Read Kiddo Read

Action author James Patterson writes both adult and young adult non fiction page-turners. Apparently, his son was not a reader early on, which got Patterson to seek out or write novels for boys. At the American Association of School Libraries conference on November 6, Patterson said ‘It’s time for librarians to start making a lot more noise.... School libraries are not a luxury, they are a necessity.’ He called for librarians to "make noise" and advocate for school libraries. According to American Libraries Associate Editor Pamela Goodes, “Best-selling author James Patterson has launched a new website, ReadKiddoRead, designed to help parents, teachers, and librarians find books that will appeal to kids at all reading and interest levels....
AL Inside Scoop, Nov. 6

Big Read - 2010

Check it out!

Alert from ALA Direct: Time to apply for The Big Read
The Institute of Museum and Library Services, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and Arts Midwest, announces the 2010 deadline for The Big Read, a program to revitalize the role of literature in American culture. Organizations may apply for grants ranging from $2,500 to $20,000 with the grant size determined by community population, number of activities planned, and artistic excellence and merit. The proposal deadline is February 2, 2010....
Institute of Museum and Library Services, Nov. 13

Big Read grants require the participation of a library as a lead applicant or a partner. Grant funds, which must be matched with nonfederal funds, may be used for such expenses as book purchases, speaker fees and travel, salaries, advertising, and venue rental. How can school libraries benefit from this grant? See book choices at http://neabigread.org/guidelines.php

• If book choices agree with summer reading or other school lists, would this be a good public-school collaboration?
• PR tools and educational resources look good. See the following list.
• Reader’s Guides: 16-page booklets containing an introduction to the featured book or poet, historical context, background of the writer, information about related works, and discussion questions.
• Spanish translations of Reader’s Guides: Available for In the Time of Butterflies; Bless Me, Ultima; Fahrenheit 451; The Maltese Falcon; Sun, Stone, and Shadows: 20 Great Mexican Short Stories; To Kill a Mockingbird; The Call of the Wild; The Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe; The Grapes of Wrath; and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
• Teacher’s Guides: 20-page booklets containing lesson plans and other teacher resources for high schools or middle schools that can be used in the classroom and/or by the school library media specialist.
• Audio Guides: 30-minute CDs featuring interviews with notable literary and public figures about the book for radio promotion and classroom use; for the poetry selections, 20-minute CDs containing readings of poems.
• Banners, posters, and bookmarks for promotional and marketing purposes.
• Web site: Participating community organizations also contribute to www.NEABigRead.org.

Middle and high school partnerships are essential to meeting the goals of The Big Read. Applicant organizations are encouraged partner with local middle and/or high schools, working with school leaders, such as teachers, school librarians, English department chairs, principals, superintendents, or curriculum specialists. Partner schools should be capable of integrating The Big Read materials in classrooms and/or involving students in school-based Big Read activities. Applicant organizations should also develop program plans to involve students in community-based programming.

Book Trailers - Book Promotions

We all have seen Movie Trailers or "previews of coming attractions". Now we have BOOK TRAILERS! Love them. Here is an example, "Impossible" by Nancy Werlin. Inspired by the classic folk ballad Scarborough Fair.



Book trailers are ideal for libraries of all kinds to promote reading. How are you using them? There are commercial sites like BookTrailers.net, but trailers are ideal as student-created book commercials that could be easily captured on a Flip Video and uploaded to Teacher Tube.

Frontline Advocacy - ALA Panel

ALA Midwinter Planning Conference in Boston features a Saturday 1/16 program on Frontline Advocacy. California School Library Association's 08/09 President Connie Hamner Williams is on the panel, representing school librarians. ALA President Camila Alire sees the CSLA "Best Sellers" grassroots advocacy campaign for strong school libraries as a prime example of frontline advocacy.

Program description of Frontline Advocacy: "Do you think advocacy is just for the higher-ups in your organization? Everyone can – and should – have a role in advocating for their library and the profession. Learn how advocating from the front lines is possible: Join ALA President Camila Alire and guests in a discussion on Frontline Advocacy, a unique initiative designed to motivate, encourage and train librarians and library support staff to seize opportunities to promote the diverse professionals, resources, and services of public, school, academic, and special libraries."

