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Add ALSC to your Annual Conference schedule with exciting programs, events and giveaways!

• Decide ahead of time which ALSC programs and meetings you want to attend by viewing: http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/alscevents/alscannual/alsc08programs.cfm
• WIN a ticket to the ALSC event of the year—the Newbery Caldecott Banquet!  For those who have not yet bought tickets to Sunday’s banquet, visit the ALA/ALSC booth (#1840) and enter our raffle for your chance to win. The drawing will take place at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday; winner need not be present to win.
• Flashy ALSC giveaways and member ribbons will be available at our exhibits booth, so don’t forget to stop by!
• Fear not ALSC newbies, “ALSC 101: Making Connections” is here to help!  Join us Friday from 4 – 6 p.m. in the Annual Conference Center room 201A/B to learn more about ALSC, meet fellow new members and get some great conference tips!  Can’t make it on Friday?  A mini “ALSC 101” will be held in the ALA Membership Pavilion in the ALA booth (#1840) in the exhibits hall on Monday morning from 9:30 – 10 a.m.  For helpful conference tips, visit the ALSC Wiki at http://wikis.ala.org/alsc/index.php/Helpful_Tips_for_First_Time_Conference_Attendees
• End your busy Saturday at ALSC’s Annual Happy Hour!  Join us at Roy’s from 5 – 7 p.m. for a cash bar, good times and great friends both old and new.  Roy’s is located at the Anaheim Garden Walk, 321 W. Katella Ave, Suite #105.  Visit http://www.roysrestaurant.com/ to learn more about Roy’s.
• STUDENTS!  Connect with other student members at our first ever ALSC Student Mix and Mingle taking place Sunday from 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. in the ALA Member Pavilion on the Exhibits floor. 
• No trip is complete without a little shopping!  Stop by the onsite ALA Store to pick-up ALSC products, such as our Born to Read and Every Child Ready to Read materials

For more information on ALA Annual Conference visit www.ala.org/annual.  Questions?  Contact Jenny Najduch at [email protected].  We look forward to seeing you in Anaheim!

Join ALSC in Second Life for “Annual with ALSC: Programs, Attendance & More!” taking place Thursday, June 12 at 12 Noon SLT (second life time; 12 Noon SLT = 2 p.m. CST) in the Member Lounge of ALA Island (78, 98, 29).  This in-world discussion is designed for ALSC members to share with eachother information about Annual programming and helpful conference tips (GREAT for all you first time attendees!).  Questions?  Contact Jenny Najduch at [email protected]. We hope to see you there! 

I have the honor of receiving all of the review books that arrive into the ALSC office.  I started working for ALSC in December 1996, and it’s been Christmas every day since then.  You see, I love opening the boxes of books that we receive almost everyday. I’m like a kid in the candy store; I get so excited to see all the new titles of the year.  I like contemplating which books I think the committees will select as an award winner or as a notable book. Boxes start arriving for the new year in early December and continue year round. We have two areas for storing books that are sent to the office. When books first arrive they are housed in area one (which is an entire wall of shelves) until award and evaluation committee chairs send me their final nomination list (which is confidential) of titles that they need to see at Annual Conference or the Midwinter Meeting. 

Time is always ticking! The trunks for conference shipments arrive in our office about a month before conference. I pack the books in and they are on their way to conference, waiting to be chosen as a Medal, Honor or Notable book of the year!

Angela Smith
Administrative Assistant

Google Direktvideo link

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.

If a cowboy gets “buffaloed”, what has happened to him?
a) He was trampled
b) He was bowled over
c) He was confused

And the answer is…
C. A man who gets buffaloed is most often confused over something that has happened. For instance, a cowboy playing cards might claim, “When that fellar laid down his flush beating my straight I was about as buffaloed as a blind bear in a briar patch!”

Learn more about Cowboys and YOUTH SERVICES this September 18-20 when you Head West with ALSC to Salt Lake City, Utah for our National Institute. Registration is now open with a special Early Bird discounted rate to members through June 30. Don’t delay, view more information and register now at www.ala.org/alscinstitute.

Can’t make it to Madison for the 2008 May Hill Arbuthnot lecture? Never fear! This year you’ll be able to list to David Macaulay LIVE on the Web, similply join in at http://www.scls.info/arbuthnot08/ and click on the “Live Video Stream” link.The lecture will begin at 7:00 p.m. (central time) and will end at approximately 8:00 p.m. You’ll also be able to returen to this page throughout the year to view an archived version of the lecture.

For more infomation about the lecture or to purchase tickets, visit the ALSC Web site at http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/arbuthnothonor/2008lecture.cfm

Did you know there are MORE public libraries than McDonald’s in the U.S. - a total of 16,549, including branches! To help celebrate National Library Week (April 13-19) take a trip though the information drive thru and see what ends up in your take-out bag!

For more fun videos on National Library Week, visit: http://alfocus.ala.org

Hello and welcome to another scintillating installment in the “Behind the ALSC Scenes” adventure series!

