SAYL Mail for November 27th

In this issue…

SAYL News in Brief

Introducing the Standards (American Libraries)

(Opens PDF)

“’These Standards are a commitment to our future, our teachers, and our students,’ said AASL Executive Director Sylvia Knight Norton at the morning general session. ‘These are our Standards; these are your Standards.’ To illustrate the point, Norton had attendees who had worked on the editorial board stand up, followed by those who had been surveyed, then those who participated in the focus groups, Twitter conversations, and so on. By the end of this quick exercise, almost all of the hundreds in attendance at the general session were standing, showing how all have a stake in this new endeavor.

AASL National Standards: A Few Essentials to Get Started! (SLJ)

Neil Gaiman Leads Authors Demanding Action to Halt Decline of School Libraries (The Guardian)

“Pointing to the fact that England is the only OECD nation ‘where the literacy of 16- to 24-year-olds is below that of people aged 55 and over’, the authors say that ‘if a child cannot read well by the age of 11, the negative impacts on their attainment last for the rest of their lives’.”

[su_divider]

Scholarships, Grants and Awards Opportunities

Alaska Association of School Librarians Professional Development Grants

The Alaska State Library, through the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Library Services and Technology Act (Federal Source CFDA 45.310) has generously provided funding for grants to attend conferences and other Professional Development opportunities.

Deadlines:
In-state travel: December 15th
Online events: 40 days prior to event

Closing January 1st, 2018.  AASL Awards season is open.  Ten awards open to school libraries and related programs/faculty ranging from $1,250 to $10,000

  • the National School Library Program of the Year Award, $10,000 and a crystal obelisk, sponsored by Follett, recognizes a school library program that meets the needs of the changing school and library environment and are fully integrated into the school’s curriculum;
  • the Distinguished Service Award, $3,000, sponsored by Baker & Taylor, which recognizes an individual member of the library profession who has, over a significant period of time, made an outstanding national contribution to school librarianship and school library development;
  • the ABC-CLIO Leadership Grant, up to $1,750, sponsored by ABC-CLIO, which is given to school library associations that are AASL affiliates for planning and implementing leadership programs at the state, regional or local levels;
  • the Collaborative School Library Award, $2,500, sponsored by Upstart, which recognizes and encourages collaboration and partnerships between school librarians and teachers in meeting goals outlined in “Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Programs” through joint planning of a program, unit or event in support of the curriculum and using media center resources;
  • the Distinguished School Administrator Award, $2,000, sponsored by ProQuest, which is given to a school administrator who has made worthy contributions to the operations of an exemplary school library and to advancing the role of the school library in the educational program;
  • the Frances Henne Award, $1,250, sponsored by ABC-CLIO, which enables a school librarian with five or fewer years in the field to attend an ALA Annual Conference or AASL National Conference for the first time;
  • the Innovative Reading Grant, $2,500, sponsored by Capstone, which is designed to fund literacy projects for grades K-9 that promote the importance of reading and facilitate literacy development by supporting current reading research, practice and policy;
  • the Intellectual Freedom Award, $2,000 to the winner and $1,000 to the school library of the winner’s choice, sponsored by ProQuest, which is given for upholding the principles of intellectual freedom as set forth by AASL and the ALA;
  • the Roald Dahl’s Miss Honey Social Justice Award, $2,000, a $5,000 book donation from and up to $1,000 in reimbursement towards travel and housing to attend the AASL awards presentation at the ALA Annual Conference; sponsored by Penguin Random House, the award recognizes

Closing January 15th, 2018.  AkLA has established a scholarship program to support the education of librarians by providing financial assistance to worthy students pursuing graduate studies in Library Science.  Guidelines and application forms are available online.

Closing February 1st, 2018.  The Lemony Snicket Prize for Noble Librarians Faced With Adversity.  “The prize will be a generous amount of cash from Mr. Snicket’s disreputable gains ($10,000), along with an odd, symbolic object from his private stash, and a certificate, which may or may not be suitable for framing.”

Closing February 1st, 2018.  Inspire Collection Development Grant.    Up to $20,000 per year for “an existing public middle or high school can extend, update, and diversify the book, online, subscription and/or software collections in their library in order to realize sustainable improvement in student achievement at their school.”

Closing February 1, 2018.  The Ruth Toor Grant for Strong Public School Libraries.  $3000 to create and implement a project that promotes school library awareness and its accomplishments to school officials and administrators.  + $2000 to attend AASL or ALA national conference.

Closing February 21st, 2018.   The Coretta Scott King Book Awards Donation Grant. 60-100 titles by African American authors and illustrators for collection development in latchkey, preschool programs, faith-based reading projects, homeless shelters, charter schools and underfunded libraries.

Closing February 23rd, 2018. Schools in Need Giveaway Program. One free year of BooklistBook Links, and Booklist Online for schools with collection development constraints.

Closing March 31st, 2018.  Ezra Jack Keats Mini-Grant.  Up to $500 “to provide creative, innovative programs that support or extend the Common Core Standards in education”

For the complete record of scholarships, grants, and other award opportunities posted in SAYL Mail, visit the SGA Archives.

[su_divider]

Employment Opportunities

Additional and up-to-date information at Alaska Teacher Placement

[su_divider]

Training and Continuing Education Opportunities

The following webinars are no cost and run approximately one hour unless otherwise noted. Opportunities not fitting your schedule?  Many of these webinars will later be available as archives.

[su_frame]Archived: It All Fits Together: The New National Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries (AASL)[/su_frame]

Tuesday, November 28th, 10am – Must-Have Middle Grade: Librarian Tips and Tricks (Booklist)

Thursday, November 30th, 10am – Overview of the Statistics in Schools Program (FDLP)

Saturday, December 2nd, 6am – Social Networking with Students and Parents: It’s Safer Than You Think (SimpleK12)

Saturday, December 2nd, 7am – Collaborating and Creating Content: Working Together for Authentic Audiences (SimpleK12)

Saturday, December 2nd, 8am – Flipping Instruction for Struggling Students (SimpleK12)

Monday, December 4th, 10:45am – Collaboration, It CAN Be Learned: A Recipe for Success (Colorado State Library)

Wednesday, December 6th, 3pm – The AASL Standards Web Portal: Accessing Standards and Support Resources (AASL)

Thursday, December 7th, noon – Online Security, Privacy, and Risk: How to Avoid Becoming a Headline (edWeb)

Wednesday, December 13th, 1pm – Digital Citizenship Across Grade Levels (edWeb)

Save the Date! Alaska School Librarian Leadership Academy, July 23-27th, 2018 in Juneau.   Details to follow!

 

Additional and up-to-date opportunities at the Library Development Training and Continuing Education Calendar

[su_divider]

Check It Out Next Time!

To share news, success stories, resources, and opportunities, please contact Jared Shucha.  To get SAYL Mail updates sent to your inbox, request a subscription to the AkASL listserv and ask a colleague to do the same!

[su_frame]Jared Shucha
Alaska School Library Consultant
jared.shucha@alaska.gov
(907) 885-0660[/su_frame]