How to use this Page

The AASL/ALSC/YALSA Interdivisional Committee on School/Public Library Cooperation is updating its clearinghouse of information about school/public library cooperative activities. The list of programs submitted in 2004 is located on the ALSC Web site –> Initiatives –> Partnerships –> Clearinghouse of School/Public Library Cooperative Programs.

Please submit your successful school/public library partnership. Your partnership story will be added to the clearinghouse and possibly shared at upcoming ALA conferences. Currently, the AASL/ALSC/YALSA Interdivisional Committee on School/Public Library Cooperation is planning for the AASL Conference in November 2009 and the 2010 ALA Annual Conference.

Thanks in advance!
Teresa Walls

on behalf of the entire committee: Connie Champlin (Chair), Sabrina Carnesi, Karen L. Egger, Ellen Jepson, Elisa McClain, Erika Thickman Miller, Cindy Pfeiffer and Tanya Tullos

Starting in October 2009, Book Links magazine will be published as a quarterly print supplement to Booklist, the book review magazine of the American Library Association. The complete press release is available here.

ALA Connect (http://connect.ala.org/) is a networking site specifically for ALA members. Non-ALA members are also welcome to register and participate in the public content and communities.

The two committees on which I serve are already set up as communities on ALA Connect. If you are involved in committee work, ALA Connect is a wonderful way for your committee to do its work virtually. Members can also set up new groups. In fact, Jenny Najduch (ALSC Marketing Specialist) and I are in the process of creating an ALA Connect community specifically for ALSC Bloggers to have a place to discuss post topics, common blog practices, and blogging issues as they arise.

Please read the page of User Guidelines which includes the following bullet points:

• Engage in a professional, congenial dialogue.
• Foster useful, dynamic discussions.
• Fashion a community that works for you.
• Play nice with others.
• Respect the role of community moderators.
• ALA respects freedom of expressions.
• Observe basic netiquette.

Bye for now! Maybe I’ll run into you over at ALA Connect.

– Teresa Walls
Manager, ALSC Blog

StoryTubes - the 2-minute or shorter “my favorite book” video project sponsored by public libraries has accepted videos from across the United States and Canada in 2009. The number of contest participants tripled from last year (over 400)! Now it’s time for voters to view and choose their favorites.

This week. March 16-19, anyone can vote online for individual entries made by students in grades K – 4 and students grades 5 - 8. Just go to www.storytubes.info to vote this week and
during the following weeks:

March 23 – 26 Individual entries grades 9 and up
March 30 – April 2 Group entries grades K – 6
March 30 – April 2 Group entries grades 7 and up

StoryTubes recently was awarded the 2009 PLA Polaris Innovation in Technology John Iliff Award, which recognizes the contributions of a library worker, librarian, or library that has used technology and innovative thinking as a tool to improve services to public library users.

The Rainbow Project announces the 2009 Rainbow List, a joint undertaking of the American Library Association’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Round Table and Social Responsibilities Round Table. Featuring well-written and/or well-illustrated titles with authentic and significant gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered/queer/questioning (glbtq) content for youth from birth through age 18, this year’s bibliography presents 34 outstanding titles, published in the last eighteen months and representing a broad range of glbtq experience.

The 2009 Rainbow List includes titles from 26 publishers/imprints and 36 authors and illustrators. Of the authors, five are offering their first published novels or picture books, and seven are published for the first time by major presses. Most books on the 2009 Rainbow List are recommended for teens, including four titles published for adults. Two picture books, two middle-grade novels, two graphic books (a novel and a biography), one short story collection, one translation, and five nonfiction titles are represented.

Coming-out stories have consistently made up a large part of glbtq literature, as have “problem novels” populated by characters defined by orientation. But the books on this year’s Rainbow List go much farther by offering young readers rich characters embodying the full spectrum of youth and family experience. Primary characters are gay, lesbian, transgendered, questioning, and straight, and they grapple with varying degrees of acceptance and prejudice from their friends, families, and communities, as well as from themselves.

Four titles stood out to the selection committee as especially deserving of recognition for their characters, stories, and quality of writing and/or illustration:

• Down to the Bone by Mayra Lazara Dole (first novel)
• 10,000 Dresses written by Marcus Ewert and illustrated by Rex Ray (first picture book)
• Last Exit to Normal by Michael Harmon
• Skim by Mariko Tamaki (text) and Jillian Tamaki (artwork)

The Rainbow Project members are pleased to introduce such an extensive collection of quality titles which can be recommended and offered to young readers and their families with confidence, and they are certain that in coming years an increasing number of exceptional titles will be available to younger readers and pre-readers.

