Book Spine Poetry Photo Contest Finalists

Post by: Shatford Library Student Association

Hello everyone! Sorry about the wait, we had 33 wonderful entries to vote on. After much deliberation we have come up with not four, but six finalists. (Yeah, they were that good.)

So, without further adieu, I give you the finalists.

1

¡Caramba!  

¡Ask a mexican!  

Everything you need to know about latino history  

The end  

-Yvonne Romo

2

Let your life speak  

All things bright and beautiful  

The winged energy of delight  

Taking tine to just be  

Something to remember me by  

-Thomas Elrod

3

Ride the big red cars  

Scenic view ahead 

 Out with the stars  

Los Angeles  

The California I love 

-Tiffney Sanford

4

Not like I’m jealous or anything  

Liar  

Would I lie to you  

-Elizabeth Donahue 

5

Come to me in silence  

Never let me go  

Come my beloved  

Come be my light  

-Zack Elkhaldy

6

Frog and toad together  

Lost in the woods  

Where the sidewalk ends  

Loving  

A family of poems  

-Kelly Cole

Congratulations to the six finalists! 

Vote here. One vote per person please.

The winners will be announced at our potluck on Monday, April 29th. More details about the potluck will be included in an email coming to you soon. If you are not on our mailing list our email address is on the sidebar. Just shoot us an email and we will add your address to the list. 

Petition to Support for School Libraries

(reposted from CALIX)

Background information:
Carl Harvey, 2011-2012 AASL president, has initiated a White House petition on school libraries, which specifically petitions the Obama administration to “ensure that every child in America has access to an effective school library program.” 25,000 signatures are required in order for this petition to be viewed by White House staff, no later than February 4, 2012.Please take a few seconds to sign this petition, spread the word to your member groups, ask your colleagues and library supporters in your circles to sign on, and spread the word via Facebook, Twitter and other channels!The url is: http://wh.gov/Wgd .

Text of Petition:
we petition the obama administration to:Ensure that every child in America has access to an effective school library program.Every child in America deserves access to an effective school library program. We ask that the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) provide dedicated funding to help support effective school library programs. Such action will ensure more students have access to the resources and tools that constitute a 21st century learning environment. Reductions in school library programs are creating an ‘access gap’ between schools in wealthier communities versus those where there are high levels of poverty. All students should have an equal opportunity to acquire the skills necessary to learn, to participate, and to compete in today’s world.
A total of 25,000 signatures is needed for this petition can reach the President’s Desk! (The White House Petition for School Libraries: http://wh.gov/Wgd

A few things of note:
• We’ve heard that the petition software is temperamental. If you cannot sign in on your first attempt, please log out and log back in. Or, try a different web browser, or as a last resort, try a different computer.
• This petition should not be confused with a petition begun in 2011.
• White House petitions must be authored by individuals, not any
association. Therefore, Carl has introduced this petition as an individual, not as a representative of AASL or ALA.

CLA-CSLA Conference - It's Not Too Late!

Still debating whether or not to make the trek to the CLA-CSLA Conference? If you think it's too late to register, students who are CLA (California Library Association) or CSLA (California School Library Association) members still get the same discounted price of $95 registering on-site. If you're not yet a member of either organization, you can sign up while registering. If one just wants to attend the exhibits, the cost is $25 per day.

So, why go? Attending can be a great way to network and see what's new in the library world. Usually, various prospective employers will have booths set up in the exhibit area. Also, if one attends various workshops, this can be an excellent chance to meet other librarians and library staff.

The exhibit area will be open Friday afternoon from 3-6pm, all day Saturday from 10am-4pm and Sunday from 10am-2pm. If you are around Friday afternoon, don't miss the Book Cart Drill Team Competition which is always a hoot to watch! One can also catch the All School Student Social at Camille's Sidewalk Cafe from 6-8pm Friday evening.

I plan to volunteer Friday at the Registration Desk in the afternoon and attend the conference all three days. Hopefully, I'll see some of you there in attendance.

