Reading in the USA - Music Video

Lyrics:
Two (Illinois) North Elementary School teachers rewrote the lyrics to the popular Miley Cyrus song "Party in the USA" for a school-wide video project aimed at encouraging reading. About 700 students took part in the entire process.

"Reading in the USA" by Mike Moylan and Jim Pomis

Lyrics:

Verse 1:
I made time to stop in the LMC 'cause I wanted to read a book.
Fiction and non-fiction all on hand, gee, which to give a look.
Every kind of genre is located right here; every author that I know is so near!
All these choices seem crazy! Look around -- there's so many!

I find a book that's "just right" for me. Head outside for some reading
I look around and then I noticed it; everybody's got a book to read
everybody's got a book to read
everybody's got a book to read

Chorus:
Got my book out; An author I like; the world just melts away
Reading alone, oh yeah
Laughing out loud, oh yeah

Got my book out; I'm reading for fun, laughing out loud again
(long) Yeeaah-ah-a-a-a-ah, we're Reading in the USA
(long) Yeeaah-ah-a-a-a-ah, we're Reading in the USA

Verse 2:
Mystery rocks with Sammy Keyes; she finds the clues and solves the crime.
In fantasy like the Lightning Thief, Percy finds the bolt in time
So fun with picture books around me; The Web Files certainly is funny
Then there's Children of the Dust Bowl, where families play a big role.
Poetry and comedy, fairy and folk tales, so many genres to choose from.

I look around and then I noticed it; everybody's got a book to read
everybody's got a book to read
everybody's got a book to read

Chorus:
Got my book out; An author I like; the world just melts away
Reading alone, oh yeah
Laughing out loud, oh yeah

Got my book out; I'm reading for fun, laughing out loud again
(long) Yeeaah-ah-a-a-a-ah, we're Reading in the USA
(long) Yeeaah-ah-a-a-a-ah, we're Reading in the USA

Feeling like this book is right, book is right
I could read it all tonight, all tonight.
I seem to lose all track of time, track of time
The author pulls me in and I feel alright!


Sung to the tune of Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA."

Library Girl - Music Video

Here is a great music video, Library Girl.  Love the out-takes at the end.  Check it out:

Music is by Singer/songwriter Reina Del Cid, who sings about a bookish girl  who works as a library shelver at night and wonders about a guy she likes who is more into AC/DC than Puccini.

Federal Funding for IMLS

Good news for the holidays!

American Libraries reporter Beverly Goldberg writes: “There was a bit of a holiday-season miracle over the past week: the bipartisan passage of the Museum and Library Services Act in both the House and Senate. This demonstrates that the library is the one institution that exists to serve everyone. Simple as that. But keep your eyes open for savvy allies to join the fray as the importance of libraries becomes personal for them. For example, the November launch of the School Library Exchange, a free online clearinghouse where individuals can post their school libraries’ collection-development wish lists for potential donors to see—and act upon, hopefully.”... AL: Inside Scoop, Dec. 15; ALA Washington Office, Dec. 14

Poem for Librarians - by Poet Hans Ostrom

Hans Ostrom, poet and professor of English at the University of Puget Sound, posted this three minute poetic video tribute to libraries and librarians. The poem was featured on a BBC Four program in 2008. “Librarians know where wisdom’s stored. / They catalogue the countless forms / Of silence and tell people what they / Didn’t know they wanted to know.”... YouTube, Nov. 16  

Lyrics are below and at http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/for-librarians/