Rainbow Final List – 2009

Picture Books
Brannen, Sarah. Uncle Bobby’s Wedding. 2008. 32p. Putnam, $15.99. (978-0-399-24712-5). PreS-Gr. 2. Chloe’s concerns about her uncle’s upcoming wedding have nothing to do with the fact that his partner is male; instead, like a typical preschooler, she worries that she will lose her favorite uncle’s attention.

Ewert, Marcus. 10,000 Dresses. Illus. by Rex Ray. 2008. 32p. Seven Stories Press, $14.95. (978-1583228500). PreS-Gr. 2. Bailey dreams of wearing beautiful dresses, but her family disapproves of her understanding of her true self.

Middle/Early Young Adult
Fiction
Bauer, A.C.E. No Castles Here. October 2007. 270p. Random House (978-0-375-83921-4; 978-0-375-93921-1). Gr. 5-7. A book of fairy tales, participation in a school chorus, and a gay Big Brother combine to give 11-year-old Augie the confidence he needs to become an activist.

Woodson, Jacqueline. After Tupac & D Foster. 2008. 153p. Putnam (978-0-399- 24654-8). Gr. 5-8. Eleven-year-old D Foster completes a trio of friends who share a passion for the music of Tupac Shakur as they deal with discrimination directed toward the gay brother of one of the trio.

Young Adult
Fiction
Bach, Tamara. Girl from Mars. Trans. by Shelley Tanaka. 2008. 180p. Groundwood Books (978-0-88899-725-8). Gr. 7-10. At fifteen, Miriam’s life in a small German town lacks excitement and meaning until she meets Laura and begins to discover how full her life already is.

Brothers, Meagan. Debbie Harry Sings in French. 2008. 240p. Henry Holt (9780805080803/1-8050-8080-5). Gr. 8-12. Johnny is pretty sure he isn’t gay, but he’s not quite sure what it means that he wants to be Debbie Harry–to dress like her, have hair like hers, and to hang out with drag queens.

Cohn, Rachel, and David Levithan. Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List. August 2007. 230p. Knopf (978-0-375-84440-9; 9780375944406; 9780375844416). Gr. 9-12. Witty, urbane Naomi, age 19, finally comes to terms with being hopelessly in love with her gay best friend, Ely, even after she learns he is sleeping with her boyfriend.

Dole, Mayra Lazara. Down to the Bone. 2008. 367p. HarperTeen.(978-0-06-084310-6; 978-0-06-084311-3). Gr. 8-12. After sixteen-year-old Laura is outed at school, kicked out of her home, and rejected by her girlfriend, she finds herself and her community in this hilarious debut novel with an all-Latino cast.

Dunnion, Kristyn. Big Big Sky. 2008. 244p. Red Deer Press (978-0-88995-404-5). Gr. 10-12. When a pod of five young well-trained female warrior assassins starts falling apart, each must show her strength in the outside real world to avoid being captured and unplugged.

Ford, Michael Thomas. Suicide Notes. 2008. 295p. HarperTeen (978-0-06-073755-9; 978-0-06-073756-6). (978-0-06-073755-9). Gr. 9-11. After he wakes up in a psychiatric hospital, 15-year-old Jeff describes the events that led up to his attempted suicide and how his life is changed during his 45-day stay.

Geerling, Marjetta. Fancy White Trash. 2008. 257p. Viking (978-0-670-01082-0). Gr. 9-11. Fifteen-year-old Abby struggles with her highly dysfunctional family while her best friend Cody deals with the challenges of coming out to himself and his friends.

Goldman, Steven. Two Parties, One Tux, and a Very Short Film about the Grapes of Wrath. 2008. 272p. Bloomsbury (978-1-59990-271-5). Gr. 8-10. Eleventh-grader Mitchell’s life suddenly changes when his best friend David comes out of the closet.

Grant, Stephanie. Map of Ireland. 2008. 197p. Scribner (978-1-4165-5622-0/ 1-4165-5622-2). Gr. 10-12. Ann’s junior year is complicated by the forced busing of Black children to her formerly all-white high school, forcing Ann to deal with her racist environment while coping with being a lesbian in an inter-racial relationship.

Hardy, Mark. Nothing Pink. 2008. 109p. Front Street/Boyds Mills Press (978-1-932425-24-6). Gr. 8-10. Tormented with thoughts about his own homosexuality, Vincent, son of a Pentacostal preacher, fights his impulses until he meets Robert, a church friend, who is much more accepting.

