of students with disabilities talked about the lack of resources, assistive technology and equipment to serve students with disabilities in school librariets. The issue of how to create time for librarians and teachers to collaborate was stressed.

• Support was voiced for adding an appendix to the report to reflect the changes in staffing since June 30, 2011 which makes the situation all the more serious.

The State Board reminded those present that staffing decisions are made at the

Inside this issue:

local level -- so that is where librarian support is most needed.

• The research linking effective school libraries with student achievement was discussed by Mary Kay Biagini, Nancy Latanision, Ellie Long, and Eileen Kern.

• PSEA spoke in support of the recommendations dealing with the re-establishment of the Division of School Libraries in PDE, the preparation of model curriculum, and the restoration of funding to POWER Library.

Harrisburg Mary Kay Biagini presented an overview of the study, which is rich in data to present a snapshot of the 2010/2011 school year. Most schools (975 public schools) have a school librarian.

Philadelphia has 120 schools that do not. 96 of the school librarians are NOT certified librarians. Most librarians average 1-2 hours per week

Special points of interest:

President’s Welcome

3

Digital Collection Curation Workshop

4

Technology Tidbit: Prezi

5

Legislator@Your Library

5

More Than Just Social Bookmarking

6

•

Member Profile & Calendar

7

•

The New World World of Reading

8

•

Learn about the Common Core

11

AASL Advocacy Tip of the Day

13

• •

Within articles, weblinks have a box around the text, simply click to launch your web browser.

Each Learning & Media Online will be archived at issuu.com/psla.

Results of the School Library Staffing Survey are available online.

Submit your article, idea or story to pslapubs@gmail.com Learning & Media’s next publication deadline is November 15, 2011

A Note about Navigating Learning & Media Online

Editorial Board

This inaugural issue of Learning & Media Online is something new for PSLA and the Editorial Board. We hope that you find it worth your time.

The great thing about publishing digitally is that you no longer have to type long URLs into your browser window while squinting at the type on the page. Instead, you can simply click on the outlined boxes around linking text in articles. See below for two examples.

Editor Michael Nailor Danville Area High School nflncfl@ptd.net

Back isues will be maintained online at Issuu (http://issuu.com/psla) so you can refer to them when needed. We hope that in the interest of conservation of resources, you will consider reading on a screen rather than printing out the following pages. One thing that you’ll find is the printed versions do not show visible links, so reading where you can click will be most efficient.

We are open to your suggestions and feedback about this new medium.

We expect that it will change and grow as we hear from you. Please send feedback to pslapubs@gmail.com . We want the online issues to work for you.

Publication Guidelines Learning & Media, the professional journal of the Pennsylvania School Librarian’s Association (PSLA), publishes articles that are of interest to library media specialists, library educators, library students and others concerned with the development of school library programs from pre-school through high school. Authors are encouraged to draw on their own experiences and action research as well as their interpretations of professional literature. A theme is announce for each issue, but all articles that relate to the profession are welcome. Manuscripts are accepted year round.

Please email submissions in Microsoft Word (.doc preferred) format to the editor at pslapubs@gmail.com. Images should be at the highest resolution possible and in .jpg format. Authors do not receive financial remunerati from PSLA for published articles. Terminology in manuscripts out to be consistent with PSLA policy and practie, and with the philosophy of Information Power (ALA 1998).

The journal is published twice per year and circulated to all PSLA members.

Manuscripts should follow the Modern Language Association style.The editor reserves the right to edit and revise accepted articles for clarity, accuracy or length.

All materials published in Learning & Media may be copied or distributed without permission for the non- commercial purpose of educational advancement. Publication in Learning & Media does not imply endorsement of the expressed opinons by PSLA. Contact the editor for back issue information.

Volume 39 Number 4 PIN: 2011-6126-4

Associate Editor Margaret Tassia mrtassia@gmail.com Online Editor Kimberly Brosan kim.brosan@gmail.com Kelly Guistwhite kguistwhite@wssd.k12.pa.us Eleanor Howe eleanorhowe@yahoo.com Allison Mackley amackley@hershey.k12.pa.us Beth McGuire mcguireb@hasdpa.net Christine Metcalf cmetcalfe@wssd.k12.pa.us Lynn Moses booklover1223@yahoo.com Sonya Smith ssmith@ccsd.cc

Fall 2011

President’s Welcome Welcome to the first issue of the new PSLA journal online! Called Learning & Media Online, this is a venture for us into electronic publishing.

The print format will be issued twice a year. This is a move prompted partially by economics, as the costs of printing and mailing the print issue keep on rising.

We hope that we can use the electronic journal to get things out in a more timely way and then use the print one for more scholarly information.

