Bookmark
February 2019
ALA Mid-Winter Report
My fellow NJASL members,
One of the greatest benefits of serving on the NJASL Executive Board is the opportunity to travel to national conferences. In January 2019 I attended ALA Midwinter in Seattle, funded by NJASL. As a representative, I work to gain insights on new legislation and best practices in the field. A few highlights are included below:
Friday, Jan. 25, 2019
ALA President Loida Garcia- Febo welcomed all attendees and announced some exciting news. The Advocacy tools on the ALA website have been retooled focusing on the mission of advocating by telling your story. Additionally, it was announced that Melinda Gates has agreed to be the honorary Chair of National Library Week, April 7-13, 2019.
Melinda Gates Opening Keynote
In her new book, The Moment of Lift, Melinda Gates tells stories of women who empower one another with knowledge, creating “moments of lift”. She calls on us all to ask, “How can I create moments of lift for others in my life?”
Sat. Jan. 26, 2019
Libraries Transform Symposium-Social Innovation
Two young Seattle-based innovators discussed ways to leverage unique approaches to addressing social problems in the lives of communities.
Sarah Studer (@sarahstood) shared that the people most affected by any problem have the best ideas how to solve the problem. They need to be part of the solution, because impact can not happen in isolation.
Arnold Phommavong discussed using design to make an impact, since design is about making changes and solving problems. Before trying to solve problems, take time to observe people with the problem, to help think about the problem in a creative way.
Breaking Down Barriers to Advocacy for School Libraries: ALA Policy Corps
This was an incredible session, see my favorite takeaway below. Political advocacy involves educating the elected officials who have control over education policy. I will be meeting with the NJASL Advocacy Team and Legislative Rep. to review and refine our plan to meet with Legislators this Spring.
TIPS:
- Develop a relationship with officials
- Understand your shared values
- Stay positive in your message
- Overcoming personal reluctance
- Everyday Advocacy- use your everyday work as advocacy opportunities (my favorite takeaway)
Sat. Jan. 26-Sun. Jan. 27
AASL Affiliate Assembly: see Hilda Weisburg’s Bookmark article below under the AASL banner for a review of this discussion
Christina Cucci
President of NJASL 2018-2019
Important News and Information
Better Together NJASL Fall 2019
NJASL Fall 2018
IMPORTANT: Attention ALL MEMBERS
Members-
NJASL's mailing address has changed. Please send our new address to your business office so that your purchase orders for membership and conference are sent to the correct location.
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Mentors Needed
Have you been in your position for at least four years? Would you like to share what you know with a novice SLMS? Think back to those first days on the job with all your new responsibilities. A new SLMS could easily become overwhelmed by all that is expected of them.
You could make a difference for someone by serving as a mentor. Most of the contact can be virtual. The mentor contract suggests three on-site meetings over the course of the year, so that the mentor and mentee can observe each other in action.
If you are willing to share what you know, please complete the mentor application form linked here. If you have any questions, please contact me: mentoring@njasl.org
~Michelle McGrievey
NJASL Legislative Consultant
- Mary Moyer Stubbs
Legislative Highlights -
February 2019 Bookmark
School District Budget information
School districts are in the process of developing their budgets for school year, 2019-2020 and sharing with their communities. Now is the time to ask the question, “Will your school district adequately fund the school library program?” Take time to meet with your school administrator to discuss how your library program positively impacts student achievement and the educational climate of your school. This NJASL Budget Advisory will help you make the case for a well-funded school library program staffed by certified school librarians. View the School Budgets and Election Calendar for important dates related to the posting of school budgets. For related information and ways to advocate for school libraries, view the document, SLMS Role in School Funding.
NJASL Advocacy Efforts
Mahwah School District Update
The district compromise is to allow students in K and 1 to check-out books each week while students in 2-5 check-out books every other week, but may now check-out up to 4 books. Parent advocate Jen Park has set up a website: www.mahwahrepresent.com to communicate with parent advocates.
