Library Ties

I’m a little behind in sharing some of these adventures, so working on playing catch-up today.    I had the pleasure of visiting the Connecticut Association of School Librarians in Hartford, CT on Monday, October 24th.  They held a one day conference in collaboration with the Connecticut Educators Computer Association.

This was a whirlwind visit, as I headed straight from the AASL Executive Committee meetings in Chicago to the conference and straight from the conference to the Minneapolis for the AASL Conference.  But, I had a great day with the folks in Connecticut.

My sessions focused on leadership and elementary 21st Century Skills.  I enjoyed listening to the opening keynote from Dr. Jason Ohler.  I had a quick visit with author Jerry Pallotta who had visited our school 10 years ago.  It was a great day chatting with friends and meeting new ones from CT.  Sara Kelly-Mudie and her crew from CT put together a great one day event.

It was kind of neat to be in Hartford, too, because I got a sneak peak of the facility where the 16th AASL National Conference will be held on November 13-17, 2013.

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On Monday of this week, I had the pleasure to be in the company of an amazing panel of school library supporters.  These amazing educators and parents came together in Washington, D.C. for the first ever AASL Congressional Briefing.

The briefing, titled Education Reform and the SKILLS Act: The Impact of the Twenty-First Century School Libraries on Career and College Preparedness, was presented by AASL in conjunction with Representative Rush Holt and Senator Jack Reed.  The briefing was designed to provide information and background on why the SKILLS Act should be included as part of the reauthorization of ESEA.

We formed a planning group made-up of the AASL Advocacy Committee Chair Dr. Judi Repman and AASL Legislative Committee Chair Connie Williams.  We started with a  conference call in early August and from there the planning began and moved very quickly.  The Legislative Committee took the lead on preparing a one-page brochure/handout to give attendees outlining the key facts and research that supports the SKILLS Act.  They spent many hours fine-tuning and picking out just the right words and links that would make the most impact to attendees.

All of the resources and handouts are posted on the Congressional Briefing website at:  http://www.ala.org/aasl/congressionalbriefing/

From there, the process began to compile our panel.  We knew we needed a panel that could provide different perspectives on school libraries.  The planning team was very methodical about thinking about who and the perspective they could bring to briefing.  We were able to locate some of the most dynamic speakers in the country.  As the President of AASL, I also joined the panel and was the moderator for the event.  I can’t tell you how honored I was to be in the company of such amazing advocates for school libraries.   Our panel (in the order of their presentations)

• William A. Mayer, university librarian, American University (D.C.), international speaker and leader on the changing face of services in libraries
• Carl Harvey, school librarian, North Elementary School (Ind.), AASL president
• Connie Williams, National Board Certified Teacher Librarian, Petaluma High School (Calif.), AASL legislative committee chair
• Donna L. Haye, assistant superintendent, Atlantic City Public Schools (N.J.), an AASL Distinguished School Administrator
• Kathy Mortimer, parent from Henrico County Public Schools (Va.) an AASL National School Library Program of the Year

We decided to use the L4L branding and outlined our agenda under the AASL Standards for the 21^st Century Learner – Think, Create, Share, and Grow!  It provided a great framework for us to paint the picture for attendees about how school libraries continue to change and evolve into 21^st Century school library programs.

William Mayer spot about the important role that school libraries take in preparing students for college and careers.  I focused on elementary school libraries and Connie Williams brought the perspective of secondary school libraries.  Donna Haye talked about the dramatic transformation libraries have made in her district in the last 10 years and the impact the dollars have made on their libraries and student achievement.   Finally Kathy Mortimer shared from a parent’s perspective about the amazing school libraries and opportunities her children have access to and the need for every child to have those experiences.  I could go on and on about what each presenter shared and talked about.    Each spoke eloquently about their perspective and ideas about the importance of school libraries in the education of our students.   So, rather than me attempting to recap everything they said, you can go to the AASL website and view the videos of the Congressional Briefing at: http://www.ala.org/aasl/congressionalbriefing/

Many educational staffers of Representatives and Senators attended the briefing.  It was a “packed house!”  You could see their pads of paper taking notes and we can hope that they went back and shared with their bosses the importance of school libraries.

