DPS Library Services Newsletter
October 23rd, 2015 Edition
Announcements
Trick or Treat at DPL Central Library
Friday, October 30, 3 - 6 p.m. Central Library
Explore the entire Central Library for trick-or-treating, storytelling under the derrick in Western History/Genealogy, maker madness in the ideaLAB and games and crafts in the Children’s Li- brary.
We’ll also be showing Hocus Pocus out- side on Acoma Plaza (Near the west en- trance) at dusk as part of our Fresh City Life Pop Up Film on the Side series.
Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award
Don't wait 'til the last minute to get your teens voting and nominating for the 2015 and 2016 Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award! Though voting doesn't close until December 31, now is the time to get teens engaged in reading the nominated titles to vote for a 2016 winner, and start making their list for 2017 nominees.
Everything you need to promote Blue Spruce titles and set up voting is on the CBSYABA website, from ballot templates to booktalks to the online voting form.
And YES - this year, teens can go online and vote and nominate for themselves without having to go through a grown-up intermediary - Power to the People!!
Don't forget to Like Us on Facebook, and Follow Us on Twitter … Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award CommitteeThe 28th Annual Colorado Teen Literature Conference
will be held at the Metropolitan State University Denver’s and the University of Colorado Denver‘s Auraria Campus on Saturday, April 2, 2016, with keynote speakers Kekla Magoon (author of The Rock and the River and others) and Eliot Schrefer (author of Endangered and Threatened).
They are currently accepting proposals for program sessions at the conference. They are looking for workshops that appeal to an audience of both adults (teachers and librarians) and teens, presented by authors, educators or experts in young adult literature. This year we especially encourage proposals in the following areas: social media book promotions, kinetic programs to engage teens and program and collection development. To request a proposal form, go to their website at: http://coteenlitconf.org/ and click on “Call for Presenters.” You may either submit online or print off the form and send it by snail mail to the address listed on the form. Deadline for proposals is November 1, 2015!
Should you have any questions, please contact Karen Bradley at Arapahoe Libraries, kbradley@arapahoelibraries.org or (303) 792-8999 x12615 or Arra Katona at Jefferson County Public Library, arra.katona@jeffcolibrary.org or at (303) 235-5275 x5361.The American Museum of Western Art at the DPS Book Expo
One of our presenters was Kristin Fong from the American Museum of Western Art, located at 1727 Tremont Place. Kristin's presentation was awesome! She showed us some of her sample lesson plans which were stimulating and thought-provoking, including s fascinating visual examination of the decimation of the wild buffalo in the Old West. She also gave a brief intro to a unit on stagecoaches that could encapsulate many themes, including advertising, transportation, and the dangers of traveling through the Old West.
Did you know they reimburse up to $200.00 of transportation costs for field trips to the museum?
Did you know that, if you are planning a field trip to the art museum, Kristen will come out to your classroom and co-plan a personalized lesson plan with you?
Did you know that on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the museum is open only to field trips, allowing your students to have the entire museum to themselves?
Did you know that your students can visit the museum for free if they show their student IDs?
Teacher Librarian Kacie Close builds reading motivation with Waldo...
and Fancy Nancy appearances!
2015 Book Expo...hope you were there!
The Denver Public Library at the DPS Book Expo
Frank Guilford from the Denver Public Library came out to present a variety of DPL databases that are useful and freely available to any DPS student with a library card.
Frank highlighted services that DPL provides, including the Research Pathfinder Request option, wherein teachers can contact DPL for links to online resources and books about a particular topic.
We also learned more about the 24/7 “Ask Us” homework chat option for students. That link is on our LION home page.
Frank also showed us the newly revised Teen library page, which offers quick links to helpful databases that are not owned by DPS.
These databases included the
Gale virtual Library, which contains many online full-text reference books,
The New York Times historical backfile, containing back issues dating to 1851
Student Resources in context, containing audio, video, academic journals,and interactive maps
Science Flix offers videos and articles about science topics, careers in science, and projects, experiments, and quizzes.
The Literature Resource Center is a favorite of HS English teachers lookin for literature summaries and criticism, as well as author biographies, videos and pictures.
Frank also talked with us about the fact that students can make appointments with DPL librarians to get started with their research.
These are some fantastic resources to tap into. Share them with your students and teachers.
Resources
Personalized Learning
DPL Phone-A-Story
Did you know that children can listen to a story over the phone? Just call the Phone-A- Story hotline at 720- 865-8500, follow the instructions, and enjoy the story. This is a great way to build a love of reading and build children's background knowledge and narrative skills. New stories are recorded every Tuesday so be sure to call back every week. Phone-A-Story is sponsored by the Mayor's Office of Education & Children and the Denver Public Library.
