NYLA-SSL Update
A Newsletter from the Section for School Librarians
March 2021
NYLA-SSL
Email: nyla.sslibs@gmail.com
Website: nyla.org/ssl
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/54348998258/
Twitter: @nyla_ssl
From the President
I hope everyone is doing well as we move into spring with a school break around the corner. Taking time for you is a mental break that is needed in the midst of everything that is going on, so please plan on doing that for yourself over the next few weeks. I look forward to working with the SSL Board on your behalf and I welcome you to reach out to me anytime with any questions or comments.
Dawn Pressimone
NYLA-SSL President
315-524-1135 (Work)
Get To Know....
President-Elect Lisa Perkowski
After 18 years on the SSL Board, I am finally able to introduce myself as your President-Elect. Many of you reading this might have name recognition, thanks to my years on the board, most likely since my position as Co-Chair for the Leadership Institute puts me in contact with many of you. I am so glad to finally have the administrative support I need to be able to accept the nomination, and subsequent election to take on this position. A career long member of our professional organization, I have held numerous positions within both my affiliate (SLMSSENY) as well as NYLA/SSL. As a school librarian for 26 years, I have spent my whole career in the secondary level, but as department chair in my current district for the past 7 years, I feel I have a good grasp of the issues that face elementary librarians as well.
I live and work in Port Jervis, which is the dot on the map where New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania all come together - I live in NY, buy my gas in Jersey and my groceries in Pennsylvania! I have been in the Port Jervis school district for 15 years, serving as the middle school, and now the high school librarian and previously was the high school librarian for 11 years in Liberty (Sullivan County) New York.
I am working with our current President, Dawn Pressimone, on setting the agenda SSL will follow for the next 2 years and look forward to initiatives that will support our members through these weird and unprecedented times. If you have any ideas as to how you think we could best do this, please reach out to either of us. One of our already agreed upon goals is to increase our membership. If you are reading this and are not a member, please consider joining; while it is true that we advocate and support ALL school librarians in New York State, we hope to offer our members “value added” events and benefits that will not be available to non-members.
I’d like to thank each and every one of you for taking the time out of what is surely a jam packed day to read the Update. It is my hope that you find something useful or inspiring in the articles and I encourage you to submit an article if you are doing something you think would be useful or inspiring. We all know we learn best when we learn from the experiences of our peers -- thank you for all you do on a daily basis and I look forward to seeing you all in 2022 at the Spring Conference!
Lisa Perkowski
845-858-3100 x.11800
Follow me on Twitter: @PJHSLibrary
Outstanding Librarian Award
(Nominations open until March 31.)
Do you know an outstanding librarian in your community who goes above and beyond to serve the community? Senator Sean Ryan, NYS Senate Libraries Chair, is seeking nominations from across New York State. One winner will be selected from every region, and receive a special recognition. Librarians can be from any library type in any locality throughout the state. Use the link below to write your nomination today!
https://www.nyla.org/userfiles/uploads/4214_RYAN_Outstanding_Librarian_Award_Flyer_(2).pdf
Awards Spotlight
Congratulations to SSL Board Member Beth Davis for being selected by ALA/YALSA to be on the Morris Award Committee.
The William C. Morris YA Debut Award, first given in 2009, honors a book published by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrating impressive new voices in young adult literature. The winner is announced annually at the ALA Youth Media Awards, with a shortlist of up to five titles named the first week of December. The award's namesake is William C. Morris, an influential innovator in the publishing world and an advocate for marketing books for children and young adults. Bill Morris left an impressive mark on the field of children’s and young adult literature. He was beloved in the publishing field and the library profession for his generosity and marvelous enthusiasm for promoting literature for children and teens.
Save the Date: A Night with Bryan Collier
An Evening with Knickerbocker Award Winner: Bryan Collier
On May 21, 2021 at 7:00 PM we will be having an evening with our 2021 Knickerbocker Award recipient. This event will be open to SSL Members. Stay tuned for more information.
Japanese Manga, Anime, and Culture for the School and Teen Librarian Crowd
The blog and subsequent YouTube channel, Manga Librarian, came after several of my peers asked me to do some sort of blog or write up, because they felt various levels of anxiety and confusion as non-readers of manga. I, on the other hand, have been reading manga since I was twelve and have a long history as a complete and total otaku (person obsessed with Japanese culture). Because I have been “studying” manga and anime for so long, my teenage obsession has turned into a professional interest.