The big news for us right now is the HR987 study. After the survey last spring, a committee

headed by Dr. Mary Kay Biagini from the University of Pittsburgh took the raw data and formulated this into a report. A draft of this report is now available on the PSLA web site, along with the PSLA response to the survey.

Thanks to Mary Kay and Eileen Kern for all their hard work.

The 3 round table discussions have been held, and a follow-up survey was conducted this fall to look at any staffing changes from last school year.

Hopefully, we are taking the first steps into recovery. Thanks also go to Deb Kachel, Deb Hoover and

the rest of the Legislation Committee, and Baruch Kintisch of the Education Law Center for getting the ball rolling in the first place, and to all those who hosted and participated in the round tables.

Speaking of these wonderful people who are doing so much for our profession and our association brings me to the topic of volunteering. Keeping PSLA going takes a lot of work, and the more people help out, the lighter the load becomes.

Many of the PSLA Committees would

welcome new members to help them carry out their charges. Even volunteering to serve as a moderator at the conference, or to help with registration for a couple of hours would be a great service. If you are interested in serving on a committee, please contact me at douglas_francis@ comcast.net. In the spring Connie Burlingame and Margaret Tatro will put out the calls for help at the conference. Check out the Committees on the PSLA web site. Come join the fun!

Best wishes for the school year!

Doug Francis

Round Tables on School Library Study (continued) for planning and collaborating. The majority of elementary librarians work with fixed schedules. One half of the respondents have a curriculum that has been written within the past five years. 91% have automated circulation systems. Most local budgets provide $1$10 per student for school library programming.

• A speaker from the PA Law Center testified that the library program dramatically impacts the student testing. Since there is no legal requirement for employing school librarians or having a school library, decision making is made at the

school/principal level. He further commented that the investment in maintaining a school library far outweighs the investment to rebuild one after it has been eliminated or dramatically reduced in funding.

• Glenn Miller commended the Board for underwriting this study. He stressed two issues: The devastation of funding for the POWER LIBRARY widens the gap between the “have’s” and “have-not’s” and the waste of local money by forcing local school districts to negotiate pricing for purchasing the databases privately. The second issue

was the importance of the School Libraries Division within PDE. • A spokesperson of the Disabilities Rights group advocated for traveling libraries and the need for librarians in the IEP process for each child.

A staff member from Philadelphia Councilman Green’s office emphasized the importance of a state mandate and/or concrete recommendations that every student should have a school library with a certified librarian. There are 48 school libraries in Philadelphia. The most needy have the least access. A strong

recommendation for school libraries needs to come from the State Board.

Claire Zales, PDE, spoke of the importance of the POWER Library resources noting that for so many districts -- these are the only databases that they have to use with students.

Throughout the course of the dialog, school librarians present provided specific examples of their impact and the state of their district’s libraries or lack thereof.

Lillian Hobbs spoke about the difference a good school library made in Pottsville.

Cathi Fuhrman talked about the need for school librarians Page 3

Digital Collection Curation Workshop This workshop, developed by Dr. Joyce Valenza and Debra Kachel, will apply traditional collection development methodologies to the “curation” –selection, organization, and professional presentation-- of digital content, services, and tools for K-12 students and teachers. Designed for school and public librarians who work with children and teens, the workshop assumes that participants are familiar with appropriate K-12 web resources and some tools. The workshop focuses on the application of LibGuides, a media-rich, easy-to-use platform that can become your virtual library “parking lot” to present web resources, both content and tools, appropriate to students and school curriculum. A Digital Collection Curation LibGuide provides other mostly free digital organization

and communication tools for you and your teachers and students to use with examples and tutorials. Among those resources are Wikispaces, LiveBinders, Sqworl, Netvibes, Google Sites, Only2Clicks, and Glogster.

Specifically, participants learn to: 1. Embrace an expanded concept of “collection” to include digital content and tools, 2. Apply collection development strategies to digital resources, 3. Recognize the library user as selector, collaborator, and information producer, 4. Learn to use some basic types of digital tools appropriate for K-12 students, 5. Create a digital guide or pathfinder with LibGuides, selecting traditional resources and digital content and webbased tools.

All workshop participants receive

free access to LibGuides, a commercial, licensed web product until August 31, 2012.

See all Scheduled Workshops.

Librarians wanting to hold a workshop need to make local arrangements to hold a regional session. Using the list of trained presenters, they should contact someone close to their location and request a training session. Over 30 school and public librarians from across the state have been trained to offer regional workshops. There is no charge for this workshop other than providing mileage reimbursement and lunch for the trainer during the workshop. Contact Susan Pannebaker or Deb Kachel for the list of trainers.