Following the briefing, we each went off for an afternoon filled of meetings with staffers of the Senators and Congressmen from our own states.  Making that personal connection was important and we’ll be following back up with them as the ESEA act makes it way through Congress.

The timing for the briefing could not have been more perfect as the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee is beginning working on the ESEA reauthorization this week.

Thank you to several of our vendors and members who donated through the Friends of AASL to help fund this endeavor.  Many others have written letters or contacted their legislators to advocate for school libraries.  Their support has been key.

On a personal note, I can’t thank everyone who worked so hard on this day enough.  The time and effort they devoted to put this together was amazing.  The AASL staff, the ALA Washington Staff, the Advocacy Guru group, the members of the AASL Legislative and Advocacy Committees, and finally the amazing panelist all deserve to be recognize for their hard work and efforts over the last few months.

But….the work isn’t done.  The briefing in DC this week was great and I think had an impact.  However, it can have a bigger impact if we each have to take time to call our Senators and Representatives and share with them the importance and value of school libraries in our schools.  They need to hear our voices loud and clear and often.  So, when the ALA Washington Office or AASL sends you the email to call you into action, don’t assume someone else will call and do it.  We ALL have to step forward and take ownership of making sure those in Congress (and at the state level, too) have no doubt that school libraries are a critical part of the education ecosystem of today’s schools.

Tags:   AASL · ALA Washington Office · Congressional Briefing1 Comment

From time to time, I’d like to share with you what AASL has been working on from my perspective as AASL President.  Here are just some of the highlights since July 1^st!  From our amazing member leaders to our AASL staff, it is amazing to see all that has been happening in a short time.

Events / Projects

• Congressional Briefing – Probably the biggest project we are working on currently is preparing to provide a briefing to Congress on the 21^st Century School Library.    School librarians and school library stakeholders are encouraged to support the work of the congressional briefing by contacting their members of Congress and urging them to attend the briefing.  We are currently working to raise funds to defray the cost of the briefing via the Friends of AASL.   Read the complete press release.

• The timing of the briefing connects perfectly with the SKILLS Act and the reauthorization of ESEA which is on Congress’s agenda.  We are currently urging school librarians to call their Senators and ask them to sign on as co-sponsors of the SKILLS Act today!  Get your colleagues and friends to call, too!

• Committee Chair Orientation – Over the course of 4 weeks, an online training for all committee chairs was held.  We began with a webinar and then moved to online discussions in ALA Connect.  It was a great way to get our committees all on the same page and get working on their Minimum Intended Outcomes!

• AASL National Conference – Minneapolis – Obviously a great deal of time has been spent getting ready for the AASL National Conference in Minneapolis.  The committee led by Ty Burns and Cheryl Steele has been hard at work putting together an amazing professional development experience.  I’ve been personally involved with the online book discussion of Nicholas Carr’s book The Shallows on the conference Ning which has been very enlightening and engaging!

• ALA Campaign for School Libraries – ALA has started a task force to create a campaign in support of school libraries.  Read the press release here.  http://ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pr.cfm?id=8155  Working with ALA President Molly Raphael, we helped to set the stage for this group and appoint AASL members to represent us.  AASL President-Elect, Susan Ballard, has agreed to co-chair this task force.

• Banned Websites Awareness Day – Sept. 28, 2011 – recently AASL sponsored the first Banned Website Awareness Day.  This idea  had been tossed around for years in blogs and articles such as this one by Doug Johnson < http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2011/blue-skunk-blog/2008/9/23/blocked-bytes-week.html>.  The AASL Board in June  of this year voted to have the first annual event this year during Banned Book Week.  Thanks to Helen Adam and the Intellectual Freedom Committee as well as AASL Director-Elect Michelle Luthala for all their hard work on this project.

•  AASL Executive Committee Meeting – In a few weeks the AASL Executive Committee will be meeting in Chicago.  Our annual fall meeting allows us time to prepare for the Midwinter meetings as well as engage in a joint meeting with the Executive Board of ALA and all the ALA divisions.