School Days - Year Ending

As I have been wrapping things up this past week at the elementary school library I have worked at for the past three school years, I have been pondering many things. What projects should I tackle before the school year ends as it seems we have even less time to finish up things this year as we lost about another five days due to budget cuts.

Even though in the back of my mind, I have been somewhat prepared for the possibility of my position to be eliminated or have reduced hours due to the budget. What I'm facing now, I did not anticipate as I should have. This past Saturday I receieved an email from the CSEA union VP from my school district outlining the various cuts to classified employees in the school district I work at to be voted on this past Tuesday. Among those in being having their position eliminated or hours reduced were 9 out of the 13 elementary school library aides. I was not on the list, thankfully or not so thankfully.

Even though my position is not being eliminated or my hours being reduced (currently, I have 20), I now am waiting to see if my phone is going to ring informing me to come down to HR. While my position is safe, I am not safe from being bumped from my position by someone with more seniority if they choose to do so. So now, wait I must. My immediate boss has told me to think positive. I am trying but the end of the school year always brings a twinge of sadness for me as I say goodbye to students, teachers and staff for the summer. Now the question is whether I shall be returning for the next school year or will someone else be running the small library I have worked very hard to improve in the past three school years?

Someone told me that one should not become too attached to one's job. I suppose she has a point. But I have become very attached to my small school library. I have nurtured her with new books which I have spent countless hours on my own time searching at used bookstores, the closing Borders, Friends of Library bookstores, Scholastic Warehouse sales and more. I have spent hours weeding out old books, repairing books (sometimes the very same ones over and over), reorganizing the library's collection to facilitate better use of the collection and more.

Almost like the process of grieving for a lost one, I find myself grieving what may be the loss of this position. Granted, I am trying to remain positive in light of the situation but it is easier said than done. First it was denial, then sadness, then anger and now more of an acceptance, all done in a matter of a few days.

If it comes to that I do actually get bumped from this position and am told I can bump someone else if I do have seniority, I have already decided to decline such action. Even if I were to lose my position because someone else needs that job, I cannot bring myself to do the same to someone else. At this time, if it comes to that, I shall look at this as an opportunity to explore new experiences and challenges.

Laura Graff's Video on Closing School Libraries

This is a video by librarian Laura Graff on what could happen if the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is successful on closing all of the school libraries in the district.

The video is open captioned.



By now most folks have heard of the LAUSD's decision to remove library workers and close the school libraries. The focus now changes to the teacher librarians who are duel credential instructors.

The administrative hearing what to determine if those people could be transitioned to a classroom. The sticking point is that the teacher librarian had to be actually teaching within five years.

Over at the Library is Not A Fruit blog there is a detailed account of what the teacher librarians experienced during there two day LAUSD administrative hearing.

You should read as much of it as you can before your anger takes over.

A golden apple and a pink slip

Congratulations to PCC Library Technology Certificate Program alumni and Alhambra High School library technician Terry Cannon who is Alhambra High's employee of the year and a popular library worker.
Unfortunately he now finds himself unemployed along with the other District library technicians in Alhambra and other area school districts.

Read the June 23, 2010 Los Angeles Times article by Steve Lopez
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lopezcolumn-20100623,0,407005.column

Scholarship Opportunity for School & Public Youth Services Librarians

**Full-Tuition Scholarships Still Available!
Last Chance to Apply: June 15, 2010 (for Fall 2010 semester start)

SHARING SUCCESS! Educating Professional Leaders in School and Public Youth Services Librarianship
The Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is awarding a limited number of two-year FULL-TUITION SCHOLARSHIPS to outstanding and diverse students whoalready hold a master's degree, have a strong interest in YOUTH SERVICESLIBRARIANSHIP, and are admitted to the GSLIS Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) program for Fall 2010.
(Deadline for application: June 15, 2010.)
GSLIS COURSES MAY BE TAKEN EITHER ON CAMPUS OR ONLINE via LEEP (the GSLISdistance education program).