Harmon, Michael. Last Exit to Normal. 2008. 275p. Knopf (978-37584-982). Gr. 9-11. Ben and his two dads move to rural Montana where Ben absolutely does not fit in and finds it harder to deal with having two dads than he did in their previous urban home.

Hegamin, Tonya Cherie. M+O 4EVR. 2008. 165p. Houghton Mifflin (978-0-618-49570-2). Gr. 7-10. After the death of Marianne, Opal’s best friend—and more–Opal deals with her loss through the life of Hannah, a runaway slave who died in 1842.

Juby, Susan. Another Kind of Cowboy. December 2007. 344p. HarperTeen (978-0-06-076517-0; 9780060765187). Gr. 8-10. Sixteen, gay, and closeted, Alex has dreamed of riding dressage since childhood, although his father wants him to be a “real” cowboy.

Kluger, Steve. My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins, & Fenway Park. 2008. 403p. Dial (978-0803732278). Gr. 8-10. Three high school friends, including a fun, proud, and just about out-of-the-closet gay young man, tell about their ‘excellent’ ninth-grade year.

Konigsberg, Bill. Out of the Pocket. 2008. 264p. Dutton (9780525479963). Gr. 9-11. Bobby’s skills as a top high-school quarterback also serve him well off the field when he is outed in the school newspaper and deals with the consequences in an honest and realistic way.

Levithan, David. How They Met, and Other Stories. 2008. 256p. Knopf (978-0375848865; 9780375948862). Gr. 9-11. Find the answer to “what is love” in this diverse collection of short stories.

Lieberman, Leanne. Gravity. 2008. 245p. Orca (978-1-550469-049-7). Gr. 9-11. Brought up as a strict Orthodox Jew to believe that homosexuality is an abomination, 15-year-old Ellie struggles with her sexual feelings for another girl.

McMahon, Jennifer. My Tiki Girl. 2008. 246p. Dutton (978-0-525-47943-7). Gr. 9-11. After once-popular Maggie, 15, is left with an injured leg after a car accident that kills her mother, she finds solace with Dahlia, the new girl at school, and her unconventional family, including a mentally-ill mother.

Penny, Patricia G. Belinda’s Obsession. [Not Just Proms & Parties Series] September 2007. 134p. Lobster Press (978-0-897073-62-9). Gr. 7-10. After she discovers that her mother is having an affair, Belinda’s obsession with saving her parents’ marriage damages her growing relationship with her last summer’s fling, Candace.

Rosen, Selina. Sword Masters. 2008. 313p. Dragon Moon Press (978-1-896944-65-4). Gr. 9-12. Determined to avenge her father’s death, Tarius pretends to be male and non-Katabull to study with the Sword Masters but finds more than she bargained for when she falls in love with the headmaster’s daughter, Jena, who thinks that Tarius is a man.

Rud, Jeff. Crossover. 2008. 170p. Orca (978-1-55143-981-5). Gr. 7-10. Sixteen-year-old Kyle gets caught in the middle between his basketball team and drama club when he opts to join both and re-establishes an old friendship with Luke, who is the frequent target of gay-baiting.

Ruditis, Paul. Entrances and Exits. [Drama series]. 2008. 242p. Simon Pulse (978-1-4169-5906-9). Gr. 7-10. A first time director and high school junior, Bryan has to learn to cope with a temperamental playwright, the leading actress’s jealous boyfriend, competition from a new girl on the drama scene, and his yearnings for Drew, his ex-best friend who kissed him and then ran.

Tamaki, Mariko and Tamaki, Jillian. Skim. 2008. 140p. Groundwood Books (0888997531/9780888997531). Gr. 9-12. Would-be Wiccan and goth Skim, aka Kimberly Keiko Cameron, is revealed in this graphic novel as a sometimes target for the popular students at her all-girls private school in Toronto, where she falls in love with her English teacher Ms. Archer.

Wilson, Martin. What They Always Tell Us. 2008. 293p. Delacorte (9780385735070). Gr. 9-11. Isolated and unsure of his place in his family and at school after an attempted suicide Alex is encouraged to try out for cross-country by his brother’s friend, Nathen, and discovers more than just a supportive teammate.

Wittlinger, Ellen. Love & Lies: Marisol’s Story. 2008. 256p. Simon & Schuster (1416916237) (978-1416916239). Gr. 9-11. When Marisol takes a year off between high school and college to write a novel, she falls in love with her creative writing teacher, Olivia.