• Treasurer’s Training / MIO – In July I had the chance to travel to Chicago for AASL Treasurer’s Training.  Every 3 years we elect a new treasurer and Karen Lemmons began her term in July.  The staff provides a training to help get the new treasurer up to speed, and since I live so close I drove up for the training.  I also spent a great deal of my time in Chicago working on the Minimum Intended Outcomes for our committees this year!

Board Votes

The Board has been working in between our Annual and Midwinter meetings.  Two Board votes have been taken on position statements.  Both statements below have been approved.

• Position Statement on Labeling Books with Reading Levels
• Position Statement on Flexible Schedule – To be posted soon

Press Interviews

• Education Writers Association Ning – Week long discussion with Education Reporters from all over the country.
• Augusta Chronicle
• School Library Journal
• Fort Worth Star-Telegram
• Banned Website Awareness Day
• New York Times
• TakePart.com
• School Planning and Management Magazine

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the work of AASL.

Tags:   AASL · AASL President 2011-2012 · AASL11Comments Off

One of the best parts of being President of the American Association of School Librariansis getting to go and visit state conferences.  AASL sets up a rotation for the visits so that every state receives a visit every 5 years from either the President-Elect, President, or Past-President . It is a great way to keep the national and state organizations connected.  So, this year I’ll be traveling to 5 different state conferences…several of which are in the next few weeks.The first trip of the year is to Louisville, Kentucky and the Kentucky School Media Association / Kentucky Library Association conference. Being it was just a quick drive from Indiana, getting there was very easy. A colleague from Indiana, Leslie Preddy, was also coming to present, so we were able to drive down together. It was a great time for chatting and catching up.

I’m sure I’ve said it before, but the networking and chatting and meeting people is what I love best about a conference. I got a chance to meet a lot of wonderful librarians from Kentucky. Terri Kirk, a long time friend from working together in ALA, was the conference chair, so it was wonderful to get an opportunity to catch-up with her as well.

My sessions on Leadership and 21st Century Skills as well as what is happening in AASL currently.  The presentations can be found on my website here soon.

I saw lots of great sessions on reading promotion, technology tools, and leadership. They keynote was from Wendy Steadman Stephens from Alabama.  She had some great ideas for future-proofing your library and great ways to maximize using technology in the school library.

At their business luncheon today they presented a certificate from the Gov. of Kentucky naming me an Honorary Kentucky Colonel.  It was a very nice honor, and I want to thank the Kentucky School Media Association for all their wonderful hospitality.

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Have you joined us on the AASL ning, yet, for the book discussion on The Shallows by Nicholas Carr?  If not, we’re up to Chapter 4 this week.  Lots of great discussion and comments so far, but there is always room for more.  Take some time this week to explore the previous chapters and chime in on any of the discussions!

It has been a lot of fun with the book discussion as we work to get ready for the AASL National Conference in Minneapolis!  Speaking of that…have you registered yet?  There are just a little less than 4 weeks before the end of the advanced rate pricing!

Tags:   AASL11 · American Association of School Librarians · Nicholas Carr · Professional Development · The ShallowsComments Off

Are you ready?  As we prepare for the 2011 National Conference in Minneapolis, we’ve started the online book discussion of the Nicholas Carr’s  The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains.  This book will be our One Book, One Conference title!  So, no time like the present to start reading and thinking!

Starting August 15th we’ll start a weekly discussion on the AASL Conference Ning.  Click on groups and join The Shallows-Book Discussion group.    We’re going to take a chapter each week which should take us almost up to the AASL Conference!   I’ll post some discussion starters in a forum, but feel free to respond and ask your own questions, too!   I’m really looking forward to the conversation!  Then, we can continue the conversation on site in Minneapolis on Friday, October 28^th!

In The Shallows, Carr asks the question: “As we enjoy the Net’s bounties, are we sacrificing our ability to read and think deeply?” Carr then describes throughout the book how human thought has been shaped through the centuries by “tools of the mind” — from the alphabet, to maps, to the printing press, the clock and the computer. Our brains, the historical and scientific evidence reveals, change in response to our experiences. The technologies we use to find, store and share information can reroute our neural pathways.  A preview of “The Shallows” is available via the AASL conference website.

Here’s the link to the official press release about our book discussion here.