Sharing Success will allow outstanding library practitioners to FURTHER THEIR EDUCATION AND TRAINING related to youth services librarianship. In addition,the program will provide institutional support for these students to DEVELOPCONTINUING EDUCATION WORKSHOPS for other professionals. Through these activities, Sharing Success will help broaden the base of youth serviceslibrarians who can provide quality continuing education for their practitioner peers in school and public libraries and contribute to best practices andresearch in this field.
Students selected for Sharing Success will ideally represent diversepopulations. They will also have either significant experience in youth services or substantial experience in another area of librarianship and demonstrate a commitment to changing their career focus to the area of youth services.
The Sharing Success CAS is a 40-CREDIT HOUR DEGREE PROGRAM open to professionals who hold a master's degree in library and information scienceor a closely related field and desire to update their skills, gain greater specialization in their professional training, or redirect their careers from one area to another. Students complete 32-credit hours of coursework with the remaining 8-credit hours devoted to an independent final project. As part of their CAS work, Sharing Success students will complete a research project that relates to youth services and develop a continuing education workshop based on this research. They will present their research-in-progressor completed workshops to an audience of GSLIS students and faculty as well asto their target audience of youth services practitioners. During each of the two years that students receive tuition funding, Sharing Success students will also receive funding to support travel to professional conferences.Sharing Success is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Would you like to learn more? Up-to-date information about Sharing Success is available at http://sharingsuccess.lis.illinois.edu/
Application requirements and procedures are available at http://www.lis.illinois.edu/academics/programs/cas-ss

Please pass this information along to anyone who might be interested.
A PDF flyer is available for download at http://sharingsuccess.lis.illinois.edu/
Questions? E-mail: sharingsuccess@mail.lis.illinois.edu

American Library Association Scholarship Program

The American Library Association (ALA) is committed to promoting and advancing the librarian profession. To demonstrate this commitment, the ALA and its units provide more than $300,000 annually for study in a master's degree in library and information studies from an ALA accredited program, or for a master's degree in school library media program that meets the ALA curriculum guidelines for a National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) accredited unit.
The scholarship process is open annually from October - March. Applications and reference forms (which must be submitted on-line) are available during that time period. Instructions and general information remain available year round.

http://ala.org/ala/educationcareers/scholarships/

School Days - Book Repairs

Working in an elementary school library is a constant challenging and growing experience indeed! Most recently, I finally tried my hand at repairing the forever growing pile of books that desperately needed to be repaired. A quick fix of some tape isn't so bad. But trying to rescue a book that is barely hanging from its spine is another story. You may wonder why I didn't just toss the book then in the discards pile. Well, if it's a very sought after and/or expensive book that students keep clamoring after, then you may find it in your heart to take the extra time to try to put the book back together. That was the case for this one origami book.

I have to say I was truly doubtful that glue and tape would really do the job but I tried to remember what Jitka Hora had taught us in her short session about book repairs in Library 104. I have to say I was fearful of tackling these projects on my own without a guide showing me what to do.

With limited supplies of white glue, tape, and a paintbrush, I accessed each book and decided which was the best route to take. Some books just needed some tape. Others needed massive amounts of glue and tape to even warrant a hope of holding together. Then I secured the books as tightly as I could with multiple rubber bands. I used the heaviest books I could find in my collection (2 Art History books that no one ever looks at) and sat them on top of a pile of paperbacks and other small books. For the larger books, I just piled them on top of one another and hoped for the best. I let all the books sit for almost a week.

Today, I decided the books had enough time to let the glue do its job. I was really curious if glue could indeed put that origami book back into circulation. I have to say I'm truly amazed to see this book held together so well. Mission accomplished! My students will surely be psyched to see this book has made its return. Question is: how long will this book withstand its recent repairs? I'm hoping for awhile at least. But if it does come to that again, I am now confident I can do my best to put that book back together just like they put Humpty Dumpty back together when he fell down.

