DuKane Day Gets the Word Out

Presenters at this year's DuKane Institute shared their knowledge with a full house of school librarians and teachers on February 27, 2009. The day-long program for librarians in DuPage and Kane Counties featured sessions on assisting students to produce YouTube video booktrailers, the latest in children's literature from author Sally Walker, developing reading programs, increasing your access to books, media, and journal articles through interlibrary loan, and so much more!

The Evidence Is In!

Participants in the Here's the Evidence: Impacting Student Achievement grant funded project shared their experiences in documenting successful outcomes and demonstrating the value of librarians and school libraries on student learning. Acting Executive Director and Director of Educational Services Pamela Kramer explained the grant project that included the DuPage and North Suburban Library Systems. "We gathered the evidence, participants told us what they learned, and we were highly successful," she concluded.

Share the Evidence participants then discussed their success stories. The speakers addressed how they obtained the support of stakeholders in their schools, how they assisted the students and documented results, how projects directly impacted the quality of students' work, the challenges they faced, their success in collaborating with teachers, and more. Pictured at left: Bonita Slovinski, Lincoln Junior High School, Naperville #203.

View Photos of DuKane Day on Flickr 

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Special Thanks to...

DuPage Library System's co-sponsors: Dr. Darlene Ruscitti, Regional Superintendent, DuPage County Regional Office of Education; Doug E. Johnson, Regional Superintendent, Kane County Regional Office of Education; Sam Rotolo Middle School, Batavia District #101; and all the member volunteers who assisted with the event.

Booklists and Other DuKane Day Handouts

Some of the handouts from the program:
Monarch Award 2010 Master List

Sally Walker's Book List for Grades K-4

Sally Walker's Book List for Grades 5 - 8

It Doesn't Grow on Trees
Finding Funds in Your Extended Community
Norma Applegate, Jane Lenser, Prairie Area Library System

Coming Up: DLS Day
Register for DLS Day: Libraries as Destination - May 18, 2009

YALSA Names 2009 Outstanding Books for the College Bound & Lifetime Learners List

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), announced the 2009 Outstanding Books for the College Bound and Lifetime Learners list. Revised every five years, this list is intended as a tool for several audiences: students preparing for college, parents, educators and librarians. The 2009 list was produced by a YALSA committee made up of public, school and academic librarians, in collaboration with the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL).  The 2009 list offers titles in five categories: Arts and Humanities, History and Cultures, Literature and Language Arts, Science and Technology and Social Sciences.

ALA, National Council of Teachers of English Release Copyright Lessons for the Digital Age

The American Library Association’s Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) and American Association of School Librarians (AASL) along with the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) announce the re-release of copyright lesson plans for middle school students, Grades 6-8. New features include models of collaborative teaching between classroom teachers and school library media specialists and connections to AASL’s Standards for the 21st Century Learner.

The five lessons address timely topics in copyright education and, unlike many other lessons plans, provide a balanced approach to copyright by including issues such as fair use. Designed to be flexible curriculum tools that can be integrated across subject areas and complement any information literacy program, the lessons are available at ReadWriteThink. The site provides educators and students with access to the highest quality practices and resources in reading and language arts instruction through free, Internet-based content.

The lessons are Exploring Plagiarism, Copyright, and Paraphrasing, Students as Creators: Exploring Copyright, Students as Creators: Exploring Multimedia, Copyright Law: From Digital Reprints to Downloads, Technology and Copyright Law: A “Futurespective”

This project was funded in part by a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Librarian Bus Trip to Charlotte, North Carolina

Lewis and Clark Library System is very pleased to announce the 2009 Librarian Bus Trip to Charlotte, North Carolina.

Please join them for an exciting 8 day, 7 night tour of innovative libraries and other exciting sites as we make our way to the Public Library of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County. The trip is from August 8 to August 15, 2009 and the price is $1500. Your price includes transportation (round trip from Edwardsville, IL--excludes any costs incurred for traveling to our launch site in Edwardsville, IL), hotel (7 nights), breakfast and lunch (8 days), and any admission fees for group tours. We have selected the Hilton family of hotels for this trip.

Please see the program flier and registration form for further details. Completed registration forms may be sent along with your deposit check to: Lewis & Clark Library System, 6725 Goshen Road, Edwardsville, IL 62025.

Don't delay. Seats will go very quickly for this trip. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Amanda McKay, Marketing Consultant, at 618/656-3216 x143.

President Barack Obama Commemorative License Plates

Illinois Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White and the Illinois Library Association (ILA) have announced the availability of an official President Obama special event Illinois license plate.

The special event plates, which read "Illinois Salutes President Barack Obama," are unique commemorative plates to be displayed on Illinois vehicles for 60 days, until April 17, 2009.

Cost: $50 per pair (proceeds will help support the ILA's activities, including iREAD, the summer reading program for Illinois youth).

The plates are available for purchase at: http://www.ila.org/obama.

A President Obama commemorative license plate poster is also available for you to print and use for publicity.