Tags:   AASL · AASL11 · American Association of School Librarians · conferences · Nicholas Carr · Professional Development · school librarians · school libraries · The ShallowsComments Off

I am a little late (should have done this last week!), but I did want to write a little bit about the ALA Annual conference in New Orleans.  It was hot down there…the temperature most days was in the mid-90′s and it just would start raining at almost anytime.  I kept busy with AASL Board meetings, Nancy Everhart’s AASL President Program, walks through the exhibits, and a few other meetings here and there.  My favorite part, as always, was catching up with friends and colleagues from all over the country.  It was a great conference.

For me personally, the highlight of the conference was on Tuesday.  I officially ran the first AASL Board meeting as the 2011-2012 President.  Following that was the ALA Inaugural Banquet honoring Molly Raphael at which they recognize all the division Presidents, too.  I am really excited about the year ahead.  I have no doubt it will be filled with all sorts of opportunities and challenges.  However, I also have no doubt we’ll continue to follow a course that moves forward AASL and the school library field.

At the banquet, there were several AASL Presidents from the past, present, and future.  We all got together for a group shot!

back row  (left to right)
J. Linda Williams, 2005-2006
Barbara Stripling, 1996-1997
Ken Haycock, 1997-1998
Carl A. Harvey II, 2011-2012
Nancy Everhart, 2010-2011
Susan Ballard, 2012-2013

front row (left to right)
Cassandra Barnett, 2009-2010
Ann M. Martin, 2008-2009
Sara Kelly Johns, 2007-2008
Frances Roscello, 2003-2004

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Our last day in China was mostly for travel. Some went out shopping, some slept in, some spent time packing all the stuff we bought, and a variety of other options. I read for a while and then packed. It was pouring down rain, and I wasn’t willing to tackle the weather. It was kind of nice to have a little quiet time. At 11:30 we loaded up the bus and went to the train station. Daniel was taking us to the airport, but we used the time in the lobbying to make sure we all had our picture taken with him.

We are riding the Mag Lev train to the airport. This train can travel up to 275 miles per hour. It was raining today, so it didn’t get going quite that fast. But, we were to the airport in 7 minutes.

We grabbed our luggage and went through security. We had plenty of time to eat some lunch (Burger King), a little more shopping, and then I exchanged the last of my Chinese money back to US dollars. We boarded the plane and got set for a 13 hour flight home.

The flight was long. I slept maybe 2 hours. We landed in Chicago about 6pm EST on Friday. We left Shanghai at 4:30pm on Friday (China time). So, I’d been up almost 24 hours once we landed in the states. We hopped on a bus and headed home. We got back to Indy around 11pm. By the time I got home and something to eat, I got to bed late.

On Saturday I slept in late. Been working on things a little at time today like finishing up these blog posts! Hopefully I’ll get back to normal tomorrow! But, it was all worth it. It was an amazing trip. I learned and saw so much in the last few days! We had an amazing group and a fantastic experience that I think it might just be hard to top!

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Today was a little calmer. Well…kind of. I started to write this on our bus trip back from Hangzhou to Shanghai, but the bus was going up and down so hard that I couldn’t see the words on the screen.

We got up and some of us did a little shopping at the antique dealer in the hotel. Everything was 80% off because it was going out of business. Daniel said it has been going out of business for the last several times he has brought tour groups here. But I found some statues to put in the library, so that was fun.

We boarded the bus and headed back to the school. Today’s agenda item was to plant a tree at the school in honor of our connection with C.L.A.S.S. and the school. The principal, Mr. Liu, and Jim McMillian from C.L.A.S.S. started to plant it and then we all got to take a turn shoveling up some dirt to cover the tree roots. We saw the tree that they planted when students from Clinton Central were there earlier this year and Mr. Liu hopes that someday the whole area can be filled with trees from visits from the United States and C.L.A.S.S. After that, we took a group photo outside the school. Then it was time to say our goodbyes.

A couple of the teachers joined us as the school had arranged for us to go to a porcelain museum. At the museum, we got a chance to either make a beaded neckless or a tile. We had some amazing artists in this group. It was kind of nice to just sit and experiment with the clay. We’d been going and going and going and so it was nice to not feel as rushed. We thanked the teachers for their wonderful gift and then we headed off to lunch.