School Library Without Books - A Commentary

First, here is the news story from Boston.com on the Cushing Academy decision. The school gave away the existing library They are planning to replace the traditional paper books with electronic book readers by Amazon and Sony.

Many people have strong opinions about this transition. At the time of this writing there were 440 comments about this news story on the website. There is also a CNN write up about the transition from paper to electronic books. The tech community is also little buzzed about this decision. Check out the comments from the tech blog, Engadget.

The librarian and book bloggers communities are extremely concerned over this switch in book media.

Brian's Book Blog:

Okay, I feel better now. I just don’t understand how they feel that this is a good idea. A print book won’t shut down if it looses battery power. A print book doesn’t get recalled from your shelf like an eBook might from your Kindle.

The Luscious Librarian:

Now, I'm all for technology, especially when you're referring to information that is updated on a daily basis like reference information found in encyclopedias, but that kind of information is not free and requires a subscription. It's also easily controlled or changed depending on who is reviewing and posting the information, the interest groups the information supports or denounces.

Lisa Gold:

This is stupid on so many levels that I forced myself to wait a full day before blogging about it so I wouldn’t rant incoherently. Let me just pose a few questions:

• Did the librarians of Cushing Academy try to explain to their headmaster that only a small percentage of works are available in digital form, and that most of those aren’t free?
• Before discarding their 20,000 printed books, did they consider checking to see which ones aren’t available in digital form and keeping those? (In my experience many of the best reference works only exist in print form.)
• Did they think about the fact that even if the library pays to subscribe to subscription databases and encourages the use of free public domain works (Google Books, Project Gutenberg, etc.), that still means students won’t have access to the vast majority of works published after 1922 and still under copyright?

My Thoughts But More Feelings

I love books. I love the smell of them. I love to hold them and goodness knows I have a few in my bed waiting for me to catch up.

So hearing about a school voluntarily dismantling the library has me at near tears. I don't care if they are rich kids. Every child and teenager needs access to books. I want them to have access to Judy Blume, Malcolm X, and any science fiction book. I'd even put up a scuffle for the sports books and I don't care about sports.

Why? Because books saved my life as a kid. Seriously. Everything from Go Dog Go to Encyclopedia Brown to why do people hate each other? I know how powerful the right book can be in the hands of a person in need.

I would walk the stacks just looking for that book that would call out to me. And if you don't know what the hell I'm talking about then why are you in the library program or reading this post?

This is personal! (and my opinion does not reflect upon PCC or Shatford Library.)

Yes, I like tech and gadgets. Always have and always will. But books are my home. Paper books. When I need to escape and I have no money where do I turn to? A book. When I am searching a past that I have no information on where do I look? I can find an out of print book that has what I need. That out of print book is not going to be in a Amazon Kindle or Sony Reader.

My connection to the pulp is similar to BookishGal on her post about keeping books. I can't throw them out. I pick up stray books if I think they are at risk for disposal.

So to read of someone who is a so-called educator who is proud that they discarded 20,000 books for a $12,000 coffee machine I get teary. And angry. And sad.

Look, I knew the transition was coming. I tried to tell people. But is should be a transition, not a dad gummed purge. This is not the last of it. The state of California is planning to use e-textbooks and will phase them in over time. Textbook publishers are getting read to produce custom content textbooks in electronic form.

Textbooks in electronic form have a places in schools. There is no stopping that process. But literature, philosophy and boatloads of history books cannot effectively be transferred to electronic devices at this time.

This is a loss when even one school library does it. It must not become a trend. If this summer has taught us anything it is that there is no pride in being willfully stupid. It is not a badge of honor.

We can do better than this. We must be informed and, when given the opportunity, speak up.

First Days - Part III

A friend told me that my second installment in this series was a woeful little tale which made me laugh but hey, it was all true! I will admit that I do actually miss my days at the elementary school. I was planning to go in this week to accomplish some work on my own time until a fellow co-worker told me I should just wait till September comes before going in. I have to agree with her that the work isn't going to go anywhere and I should just enjoy this time off.