Nonfiction
Alsenas, Linas. Gay America: Struggle for Equality. 2008. 160p. Amulet/Abrams (978-0-8109-9487-4). Gr. 7-12. The fascinating story of gay people throughout America’s history is told with clear text and lots of photography.

Leleux, Robert. The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy. 2008. 272p. St. Martin’s Press (978-0-312-36168-6). Gr. 10-12. Hilarious stories of a comically dysfunctional family describe growing up gay in Texas.

Passet, Joanne. Sex Variant Woman: The Life of Jeannette Howard Foster. 2008. 448 p. Da Capo Press (0786718226/ 9780786718221). Gr. 10-12. Foster’s roller-coaster life and studies defined lesbian history in the twentieth century.

Schofield, Scott Turner. Two Truths and a Lie: A Memoir. 2008. 127p. Homofactus Press (978-0-9785973-2-0). Gr. 11-12. The fluidity of gender shines in these three performance scripts by a transgender man from the Deep South who describes growing up in a world of debutante balls and homecoming proms.

Schrag, Ariel. Awkward and Definition. 2008. Touchstone (Simon & Schuster), (978-1-4165-5231-4). Gr. 10-12. Pen and ink comic drawings about Schrag’s early high school years illuminate her funny and touching journey toward a sexual identify amidst concerns about school, sex, drugs, and rock and roll.

*****
The 2009 Rainbow Project Members: John Andrews—Washoe County Library System (Reno, NV); Helma Hawkins—Kansas City Public Library (Kansas City, MO); K.T. Horning—Cooperative Children’s Book Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison (Madison, WI); Arla Jones—Lawrence High School (Lawrence, KS); Natalie Kendall—Greeley Elementary School (Chicago, IL); Sharon Senser McKellar—Oakland Public Library (Oakland, CA); Michael Santangelo—Brooklyn Public Library (Brooklyn, NY); Victor Schill—Harris County Public Library (Houston, TX); Nel Ward, Chair (Newport, OR); and Christie Gibrich, Assistant to the Rainbow List for Public Relations and Support—Grand Prairie Public Library System (Grand Prairie, TX).

More information can be found on The Rainbow Project blog: rainbowlist.wordpress.com, as well as its myspace page (myspace.com/rainbow_list) and on its facebook page (search: rainbow list).

I’d like to share the results of the Mock Belpre that was sponsored by the Heartland Chapter of REFORMA on Jan. 3. We took the opportunity to experiment with doing the program on OPAL (Online Programs for All Libraries) which enables others to participate remotely and to access the archive of the discussion. We invite you to take a listen. It was our first time doing this type of program, so it isn’t very polished, but I think you’ll get the gist of the conversations.

You can see the list of books we had up for discussion and the link to the OPAL program at http://skyways.lib.ks.us/orgs/reforma/belpre08.html

Our honored books were:

• Mock Winner, Text: The Surrender Tree by Margarita Engle
• Mock Honor Books, Text: Animal Poems of the Iguazu by Francisco Alarcon and Perfect Day for Dreaming by Benjamin Alire Saenz
• Mock Winner, Illustration: Papa and Me by Arthur Dorros, illus. by Rudy Gutierrez
• Mock Honor Books, Illustration: Animal Poems of the Iguazu by Francisco Alarcon, illus by Maya Christina Gonzalez, and Quinito Day and Night by Ina Cumpiano, illus by Jose Ramirez

Jean Hatfield
Alford Regional Library
Wichita (Kansas) Public Library

If you aren’t receiving the free Book Links Quick Tipes e-newsletter, you may want to sign up. December’s theme is cooking.

Subscription prices for the bi-monthly Book Links magazine, a publication of the American Library Association, are listed on the ALA website –> Professional Resources–> ALA Publications–> ALA Periodicals–> Book Links. Its mission reads:

Book Links: Connecting Books, Libraries, and Classrooms is a magazine designed for teachers, librarians, library media specialists, booksellers, parents, and other adults interested in connecting children with books. In response to the use of children’s trade books in the classroom, the curriculum role of the school library media center, the increased programming in public libraries, and the heavy reliance of child-care centers on children’s literature, Book Links publishes bibliographies, essays linking books on a similar theme, retrospective reviews, and other features targeted at those educating young people.

Eli Neiburger is the Information Access and Systems Manager of Ann Arbor (Mich.) District Library (AADL) and he was one of the presenters at the 2008 ALA TechSource Gaming, Learning and Libraries Symposium. After his Pokémon Primer session, I now have a better understanding of the complex system of stewardship, strategy and organization that is Pokémon. I didn’t realize that there are over 500 varieties of Pokémon. I did know that the kids who love Pokémon know a lot about them.