Freehold Regional High School District - Continuing
This district with six high schools and over 10,000 has only one full-time school library media specialist. NJASL is looking to develop a cohort of parents and community members to attend school board meetings and advocate for school libraries in this district. Please email advocacy@njasl.org if you live or work in this district and interested in assisting with this advocacy effort.
Union Township School District Update
The school district is working to fill two school library media specialists positions and the Sandra Paul, supervisor of school libraries has requested four additional positions for 2019-2020.
Springfield Township Public Schools
Springfield Township has a group of concerned parents who are continuing to attend school board meetings to advocate for certified school library media specialists in the PreK-8 schools. NJASL has been assisting this group of concerned parents. Please email advocacy@njasl.org if you live or work in this district and are interested in assisting with this advocacy effort. Please note - advocacy does not necessarily mean speaking at the school board meeting. Simply attending is helpful as well as speaking to neighbors and other community members to share what students are missing by not having a school library media specialist.
Collingswood Public Schools
NJASL was contacted by Skye Silverstein, a school librarian and parent in Collingswood. They have dismantled the school library in one of the elementary schools to create a classroom. Skye is working closely with the NJASL Advocacy team. Please email advocacy@njasl.org if you live or work in this district and interested in assisting with this advocacy effort.
Legislative Updates
A132 - Information Literacy Curriculum
Assemblyman Robert Karabinchak (LD18), who is also Vice Chair of the Higher Education Committee is now a co-sponsor of A132. If you live or work in one of these communities - take a minute and thank Assemblyman Karabinchak for his support of this bill.
District 18 - (Middlesex) East Brunswick, Edison, Helmetta, Highland Park, Metuchen,South Plainfield, South River
Ways to Contact:
Phone: (732) 548-1406
Email: AsmKarabinchak@njleg.org
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/robkarabinchak/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RKarabinchak
If you use Twitter to thank Assemblyman Karabinchak, please tag NJASL @NJASL so that we can retweet your thanks. Hashtags to utilize #njasladvocacy #necessitynotaluxury
If you live or work in another community - this link will help you to find your state representative and you can ask them to co-sponsor this bill.
Talking points for A 132:
http://unlockstudentpotential.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Information-Literacy.pdf
Other Legislative Updates
S1569 / A1335 now Approved P.L.2019, c.6.
Requires boards of education to include instruction, and adopt instructional materials, that accurately portray political, economic, and social contributions of persons with disabilities and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.
Bills and joint resolution were signed by Governor on Jan. 31. Article 2
Other Articles of Interest
Reading Research and Value of School Library Media Specialists
Although - this is research in Australia - it details the role that school librarians play in assisting struggling readers. It identified the specifics that SLMS do to assist readers.
Article with the 10 ways that SLMS help struggling readers
NJ ranks in 2nd place as a place to raise children
New Jersey Earns a B+ on Chance-for-Success Index, Ranks Second in Nation - Education Week Report
Findings from the report:
Diving into the findings, New Jersey earns a B+ in the Chance-for-Success category and ranks second. The average state earns a C-plus.
For early foundations, which examines factors that help children get off to a good start, New Jersey earns a B-plus and ranks 17th. The average state posts a B.
New Jersey receives an A-minus for the school years, a sub-category focusing on metrics related to pre-k enrollment through postsecondary participation. It finishes second in the nation in this area. By comparison, the nation as a whole earns a C-plus.
In the area of adult outcomes, based on postsecondary educational attainment and workforce indicators, New Jersey’s grade is a B. It ranks fourth in the nation. The national average is a C-plus.
Professional Practice & Development
The Power of Social Media to Advocate for School Librarian Positions
On an electronic discussion list (LM_Net) a poster from Connecticut lamented, “Lately, I have found myself having to justify my time without students to classroom teachers.” The first response came from a Missouri school librarian said she uses a “ is taken from my evaluation under NEE (Network for Educator Effectiveness),” which is an evaluation tool adopted for Missouri teachers.