With the very likely possibility of not having a position here at the circulation desk at PCC come this fall, I've been looking around some. I am not keen on job hunting once again. It seems it was just yesterday I was doing that. But alas, one must do what one must do. A co-worker/friend informed me of a full-time position at a high school library yesterday with the deadline to apply for earlier this afternoon. I decided to go ahead and apply. Who knows what will happen? So far, the last two applications I sent out, I got the "Thank you but no thank you response." Earlier this year, I interviewed for two positions and got the "Thank you but you're over-qualified." response. Can't win, can you sometimes?

That brings me pondering if I do find another job and have to quit the elementary school job. Yes, I will miss it in spite of the cons. Even though it's a very demanding job with minimal hours and pay, the rewards have been immense. It's been wonderful getting the experience of running this library primarily on my own and being able to make the majority of the decisions. I have loved the opportunity getting to know this collection well as it's not huge. I enjoy working with the wonderful teachers and staff as well as trying to encourage kids to enjoy reading different subjects. The smiles on those kids make my day as well. I have gotten reacquainted with old favorites and discovered new favorites. If you'd told me years ago, I'd be now always on the look-out for cool kids' books when I am out shopping, I'd never have believed it unless I had become a grandmother. Granted, if I were to get a full-time school library postion, there will be still a lot of the same advantages and similarities without the overwhelming demands of being the singular person there.

I'm still deciding what kind of library I want to work at once I become a librarian. Luckily for me, that won't be for another couple of years. Part of me is still debating becoming a school librarian as I'm already working in the system. But I have to come to love working in an academic library as well. I also wonder if special libraries are the way to go perhaps since there may not be the same funding problems as with public, school and community college libraries.

It may seem I'm off-track here but one of the things about volunteering and working in a school district that I experienced these past couple of years was seeing first- hand the reality of librarians and library technicians either being laid off or having their hours cut. For example, this last school year, a good friend went from being a 12 month to a 10 month position. I'm sure a lot of people didn't like this but he figured it was better than losing his position completely. I'd have to agree. In a time when people have been losing their jobs, I actually got an increase in my hours for the following school year. Whether that will still be the case come September remains to be seen and I'm prepared for anything. As they always say, it usually gets worse before getting better. And that's exactly what I'm seeing now.

No matter what happens though, I can say that going through the application and interview process (if I get to that point), is good practice for when I'm applying for a to-die-for position in the future.

First Days - Part II

I did not foresee that I would face frustrating days the last two weeks at my library aide job at the elementary school following my last post. I thought my last two weeks which is now stretching to yet another week would be a much smoother ride. Unfortunately, that has not been the case and has made it rather difficult for me to post further on this series. Overall, I still love my job even though it has its moments.

I had wondered before if I should post first about the pros or the cons of this job. While I do want to encourage people to consider working in elementary school libraries as a potential first library job, I realize it may not be a good fit for all. One thing I've come to realize is that you really need to have a passion about your work to get through the tough times. But one could say that about any job.

I figured I'd just be dealing with collecting books and lost book fines along with getting the library in order for the following school year during this last month. In addition to all that, I've been dealing with finding out our school district was getting the brand-new Alexandria automated system to replace the supposedly outdated and soon-to-be obsolete Athena system. I found out about our training days the morning it had begun as I arrived to work. Due to not being kept in the loop, I missed most of the training even though I attended the second day. Everyone from the high school libraries were in attendance but most of the elementary school library aides were not in attendance either day.

It made me wonder about how important they regard their elementary school library aides. We are expected to single-handedly run these libraries on little hours and funds in retrospect to the high schools. We are the stepping stones as we serve the K-8th grades. Shouldn't we be regarded with more importance?