During his session, two participants went head-to-head in the Pokémon Battle Revolution using the Wii. This is the game featured during AADL’s monthly Pokémon Tournament where an average of 60 kindergartners through fifth graders gather to test their skills against other Pokémon trainers. This video is of the Pokemon Battle Revolution they held on November 23, 2007.

He said that when hosting a tournament, it’s best to use Level 50 All to equalize matches and to restrict the use of “Legendary” Pokémon (unicorns and the like) until final matches. Sometimes kids will have hacked Pokémon, usually because they traded online (not that there’s anything wrong with trading). Many collectors from other countries like to have U.S. versions and will trade with ones that have had powers altered. He begins each tournament with explanations about what a hacked one might be like and that opponents can contest a Pokémon’s ability level, but must have the consensus of five other tournament participants in order to disqualify a particular Pokémon.

Due to the popularity of the tournament, especially with the use of the big screen and the Wii, it is a first round elimination for the ones who elect to play on the big screen with a 10 minute limit per game. The participants who play wirelessly between their own DS players play the best of 10. The final rounds are played on the big screen with the Wii.

The next AADL meeting of PL2: Public Library Pokémon League is Sunday, November 30. I plan to attend. I would love to have something similar at my library.

Many ALSC members not only work with children, but also with teens.  Some of you may also be members of ALA’s Young Adult Library Services Association.  Well, YALSA member, Jenine Lillian is working on a new professional resouce called Cool Teen Programs on a Shoestring.  The book will consist of different programs that are fun and appealing to teen audiences, and Jenine is looking for ideas from all of you!

 This is not only a great publishing opportunity for any Librarians who have had great and inexpensive teen programs, but also, there is the potential for them to share their ideas at a YALSA event at the ALA Annual Conference in July, 2009 with the editor. 

 I’ve attached the submission form here for those of you who would like to get involved. The deadline for submissions is Novmeber 20th!

Cool Teen Program Submission Form

The American Library Association’s weekly e-newsletter, American Libraries Direct, is now available to anyone who wants to sign up for it, not just ALA members. The sign-up form, as well as the FAQ, is at http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/aldirect/aldirect.cfm .

from an ALA press release

The next installment in the series of American Library Association (ALA) President Jim Rettig’s ALA Connections Salons will be an online discussion with Pat Scales, President of the Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC). The discussion, entitled “Kid Connections” will take place from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. EST Friday, Oct. 17.

Online Programming for All Libraries (OPAL) Coordinator Tom Peters will begin the hour with an interview with Scales, whose association recently hosted its 2008 National Institute in Salt Lake City, Utah, Sept. 18-20. Attendees of the institute participated in program tracks on “Technology and Children’s Services,” “Programming in the New Millennium” and “Inspiring Lifelong Reading.” After 36 years as a middle school librarian and advocate for students’ right to read, Scales is passionate about helping young people find books that are just right for them.

Following the interview, participants will be free to ask questions and engage with Scales and with one another to discuss the joys and challenges of bringing books and kids together.

The salon will take place in OPAL, a user-friendly site offering online rooms where participants can interact via voice-over-IP, text chatting, synchronized browsing and other functions. The link for the salon is http://tinyurl.com/6ncakq, and a tip sheet for users is available at http://www.opal-online.org/firsttimetips.htm.

Like its 17th and 18th Century European counterparts, the ALA Connections Salon offers a place for ALA members to gather and discuss professional topics of interest. Future salons will take place each month throughout Rettig’s presidency on from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. EST Fridays as follows:

2008
November 21 Political Connections
December 19 Gaming Connections

2009
February 20 ALA Connections
March 20 Next Generation Catalog Connections
April 17 Advocacy Connections
May 15 Education and Recruitment Connections
June 19 Future Connections

For more information about ALA President Jim Rettig’s initiatives, please visit http://jimrettig.org/content/initiatives/initiatives.htm .

Teresa Y. Neely’s Information Literacy Assessment: Standards-Based Tools and Assignments is geared toward academic librarians and ways to integrate the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL)’s Information Literacy Compentency Standards for Higher Education into assignments and ways to assess. As I started reading, I revisited The American Association of School Libraries (AASL)’s Standards for the 21st-Century Learner. Both sets of standards are important to consider as we help young people develop into lifelong learners.

Neely writes on page 39:

It is important for students to have a realistic plan for acquiring sources and completing their research. This is challenging for students at any educational level. Success in the research process requires a commitment of time and energy on the part of the student.