Susan Pannebaker Phone: 717-214-4047 spannebake@pa.gov Debra E. Kachel Phone: 717-393-6205 dkachel@mansfield.edu

Round Tables on School Library Study (continued) to teach the skills in the Common Core and the PDE standards.

Erie Many of the same issues from the first two roundtables were raised at the Erie session.

In addition, Bob McConnell summed up several recommendations with the acronym “IDEA.” • I = Inequities of libraries….restore POWER Library and ACCESSPA funding • D = Reestablish the Division of School Libraries in the Office of Commonwealth Libraries as well as create a Director for the division • E = Eliminations of school libraries Page 4

• A = Access to Information Literacy Curriculum for all school libraries • A discussion of the use of newer technologies like cell phones and smart phones in school took place.

• The Erie Superintendent expressed the idea that all special areas of the curriculum and support services are under scrutiny because of the current funding crisis in schools.

The final draft of the School Library Study will be available in a matter of weeks. To continue to follow this ongoing effort of PSLA, please take time to review a few of the documents linked below. Your state organization is advocating on your behalf -- but so

much of the solution lies in work at the local level. Know the facts -- and follow through with your local school board members and legislators.

School Library Study Documents

• Staffing Study (created to document changes since June 30, 2011) • Draft of School Library Study • Appendix C - responses to questions • PSLA Statement Read at the Roundtables • PSLA Response to the Draft of the Study

Technology Tidbit: Prezi If you yawn at the thought of creating yet another PowerPoint presentation, you might consider the new kid in town.

Prezi (www. prezi.com) describes itself as “a cloud-based presentation software.” Prezi gives users the opportunity to create visually interesting, creative presentations on the web, and once you get the hang of using Prezi tools it only takes a few minutes to create a fantastic presentation.

Don’t be intimidated at the thought of learning to use yet another new tool. Prezi has simple, easy to follow video tutorials that teach new users all they need to know. There’s even a video tutorial showing users how

to change PowerPoint and Keynote slides into Prezi presentations. They include cheat sheets for every step of the process.

Creating a Prezi is simple.

Once you watch the video tutorials, you are ready to begin! Your Prezi begins with a clickable canvas; add text and images and use the Prezi tool, called a zebra, to edit, move, or rotate your text and images. YouTube videos are easily added directly to a Prezi. Add a pathway to your objects to show the sequence of your presentation. You can also add hidden frames to help organize your Prezi and layer objects and text. With so many options, you can make your Prezi as basic or

unique as you want. There are also options to save a downloaded version of your Prezi so that you are still able to show it without internet access.

Visit the Prezi website and click on the “Explore” tab to watch Prezis and get ideas on how to use this tool in your school. You might…

—Begin basic and create a Prezi when you would usually use PowerPoint or Keynote.

—Use Prezi to add visual appeal to your book talks; you could link to the author’s website or book talk an upcoming book-turned-movie and include the movie trailer in your Prezi.

—Have students create their own Prezis to present to the class after researching a topic. The possibilities are endless, so go to www.prezi.com and try it for yourself!

Lindsey Long Technology Committee

PSLA Legislator@YourLibrary--Sign Up Today!

There has never been a more criti- as “event planners” to assist you with cal time to be a school library advo- selecting a legislator, scheduling the cate and show legislators how school visit, and preparing publicity. A prelibrarians and libraries pared packet of contribute to student materials will learning. PSLA’s Legbe sent to you islation Committee has to give to the and win a Flip camera at created an efficient and visiting legislaPSLA’s Annual Conference! successful program to tor. If you only assist members in holddo one advoing these visits. Recacy event this tired school librarians, year, let it be Lin Carvell, John Emerick, Sylvia this! We have lots to share since the Firth, Janet Malloy, Bob McConnell, School Library Survey has been conand Judy Speedy, have been trained ducted. Contact me at dkachel@psla.

Get VOCAL

org so that I can assign you an event planner today! It often takes a month or two to plan the event, so do it now!

More information is available on the PSLA Legislation web site, including our Photo Gallery of completed visits.

This event also counts in the Get VOCAL (Visible, Outreach, Connect, Advocate for Libraries) Contest in which a flip camera and other goodies will be given out at the PSLA Conference.

