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Posted by Joyce Valenza Ph.D on February 7, 2010
I can feel the grass roots growing.  But they need a little water, or perhaps, some tea.

Daily, my email box and my Twitter stream fill with the passionate statements of teacher librarians and classroom educators who see what needs to be done, but find themselves continually blocked by stronger powers. 

During our first TL Virtual Café, with guest host Mike Eisenberg, we explored and, yes argued, AASL's official adoption of the brand school librarian.  I worried for several days that releasing this argument may have done more harm than good.  That, as a profession, we might have appeared serio...Read More

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Posted by Joyce Valenza Ph.D on February 4, 2010

I've struggled quite a bit with how to put the frustrations I've been feeling into words.  Fortunately, Buffy Hamilton has done that far more eloquently than I could have myself.  She has given me/us permission to share.

Here's hoping it reaches the ears and eyes and heart of someone who can make a difference.  Very soon.

February 2, 2010 • 1:58 am

Dear Mr. President:

Today I learned through the ...Read More

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Posted by Joyce Valenza Ph.D on February 2, 2010
Posted by Joyce Valenza Ph.D on January 29, 2010

Yesterday we got the news regarding what will remain in our state database system after the cuts take effect on January 31st.  I share this with you in the hope it might help other states in similar circumstances.

The Office of Commonwealth Libraries announced that POWER Library 2010 will consist of the following
  • General Periodical Resources  (H.W. Wilson)
  • Newspaper Resources (Gale)
  • Business Resources (ProQuest ABI Inform)
  • Contemporary Authors
  • AP Photo Archive
Though these are fine databases, the new system will be merely a whisper of its former glory. And younger students appear to be the ones who will feel the loss the most.  It seems ...Read More

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Posted by Joyce Valenza Ph.D on January 28, 2010
SweetSearch just launched a biography product and it looks especially sweet in these tight database times. 

SweetSearch Biographies currently lists more than 1,000 people and allows searchers to filter by nationality, gender, and profession. Very nice for teachers looking for lists of individuals to explore for projects or for students exploring their own specific interests. 

Names link to SweetSearch profiles on findingDulcinea or the SweetSearch results for that individual.  New profiles will be added each week.

Mark Moran, founder and CEO of Dulcinea Media shares:
The most useful aspect for students is our cate
...Read More

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Posted by Joyce Valenza Ph.D on January 27, 2010
It is a sad day in Pennsylvania.

I just received this email from EBSCO:
Dear Librarians and Information Specialists,
 
EBSCO would like to thank POWERLibrary for over 10 years of partnership.  Unfortunately, we have been notified that EBSCOhost databases and content will no longer be provided by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. While POWERLibrary’s EBSCOhost database subscriptions officially ended on December 31, 2009, EBSCO has ensured that access to the affected resources was uninterrupted for the standard one-month grace period. However, please be advised that this grace period will end on January 31, 2010.  This means all schools and public library sites in Pennsylvania will no longer have access to the following EBSCOhost databases:
 
&
...Read More

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Posted by Joyce Valenza Ph.D on January 27, 2010
Posted by Joyce Valenza Ph.D on January 26, 2010
I've been a fan of WallWisher since I viewed Kelly Hines' Little Kids, Big Possibilities presentation for K12Online.  The super-simple, web-based app allows for a sticky note backchannel that can be sorted and organized and embedded. 

Yesterday we decided to use it for a content analysis activity.  In a primary source activity, our US History 2 class is viewing video clips of a variety of old sitcoms to determine what popular culture reveals about 20th century history.  (I was surprised to discover that many of our student had never heard of Leave it to Beaver!) 

We set up a wall fo...Read More

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Posted by Joyce Valenza Ph.D on January 25, 2010




NBC will broadcast the Vancouver winter games from February 12th through the 28th. 

And Science of the Olympic Winter Games, the product of a collaboration between NBC Learn and the National Science Foundation, is a timely and engaging gift to science teachers.

Narrated by NBC News anchor Lester Holt, the 16-part, free video series examines scientific principles in a variety of Olympic sports.  In each clip, an NSF scientist explains the science and feature...Read More

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Posted by Joyce Valenza Ph.D on January 25, 2010



Yippee!  We are about to launch our monthly online get-togethers.  Try to save the first Monday of each month for live, web-based chat.

For starters, join us Monday, February 1, at 8 PM Eastern for the first of our TL Virtual Cafe events.

Our first chat, What is in a Name will be hosted by M...Read More

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Posted by Joyce Valenza Ph.D on January 24, 2010
I recently discovered CSLA's recharged Best Sellers campaign. 
...Read More

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Posted by Joyce Valenza Ph.D on January 19, 2010



Correction: Since I wrote this post, I was informed that the titles EBSCO was referring in this particular transaction included only those from Time, Inc. and Forbes.)

For me it was shocking news.

At two of the luncheons I attended, EBSCO revealed they now have an exclusive deal to provide the content of many of our most popular, popular magazines. 

I could not find an official press release from EBSCO, so here is the story, as I understand it. 

The publishers of a number of popular magazines, concerned that library users were accessing their content for free and not subscribing to their publications, sought a strategy to recover lost revenue. 

They told the database vendors they were going to go with one, and only one aggregator and that they wanted a su...Read More

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