This post listed:
LMS Element 1 - Collaborates with teachers and other educators;
LMS Element 2 - Promotes student reading;
LMS Element 3 - Provides instruction that addresses multiple literacies;
LMS Element 4 - Designs instruction to teach inquiry and the information search process;
LMS Element 5 - Addresses diversity, equity, and inclusiveness in literacy lessons and programs; LMS Element 6 - Conducts strategic planning, program evaluation, and program reporting;
LMS Element 7 - Manages collection and information access;
LMS Element 8 - Manages staff and budget;
LMS Element 9 - Manages learning space and technology access;
LMS Element 10 - Engages in outreach and advocacy; and
LMS Element 11 - Demonstrates leadership.
Then another Connecticut school librarian posted (reposted) resources original credited to librarians in Texas: “This wonderful link was previously posted on LM_NET. I've found it to be incredibly useful: https://sites.google.com/a/springisd.org/transforming-libraries/home/unseen-tasks-librarians-do and Here is the link to the spreadsheet of duties:https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12U_3I5aBWxaRrrM7z6EgWtNQvrF_XRx7xSzDR4QgrFM/edit?usp=sharing.THAT’s what got me thinking!
That spreadsheet really made me reflect again about my "official" job description and one I proposed this past July but has not yet been reviewed. (My "official" job description doesn't have the words 'collaboration' or 'technology' anywhere in it!) So, I used the spreadsheet linked from the prior message and modified it to match my situation (high school librarian).
I ended up with 84 responsibilities and 11 roles, and I also quantified who should/could see what I do.
Three charts summarize this: *Feel free to share and modify my list and charts to suit your advocacy needs.
1. Roles of the High School Librarian by Subcategories
2. Primary Roles of the High School Librarian
3. Percent of Roles Seen by Stakeholders
After I posted my take on a school librarian’s responsibilities, Dr. Judi Moreillon from Arizona then commented that some of the “unseen” responsibilities on the original Connecticut poster’s list could also be made to be “seen.”
Yours in service, Arlen Kimmelman, Ed. M., M. A.
School Librarian & Techbrarian
National Board Certified Teacher
Past President, New Jersey Association of School Librarians
Google for Education Certified Trainer #05584
The Connected Library Consortium
The NJ/PA Ebook Consortium has a new name - The Connected Library Consortium. This change came about because the consortium offers ebooks and audiobooks to school libraries in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey and the chairs for this consortium, wanted to give a name that is neither a New Jersey or Pennsylvania name.
You may be wondering what exactly is the consortium, and how does it work. The consortium actually started in 2015 in Pennsylvania and in 2016 in New Jersey. It was started by school librarians as a way to provide electronic books to school libraries at the lowest rate possible. After much research, the librarians who started the consortium decided to use Mackin Educational resources as the supplier. This is because Mackin allows educators to use their program MackinVIA free of charge, and Mackin works with any type of circulation system. Many of the vendors that were considered required that educators make an additional purchase.
So how does the consortium work? Below are some of the important points of the consortium:
Any school library in New Jersey or Pennsylvania may join.
Schools must fill out a letter of intent in order to join and they will be billed by the company HSLC in August
Schools pay for each level of resources (elementary, middle, or high school)
Schools also pay for their student population - For example, if a school is elementary they will be charged for that collection based on their student population.
The list of costs by student population can be found on the Connected Library Consortium Website
All resources that are purchased on the year you join the consortium are yours to keep, even if you decide not to join the following year
There are catch up collections available, in case you wish to purchase for a previous year you did not join
Each school that joins will be able to set up their own MackinVIA portal. Mackin’s educational consultant, Jessica Gottlieb can help you set this up.
The PD Committee recently hosted a webinar with Anastasia Hanneken and Jessica Gottlieb to give the basics of using MackinVIA and joining the consortium. You can find a recording of the webinar here.
For more information on the consortium please email Anastasia Hanneken at pd@njasl.org
By Anastasia Hanneken
Professional Development Chair
GIRLS WHO CODE CLUBS IN NEW JERSEY PARTNERS WITH NEW JERSEY MAKERS DAY
Girls Who Code Clubs in New Jersey would love to share the work that our 230+ Clubs are doing with our local communities. New Jersey Makers Day celebrates maker culture at 300+ sites around our state on March 22 and 23, 2019. If your location is a NJ Makers Day site and also hosts a Girls Who Code Club, we would love to spotlight and celebrate your work! We are looking for NJ Girls Who Code Clubs who would like to share their work with their local communities at their NJ Makers Day site. Join us to spotlight your Club, share your Girls Who Code project, and recruit new Club members or Facilitators!