I sure do feel for those young folk who come in the night before something major is due and try to cobble together a little research. I was one of those students who found sources plenty early. (I always wanted to be a librarian, too.) I burnt plenty of midnight oil writing the actual papers, but I loved the search for information, scanning through microfilm, finding connections, narrowing or broadening the scope as needed by the project and my interest. Grades were important to me, but not as important as what I discovered.

I am encouraged by the publication of several research as process books. Two that come to mind are Secrets of a Civil War Submarine: Solving the Mysteries of the H.L. Hunley by Sally M Walker, the 2006 Sibert Medal Winner (see a review by Abby (the) Librarian), and Ain’t Nothing But a Man: My Quest to Find the Real John Henry by Scott Reynolds Nelson with Marc Aronson. (Abby (the) Librarian reviewed that one too.) Both books demonstrate how history is discovered and interpreted and alive.

Think about your local resources, your local researchers, folks in all sorts of fields who need to find information specific to their areas of expertise. Why not have a series of programs in which these people share what they do to find what they need to know? The time required, the sources used, the languages they needed to learn to make their jobs easier, the math computations, the tools they use, oh, I don’t know, I’m just brainstorming here. Granted, you couldn’t just shove a person in front of a group of young people, you would want to work with them to make it a satisfying experience for everyone. It just seems to me that for young people developing a research project WITH an expert in a field of interest might open up the world of research as the exciting place it can be. Could it work? Has it worked?

For July’s Professional Reading post, I will write a response to Dynamic Youth Services Through Outcome-Based Planning and Evaluation by Eliza T. Dresang.

I was so happy to be included in the Diversity Leadership Pre-conference at ALA here in Anaheim. It was an amazingly inspiring day featuring presentations, discussions and brainstorming.

The day started off with ALA President Loriene Roy speaking about her vision of “celebrating community, collaboration, and culture” during her tenure as ALA’s first American Indian President. A highlight was her vision of workplace wellness.

Next up was Dr. Clara M. Chu (UCLA Department of Information Studies). She focused on institutional assessment, and helped participants find the best path to help bring best practises of diversity to their own institutions, whether they are academic, public, special or school libraries.

Mark Winston (UNC-Chapel Hill School of Information and Library Science) was the next speaker, and he presented an intriguing talk asserting that Leadership Diversity needs to take on a three pronged approach of demographics, social justice and economic imperatives. He spoke about the under-representation of people of color in the LIS profession, and stated that “we should define our organizational priorities around issues of organizational success and social responsibility.”

Patty Wong (Yolo County Library, CA) was up next, and brought in the idea of recruitment. She wants us to look at diversity in the widest sense, and to think outside the box regarding issues of advancement, diversity inspired sabbaticals, bilingual pay, and changing job titles to reflect a commitment to diversity.

Then came the panel that I was part of. Included were Judy Macaluso (Ocean County Public Library, NJ), Deva Walker (Cleveland Public Library), Kristin Shelley (Worthington Libraries, OH), Kawanna Bright (North Carolina State University), and myself (LREI, NY). We spoke of the importance of diversity committees, mission statements, and connections that libraries can make to support diversity efforts in libraries, schools and universities.

Last but not least was the poetic Sandra Rios Balderrama (Balderrama Consulting) who spoke about her global regarding diversity. She spoke of the circular nature of acting and then reflecting and about new methods of working and serving that are based on and generated by difference.

I was left inspired and ready for action after this pre-conference. Advocacy for diversity is the responsibility of everyone, and I suggest that we all get involved in any way that we can!

ALA Marginalia announces the Day-in-Review to be held at Salon Huron at ALA Island (179, 201, 29) at 5:00 p.m. Second Life Time/Pacific Time today (Friday, June 27), Sunday and Monday. It will begin at 4:00 p.m. Second Life/Pacific Time on Saturday, June 28.

The Dumbest Generation by Mark Bauerlein is the first book to be discussed on the AASL Blog’s online book club. The discussion will begin August 11.

Any suggestions of books or format changes you have for the ALSC Blog’s Professional Reading posts? Please post them here or email them to [email protected]. Thanks!

Google Direktvideo link

Congressman Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) is asking the Federal Trade Commission to issue a “consumer alert” on such Web sites as Second Life. Read the article below to learn more about this conflict, and notice that The American Library Association is referenced near the end of the article as being “staunchly opposed to the prosal.”

Ban ‘Second Life’ in schools and libraries, Republic Congressman says

Organize a Virtual Library Legislative Day at your library!

Can’t make it to DC on May 14 for National Library Legislative Day? No problem.