I later found out that the principal of our school had been informed at least two weeks in advance but he failed to let my immediate boss or me know. What happened to direct communication, I wondered. Even at the elementary school, the communication process seems to fail time and time again. My immediate boss asked the office to let her know when the new Alexandria system arrived so she could put it together. Since they didn't let her know and I assumed she knew it had arrived, our new library system has sat in the library in unopened boxes for at least a week now. Not that I have time to familiarize myself with this new system amidst all the piles of unshelved books!

So that brings me going in next week at least two days to finish my work up on my own time. I've tried my best to get as much done in just the ten hours a week they gave me this year. But it's not been an easy task and usually I end up putting in more hours unpaid. It's virtually impossible to do all I need in that short stretch of time. They realize that but still that doesn't solve the problems at hand. I realized going in most of what my job would entail of me. It's what you don't foresee that can throw you for a loop. Remaining as calm as possible is not always an easy feat though I've done my best to do so these past couple of weeks.

This isn't quite the next post I had in mind when I started this series. But perhaps this will give you a honest glimpse into the reality of being a school library aide. This isn't the last of the series so stay tuned for the pros and more cons. Hopefully, that won't deter you away from these much needed libraries.

First Days - Part I

My first year as a library aide at an elementary school (K-8) has felt like a series of first days. I have learned more than I ever expected to in these nine months that have flown by.

It's hard to believe that the school year is quickly coming to an end. But alas, it is. Next week is the last week of check-outs. After that, it's the challenge of getting all the books returned, lost book fees paid, and all those books re-shelved and organized better before I close the doors for the summer.

When I first was given the keys to the library back in September, I'll never forget my initial reaction as I walked into the library since there was no signage. "How is everything being organized? What system are they using?" I will admit there still is no signage but I have attempted to start reorganizing the library during the limited time I have the few days a week I'm there. I have put in extra hours on my own time as well in what seems a never-ending project. Coming on board to a library that has been primarily run by people who knew not much about libraries hasn't helped this dear little library which I've come quite attached to and call mine. I'm determined to get it in better shape in order to function as a more effective library and information center.

I will admit there are pros and cons to working in an elementary school library but one thing I have come to learn is the real need for its existence. Most kids at the school I work at don't have parents who take them to the public library. Outside of their classrooms, this tiny modest library is a primary means of serving their needs whatever they may be-anything from reading for pleasure, getting information for a research paper, and discovering new ideas or interests.

Stay tuned for upcoming posts in this series as I reveal more details about everyday life in an elementary school as a library aide.

Missing in Action

It didn't seem that much time had passed since I last posted. But lo and behold, it's been over a month. For those of you that haven't seen me around, I've been busy with my other 2 part-time jobs, 3 classes, starting up two new programs at a local library, tackling grad school applications and more.

For the first month of this semester, I've been working extra shifts here at the PCC Library. In the past due to my schedule, I wasn't able to work extra shifts especially during the first two weeks of the semester. Since I was finally available, I felt I should help out as needed. I've also put in extra time at the elementary school library as well this past month or so due to our bi-yearly Scholastic Book Fair and Open House.

Even though I'm taking "fun" classes this semester, they've still been taking up a certain amount of my time. Two of my classes, Art in Childhood Education and Beginning Acting, are directly related to library programs/activities I'm getting involved in now. One of the new programs I'm starting up is an ASL (American Sign Language) storytime at one of the Pasadena Public branches. Right now, I'm teamed up with a library tech that does a family storytime on Thursday afternoons to get some on-the-job training as a volunteer. Eventually, I'll move into my own spot which will be an actual ASL storytime in the near future hopefully. It is also my hope to go to a couple of other local libraries and start up similar programs in whatever free time I still have.

In addition, I have been developing a Deaf Book Club program which will meet for the very first time next Saturday morning at the same Pasadena Public branch I'm doing storytime at. It's been a bit more work than I anticipated but I'm very excited about this new program and am enjoying the work thoroughly. Unlike the storytime which is a weekly event, this will only be a monthly event.