Debra Kachel Legislation Committee

Page 5

More Than Just Social Bookmarking As a librarian in the digital age, it it once your list becomes extensive. though one of the simplest tools, it is unis important to be able to navigate the Annotations: There are two ways to doubtedly one of the most useful. This resources available outside the walls annotate a page using Diigo. The first really comes in handy when you direct of your library media center just as ef- way is to use the “sticky note” tool to students to a page. You can highlight the ficiently as the resources housed within leave messages on a particular webpage text you want them to read before they it. Adding a bookmark to your internet for yourself or others (you can choose). access it. And for the “I can’t find it” stubrowser was once the only way to keep One way I use this tool is to list the infor- dents, highlighting can point them to the track of online resources. However, with mation of a contact person at a particu- right spot. a career that relies heavily on effective or- lar book vendor. For example, instead of Apps: What would a Web 2.0 tool ganization, well, it really wasn’t; hence, writing down the contact information of be without compatibility with your “social bookmarking” emerged. Now a my Scholastic Book Fair representative iPad, iPhone, or Android? Diigo has it user could save a limitless number of in my little black book, I place a digi- all. While bookmarking pages, you can websites and access them regardless of tal sticky note on Scholastic’s Website choose to “read it later”. With the mobile the computer they used. Although social which I already have bookmarked (and application, it is very easy to access your bookmarking sites were first developed tagged with “book vendor”). bookmarks and read these pages when in 1996, they did not become popyou have a few spare minutes. ular until 2005 with the release Diigo has many more features of Delicious. Since then, social with endless possibilities for use bookmarking tools continue to in the classroom, many of which evolve into incredible informaare shared among the many Dition management tools. igo groups. Groups are places One such tool is Diigo where users can share specific (DEE’go). If you have not done bookmarks with one another. so already, I strongly encourSome of the groups created speage you to register for a Diigo cifically for educators include: account – and if you want to Interactive Whiteboard Lessons, Use Diigo’s highlighting tool to shift stushare your bookmarks with Digital Citizenship Resources”, students, I would suggest the Educa- dents’ focus to a particular area of a page. and Graphic Novels. tor account. Even if you already have Within the educator groups you will an account with another social book- The second way to annotate a website find PSLA’s own Copyright Friendly marking site, Diigo will automatically is during the actual bookmarking stage. Diigo. This Diigo was created by Heathimport your bookmarks from another Once you choose to save a page, Diigo er Lister for the 2010 Leadership Award site and continue to update them. But, prompts you with tag assignments and Project. Lister chose to create this Diigo as the title implies, Diigo is much more an optional annotation. Here you can solely for the purpose of helping educathan just social bookmarking. Just some leave notes for yourself that would not tors locate websites that contain mateof its features are explained below: be posted on the main webpage for rial available for use in student projects.

Tags: Like Delicious, Diigo gives others to view; for example, if I feel a Therefore, in addition to the material users the ability to tag their book- website may not be appropriate for my being copyright friendly for educators, marked websites with keyword and younger students, I could note that here. it must also be available for download subject terms. Diigo will suggest tags Another way I use this feature is when and manipulation. The Diigo may be acbased on the content of the website, I locate a resource that I want to pass cessed at http://groups.diigo.com/group/ but one may create their own. I strong- along to another teacher. psla-copyright-friendly. ly encourage you to take advantage Highlighting: No surprises here – Heather Lister Technology Committee of this feature – you will appreciate you can highlight text on a webpage; alPage 6

PSLA Member Profile: Patty McClune Name:Patty McClune Position: HS Librarian / District Library Coordinator School: Conestoga Valley High School Education: BS - Bloomsburg University / K-12 Library Certification and Supervisory Certification - Millersville University / MSLS - Villanova University Awards Received: Not really an award as such, but serving on ALA’s 2011 Odyssey Award Committee was certainly an honor, and one of the highlights of my career.

Number of Years in PSLA: 27 Best memories of PSLA: I have fond memories of the Villanova Alumni parties that Betty Walsh would host in a huge corner suite at the hotel. What a gracious lady!

I also treasure the memory of the year my students presented the PYRCA to Laurie Keller for Scrambled States of America. Laurie was so personable and the kids were

November 12, 2011 January 20-24, 2012 January 28, 2012 March 2, 2012 April

April 1-14, 2012 April 12-14, 2012 June 9, 2012

June 21-26, 2012 July 16-17, 2012

thrilled to eat chocolate chip pancakes with an author, and then speak in front of the whole group. Remembering their excitement and enthusiasm still makes me smile.

Years in Profession: 26 Other Professional Organizations: ALA, AASL, YALSA, ALAN Why did you choose to become a library media specialist? Initially, because I loved to read…. boy was that ever simplistic! We all know the job is so much more!

What have you accomplished in your library or professional life that gives you greatest satisfaction? I feel pleased that our library program continues to morph and move forward with new initiatives from Kindles to LibGuides to our library Facebook page with close to 500 fans.

What do you like best about your job? Wow, there’s so

much! High school students make me think, laugh and stay on my toes. The job is different every day and I’m always learning something new. But probably the number one thing that gives me a rush is connecting a kid with the right book, and the icing on the cake is to later hear him tout the book to a friend!