Post this flier (http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/washevents/nlld/virtuallibrarylegislativeday/NLLD%20Flier%202008.pdf) and recruit everyone you know to take part in a VIRTUAL LIBRARY LEGISLATIVE DAY!

Through Virtual Library Legislative Day, thousands of people all across the country will call, fax and email their Members of Congress to tell them about the importance of libraries in this country.

Get as many library advocates as you can to participate in this incredible event with the Virtual Library Legislative Day flier!

For more information, please visit www.ala.org/nlld.

Today, my colleague and friend, Becky White and I were discussing podcasting for this month’s ALSC Blog podcast. We talked a bit about copyright concerns. After our conversation, I visited the American Library Association’s Office for Information Technology Policy’s Copyright Advisory Network and read through the forum. While the forum is not legal advice, it is still very helpful.

Congratulations to Dr. Brodie! Here’s the press release. Dr. Brodie was one of my instructors when I was working toward my MLS at Kent State. She is a wonderful teacher and mentor. And an active ALSC member.

If you have the chance, check out the Virginia Hamilton Conference, an annual April event. This year it is taking place tomorrow and Friday. Dr. Brodie is a co-director of this conference held at Kent State University.

Angela and Dianna recommended these two titles in December at which time I commented that these books would be the March Professional Reading topic. Thanks for suggesting these titles! Both of these books offer wonderful suggestions in creating storytimes that will enhance the experience for children and caregivers.

Early Literacy Storytimes @your library®: Partnering with Caregivers for Success, written by Saroj Nadkarni Ghoting and Pamela Martin-Diaz, adds to the important information of Every Child Ready to Read @your library®, a joint project of the Public Library Association and ALSC. The first section of this book clearly explains the current early literacy research and why it is important for library storytimes to include speaking points about early literacy skills to the adults who are bringing the children to the library. As Ghoting and Martin-Diaz write on page 18:

Storytimes offer young children and their parents/caregivers exposure to a variety of skills, small and large motor development, social and early literacy skills. Through modeling, we offer adults an opportunity to observe how they can support their children’s early literacy development outside the library.

Early literacy enhanced storytimes take them a step further by explaining to the adults how the elements of storytime support early literacy. In this way, we can help parents/caregivers become more fully aware of the key role they play in the development of their child’s early literacy skills and the importance of early literacy as part of overall child development. In addition, adults learn specific ways to support their children’s continued development of these skills.

Ghoting and Martin-Diaz share a wealth of outlines of early literacy enhanced storyimes in the second section. Their kind and gentle encouragement in regard to talking to the parents and caregivers during the storytimes are particularly helpful to those of us who might be intimidated by the thought. The third section offers ways to evaluate and promote early literacy enhanced storytimes.

Ready-To-Go Storytimes: Fingerplays, Scripts, Patterns, Music, and More by Gail Benton and Trisha Waichulaitis offers exactly what the subtitle says. The “ready-to-go” is a bit misleading in that you will need to practice and gather (or make) props first. My favorite part is the “more” that the authors suggest. I simply love the idea of including matching games for children and caregivers to play together during each of the six themed storytimes. Benton and Waichulaitis encourage participation in all aspects of the storytimes; I was having fun just reading about them. I look forward to including their ideas in an upcoming storytime of my own.

Both books are geared to create storytimes that will offer much variety and a bigger impact for the youngest patrons we serve and the adults in their lives who want to help these children reach their fullest potential.

submitted by Jessica Trujillo, an ALSC-sponsored ALA 2008 Emerging Leader

When I was young, the term “leader” sent chills down my spine, perhaps due from growing up in the 80’s; but as a young adult my mental picture of a leader was some guy with slicked back hair in a power suit wheeling and dealing. The kind of person that would put an old lady out on the street–in the cold, while it’s raining. Or an overbearing petty tyrant, using his/her power to work out feelings of inadequacy. Not so appealing to a kid (with an admittedly overactive imagination) who read Steinbeck and listened to Woody Guthrie. In my teenage mind people like Gandhi or Martin Luther King, Jr. were something else–not leaders per se, they were visionaries–humanitarians. The idea that they were leaders as well seemed more like semantics than anything else–they were something more noble than the word leader encompassed. Thus, for many years this abstract idea of what a leader was lingered in my mind. But as with many early held beliefs, my ideas of leadership became more nuanced as I gained more life and career experience. So when I saw the advertisements for the Emerging Leaders Program, I thought this might be an opportunity to gain more skills at becoming an effective leader.

