Once Upon A School - tell your school library story

Once Upon A School is a website that helps individuals find a creative way to make a difference in their local public school. The site was created by 2008 TED prize winner Dave Eggers, who wished* for 1000 members of the TED community to participate in a project for local kids. [Each year, three individuals are granted the TED Prize, which provides winners with a wish to change the world, $100,000 in seed money, and the support of the TED community in making the wish come true. Dave looked to the community to build a website that would collect these stories.]

Since Dave delivered his wish, TEDsters have stepped up and formed inspiring and creative partnerships and posted their stories on the site. There are about 200 stories so far, 800 more stories are needed, so teacher librarians tell your stories!!! Flood the site with school library stories from across the state and nation. What do you and your school do for Banned Books Week, the California Young Reader Award Medal, Battle of the Books, Library Lovers Month, Read-a-thons, Book Clubs, Teen Literacy Clubs, Teen Read Week, Poetry Slams, Recycle to Read, and library fundraisers? This is an excellent opportunity to point out what a strong school library is and what it takes to have and keep a strong school library program. It is a great opportunity to point to the research that shows how students excel when there is access to books and strong school libraries.

Thanks to a partnership with VolunteerMatch, individuals can browse existing needs out there being requested by schools in their area. The idea is to pick an opportunity, step in and then share your story to inspire others.

Biblioburros, Donkey Library (Columbia)

California State Library's Cindy Mediavilla alerted California librarians to a great story about a weekend bookmobile or Biblioburros (2 burros) in Columbia.

Second Life Avatar Promotes Reading

This past weekend was the mid-winter planning meeting for the American Library Association. For those unable to attend in real life (RL), they were invited to attend some functions in Second Life (SL). Here is my avatar. I was only able to visit on two of the four days.

ALA's Advocacy University

The American Library Association (ALA) has introduced Advocacy University, which is a website packed with resources, courses, and tools to help library advocates make the case for libraries and library programs at the local level. It is a new site, but will continue to grow. So far, there are resources for:

• Advocating in a Tough Economy Toolkit
  
  
• Add It Up: Libraries Make the Difference in Youth Development and Education
  

Valentine Candy Fundraiser

Liana, Library Media Technician at Fallon School in Dublin, CA suggests a Sees Candy fundraiser for Valentine's Day. Theme is "We (insert heart graphic) Books". Students know that this money is only for new releases and books that students have requested. Minimal time and effort. Bottom line: $900 to $1,500.

A quick web search on "Valentines Day Fundraiser" yielded additional ideas beyond candy: selling roses, red balloons, raffle, auction. ADVANCE PUBLICITY is key to successful fundraising. Get the word out in all sorts of ways including your website, print and eNewsletters, posters, gatherings (school sports events), e-mail and listservs, web 2.0 tools like Twitter and text messages. Be creative and have fun. Invite young people to promote the fun.

Be sure to visit Library Lovers Month by Stephanie Stokes Design. It seems like only yesterday that Stephanie came up with her fantastic brainstorm and followed up with a long-lasting gift to libraryland.

Recycle to Read - school library fundraiser

Schools and school libraries never seem to have enough funds for school libraries. In light of California's incredible budget shortfall, a question was asked on the California school library listserv about how to raise money for books.

Two teacher librarians responded that they recycled school cans and bottles to earn money for books. (Is this in your job description?) Here is how Mary at Lompoc High School Library raises money for young adult fiction: "About three years ago my colleague Bea recognized 'gold' in a litter display I had made. She said, "You know Mary, there are a lot of recyclable materials in your display." She teamed up with CSF, and now the Drama Club, library TA's, a few student volunteers, Bea and I pick up all the bottles and cans that students use here on the LHS campus. I go out during my lunch hour to pick up after the lunch crowd, and then throughout the week and on Friday's we have students who pick up the bottles from bins that are in classrooms.

This program is called, "Recycle to Read," and I project that we will clear close to $3,000 this year. It has taken three years, but all the classrooms have bins now, and I get most of the bottles after lunch. There is a Special Education class that picks up the cans and bottles from the cafeteria and they also get the ones that are just left around on the patio after lunch.

All this money goes for YA fiction. The first picks are the ones that kids recommend, but then we also are able to buy other good choices that we think they will like. It is a lot of work, but it does a lot of good."

Dear Mr. President - NEA and Kidthing

AASL (American Association of School Librarians) announced that NEA (National Education Association) and kidthing®, are inviting American children to share their hopes, dreams, and ideas with President-elect Barack Obama.

What to do: children send in their ideas in the form of letters or drawings by mail or e-mail attachments. Top submissions will be featured in kidthing's Dear Mr. President digital book which will be unveiled in the kidthing store on President's Day, February 16, 2009. kidthing will offer the digital book for free. A limited edition print will also be sent to the White House.

When: Deadline for submissions is January 20, 2009.

Thank You For Being a Friend - YouTube

Just discovered this nice library thank you video...



This was done as a salute to the volunteers of the Boerne Public Library. The video uses Andrew Gold's song "Thank You For Being A Friend." Produced by Alicia Rivera and Natalie Morgan in 2007. Well done!

Worlds Connect @ Your Library - Nat'l Library Week Theme 2009

The American Library Association announced the 2009 theme for National Library Week (April 12-18, 2009). See “Worlds connect @ your library” materials. ALA Graphics products supporting the “Worlds connect” theme are also available from the ALA Store. National Library Week celebrates the contributions of our nation's libraries and librarians and promotes library use.

Generating Revenue for Libraries and Library Associations

There has probably never been a better time to look into ways that web 2.0 tools can help bring in revenue to libraries, library associations, literary and literacy groups, to name a few of my favorite places and people. So, one of my New Year's Resolutions is to explore a number of tools including:

• BLURB.com for publishing and selling books. I've created a few books for family and friends, but why not figure out a "best seller" that the public might want to buy for their own collection?
• AdSense by Google. Not sure this will bring in much if anything, but it is worth testing. This is for publishers, so if your library, library foundation, or association has a blog that gets a lot of visits this might be a good tool to add at the top of your blog. The ads are "magically" matched to your type of organization and readers' interests.
• Online Gift Shop. T-Shirts and More items through Cafepress.com might yield some revenue, given people can purchase shirts, jackets, hats, and other items. Although I don't buy many T-shirts, I am partial to anything with pictures of books and messages like "READ" -- See earlier posts about T-Shirt Advocacy.

Wish me luck as I learn the ropes, pros/cons, and other options. Happy New Year 2009.