As program officer for communications here in ALSC, I divide my time working on ALSConnect, the Kids! @ your library^® Campaign, the ALSC Web site, Children and Libraries, non-serial publications, and the electronic discussion lists (not necessarily in that order!).

As you might gather from my job title and responsibilities, I like the written word. And this often amazes me, considering this very slow-reading gal spent every Friday of third grade DREADING the day’s torturous McCall-Crabbs reading test. (I’m cringing just thinking about those days. Talk about ruining a perfectly good Friday.) I’m sure I flunked every last one of those tests! Either I’d try reading the entire text and have NO time to answer the associated questions, or I’d skim the text so lightly that I couldn’t correctly answer the questions. (Doh!) Was it the strange allure of our makeshift library (where dear mom volunteered once a week) or the spiffy, easy-to-read, and eye-catching book club catalogs that drew me to words, books, and reading? I don’t really know, but I’m glad I found my way there despite the continual reading failures of third grade.**

But enough of those early formative years, back to the ALSC scene! Things are never dull here and there’s always something new to work on. Did you know, ALSC members, that our newsletter ALSConnect is now an electronic publication? The first paperless issue was September 2007. So, if you’ve been wondering why you haven’t seen a copy in your mailbox lately, please be sure to login and read all the latest news online. Just go to www.ala.org/alsc and click on Members Only – ALSConnect Online. ALSC members also receive an e-mail reminder each time a new issue is posted online.

Have you checked out the Kids! @ your library® Campaign? If not, you’re missing out! Our campaign tool kit offers so many free, that’s right FREE, resources for promoting the library and its services to children (k-4) and their families. There is a downloadable theme song “At Your Library,” written by the Grammy-winning Bill Harley, logos and public service announcements, library-themed games and activities, and much more. Our hard-working Public Awareness Committee is also in the early stages of developing promotion materials geared for kids in grades 5-8. Stay tuned as plans progress… www.ala.org/kids.

Okay, okay! I’ll stop shamelessly promoting pet projects! Thank you for reading and please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions about the Web site or electronic discussion lists, story ideas and news for ALSConnect and Children and Libraries; and feedback on the Kids! Campaign. I welcome your input!

–Laura Schulte-Cooper

**Don’t feel too badly for me! For Friday night brought the Brady Bunch and often mom’s spaghetti supper (two personal favorites!). So, Friday morning McCall-Crabbs reading tests be darned! Fridays DID finish out on a pretty good note indeed!

Name and title/position at ALSC:  Linda Mays. Program Officer, Projects and Partnerships.  This includes managing grants we receive to further certain projects, such as El día de los niños/El día de los libros.  I also work with outside organizations to promote libraries and literacy, such as PBS and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Hometown:  Chicago Education:  BA in English and Journalism Family (including pets!):  No siblings;  but I have 23 cousins, and I stay in touch with all of them. Years with ALSC/ALA: 7 with ALSC;  10 (this April) with ALA Favorite Children’s book (as a child):  Black Beauty  Favorite Children’s book (today):  Too many to mention Favorite Author:  Richard Peck is one among many What celebrity would you like to meet (if any)?  Anna Quindlen;  she is so insightful What junk food is your downfall?  Ice cream;  any flavor Favorite vacation spot? Vancouver, B.C. If you weren’t working at ALSC, what would your dream job be?  Honestly, this is my dream job.  I think the work of ALSC lets all the staff know that we make a difference.         

Today we have posted part 4 in the series we are co-posting with Moreover. Diane and Michael Ravitch are the authors of “The English Reader: What Every Literate Person Needs To Know“. Diane is Professor of Education at the Steinhardt School of Education, New York University. Her books include “The American Reader”, “The Language Police”, “Left Back” and “The Troubled Crusade”. Michael Ravitch is a freelance critic and writer, his work has appeared in the New Republic, Yale Review and other publications. Be sure to check out parts one, two and three also. (more…)

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Today we are happy to present the third post in Diane and Michael Ravitch’s series on Moreover. They are the authors of THE ENGLISH READER: What Every Literate Person Needs To Know, .

For decades, professors of pedagogy have preached the gospel of Relevance. According to this gospel, students will have greater motivation to learn if their lessons are about their own lives, or if they can read stories about people just like themselves. (more…)

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Yesterday we co-posted the first of a series of blogs by Diane and Michael Ravitch, authors of The English Reader: What Every Literate Person Needs To Know. Today we present the second article, also available at Moreover, by Diane Ravitch.

I confess that I am distraught by the contemporary paucity of allusion. (more…)

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It’s a rare opportunity when I get to both introduce a wonderful new blog and announce that OUP authors will be guest blogging there all week. Moreover: Life and Art is The Economist’s new culture blog headed up by Emily Bobrow. Everyday this week Michael and Diane Ravitch, authors of The English Reader: What Every Literate Person Needs To Know, will be blogging there. Diane is Professor of Education at the Steinhardt School of Education, New York University. Her books include “The American Reader”, “The Language Police”, “Left Back” and “The Troubled Crusade”. Michael Ravitch is a freelance critic and writer, his work has appeared in The New Republic, Yale Review and other publications. Below is the first blog in the series.

(more…)

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