When I applied to the 2007 ALA Emerging Leaders program, I was not accepted. But as a youth services librarian, I am used to things not turning out how I thought it would; and like a good librarian I moved on and tried something else. I took the following year to gain more experience by volunteering on an ALSC committee and participated in a few of the New Jersey Library Association sections. I also presented poster sessions at a few conferences. So when I saw the advertisements for the next group and I decided to give it another go, and I was accepted and chosen to be one of the ALSC sponsored Emerging Leaders.

After I was accepted and told all my friends and family about it, and they all asked me what would I do as an Emerging Leader. So I told them, “Well, at ALA Midwinter we have a session about leadership and then we work on a project, do a poster session, and then volunteer on a committee.” Then the questions became more probing.

“So Jess, what do you exactly talk about for an entire day?” Well, leadership stuff. You know, like learning how to be a good leader and things…

“What type of projects do you work on?” Ah! I know that one: I am working on the ALSC project. They would “like to know what ALSC can do to appeal to your peers, including those who are young or experienced, those considering the MLS or newly-minted MLS, and/or any other demographic you can identify as significant to the possible future ALSC member base.”

“So what does that mean?” Uh, making ALSC cool to newbies. Promoting why ALSC is valuable.

“Blah, ba-blah, blah?” What is this? The Spanish Inquisition? I’m only EMERGING. After the EMERGING then I will know, won’t I?

The first Emerging Leaders session was very much like the first day of school. I was nervous. I got lost finding my way to the room. I had trouble trying to figure out where to sit. Not knowing anyone. The teachers (facilitators) making us all mingle and get to know everyone. Normally I am a very shy person in large groups. But I thought to myself, “You must network. You are an emerging leader. No time for shyness. Emerge, you silly thing!” So I forced myself to introduce myself to people and make small talk–not really my strength, so sorry to anyone who had to listen to my inane chatter.

The Emerging Leader’s first day is broken up into three big sections punctuated by times for mingling and eating. The first section was presented by Leslie Burger (former ALA President). The next section was about leadership. Lastly, we had time to meet in our project groups to plan for our project.

The first section Leslie Burger went over the structure of the American Library Association. I remember from her presentation that: 1. ALA works because its members are willing to volunteer, and 2. it is very complex in its structure. She also talked about her own experiences in her career and with ALA. The comment from her presentation that stuck with me most was that influence rather than power is most effective in leadership.

The next session was presented by Maureen Sullivan, organizational consultant, and Connie Paul, Executive Director, Central Jersey Regional Library Cooperative and recent 2008 co-recipient of the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies (ASCLA) Leadership and Professional Achievement Award. From this session I learned that anyone, at any position, can be a leader. It is not just the boss person that leads; every person has the opportunity to foster collaboration, or to set an example by following their own stated values, or be positive about their work. Leadership is not always from the top down, most often the most effective leadership is through influence–by being a team player, being forward thinking, building relationships, being self confident, being empathetic, leading with vision and purpose. Leslie Burger was totally right and now I really get it. Being a leader is totally Woodie (Guthrie that is). During this session I realized that a good leader (at any stage in a career) is a practical optimist. Thinking to oneself, “Maybe I cannot do this now, but what can I do today so that one day I can.” Fortunately for me this new idea of a practical optimist has now replaced my 80’s guy version of a leader.

The last section was when we all broke out into our project groups and met with our mentor and ALA representative. Fortunately for me, all the women in my group are pretty cool. At the moment we are working on sending out a survey via Survey Monkey–which I hope people will participate in–and getting something going for ALA Annual in Anaheim. Keep your eyes and ears open.

If you are thinking about applying to become an Emerging Leader, I encourage you to do so. It is as educational as it is fun. So what are you waiting for? Get your resume updated and line up your recommendations.

I spent one of the best days of my life in Park Guell in Barcelona. It was the tail end of a long Europe trip and my traveling companion and I were a bit worn out. We came into the park from the back side, riding a series of escalators up to the park’s highest elevation and then wandered slowly(yes Anatoly, I do use adverbs) down towards the largest bench I have ever seen. The bench was completely covered in mosaics and formed a squiggly circle. We sat there for what felt like hours, absorbing the truly mind-blowing scenery, reflecting on our travels. What I wouldn’t give to go back there this afternoon!

If you ever have the chance to visit be sure to carve out a full afternoon to relax there. Why exactly am I reminiscing about my Euro-trip? Because I have a copy of The Oxford Companion to The Garden on my desk. This hefty book is devoted to gardens of every kind and the people involved in their making. Below is an excerpt about Park Guell. (more…)

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