Top Shelf

Back in September, Cushing Academy in Massachusetts made the news by announcing that they were removing all of the books from the library in order to make room for digital information sources. This move prompted librarians and education bloggers around the country to write and wonder about the place that print resources have in a 21st century library. A great response came from Brian Kenney, editor of School Library Journal, in his editorial from the October issue.

In this month’s issue of Teacher Librarian though, David Loertscher puts it all in perspective with this list:

Ten Things Worse Than a Library Without Books:

1. A library without a credentialed teacher-librarian.

2. A library without information in the format users prefer.

3. A library that restricts access to information in any format.

4. A library that most teachers ignore.

5. A library that most students Google around.

6. A teacher-librarian who is afraid of, or ignores the impact of technology.

7. A library that only deals in print materials.

8. A library of antiquated computers and computer networks.

9. A library where tech directors have a big sign behind their desks reading: Just say NO!

10. An empty library.

He makes a great point – what’s the point of having a library (with or without books) at all, if students and teachers aren’t using it?

In a time when information is plentiful and easy to get, users have to believe that coming to the library adds value to their information experience or they will get what they need elsewhere. What are you doing to add value to your students’ and teachers’ experiences in the library?

Jane Claes and Janet Hilbun have been doing research about state book awards and shared their findings with us.

Did you know that 49 states have a state book award? Mississippi is the only one that doesn’t and they are considering it.

Why are state book awards so important? They get kids to read and think critically about literature in order to make their selection. The book lists of nominees are also great collection development tools.

The Pacific Northwest Young Reader’s award is the oldest of the state book awards, first given in 1940. Only 11 of the awards were chosen exclusively (nominated and selected) by children. In most cases, the books are nominated by adults and children, then voted on by children.

Nomination criteria vary, but in most cases there is a publication date, whether or not the book is still in print, and the author is living. Some states say that books that have won a Newbery or Caldecott are not eligible.

Generally, students must read a certain number of books to vote and librarians handle the voting in school and public libraries.

The major difference between state and national book awards is that children participate in the selection of the winner.

Big recent winners are:

Eragon by Christopher Paolini – 21 awards

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer – 16 awards

Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo – 15 awards

In the past four years, the top 5 winners have all been considered fantasy or science fiction or magical realism and all of these winners have had movies in production.

It is interesting to note that the top authors who have won state book awards have never won a national book award, such as the Newbery or Caldecott. Some of these authors are Peg Kehret, Andrew Clements, and Dan Gutman.

There are 27 books about dogs that won 47 awards. Five books with the word “ghost” in the title won 11 awards and 16 series books won 21 awards. Ten sequels won 70 awards.

What does this mean for collection development? Taken as a whole, state book awards show clearly what students like and want to read. These books have already been through a rigorous selection process. Looking at these lists also help you keep up with trends in student reading. It is an existing tool that many librarians are not using.

Janet and Jane have a book on this topic coming out this fall: Coast to Coast: Exploring State Book Awards from Libraries Unlimited. Another resource is H.W. Wilson’s Core Collection of state book awards.

A really great and untapped resource for collection development!

The Closed Stacks blog pointed me to this post featuring amazing cakes decorated like children’s books. They are so cute that I just had to share! Go to the original post to see more.

Have you ever wondered why there isn’t a “go to” place for educator-created media that promotes books, reading and literacy? Well, some of the great thinkers in our profession have. Not only have they been thinking about it, someone (Joyce Valenza) has done something about it.

Bookvideoning.com is a new portal where teachers, librarians and students can share media (in any digital format) to promote books, reading, and literacy K-12.

In my travels around the web, I have seen lots of great video book trailers, Voicethreads, Animotos, and other digital storytelling efforts. What a fabulous idea to have them all collected in one online space.

I encourage you to participate and upload your creations. Here is my contribution.

No, she wasn’t much of a drinker.

The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb

Rules:
* Get the book nearest to you. Right now.
* Go to page 56.
* Find the 5th sentence.
* Write this sentence – either here or on your blog.
* Copy these instructions as commentary of your sentence.
* Don’t look for your favorite book or your coolest but really the nearest.

I just finished this book over the weekend and it was still here on the end table by the couch. It was a great read that I’m still thinking about.

What book is closest to you right now? Follow the rules above and share!

Richardson ISD will be hosting their 8th annual Literary Festival on January 29, 2009 from 4:30-6:30.

This year’s festival features Sarah Weeks, author of more than 30 children’s & YA books, including So B. It, Regular Guy and Mrs. McNosh Hangs Up Her Wash.

Events include a keynote by Sarah Weeks, booktalks of the current 2×2, Bluebonnet, Lone Star and Tayshas lists, author signing, and a book fair where books by Sarah Weeks and others will be available for purchase.

For more information, download the event flyer.

This is part 2 of Teri Lesesne’s presentation at Region 10 on Monday.

On Monday, I was fortunate to be able to spend the whole day listening to booktalks presented by the master – Dr. Teri Lesesne of Sam Houston State University. Teri talked about books and reading to a rapt audience of teachers and librarians at Region 10. I think we all left amazed at the amount of reading/listening that she does, as well as her ability to recall in detail so many plots right down to individual character names. I also left with a list of books to read as long as your arm!

Here is part one of the slideshow from the presentation, which she shared in her blog today:

In addition to learning about all kinds of young adult books, I was also interested to learn about Teri’s experience with the Amazon Kindle. She even passed it around and let us look at it. If you’re not familiar, the Kindle is Amazon.com’s e-book reader. It can hold up to 200 books (or more with an SD card) and only weighs about

10 ounces! The screen is hard to explain, but it is just like reading on paper – no glare at all. There is also no backlight, so you can read it inside or in the sunlight. It includes a dictionary you can access as you are reading and a “clippings” feature where you can highlight passages and save them. This little gadget is definitely going on my Christmas list!

VoiceThread is a really cool web 2.0 tool that we did not get to explore in our Learning to Play the 2.0 Way program last year. It allows users to have a conversation around media – photos, images, video, screenshots, etc. Anyone can participate in the conversation by adding comments in text, audio, or video format.

Now Texas librarian, Tracy Mapus from San Antonio, has taken VoiceThread and introduced it to the Texas Bluebonnet Award nominees for 08-09. Take a look at her creation, and in the collaborative spirit of web 2.0, leave her a comment.

(via Around the Corner – McGuhlin.net)

One of our fabulous librarians alerted me to the news that Dallas is one of the scheduled stops on Jan Brett’s Fall tour. This tour is to introduce her new book, Gingerbread Friends. At each stop, they are doing a “party.” Her web site says that tickets are free, but limited, so you may want to call the book store and find out when they will be available. The Dallas party will be at the Borders on Preston Rd. on Thursday, November 6. Mark your calendars – sounds like a lot of fun!