Lunch was just ok. I ate some rice, watermelon, and some sweet and sour pork. The best part was the cold Pepsi! After lunch we then headed to the West Lake and took a boat ride. It was beautiful and calming. Today it was not raining (yeah) so we could enjoy being out on the deck and looking at the many boats and people and buildings all around the lake. Daniel says this is one of the most beautiful places in China and attracts many visitors each year.

Following the boat ride, we headed back to the bus and off to visit a tea plantation. It was really pretty and we learned a lot about green tea from the owners. I did drink all of my green tea, but I can’t say it will become a stable in my diet. We had the chance to purchase some and take it home, but since I didn’t see me ever making it, I opted to pass.

We got back on the bus and headed to River Road. We all had a few more souvenirs to get and we had been pestering Daniel that we needed more shopping time. We only had 40 minutes, but I got the last few things I needed.

Back on the bus for the 3 hour trip to Shanghai. Nothing exciting other than lots of bumps. This time it wasn’t raining like it was on our trip to Hangzhou, so while I did nap a bit. I also got a chance to look at the country side. We got back to Shanghai about 8pm and had dinner in the hotel. Then some of us headed off to see if we could find some more shopping. We managed to find a very upscale mall, and then a little street vendor area. We did stop for ice cream which was wonderful. But, it was late and most places were closing. We headed back to the hotel. Time to organize the suitcases and get ready to leave on Friday. Then, it was off to bed. Tomorrow is the last day! Amazing how time has just flown by these last few days!

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I can’t believe we’re at Day 6 already! This trip has just flown by. Of course that could be because we’ve not stopped since we landed. Today’s agenda was we spent the day at the first C.L.A.S.S. school in China – The Affiliated Primary School of Hangzhou Institute for Education
Research. We started off with Jim McMillian sharing with them a banner from C.L.A.S.S. that they could hang in their school.

The day was structure where we had a lesson taught by one of their teachers followed by a lesson taught by one of the teachers in our group. You could see that they are starting to take some of what they are learning from C.L.A.S.S. and incorporating them into their lessons. The teachers from our group that taught lessons did amazing – especially since there was some language barriers.

The picture above is my friend Denise from Hickory Center Elementary who was showing them a great math lesson using the structure of Milling to Music. It was really cool. Jenny and Kari later in the day taught them Old MacDonald Had a Farm which was good, too!

We had lunch, a tour of the building, and we saw some amazing dancing from students and their choir singing was just beautiful. But, I think what you find is kids are kids no matter where in the world they are. Moment is new to them as part of their lessons, so it was great to see the kids having fun. At the end of the day we did a debrief with the teachers and got a chance to ask each other questions. Unlike our elementary schools where one teacher has the same 25 kids all day long, they are divided up by subjects. This is a picture of their “library”, but I don’t think it works like ours. There are three librarians on this trip, but when we tried to explain to them our concept, they seemed a little confused.

It was a great day at the school. But at this point on the agenda was the part of the tour that I was the most apprehensive about. After our debriefing, we paired up and then one of the students came and took us to their house for dinner. Now, I’ve mentioned before that I’m picky, and I was REALLY worried about offending the family. But, off I went with my new friend Silver. He didn’t speak English very well and his parent didn’t speak English at all. So trying to have a conversation wasn’t easily. Luckily my partner Tonya was great at trying to act out and have a conversation. We figured out that the Mom works at a shopping center and that Dad works at PowerPlant. The outside of the apartment building was really kind of run-down and I was kind of little uneasy, but the inside was so nice.

So, the Dad did all the cooking. It was soooo much food…way too much. I ate some pork and some asparagus. I had some sort of dried bamboo, too. I drank two sips of Chinese vodka (which was about 2 sips too many! That stuff was really, really, really strong!). So, we got through it with no problems. Silver showed us a yo-yo type toy that he was really good at as well. After about 2 hours, we walked back to the school and boarded the bus back to the hotel. Now we’ve been emailing and chatting in the lobby again tonight. Been a lot of great conversations over the last few days. Today was another awesome day. Tomorrow we’re taking a boat ride and planting a tree at the school for a few minutes. Its been raining the last few days, but so far we haven’t let anyone steal our joy yet!

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