The goal of the project is simply to provide clarity and explanations to librarians in both school and public environments about how to make smart purchasing decisions, understand the subculture surrounding manga and anime, and provide some depth of understanding that can be hard for outsiders to fully grasp. With manga currently in a boom, and anime clubs on the rise, my hope is to provide a little bit of assistance to librarians, and maybe get them to read manga for their own enjoyment. If you’re struggling to make purchasing decisions relating to manga or light novels, I encourage you to take a look at Manga Librarian!
-- Ashley Hawkins, NYCDOE School Librarian
A Visit With SLST East
Young Adult Book Club
Upper Elem/MG Book Club
Remote Teaching Resources
It's a Book Club!
Did you know that SLST-East has a book club? Our next two meetings are virtual and all are welcome to join us! Email Annarose Foley if you are interested in attending either or both!!
Young Adult Book Club:
The Grace Year by Kim Liggett
Saturday 4/17 from 4:00 - 6:00 PM
Upper Elem/Middle Grade Book Club:
Clean Getaway by Nic Stone
Wednesday 5/5 from 5:00 - 7:00 PM
Book Review
Featured Librarian
MaryAnn Karre - retiree, SLST-East
SLST East has always been a very active organization, very supportive of and involved in the events of local organizations. Along with our members, I have been privileged to work with our local PBS broadcasting station, WSKG, for a great number of years, assisting have assisted with televised auctions and phone-in membership drives, participating in the Great American Read Celebration, and partnering with the WSKG Education Department for about two decades to judge, provide prizes, and present the awards for what has now become the WSKG Student Writing Challenge. For this, in 2006, SLST-East was awarded WSKG’s Volunteer Group Award, in recognition of exceptional service.
Because of the work that we have done with WSKG, I was honored to be offered a position on their Education Advisory Committee as soon as I retired, and I have been privileged to work with members of university, social services, public library and teacher centers to help shape the station’s educational programming. Of course, librarianship is not a job but a way of life, so I returned to the public library where I worked many years ago, and now I am part of a Technology Center team, teaching tech skills to adults, with online classes that began as soon as the pandemic closed our computer center. This, along with subbing for school librarians and reviewing for SLJ and SLC, has kept me busy enough in retirement, and has helped me feel that I can still contribute to our library community.
Tech Tool for Learning
Connect with us!
Website: http://sites.google.com/view/slst-east/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SLSTEast/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/SLSTEast/
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/slsteast/
Officers:
President - Annarose Foley
Vice President - Alicia Sherman
Treasurer - Kathy Starks
Secretary - Tracey Cornwell
Calling all Library Lovers!
Do you have a friend, colleague, or family member who loves libraries? If so, be sure to let them know that they can also join NYLA as a “Friend” under NYLA’s Personal Membership and they can choose SSL as their main section. A Friend Membership is $30 and they’ll have access to all our programs, newsletters, etc. You can also surprise someone and honor them for their birthday, holiday, or just because and give them the gift of membership.
Remind your retired library colleagues that they can still support NYLA-SSL with a Retired Membership for $30.
Library Assistants or Support Staff can join for $25 and any Library School Students can join for $15.
SSL Membership – We need YOU!
The pandemic of 2020 has affected everyone in so many ways and SSL is no exception. Our biggest concern right now, as we head into NYS budget season, is how many members we now lay claim to. We are faced with significantly declining membership numbers. One can point to two major reasons for this decline. Firstly, our school library systems have been greatly impacted by budget cuts and that has resulted in many SLSA directors suspending the past practice of paying for a NYLA Organizational Membership for their librarians. Secondly, many members (and potential members) were negatively affected in a financial way due to circumstances beyond their control. But no matter where we find ourselves today, one thing we know for certain is that we are stronger together and we need each other. Please make every attempt to renew your personal membership for NYLA/SSL.
Through robust membership, we can continue our support for you and your programs. Membership also allows you to take advantage of our upcoming members-only activities. As a NYLA/SSL member, you receive a discounted rate for both the NYLA and SSL Conferences and can take advantage of the opportunities afforded by attending the Leadership Institute, or applying for SSL scholarships and awards.
The executive board recognizes that times are tough, and you may feel more disconnected than ever, especially from your professional organization, but we encourage you to please take a look at the regular personal membership salary lines. You will see that there are many levels of membership fees; please choose what you feel you are able to afford this year, even if it does not match what you have been paying. Numbers matter to people who make impactful decisions; NYLA/SSL is able to garner more support from those people when we can say, "we represent 3,000 librarians who vote" instead of "we represent 500...".
Take a moment and think about what your continued membership to NYLA/SSL means to the profession as a whole and hit that "renew" button. We are stronger when we are together and the ability to #leadoutloud begins by being a NYLA/SSL member.
Join or Renew your NYLA-SSL Membership at www.nyla.org