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Could your library use $5,000? If you answered, "Um, yeah!" then take a look at the Gale/SLJ Giant Step Award. If you've made a significant improvement in library services to your school or community, this is the award for you. Both public and school libraries are eligible. Hurry up, applications are due by February 11.
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| Interview |
| Tom Daccord's 'Historical' Perspective about the Web |
 For six years, Tom Daccord's online resource, Best of History Web Sites, has offered librarians and other educators a treasure trove of Web sites, augmented with lesson plans, course units, and PowerPoint presentations. Now, Daccord, a history and technology teacher at Noble & Greenough School in Dedham, MA, has expanded into print with The Best of History Web Sites (Neal-Shumann, 2007), which moves beyond the Web to incorporate Daccord's other geeky passion: getting kids and educators to love technology.
You already have a great Web site, so why come out with a book?
The idea was to create an academic reference work for academic libraries useful for classroom teachers, library media specialists, and school technology staff. The feeling was that if the book contained special features that the Web site did not, it could be of special use to these various individuals. The idea was to categorize each and every Web site contained in the book... I came up with about a dozen designations for usages for individual Web sites. For instance, certain Web sites are designated "virtual tours." Certain Web sites are designated as "research." If it's a "primary source collection," I mark it as such. Also, on the Web site and in the book you'll see a special designation for lesson plans and activities. read more... |
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| News and Views |
| Bush Freezes School Library Funding in 2009 |
President Bush's farewell message to school libraries was very clear this year: no extra money for you. In his just-released 2009 budget, Bush proposed a funding hike for public libraries through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA)—but he kept monies for the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program at $19.1 million, the same level as 2008.
"We're very disappointed in [Bush's] decision, and we're trying to work hard at the grassroots level to get that figure raised," says Melanie Anderson, the American Library Association's (ALA) assistant director of the Office of Government Relations. read more... |
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| Federal Court: No Parent Notification on Gay-Themed Books OK |
A federal appeals court in Massachusetts has ruled that an elementary school may use children's books that encourage tolerance for gays without notifying caretakers in advance.
The parents of three children in Lexington, MA, had argued that such notification was justified under the U.S. Constitution's Free Exercise Clause and their parental and privacy due-process rights. read more... |
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| Remarkable Reads |
| Art Smarts |
Have some art-crazy kids looking for something to read? They'll discover the highs and lows of the artist lifestyle through these titles. Try to have some artist biographies and art-history books on hand to complement these fictional stories.
CULLEN, Lynn. I Am Rembrandt's Daughter. Bloomsbury. 2007. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-1-59990-046-9.
Gr 7-10–Rich descriptions of Amsterdam and a smattering of Dutch create a highly atmospheric look at the life of Cornelia van Rijn, Rembrandt's illegitimate daughter. Nearly fourteen, she becomes responsible for taking care of her father when her older brother marries and begins a new life. Torn between resentment and adoration of the great artist, Cornelia must make a decision about her own future as Rembrandt's art falls out of favor and they tumble further into poverty. read more... |
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| Librarian's Internet |
| PTA Parent Resources |
| www.pta.org/parent_resources.html |
| The first meeting of the PTA (originally named the National Congress of Mothers) was held on February 17, 1897, in Washington, DC. Two hundred people were expected to attend—2,000 showed up. Since then, the PTA has been instrumental in maintaining a dialogue between educators and parents. The "Parent Resources" section of the PTA's Web site is chock-full of excellent pamphlets, handouts, and parent guides that are well worth printing out and exploring in detail. There are four resource subsections: "Student Achievement," "Safety," "Media & Technology," and "Health & Wellness." Each section contains a wealth of information, including important and timely topics such as bullying, childhood obesity, cell phone safety, inhalant abuse, and helping kids perform well on
tests. In addition, parents can access the various discussion boards, and view/print articles from the last three years of Our Children magazine. If you show this site to parents, they'll be sure to thank you the next time they visit your library!—Gail Junion-Metz |
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| Executive Director, Maine InfoNet |
University of Maine
Orono, Maine
The University of Maine and the Maine State Library seek an executive program leader to develop, direct, and manage this statewide library information program which is a partnership of public, academic, school, and special libraries throughout the state.
To see all positions available through the SLJ Career Center, click here...
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