For Librarians

Imagine you can consider all ideas And images represented by all words And numbers in all libraries worldwide. Open the book of this consideration. Touch the paper. See the illustration Of you, reading, when you were ten In your local library. Turn Several pages. Now read how you And that other person ignited romance In, of all places, the stacks, third floor, In quite a different library. Snowflakes Brushed against dark glass as you two Stood between PQ and PR. Now go to the index. Find “possibility.” Look up from the book. The librarian Who looks away was watching you. She knows how to phrase the question You want answered. Librarians know where wisdom’s stored. They catalogue the countless forms Of silence and tell people what they Didn’t know they wanted to know. They treat the mentally fractured As if they’re whole, the dull as if they’re Sharp, Winter as if it’s Summer. A band of sunlight angles through high Windows, brightens shoes of a librarian, Who knows the patron in the gray enormous Coat will steal a book about sex or wiccans. She knows some Christians will steal books Deemed Satanic, ignoring a commandment And the homeless person sleeping in a chair. She knows some atheists treat Library as Church, so when she moves into shadows, She does so quietly. She worries for books. For the librarian knows books are easily burned, Recycled, or digitized, reduced to oxygen, carbon, Silicon, and such basic elements as hate and Budgetary cuts. She wishes presidents of The United States would consult librarians Before going to war. It would save so much time, So many lives. She knows exactly which references Know how badly any war will go and how soon Citizens come to loathe their leaders. She knows How to find stories about all the libraries Wiped out by war. She knows patrons who’ve Been harmed by war. Sometimes they set off alarms. Someone asks her, “Can you help me find out If I’m related to Napoleon? ” Yes, ” she answers, “Come with me, please.” All libraries may now gather inside invisible Electrons. After closing time, books in Sweden Send emails to maps in Chile. A librarian in Topeka Posts a reply to one in Tokyo, adding to a blue thread Wrapped around the globe. As sincerely as librarians worry for books, for shelves, For catalogues, buildings, and best practices, So should we worry for librarians, for images and ideas. At a table in a library, a circle of light Lies on a book. The hand not writing turns The page, and something important happens. Hans Ostrom

University Library Hip Hop Video - Robarts Mansion

University of Toronto's Library is the focus of "Robarts Mansion" (play off Thugz Mansion by Tupac)



Mezmerizing and fun.  Youtube lists the Lyrics and more:
Robarts Mansion as performed by GEAK;
a little music video about everyone's favorite spot at UofT.
Written by: Gadda Damballa, Eliot Kim and Karim Ennadouri.
Directed by: James Cambria and Jordan Kennington.

This song respectfully samples the wonderful song Thugz Mansion by Tupac. All rights are reserved, so by all means go and also checkout the original by the greatest that ever was and see where we got our inspiration!

Lyrics:

Shit, I'm tired of trying to study at home, and ending up on Facebook, watching TV or, falling asleep.
Us U of T students need a spot where we can study, a spot where we belong, thats just for us.
We ain't gotta get dressed up, just show up in jammies and not worry what people think.
Na mean?
Where do we go after hours? Ain't no spot for an over-caffeinated undergrad, thats why we go to Robarts Mansion.
Thats the only place where we can read in peace and you gotta be from U of T.
At Robarts Mansion.

A place for late night study times,
to buckle down so many exams in this life of mine
I cry at times, I once contemplated a doctor's note,
and woulda tried but when i held my side, he didn't believe that my hip had broke
No one knows my struggle, marks getting lower and lower,
not knowing its hard with Attention Deficit Disorder
Picture me inside the misery of ADD,
no one has ever witnessed shittier marks at U of T
Praying hard for better grades, try not to study late,
but me and my dawgs ain't have a choice but to procrastinate
We finally found a spot to kick it,
where we can drink red bull and no one bickers over trick shit
A spot where Asians smoke in peace,
and even though we g's we visualize a place where we can read in peace,
And in my mind, I
hope I don't get caffeine withdrawal
They got a spot for us all,
Red Bull and all,
At Robarts Mansion.

(Chorus)
Ain't no place I'd rather read,
Hiding from students and family
Sky-high thirteenth floor studying
In the sky (At Robarts Mansion)
Ain't no place I'd rather read,
Only place that's right for me
Peacock- shaped Mansion on Harbord street
At U of T(At Robarts Mansion)

Will I survive all the nights in the darkness, I don't think so
just read the same line five times, man I'm slow
I shed pen mark tears,
I can't sleep it's uncomfortable in here,
I see my peers fail midterms year after year
seen their GPAs just vanish,
Our so called majors change and change
please explain why they wont guide us
Is university a dirty game?
Will I be a victim of OSAP, making minimum wage?
My stomach's jealous cause these books only feed my head,
Subway sounds good but man I'm in debt
Is there a spot for me to go that costs less?
Man I think I found it, right outside SS
How could I resist thee,
free gravy and a large fries at the price of only 3.50$
I gotta get back inside, its getting chilly, plus its almost 10:50
Don't lock me out, of Robarts Mansion

