School Library Media Month - April 2010

School Library Media Month is using the same theme as National Library Week: "Communities Thrive @ Your Library". This year's SLMM spokesperson is award-winning author, Laurie Halse Anderson. The American Association of School Librarians has created activities for promoting school libraries during the month.

One activity is a video contest for AASL members. Here are the details:

• School library media specialists (teacher librarians) are encouraged to submit videos to the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) detailing how they help their school community "thrive." This is an opportunity for school library media specialists to be creative and share why they are essential to their school community. The winning video will be featured on the AASL Web site, AASL social networking platforms, and possible feature and recognition at AASL conferences. Entries will be vetted by AASL and the top three will be judged by the entire AASL member community starting March 8, 2010.

• Suggested focus
  AASL encourages creativity. Entries may include an interview with members of a school community, a typical day in the life of a school library media specialist, or a short skit on why school library media specialists are essential to a school community.

  Submission process
  Entries should be submitted to AASL by March 1, 2010 at 4:30 p.m. CST. Please include your AASL membership ID with your submission. All videos must be accompanied by a signed video/photo release form from each person featured in the video. Videos should be no more than 3 minutes. Only WMV, RealVideo and QuickTime formatted files will be accepted.

  Additional Rules
  This contest is open to AASL members only. All entries over 3 minutes will be disqualified.

California members may want to use the definition of a strong school library when they create their 3 minute (max) video on "Communities Thrive @ Your Library". For example, School communities thrive when your school library has:

• A full time, certified school Teacher Librarian and a fulltime 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 hardware, software, and networking that form a virtual library without walls linking students to the world of information, a cybrary that fully supports the school curriculum, 24/7.
  

• Its doors open before, during and after school hours, with liberal circulation policies. This means access to the school library, its resources, and staff.