Earlier is Easier
CLiC Courier Information
Were you aware that Library Services currently subscribes to courier services through the Colorado Library Consortium? The service ensures that library materials are returned to their home library – whether it’s DPL, DPS, Cherry Creek, Aurora, or any other school district throughout the state.
As DPS library staff, you are able to send library materials that don’t belong to your school to Library Services at Acoma Street. We use the courier system to identify the owning library and the courier service picks up the materials from our building and gets them to where they belong. It works both ways. The courier delivers to our building DPS library books that ended up elsewhere. We identify what DPS school library they belong to and send them to you through DPS mail.
(If you come across books that do not belong to your library, but to another DPS school, we ask that you continue to return those books through regular school mail.) So if you ever come across a book that belongs to Denver Public Library or another school district feel free to send them our way! Please indicate on the mailer “For Library Services CLiC Courier.”
Denver Public Library Best and Brightest Children’s Literature Workshop:
Hello library friends!
We're in the midst of planning our 2015 Best & Brightest workshop and we'd love to have you and any of your colleagues join us. Feel free to pass this
invitation along. Here are the details:
Title: Best & Brightest Children's & Teen Books of 2015
Date: Wednesday, December 9th
Time: 9:00 - 11:00 am
Location: Sam Gary Branch Library (2961 Roslyn St., behind the Noodles & Company in the Stapleton Town Center. Plenty of parking in the lot by the library)
Description: Celebrate the best and brightest children's and teen books published in 2015! Mingle and connect with colleagues as you improve your reader's advisory skills in a fun and festive environment. This year’s workshop will include a panel discussion on book awards committees.
To register, send an email to chlref@denverlibrary.org by Wednesday 12/2 so we have an accurate count for food and chairs.
Hope to see you in December! Your DPL Friends.DPL Mock Book Awards
Love to read and discuss kid/YA lit? Then join DPL librarians as we kick off our mock award discussions!
We're taking advantage of Google Drive by having all discussions in a Google Doc. One doc for each mock. Discussions are open now. New contender titles will be added to each doc over the next few months and all book discussions will remain active until January 1, 2016. Then you'll be asked to vote for your favorites via online surveys.
What do you do? Read one (or two or three or ten!) of the books. Then add your appreciations (positive) and concerns (less positive) to the mock doc. You'll see a section for appreciations and concerns for each title. Respond to the comments of others. Read other books and compare them. We hope lots of different opinions and ideas will be shared.
You can join the discussion for as many mocks as you like. We have mocks for all of the following:
Alex (Adult Books with YA Appeal)
Caldecott (Picture Books)
Coretta Scott King (African-American)
Geisel (Beginning Readers)
Newbery (Middle Grade)
Pura Belpre (Latino)
Sibert (Non-Fiction)
Printz (YA)
Science Grant Opportunity to share with your school
The AirWaterGas Sustainability Research Network (SRN) at the University of Colorado Boulder (www.airwatergas.org) is pleased to announce a Request for Proposals (RFP) for K-12 and community-led projects that improve awareness of sustainable pathways for energy development. These projects will seek to improve understanding of the risks and benefits of oil and gas development as they pertain to air quality, water quality and quantity, economic effects, or other factors.
Projects may focus on citizen science initiatives, project-based learning, the interface of science and policy issues, or other energy-related topics that have relevance for your school, organization, and/or community.
Projects that connect with the scientific expertise of CU-Boulder and AirWaterGas SRN researchers are highly encouraged. Examples of how this connection can be accomplished include hosting speaking events with AirWaterGas researchers, requesting classroom visits and activities with AirWaterGas graduate students, or seeking project design assistance. Additional options include use of tools developed by the AirWaterGas SRN group, such as the project’s fleet of low-cost air quality monitoring equipment. *
Grants of up to $5,000 will be awarded. Proposals are due Tuesday, December 1, 2015 before 5:00 p.m. MST (Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.)
Please review the AirWaterGas Community Small Grant RFP and the AirWaterGas project summary, which can be found on the AirWaterGas Community Small Grants website (http://airwatergas.org/communitysmallgrants/). You can also find examples of successful grant proposals at this site.
*Contact the AirWaterGas Education and Outreach Coordinator (contact information below) to discuss your application ideas or if you would like assistance connecting with others who are interested in energy education and outreach.
Katya Hafich
Education and Outreach Coordinator
Air Water Gas Sustainability Research Network
O 303.492.9113