What is the best kept secret about being a librarian? You get to work with incredibly smart, fun and talented people! While the stereotype might say otherwise, the truth is, anyone who chooses to hang out in a library is innately cool. The librarians in my district, the assistants in my building and librarians I’ve met along the way all enjoy learning, growing, laughing, sharing and serving.

Goals for the next 5 years: Professionally, to keep the library program vibrant and moving forward with more eBooks, eReaders, digital resources, 24/7 access and whatever else comes down the pike! Personally, I want to spend time with my family

and remain close with my friends.

Who is your favorite author?

Favorite book? Seriously?

You’d ask a librarian to choose ONE favorite?! Next you’ll ask who my favorite child is! I use a Shelfari account to rate books from our HS library that I’ve read.

It’s a resource for student to check out, but anyone can log on and see some of my “favs.”

What makes you laugh?

Special people in my life make me laugh the most: my husband, my sisters, my close friend, Beth, and my granddaughter, Maggie among others, have the ability to make me laugh so hard that tears pop out of my eyes!

People are surprised to know that: I recently dressed up as Lady Gaga and did a music video with the football coach to promote our One School One Book reading project.

(And I hope people would be surprised to learn that I’m the grandmother of six!)

Calendar

Books serve to show National Gaming Day ALA Mid-Winter Meeting, Dallas, TX a man that those PSLA Board Meeting, Holiday Inn, Grantville Read Across America Day original thoughts of his National Poetry Month, School Library Media Month National Library Week, Theme: You Belong @your library aren’t very new after all.

PSLA Annual Conference, Hershey PSLA Board Meeting, Marriott, Lancaster —Abraham Lincoln ALA Annual Conference, Anaheim, CA PSLA Leadership Summit, Hershey Lodge and Convention Center, Hershey Page 7

The New World of Reading: SLJ 2011 Summit Washington, D.C. was the site of the 2011 School Library Journal Summit – The New World of Reading. There were more than 200 publishers, technology leaders, editors, and librarians that gathered at the Westin in Arlington, VA – Sept.

22 – 23, 2011. Some of the topics covered were: social networking and how it is being used to engage readers, transliteracy and how it is transforming libraries, graphic novels and the vital role they now play, and eBooks and their role in schools today.

Brian Selznick, award-winning author and illustrator gave the Opening Keynote, New World of Reading Transliterate. Brian believes books can coexist easily with new media because reading is transformative. The new world of reading is a challenge for adults not for children. It is not new to them.

It is their world. Books are technology. The narrative books with pictures tell the story just like a movie. The book itself teaches you how to read it. You read the pictures and see the text. Brian’s new book, Wonderstruck takes place in NY during the summer of 1977. In it, he creates 3 different books with narrative, pictures, and a combination of both. He worked on this book for 3 years traveling around to get pictures and see places.

The Summit continued with nine sessions from a variety of presenters. For further information about the speakers please see: http://www.sljsummit2011.com/ schedules

Page 8

1.Transliteracy and the Young Child was a panel presentation.

Transliteracy was defined as the ability to read and write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio and film, to digital social networks. Educators must honor

“Free is NOT a collection development strategy” slide from SLJ Summit. Photo

by Sara Kelly Johns. Used with permission.

the traditional reading, but infuse new transliteracy into reading.

Transmedia Learning Worlds are not passive, but are really about the experience, where the social and emotional reader emerges. Transliterate collaboration is how we bring all the puzzle pieces together to experience and create the story and information. Transliteracy is not about print vs. digital. We need both. Many times some of the pieces are missing for students because of filtering, philosophy, standards and testing. We need to be willing to be the pioneers and try and explore new things - using

social media to connect with our families- make our students producers and allow them to explore with new tools.

2. What is an Ebook? The Current and Future State of Digital Reading. In1971, Project Gutenburg was the beginning of electronic books. In the 1990’s, electronic devices began to be used, such as the Palm Pilot. In 2011, devices now look very different. The Nook is now in color and has read-aloud and light motion books, with much more in store. Apple iBooks/ iTunes, Kindle, and a majority of Ebooks have enhanced features.

Interactive Ebooks don’t exist yet.

Most Ebooks have a fixed format that is text-heavy and goes to the edges of each book. Librarians need to think about what will make a child want to return to reading as new Ebook technology is enhanced.

3.Networked Librarians Take Reading Promotion to the Next Level. Two librarians explained how they collaborated on projects across two states. Two libraries one voice is the blog where they collaborate. Their projects, using Twitter, Google Docs, Skype, and other Web 2.0 tools tie into multiple curricula and infuse technology.

4. The challenge was presented to filmmakers to condense the whole plot of a Newbery book into 90 seconds. This context shows a new exciting way to present books.