Building BUZZ - Word of Mouth Marketing

I enjoyed reading "The Power of Word-of-Mouth Marketing (WOMM)", an article by Peggy Barber and Linda Wallace in the November issue of American Libraries. The focus was on empowering public library staffers to ask patrons questions like "Do you know we have the Tumblebooks Site" and demo those sites or databases. It is simple, fun, and strategic on many levels. It creates a buzz. It is something like a fast food store asking all customers if they'd like fries with their meal -- it makes customers think about it, often add that item, and stimulates sales.

How would this work in school libraries? Is anyone doing something like this now? Would it be a fun experiment?

• Select a book-a-week for teacher librarians, library clerks, and/or student library aides to promote? Upon book check-out, ask something like: "Have you heard about X book by Y author? It is very popular -- check out a copy on the book display table". Effectiveness could be measured by how many times each of the recommended books gets borrowed over the semester or year. This could be a school-public library collaboration too.
• Select a library database or public primary source database (like Calisphere.org) to promote once-a-month.

Peggy says: "WOMM can definitely work for school libraries and we included an example from a middle school in our book [Building A Buzz]. Basically we suggest that every library have a marketing/communication plan that includes two-way communication-- finding out what the people served want and need.--- Then goals and measurable objectives based on what is learned, with WOMM as a useful strategy for making the plan work. (Golly....I do start preaching!) A library staff team can develop the plan, and all staff can make it happen. In our case study, a school district library recruited two people from each school to be advocates--both listening and telling colleagues about library services....and they had bunch of practical ideas --like "eat lunch with teachers and make the librarian accessible." Bottom line...the ideas you suggest sound good, but they'll be great if they are part of a plan---- organized, focused, consistent."

School Libraries Lacking - Newspaper article

The San Mateo Daily Journal | November 09, 2009 carried an interview with yours truely in the role of concerned parent and California School Library Association VP-Communications. The front page article was headlined "School Libraries Lacking".

A strong school library program is the cornerstone of a healthy school. School libraries require buy-in from administrators, programs based on state standards, high visibility, and strong, committed advocates – like you! My message focused on state standards for school libraries, elements of a strong school library, and equity. Compelling personal story (to reporter) was how there were full-time teacher librarians at each middle and high school when my children attended them. They are now in college and beyond, but current students are getting shortchanged. Today's students are less prepared for college and careers.

AASL's new national standards and California's new DRAFT model school library standards are important BLUEPRINTS. Promote the standards so parents and policymakers can properly prioritize and fund strong school libraries.

Here are five questions you can ask in order to better understand if a school has a strong library program. Does the library have:

• A full time, certified school Teacher Librarian and a full-time paraprofessional working as a team? This allows the teacher librarian to collaborate with teachers in co-designing instruction which incorporates information literacy into the curriculum.
• Lots of carefully selected books, databases, and other learning resources? Resources must reflect the school curriculum and student recreational reading needs.
• A program which provides instruction and activities for students to use the research process in finding the information they need? Research is a process, not an end product – it is the thinking process which the students benefit from, not the ultimate "find." The "find" is generally forgotten – while the process remains with them forever.
• Technology, including computers networked to the community and the Internet; sufficient eDatabases, DVDs, audio and video technology related to the school curriculum?
• Its doors open before, during and after school hours, with liberal circulation policies? This means access to the school library, its resources, and staff.

See also the California School Library Association advocacy program, "Best Seller" Campaign for Strong School Libraries.

Books Across America Grants - NEA Foundation

National Education Association Foundation announced its Books Across America grant program for books for public school libraries in needy communities, where at least 70% of students are eligible for free or reduced lunches. 50 grants of $1,000 each will be awarded. California schools need this -- especially those with eliminated or reduced library programs! Deadline for applications is November 20, 2009. Contact is Anita Merina at 202-822-7289.