If you are interested in getting involved to spotlight your Club, please contact Eve Balick at eve.balick@girlswhocode.com and Doug Baldwin at dbaldwin@njmakersday.org. Please let us know about your potential interest and we will follow up with you directly.
If you are an NJ Makers Day site interested in starting a free Girls Who Code Club, please visit our website to submit an online application or contact our NJ representative Eve Balick with any questions. If you are a Girls Who Code Club interested in becoming an NJ Makers Day site, contact Doug Baldwin.
Library News from YOU!
Emerging Leader 2019 Report from ALA Midwinter Conference in Seattle, WA: A Librarian’s Paradise!
by Beth Raff
Later in the day, Richard Kong of the Skokie (IL) Public Library spoke about Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, a topic which dovetailed nicely with our project. Mr. Kong spoke extensively about the training being done with the staff of the Skokie Public Library, and posed the question “What would our profession look like if we looked at libraries to restore, renew, make whole, reconcile and harmonize?” On Saturday, I attended a session called “Leadership for the Future of Libraries” The panel was moderated by Dr. Harry Bruce of the Information School of the University of Washington who urged librarians to “be edgy, audacious, and take risks.” Susan Hildreth spoke about cultivating leadership traits and advised librarians to “be humble, be authentic, be prudent risk-takers, and maintain a sense of humor.” A third speaker, Cindy Aden, the Washington State Librarian, noted that it is the job of a leader to “create a creative, flexible, inclusive workspace” so that employees can reach their potential. Brian Bannon, the Commissioner and CEO of the Chicago Public Library and Lisa Rosenblum, the Director of the King County (WA) Library System, and Marcellus Turner, Chief Librarian of the Seattle Public Library, rounded out the list of speakers. Turner urged us to redefine what a library is and what it can do. Perhaps the most humorous advice was to “be willing to poke the bear - then run or defend!” Finally, he spoke of making every experience at the library a great one. Although the speakers focused on public libraries, their messages can certainly be applied to school libraries. Later in the afternoon on Saturday I heard Eric Klinenberg, author of Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization and the Decline of Civic Life (2018), professor of sociology and director of the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University, deliver the Arthur Curley Memorial Lecture. Klinenberg applauded librarians for using Twitter for positive purposes, referring the response to the Forbes magazine article about replacing libraries with Amazon, which led to the article being taken off the website. His talk was a tribute to libraries and librarians, sprinkled with humor and insight. His new book emphasizes the importance of places such as the public library which are integral to the social infrastructure of communities. On the exhibit floor, I met authors and picked up Advanced Reader Copies of many books for children. I look forward to sharing these with my young readers at Mt. Tabor Elementary School in the Parsippany-Troy Hills Public School District. Thank you, NJASL, for your sponsorship of me in the Emerging Leaders program. I strongly encourage all new librarians to apply. For more information on the program, go to ALA Emerging Leaders homepage .
FOUND! Field Hockey Picture Book!
by Theresa Wordelmann
Do you service a population which includes field hockey players? My town has a thriving field hockey rec program which begins in kindergarten! Until recently, I didn't know there were any fiction titles covering this sport formy K-2 students and bemoaned the gap in my collection. Then, I discovered the picture book, Felicity, written and illustrated by fellow New Jerseyan and former field hockey player, Kellie J. Miller. Miller, recently featured in an article in the Burlington County Times, was inspired to write her book after struggling to find picture books for her own daughters which featured girls playing sports. (For more information, visit www.felicitysports.com.)
Overview: Felicity has just turned eight-years-old and is finally old enough to play field hockey for a team. Her reasons for wanting to play vary and include her love of running and hitting things with sticks as well as wearing skirts and mismatched socks. Her excitement for the sport is infectious! Although her first experience on the field isn't as stellar as she hoped, her coach is there to encourage her to try again.