Last Sunday, I was able to participate in a One City, One Story event for the first time ever as I arranged to get a sign language interpreter for the finale program at the newly opened Pasadena Convention Center. I will confess that it was no easy feat getting this to happen. In the end, it was one of my friends who is studying to be an interpreter who volunteered to do the honor. I am hoping that all these things are just the beginning of what I hope for the future for the deaf/HOH and disabled within the library community. One has to start small even for big dreams.

Last but certainly not least, I've been tackling library graduate school applications as well. Between taking the MAT test, writing essays, gathering up recommendations, studying up for the GRE, it's been a whirlwind of activity to say the least. God willing, I get in at least one school. But as one of my former instructors said to me recently, "So many doors are opening up for you right now. Even if you don't get in right now, it would be a disappointment but not detrimental. And you can always apply again." So true! One thing I've learned so far is if you really want this, you can't give up that easily. This may not be an easy road but it's been one of my most enjoyable journeys so far which I don't anticipate ending anytime soon.

Stay tuned for more regular postings in the next week and an upcoming blog event to get more interaction happening here!

Quote of the Week

"It's a good thing when children enjoy books, isn't it?" Judy Blume (New York Times article, 22 October 1999)

While I enjoy my library position at the Circulation desk here at the PCC library, I have to confess that I absolutely love my library aide position at the elementary school where I work three days a week. I look forward to seeing the young faces that come in week after week to return books they've had the pleasure of reading for a week in exchange for a new book. One thing that always touches me is when students point to a book amidst the piles of returned books on my desk and say how much he liked that book. Or they wait to hand a book to me just to let me know that was his book for the week as opposed to putting it in the bookdrop. Seeing the books I put on display being picked up and looked at is a wonderful feeling. Even better is when they're actually checked out which is quite often.

One thing I have encouraged is greater use of the library at the elementary school. Before the middle school students could only check out one book at a time but I decided they should be able to check out 2 at a time since I knew at the high school level, they can check out 3 books at a time. What better way to encourage enjoyment of more books! Often times, the school staff have not realized they could check out books as well but I have done my best to let them know of the opportunity there. Now I have a few of the D/HOH (deaf/hard of hearing) aides regularly checking out books for their young children at home. In addition, I get to hear how much their kids loved the various books they borrowed for them.

More recently, most of the middle graders haven't had the pleasure of coming into the library due their teachers not taking the time to bring the class in. In a continued effort, I am soon going to be having the library open during their recess time so they can come in on their own. Even though it was something I had started to look into due to the classes not coming in, what surprised me was having the older students come up to me in the hallway asking when they'll be able to come to the library.

I have always enjoyed books since I was growing up and still do. That is what I hope to bring to these kids at this elementary school. Another interesting thing has been when kids make the effort to finally bring in their signed library contract just so they can check out a book I've put on hold for them. All those books waiting for them are now available for their pleasure. And that's my quote of the day from one of my favorite children's authors of all time.

Scholarship Opportunity for School Library Paraprofessionals

(NOTE: These scholarships were just brought to my attention and unfortunately the deadline for this year is Jan 15 (tomorrow). You may want to keep this in mind for next year. kg)

California School Library Association Scholarships and Grants:

Southern Section Paraprofessional Scholarship CSLA Southern Section recognizes the need for trained and qualified library technicians in Southern California. Therefore the Southern Section of CSLA has established an educational scholarship in the amount of $500 for library paraprofessionals. The purpose is to assist school library paraprofessionals in completing a school library technician/paraprofessional certificate program or obtaining a teaching credential with the ultimate goal of pursuing a Library Media Teacher Services Credential. Download the 2009 application. pdf word

Southern Section Library Media Teacher Scholarship Recognizing that there is a need for professional school library media teachers, the California School Library Association-Southern Section offers scholarships in the amount of $1,000 each. The purpose is to assist those persons seeking preparation leading toward a degree or credential which will qualify the individual to work as a professional in the library media field in a school setting. Download the 2009 application. pdf word