5. What’s Appening? A panel presentation that answered the question of what an app can do

The New World of Reading (continued) better than a book? It may be more entertaining or compelling. It may be better for learning by taking advantage of the medium and could get kids excited about reading.

6.We Books: Making Reading Social focused on using your own school’s dynamic students as the voice for the library. The librarian uses a text message club; designated space for silent readers; and has a graphic novel lounge. Her students are very involved in the library program and recruit each other. The students are very connected.

7. Leadership 2.0 dealt with how society changes fast but unfortunately, schools don’t. This principal banned new technology in his school, until he found Twitter.

Later, he realized that social media is a portal to new tools for a better learning environment. The pillars for technology use are: communication (Twitter, Facebook, blogs, YouTube), public relations (brand presence), professional growth, student engagement (students in the center), and opportunity (technology equipment given, teacher sent to Israel, get the best for students).

Leadeship 2.0 must have a vision, support, flexibility, calculated risk-taking, passion, patience, and modeling 8. Authors Engaging Readers Through Social Media a panel discussion by three authors discussing the good and the bad points of social networking from an author’s viewpoint. Many authors love to use Skype for author visits. They

also use other forms of social netFriday’s keynote speaker was Lee working to gain research informaRainie, Director, Pew Internet & tion. Of course, as with everything American Life Project. He began else, there are some drawbacks. his presentation by looking at teens 9. The New World of Summer and giving many statistics from Reading discussed a summer read- Pew Studies. Reading is its own ing plan in a new light. The goal of virtue, but it is other things too; summer reading is for students to Reading is raw material; Reading learn to love reading on their own. is real-time; Reading is a social Mr. Higgins views reading a good contact sport; New illiteracies are book as something that makes you being elevated. Pew has studied want to share. It is a type of social three revolutions in technology: media. He used Good Reads and 1). Internet and Broadband Shelfari to aid in the selection of - Of 12-17 year old teens, 73% books. In order to make summer of teens were using the Internet reading viral - make it social, he before. Now 95% are using it and used a blog. they have moved to ( hbwreads. broadband up from blogspot.com dial-up. They are ) Each grade using it in many more got a buzz ways and the array book and it of devices used are was highly a wide variety. 94% promoted and use it for research for kids wrote assignments, 81% about it as for movies and TV, well as teach57% for video sharing ers. The blog like YouTube, 55% had 14,400 for college informavisitors showtion, and 48% bought ing the sumitems. Many are usmer reading ing media for content program was creation activities – a huge sucsharing, remix, blogs, Dr. Joyce Valenza.

Photo by Sara Kelly cess. If you i.e. teens rate teachJohns. Used with permission. are passionate ers, and teens are inabout somevolved in fan fiction. thing, it should be reflected in what 2.) Wireless connectivity – Teens you do. are getting more cell phones- now 10. Reading Graphic Literature 80% have them. 90% of parents was a panel presentation by three have cell phones, with 35% of them graphic novelists showing how ilbeing smart phones. Texts are taklustrations can replace words. ing off. Email is old and not used

Page 9

The New World of Reading (continued) by teens much anymore. Social media sites are highly used. 31% of teens who take their cell phones to school send texts during class.

There are many consequences for information ecosystem – anywhere, anytime, any device. 3). Social Networking – 80% of teens participate in this. Twitter is now just catching on with teens with only 8% participating. Kids are living in new attention spaces. They pay continuous partial attention, take deep dives into information, go info-snacking a little of a lot of things, and day dream. They also use media zones – social streams, immersive, and creative/participatory. New illiteracies focus on ethics - screen literacy and context literacy. This is a value contemplative time. Many times we are confused. New stuff keeps on coming!

Our world is now uncharted, not fixed anymore. Confusion is the permanent state of being right now.

Five short sessions from a variety of presenters about different aspects of Ebooks followed this opening presentation on Friday: 1. Ebooks – Building Level. A librarian discussed how Ebooks are used in her school. In Alabama, staffing is increasing, but budget lines for resources are decreasing. She uses Ebooks from the public domain, with an Ebook request form on her website. She integrates records for Ebooks from Project Gutenburg into her catalog and uses a class set of Nooks to share Ebooks. She is looking to cloud-based solutions in the future.

2. Ebooks - County Level. In Page 10

poverty ridden Charleston County School District, the collections were very old and there was no money for resources. Using a Titlewise report the librarian convinced the Board to allocate two million dollars to improve the collection.

She bought Capstone Interactive Books and they were highly used.

1.There was a 300% increase in circulation. For the next step, Gale Databases were added. These were used heavily, especially after school. Scores started to soar. The next step was to look at the curriculum and make revisions. The library department provided these resources to all groups and then asked those groups to invest their money to buy print resources – special education, ELL, etc. They very willingly did so and now their resources are renewed.