Photo: features author/illustrator Kellie J. Miller and her daughter Claire. Photo permission given by Kellie J. Miller
NJASL Affiliate News
Help Advocate for LibraryLinkNJ
With the help of Abigail Bacon from BELS Consortium as the tester, Arlen Kimmelman was able to create an editable template to create a customized infographic for school librarians to use to advocate for LibraryLinkNJ inter-library loan services with cost sharing.
The template includes the Slides to make the flyer, the link to customize a chart, and the ability in Slides to print or download the Slides as a .pdf. We hope having a compelling and accurate visual message will encourage school districts to accept the value and importance of contributing to the cost-sharing model of inter-library loan services for our students and staff.
Contributed by
Mrs. Arlen Kimmelman, Ed. M., M. A.
School Librarian & Techbrarian
National Board Certified Teacher
Past President, New Jersey Association of School Librarians
Google for Education Certified Trainer #05584
AASL in Action
by Hilda Weisburg
Along with Christina Cucci, I attended the ALA Midwinter Conference. As always it was great seeing my many library friends and colleagues from across the country. Christina’s article let you know about the actions taken by Affiliate Assembly, so I will focus on other activities and information from that conference.
The State Ecosystem Initiative is a joint initiative of ALA Advocacy, ALA Chapter Relations, AASL, and ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries). It is well into its second year, and NJASL is reflecting joint advocacy effort by developing a partnership with NJACRL.
At Affiliate Assembly I spoke with President-elect Mary Keeling. She is looking for people to fill volunteer positions. You learn a great deal and become a much better leader as a result of serving on one of these committees. If you are interested, see the list of AASL committees and fill out the Volunteer Form. Once you have done so, let me know and I will contact Mary and add my recommendation.
Excitement is building about the AASL Conference in Louisville, Kentucky November 14-16, 2019. Early bird registration is available, and you can save $100 if you register by February 17. (Use the Promo Code.) It would be great to see a lot of NJ librarians. The PD opportunity is enormous. Use the Make the Case infographic to convince your administrator that you need to be there.
ALA Annual is in Washington, DC from Thursday, June 20 to Tuesday, June 25. If your school is still in session, plan on coming down Friday afternoon and leaving on Sunday. Register now at https://2019.alaannual.org/registration/register-now. The AASL President’s Program is on Saturday morning and will have Matt de la Peňa as the speaker. The Awards Ceremony is on Saturday evening from 5-7pm.
AASL has a YouTube channel which you should subscribe to. Currently there are five videos, and more will be coming.
There now is a Student Bridge Scholarship for graduating school library student members who would now need to pay the full membership price. I will be sending this out as a Push and including it in my Bookmark article.
You can get a one-year free membership if you Share the Wealth and recruit a librarian to join AASL.
ALA’s Advocacy page has a wealth of tools that are worth investigating.
OTHER MEETINGS AT MIDWINTER
You may find the following from my meetings with ALA Committee of Professional Ethics and the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee to be of interest.
Library Technology Association (LITA) has a Privacy Checklist that is worthwhile checking out.
ALA Council approved an addition (Article VII.) to the Library Bill of Rights to include a statement on privacy
"Inclusive Privacy: Closing the Gap" will be the theme for Choose Privacy Week 2019, i(May 1-7) n support of ALA's EDI initiatives. The activities for this year's observance will encourage libraries to adopt policies and create programs that make privacy equal, open, and inclusive. The focus will be on helping librarians understand the privacy inequities imposed on vulnerable and historically underrepresented populations, and what they can do to address those inequities through programming, instruction, and advocacy.
The Resolution on Eliminating Monetary Fines as a Form of Social Injustice passed Council as well. It is something for school librarians to consider. Fines can be a barrier for many students. If you are collecting them, you might want to reconsider your policy. Some schools are having students “read off their fines.”
And continue to check the AASL portal on the National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries. They keep putting up new resources. There are some excellent videos there now.
AECT Update
The month of February was busy in AECT! Proposals for the AECT Convention were due – a record of 981 were submitted! The Divisions will start reviewing the proposals in March. This will take a lot of time as 3 people review each proposal. People submitted for: Concurrent sessions, Workshops (run about 3-4 hours), an interactive session being called Inspire Sessions, posters, or a roundtable.