MaintainIT Project

Don't reinvent the wheel! The MaintainIT Project of TechSoup provides a wealth of information from hundreds of librarian interviews on how they maintain public computers.

WebJunction Illinois is a repository for all of this information, and this edition of What’s New @ WJIL showcases a few of these, including the MaintainIT cookbooks, spotlights, and webinars.

Ten Libraries, Literacy and Gaming Grants Announced

The American Library Association (ALA) Office for Literacy and Outreach Services is seeking applications from public, school, and academic libraries interested in developing and implementing innovative literacy gaming services for youth ages 10 to 18.

This program is part of ALA's Libraries, Literacy, and Gaming initiative funded by Verizon.

Ten $5,000 grants will be awarded to libraries clearly demonstrating creativity, capacity, sustainability, and a strong commitment to literacy-related gaming services. In addition, the winning libraries will receive ongoing support and technical assistance from a team of nationally recognized library gaming experts. Winners will be announced during National Library Week, April 12-18. The grant application is available online at http://librarygamingtoolkit.org/rfp. All applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m., Friday, March 20, 2009.

"There is no doubt that gaming and literacy go hand-in-hand. Board and video games come with text of all kinds including instructions, menus, and much more. Learning the language and mechanics of any game, from chess to Little Big Planet, involves acquiring a new vocabulary and a new set of 21st century literacy skills," said Dale Lipschultz, Literacy Officer, Office for Literacy and Outreach Services.

Gaming is one example of how libraries continue to change to meet the needs of their communities and users, offering innovative programs and services that educate, entertain, and expand interaction with their patrons.

On November 15, hundreds of libraries across the country celebrated the ALA’s first annual National Gaming Day at your library. Libraries of all types joined in the celebration by registering for two national gaming activities: a national video game tournament and board game challenge.

For additional information about the grant contact: Dale Lipschultz, Literacy Officer, Office for Literacy and Outreach Services, by phone, 312/280-3275, or email, dlipschultz@ala.org.

Fundraising and Grantwriting for Your Library

Continuing education course offered by the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Dates: March 2 - April 10, 2009
Format: Online asynchronous using the Moodle course management system
Cost: $300
Instructor: Jason Kovac, University of Texas, Austin

Intended audience: Open to all librarians and information professionals interested in fundraising and grantwriting; ALA-APA CPLA program candidates

Course description: This course will take students through an intensive introduction in the following:

• How to perform community needs analysis.
• How to develop and align strategies with identified needs.
• How to identify and build relationships with potential community partners and local/national granting agencies that can offer support to your vision.
• How to use fundraising as a way to engage your community with your organizational mission while building resources for continued success.

For additional information and to register, go to the University of Illinois website, or contact:
Marianne Steadley, Continuing Professional Development Program Director
501 East Daniel Street, Champaign IL 61820
phone: 217/244-2751
fax: 217/244-3302

MARC of Quality: Dewey Daze I and Dewey Daze II

The Prairie Area Library System (PALS) is excited to be hosting two upcoming workshops which will take place at the Mendota Civic Center, Mendota, Illinois.

• Dewey Daze I is a two day workshop, April 20 to 21, 2009.
• Dewey Daze II is a one day workshop, being offered twice, April 22 or April 23, 2009.

Attendees will need to bring a copy of DDC22 (all 4 volumes) to the workshops. The fee includes handouts, light breakfast, lunch, and light afternoon snacks.

Registration on the Library Learning calendar is now open to anyone from any library system. A limited number of seats remain, so please register as soon as possible.

Note: Because of the overwhelming response to TMQ (The MARC of Quality) classes in the past, the PALS cancellation deadline for these workshops is March 27, 2009. If you cancel after that date, your library will be charged the workshop fee.

The Everywhere Library: Creating, Communicating, Integrating

Date: May 7-8, 2009
Location: Conference Center at OCLC, Dublin, Ohio

Have you ever been "speed-geeking"? Been struck by "lightning-talks"? Join your colleagues and our keynoters Joan Frye Williams and John Blyberg at the first-ever, LITACamp (The Library and Information Technology Association).

LITACamp is all about you. Participants determine the topic and format of the sessions on-site, sign up for time slots, and pitch session ideas to all. This format encourages collaboration, interaction, discussion, and real-time innovation. You get to be both a participant and a presenter, discussing and learning about topics you really care about.

The daily keynoters Frye Williams and Blyberg are both known for pushing library technology to directly serve patrons. Their presentations will be designed to stimulate discussions and ideas and energize each days' sessions.

To register, visit the LITACamp website. Registration includes Thursday lunch, continental breakfasts, parking, and WiFi at the conference center and is limited to the first 150.

Visit LITACamp wiki and LITACamp blog for the most up-to-date information on the camp.

LITACamp will be ideal for anyone interested in using technology to improve services and access for patrons. Librarians, information technologists, students, and trustees from the user-centered information community are all encouraged to attend this un-conference focused on timely discussions of current library issues as determined by the participants themselves.