3. Ebook Models on a District Level,. In the North East ISD in Texas, 3 different library collections, 7,000 titles in Ebooks from various vendors. Using district purchasing, allows greater access to resources so there is equity for students district-wide. Funding sources were from Title 1 and other areas.

3.Ebooks Regional and State Models. Iowa has 9 regions in the state.

These regions have been working together to attain resources through a larger buying power. In order to decide what resources were the best, they started talking to the experts to gather information, then talked to vendors, and then surveyed students. A professional development piece was included

so teachers would be comfortable.

Continuous access for all students was important. The decision was made to use Nooks. They purchased Book Flicks and 12 databases. Different regions are piloting various solutions to get the best one for all.

4. Ebooks – Regional Level.

Purchasing at a regional level would provide the advantage of getting the best pricing. If districts would take 20 percent of their money and pull it together, students could have access to many more resources.

To end The Summit, Joyce Valenza, conducted a panel discussion with representatives from each of the vendor sponsors. There were representatives from Capstone, Follett Books, Follett Software, Gale, Junior Library Guild, Learner, Mackin, and Rosen. Joyce asked a lightning round of questions.

1. What is happening now?

Where are you going? Some of the answers were: We are looking for more ease of use, more apps, better pricing models, to moving content closer to the curriculum, better management model, and incorporating Common Core; Needing to focus on digital, online databases, interactive Ebooks; Providing better tools for digital content, having one common reader to make things easier, accessing statistics easier, and creating mobile apps.

2. How do they view librarians?

Under a lot of pressure, challenged to get the best resource for our dollars; Not enough certified school librarians and not enough money put into resources;; economic issues driving decision-making.

The New World of Reading (continued) 3. How do we make Ebook content discoverable? Too many separate containers or platforms; Need to integrate; Could use social networking sites to help; Can allow librarians to determine points of access.

4. What about issues of leasing vs. ownership? Change licensing agreements; Have both options which consider budget; allow purchase of a database for a month when we need it. One huge problem with this is that vendors need a

revenue stream too.

5. What have they learned here at the summit? The writing part of literacy must be a focus; Student created content is so important; School librarians have great tenacity; Must put our skills to use to get the funding; Great need for information; Time and effort we put in is tremendous, how can they help us more; Exciting time for school librarians to be involved in content and creation.

The Summit provided all attend-

ees with a tremendous opportunity to take a closer look at the many aspects of the new world of reading and how school librarians are entwined in all of it. We as school librarians must take an active and commanding part in all aspects.

As with previous summits, attendees left the summit with a multitude of information, as well as a multitude of questions. The discussions will not end here.

Marg Foster AASL Affiliate Assembly Representative

Learn About the Common Core Coleman, David. “Bringing the Common Core Standards to Life.” New York State Education Department. April 28, 2011.

NYSED. 28 Sept 2011. Web. http://usny.nysed.gov/rttt/ resources/bringing-the-commoncore-to-life.html

Bringing the Common Core Standards to Life was used to introduce the new standards to New York State teachers last spring. It includes an outline, brief PowerPoint, and ten video segments. The must-see videos clearly explain what Common Core standards are and how they differ from standards such SAS that PA and numerous other states used in the past. It is important to note that Pennsylvania -- as well more than forty other states -- has already adopted Common Core.

In this webinar, David Coleman,

a major architect and author of the Common Core, explains how the standards have been based on research and designed as a staircase of skills for college and career readiness. Unlike past standards, he notes, these have considerable teacher input, focus on what research indicates is most important for student achievement, and have been crafted to allow time for students to practice in order to develop the competencies they need.

Librarians need to focus primarily on video clips 2 and 4, although 8 is also relevant. Part 2 is crucial to view as it provides examples of research and introduces the tenets on which all of the standards are constructed. Of particular interest to librarians, is Part 4, Introduction

to Common Core Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy. This segment highlights the skills students need to be college and career ready – the most important of which is their ability to read and understand complex texts. In order to accomplish this, all students must begin to build a strong general knowledge base beginning in their elementary years. Finally, in Part 8 Coleman uses Dr. King’s letter from the Birmingham Jail to demonstrate what is meant by reading complex texts.

To maximize the intended experience of viewing Part 8, it is advisable to print out, read, and have the letter at hand before you begin this particular segment.

LaVerne Motley Curriculum Committee

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Librarians: Indispensible Guides “Librarians: Indispensable Guides” is the theme for the 2012 Pennsylvania School Librarians Association’s Annual Conference. It is scheduled for April 12-14, 2012 at the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center. So that the Conference remains viable and able to meet the needs of school librarians, quite a few changes are planned.