Besides Convention proposals AECT was holding their elections for President-Elect and Secretary as well as each Division held their elections. Results will be released in early March.
Other news: AECT has charged the Leadership Development Committee to look into how AECT can have more Practitioners involved in the organization. Over the years the number of Practitioners in all the divisions has lessened and this has been a concern of several divisions, especially the School Media & Technology Division. President Martindale saw so much at our conference that he wanted to investigate why more Practitioners are not joining AECT since we have a lot to offer. I, with Bruce DuBoff and Michelle Rogers-Estable (Professor from SUNY) have submitted a roundtable proposal for the AECT Convention to see what the membership says about this topic. A survey will also be sent out later this year before the convention.
Another committee that has been formed is creating, what is being called, Ambassadors. These Ambassadors will be representing AECT at various Conferences. The idea actually came from when AECT President Trey Martindale came to the NJASL Conference and saw how we interact with our Exhibitors and how many people stopped at the AECT Booth and talked to him. We showed the way and now I am teaching them the “ins and outs’ of being Ambassadors!
That’s all for now! See you next month! If you have any questions about AECT, please contact me!
Leslie Blatt
NJASL Liaison to AECT
Villy Gandhi Leadership Training Scholarship
All NJASL members are invited to apply for the Villy Gandhi Leadership Training Scholarship. Villy Gandhi scholars participate in the AECT Annual Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 21 -25, 2019.
AECT- Association for Educational Communications and Technology- promotes scholarship and best practices in the creation, use, and management of technologies for effective teaching and learning. AECT is an International affiliate of NJASL. Learn more about AECT at AECT.org
To become a Villy Gandhi Scholar, you must be a certified library media specialist currently employed in a New Jersey school library media center and a member of NJASL. The applicant agrees to attend the AECT Fall Convention, attend NJASL Board of Trustees meetings and implement for NJASL at least one idea obtained at the AECT Convention. The scholarship provides up to $1,000 to help cover transportation, lodging and registration fee for attending the event. After attending the event, the person will write an article for Bookmark describing their experience, assist at the AECT Booth at the NJASL Fall Conference, participate on School Media Technology Division Board calls and prepare a webinar or similar form describing your experience at AECT.
To apply, provide the following: name, home and school address, home and school telephone number, grade level responsibility, number of years as a SLMS, resume, and a short biography. To this cover sheet, attach supporting evidence of qualifications for the award. These should include statements on experiences in educational media, volunteer experiences with NJASL and its affiliates and information on pertinent materials the applicant may have published or produced. There are 3 questions to answer and applicants should provide 2 letters of reference. It can be from administrators, and/or supervisor and one from a colleague can be a third one. SEE MORE INFORMATION ON THE NJASL.ORG WEBSITE – AWARDS!
The deadline for this application is March 15, 2019. The recipient will be notified by May 1 and the award will be presented jointly with the AECT President at the NJASL Fall Annual Conference in December, 2019.
Send the completed application by EMAIL (No Google Doc) to Leslie Blatt at MrsLes@aol.com
MCSMA Upcoming Events
March 14 – Library Lessons for All Subjects
Wondering how to engage more learners in the library? Looking for new ways to collaborate with different teachers? Have you already had success and want to share it? MCSMA is hosting a poster board session focusing on bringing more subjects into the library. If you’d like to present, please contact us at mcsmaweb@gmail.com.
Looking forward to seeing you soon! Check out the flyer for more information.
THANK YOU! Looking for submissions...
Don't forget that we are always looking for entries from ALL membership. Deadlines for the year are on the 15th of every month. Check out more information about our deadlines here. Please share articles with me at the bookmark@njasl.org email address by sharing a Google Document or PDF.
Check out more information about deadlines and submissions on the Smore linked below!!
NJASL
Email: bookmark@njasl.org
Website: njasl.org
Location: LibraryLinkNJ, Stelton Road, Piscataway Township, NJ, United States
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NJASL/
Twitter: @njasl