Sheryl's Birthday

Today is Sheryl's birthday!

Sheryl is dedicated to Bonneville Elementary.  She serves willingly on school committees, plays a leadership role with technology, and is committed to quality library instruction.

Happy birthday to her!

Blog Winners

Our last Grand Prize winner for this school year is Joseph!  He will be receiving a $50.00 educational app card for his iPad.

Winners of smaller prizes are:
Carlynn
Jean B.
Sheryl
Marianne
Pamela

When school starts in August, we will have more fun prizes for our Connect Collaborate Share blog!

I sincerely feel that we have fostered a renewed sense of camaraderie within our library community this year.  I have loved learning more about you and reading the AWESOME ideas that you have each shared.  

Thank you all for your contributions to the blog!

Phyllis's Birthday

Today is Phyllis's birthday!

It has been such an honor to have an experienced librarian like Phyllis in our district.  Phyllis retired from a library position in Jordan School District before she came to us.  She was also a public librarian - mostly at the Holiday Branch of the County Library System.  She has also worked as a consultant for the Alexandria company which develops library circulation systems.  We are going to miss her so much!

Happy birthday to her!

Children's Book Week

 
This week is Children's Book Week!  Has anyone done something special in their library to celebrate or highlight this week?

The official Children's Book Week bookmark for 2013 is by Grace Lin, the Newbery Honor author of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.  The official poster is by Brian Selznick.

Here's the Children's Book Week official website.  It has a printable version of the bookmark.

This site shows what individual states are doing to celebrate this awesome week.  Notice what Utah is doing.  Gail Carson Levine will be at the Provo Public Library tomorrow (Friday) and also on Saturday!  On Saturday, the Provo Library will also have many different Children's Book Week activities for the kids----face painting, crafts, life-sized book characters, treats, games, puppet shows, book displays, a maypole, live owls, and free books for the first 500 children.  Sounds like fun!  :-)

Linda R.'s Birthday

Today is Linda R.'s birthday!

We are so lucky that Linda chose to join us this year.  Her experience as a Language Arts coach brings a wealth of experience to her teachers and students at Nibley Park and adds a unique perspective to the activities she does in the library.  

Happy birthday to her!

Wordless Picture Books

I occasionally used wordless picture books when I was reading to students in the library.  The ones that I remember the most were the Good Dog, Carl series of books by Alexandra Day where the little baby rides on the back of a big Rottweiler dog and has quiet adventures.

Goodreads has some interesting information about the author. It indicates that Alexandra Day is the pseudonym for Sandra Louise Woodward Darling. Years ago when she was visiting Zurich, Switzerland, "she came across a volume of old German picture sheets, one of which featured a poodle playing with a baby who was supposed to be taking a nap.  This image proved the inspiration for Good Dog, Carl. The Darlings' own dog, a Rottweiler named Toby, was the model for the book's main character. Since then, two other of the Darlings' dogs have posed as Carl in the seven sequels: the late Arambarri, who was named for one of the Darlings' favorite jai alai players; and Zabala, who currently moonlights as a therapy dog."

School Library Journal published an article about the value of wordless books that includes a list of popular titles.

What are some wordless books that you have used with good results in your libraries?

Alexandra Day and her Rottweiler

Putting Books on Hold

I'm gathering some information to share with the folks at Follett.  How many of you have been allowing students to put books on hold?  How is it working out for you? 

Do you have a system for how you handle books on hold?  If a student puts a book on hold, is that student responsible to fetch the book from the shelf and then check it out?  Or do you collect the books on hold and put them in a special place (kind of how the public library does it) for the student to pick up? 

Do you have any advice or tips that has made the Hold process work more smoothly for you?

Marian Karpisek's Birthday

Today is Marian Karpisek's birthday.  She is 75 years old, and she is still advocating for school libraries!

Marian was the library supervisor before Lesley M., and she was a wonderful supervisor when I was the librarian at Washington Elementary.

Did any of you work with Marian? 

The Effect of School Libraries on Student Achievement

In the March 2013 School Library Journal, there is an article, Latest Study: A Full-time School Librarian Makes a Critical Difference in Boosting Student Achievement. In light of recent unsettling news from Ogden District, this is a good article that reminds us of the impact that certified school librarians have on students.  

This major study about the effect of strong school library programs was conducted in public schools in Pennsylvania.

The study concluded that reading and writing scores are better for students who have full-time certified librarians than for those who don't. The inclusion of writing data was an important element of this research because library studies generally focus on reading scores.  "The writing aspect is especially vital given the Common Core and its emphasis on students' ability to produce meaningful materials in the learning process. Advanced writing scores are three times as likely in schools with a full-time librarian.  And, it gets better with better budgets.  Students with access to well-resourced libraries are two to five times more likely to score Advanced in writing than students without such libraries."

The dedicated Library Technology Teachers in SLCSD impact teachers and students every single day.  You make a difference!  Thank you for all that you do.

Beautiful Libraries

Leslie recently sent me an article about a new, awesome public library in Kansas City.

Check out this article for other images of this incredible library.  It is so beautiful that people even get married there!

What is the most awesome public library that you have ever experienced? 

Blog Winners!

Congratulations to our newest blog winners!

Grand Prize winner of a $50.00 app card is Marilyn!

Winners of smaller prizes:
DawnAnn
Phyllis
Tamara
Marianne
Jean B.