(Chorus)*1

Dear mama I'm stressin' your baby boy is shook
I got an essay to print out and these people are on Facebook
Seen a movie at Media Commons last night,
it was alright, but the screen was too small,
and the headphones, were too tight
Then head down to second floor cause I'm hungry
take out money and get charged a fee,
cause I'm not with TD
Head over to Whokking On Wheels, tell the chef that he's my idol but I wish his speech, was subtitled
Maybe now you can tell, Robarts has flaws you may ignore;
Lights that turn on by themselves and no cells on some floors
But think of all the students that you knew that have passed
with flying colours cause in Robarts they found peace at last
Picture a place where they can study, unbothered
They call it Robarts, we just say 'heaven on Harbord'
So right before I cease to speak, all I'm askin'
remember these GEAK's save us some seats
at Robarts Mansion

(Chorus)*2

Learning4Life In My School Library Student Video Contest

The American Association of School Libraries (AASL), CISCO, SchoolTube, and Mackin have announced a "Learning4Life In My School Library" student video contest.

Submission Process (see more details on the website)

All entries to be submitted on SchoolTube.com between January 4, 2011 and March 18, 2011.

Follow these steps to enter:

1. Register under your school for a free SchoolTube.com account. You will receive an e-mail confirmation with information on logging into SchoolTube.

2. Review all contest rules for the Learning4Life In My School Library Student Video Contest on this page.

3. Complete this Contest Entry & Video Release Form and e-mail to learning4life@ala.org or fax to AASL at 312-280-5267.

4. Click the Enter Now Button on the website to submit video into the contest. Submission entry will begin on January 4, 2011 and the deadline for the submissions is March 18, 2011.

Starbooks -- Book Club Fund Raiser

Livingston (CA) High School Teacher Librarian Tony Doyle and his school library book club kids held a "Starbooks" fund raiser.  Here is Tony's report on the successful first-time event:

"Our Book Club held it's first Library Cafe ("Starbooks") fund raiser this week.  We have been on finals schedule the last two days so we sold coffee, hot chocolate, instant cappuccino, and muffins before school.  We had a 1/2 price sale after school today.  We set up near the back door and sold inside and outside to the skater crowd that hangs out behind the library.  We took in over $200 in less than 3 hours total.  Profits worked out to around $125.  A lot of kids were asking when we were going to do it again.  We didn't have a single spilled drink in the library and only one cup left on a table (the faculty made a much bigger mess during our Toys for Tots luncheon yesterday).  It was a lot of work but also lots of fun.  The Book Clubbers really enjoyed it."

Wonder if local Starbucks stores would want to promote the idea at other times throughout the year? Tony is also a book reviewer for School Library Journal, so maybe that publication will put a spotlight on the idea of book club fund raisers for libraries.

Musicians Promote Books for Richmond Students

The San Francisco Chronicle featured a heart-warming front page story on how local musicians are helping Richmond students get books!  Indie pop-rock duo called Pomplamoose is offering a free MP3 download of their holiday album to anyone who buys a book.  Kudos to musicians Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn and their friend English teacher Tyler Hester.

Lots of individually packaged books keep arriving for the kids at Leadership Public School and for other Richmond schools.  Kids need their own books and books to borrow.  Access to books is key to higher literacy and thinking.  Note: Amazon is hard on the environment, but bulk buying via and for school libraries would avoid all the individually packaged books.

Read on a bit more and you will see the tragic reality of too many California schools:  "At Leadership Public, for example, the library now consists of about 500 dog-eared paperbacks housed in a former bathroom. Many were donated by folks cleaning house, which means the selection is fairly random."   And you wonder why kids from poverty don't have high literacy levels -- little or no access to books or a strong school library program! 

The California School Library Association has launched a public awareness campaign to promote California's blueprint for building strong school libraries.  Review the website at librarycampaign.csla.net/.  It would be most excellent if Pomplamoose and friends broaden their focus to rebuild all California school libraries.  Contact the Campaign to offer social networking skills, your voice, or donations.

Student Video Contest

Here's a good opportunity to loan your Flip video to students in the new year:
The American Association of School Librarians, SchoolTube, and Cisco are teaming together to present the Learning4Life in My School Library Student Video Contest. Students are encouraged to create videos detailing how their school library and technology empower them to be Learners4Life and upload their creations to the video contest page hosted on SchoolTube.com. Submission entry begins January 4 and ends March 18, 2011. One student winner will be chosen from each grade level – elementary, middle, and high school. Winners will receive a Flip™ video camera and a prize for their school library program. Winning entries will be featured on the AASL, SchoolTube, and Cisco websites and social networking platforms. For more information on contest rules and guidelines, visit the Learning4Life in My School Library contest page.

These rules should also fit California's new Model School Library Standards.