Hotel room rates are the same as last year: $165.00 for a single or double. The price is based on there being 580 rooms used by PSLA. Therefore it is important that everyone stays at the Lodge during the Conference. This also provides us with the spaces needed to hold sessions, workshops, exhibits and meals.

Conference registration will only be available online beginning on January 10, 2012. Total package registration is $225.00 for members. The fee for non-members is $325.00. Retired and full-time students cost is $150.00. Other options are also available for those not attending the entire Conference. After April 5th, online registration will be closed.

At the Conference on site registration, including a price increase of $ 25.00 in each category will be available.

The Conference schedule reflects suggestions from the membership.

There are no sessions or exhibits on

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Thursday afternoon. The evening workshops are set for 6:00 to 9:00 PM. The General Session is Friday morning from 10:15 to 11:30 AM. Exhibit hours are Friday 11:30 AM to 6:00 PM and Saturday 9:00 to 11:30 AM. Times scheduled on Friday and Saturday for visiting the exhibits and author autographing will not conflict with scheduled sessions.

Advance selection of sessions and workshops will not be required. All will be identified in the program by three levels: interest, participation and knowledge. The program will also label sessions and workshops according to their broad subject areas. These are: curriculum, library administration, literature and technology.

Pam Berger, librarian and educational technical consultant/ trainer is the Conference Keynoter. She trained school librarians using her program “Libraries for the Future: National Equal Access Program in Pennsylvania”. Ms Berger is also a Professor at Syracuse University and author of “Internet for Active Learners.” Her speech is certain to connect with Conference attendees.

Two-time Newbery Honor Book winner Jim Murphy is the speaker at the Friday night banquet. He writes about many varied events in American history. His latest book is “The Crossing: How Washington Saved the Revolution.” Other titles include “An American Plague: The

True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793”, “A Savage Thunder: Antietam and the Bloody Road to Freedom” and “The Great Fire.” Known as the “Master of Disaster” to his friends, it seems certain that this presentation will be both informative and entertaining.

Saturday’s program is set to provide something new and different.

There will not be a formal luncheon and speaker. In its place is a program called “Lunch and Learn” that will take place from 11:30 AM to 2:00 PM. Box lunches will be provided for everyone at 11:30. At noon a series of two hour workshops will be conducted. These will provide a fresh and diverse way to give attendees plenty of ideas to try out in their libraries when they return home.

Plan now to attend the 2012 Conference where you are certain to acquire plenty of new strategies and procedures that will make you an indispensable guide for both students and faculty in your schools.

Sylvia Firth

Conference Committee

The mission of the Pennsylvania School Librarians Asso-

ciation is to enable every student to effectively pursue information and develop ideas as they construct and share knowledge through independent and class-based explorations in excellent school library programs. Professional development for school librarians will LEARNING & MEDIA ONLINE

facilitate student learning and ensure access to information for all.

This journal will be published at the request of the PSLA Board of Directors and include items that are more timely and pressing to get into the hands of members. All members are invited to contribute information to the newsletter.

Submissions should be sent electronically.

Questions? Call or email Kimberly Brosan Phone: 570-323-8411 x 3219 pslapubs@gmail.com

Pennsylvania School Librarians Association

[

Find Us Online http://psla.org

]

Our ultimate goal is to develop competent, confident, and inquisitive learners.

Officers and Board of Directors Doug Francis President Eileen Kern

Vice President/President-Elect

Lindsey Long

Jennifer Bates Director

Stephanie Brame Director

Secretary

Cathi Fuhrman

Treasurer

Bob McConnell

Natalie Hawley Nancy Latanision

Immediate Past President

Director Director

AASL’s Advocacy Tip of the Day So, your administrator comes to you and asks for tips to promote the library at the next school board meeting… A parent asks why their child needs to have a library book in the first place…The local rotary club asks you to speak on reading and library promotion in schools at their next meeting, which just happens to be tomorrow night. All of these scenarios are true, and for many of us, have happened more than once.

As members of the PLSA Library Promotions Committee, one of our charges is to assist members with

promotional ideas. We will be sharing some helpful tips that are designed to do just that.

This month we would like to shine a spotlight on AASL’s Advocacy Tip of the Day service. Subscribers to this free service receive tips via email or mobile phone that can be delivered daily, weekly, or monthly.

These concise tips offer practical ideas that today’s busy librarian can use to get the word out about their school library media centers. To sign up for the service, just go to AASL’s homepage (www.aasl.org),

select “Issues & Advocacy” and then select the “Sign up for AASL’s Advocacy Tip of the Day” link and follow the directions. The whole process takes less than 2 minutes and is well worth it. AASL also maintains an archive of past Tips of the Day at advocacytipoftheday. wordpress. com.

Elizabeth Henry

Lourie Stewart

Denise Mancuso Library Promotions Committee