OLA has action alert

OLA sent out this Legislation Action request

SB 2100 has come to our attention and requires immediate action. Authored by Senator John Ford (District 289) in the Senate and Representative Tad Jones (District 9) in the House, SB 2100 directs the State Board of Education to establish a School District Deregulation Pilot Program in a maximum of ten school districts that apply and meet the criteria as established. This legislation may impact school libraries and certified library media specialists and needs further analysis and review. At this time, the bill has passed both the Senate and House with amendments. It is now back in the Senate with amendments of concern and may be acted upon by Thursday, May 1st.

The full text and history of this bill can be found at the following URL: http://webserveR1.lsb.state.ok.us/WebBillStatus/main.html (Select Basic Search Form, type in the bill number and select Retrieve)

ACTION NEEDED:
PLEASE CONTACT YOUR STATE SENATORS AND REQUEST THAT SB 2100 NOT BE ACCEPTED AS AMENDED AND INSTEAD BE SENT TO CONFERENCE COMMITTEE FOR FULL ANALYSIS AND REVIEW.

So what does that mean? Well from my less that expert view - part of this legislation is in reaction to problems select schools in Tulsa are having and people are desepartely trying to fix some problems up in T-town. And perhaps another part is related to people wanting to get rid of some of the peskiness of teacher groups and their meddling ways. And ultimately it's people thinking they are doing what's best for their kids.

I see danger in this legislation - in that Charter schools are not necessarily held to the same school media standards as public schools. And if a charter school, or for that matter charter school district, decides not to support school media centers and certified media specialists then the burden will fall on other libraries - academic and public to meet the research needs of those students.

And from what I see (and I may have missed it) there is not mechanism in this bill that will provide additional funding for libraries that would serve a charter school district that chooses to get rid of their school media center and certified media specialists. So do those kids then not have access to reliable online databases, encyclopedias, videos, etc that will give them a firm foundation to succeed in college?

Mind you I may be completely off on this and may be over thinking it -- and if someone with better understanding can correct me I would greatly appreciate it!

LJ wants Oklahoma Movers and Shakers!

The editors of Library Journal need your help in identifying the emerging leaders in the library world. Our seventh annual Movers & Shakers supplement will profile 50-plus up-and-coming individuals from across the United States and Canada who are innovative, creative, and making a difference. From librarians to vendors to others who work in the library field, Movers & Shakers 2008 will celebrate the new professionals who are moving our libraries ahead.

Deadline for submissions is November 15, 2007

Acoustic Thunder of the Oklahoma Plains

Gayle E., media specialist for Newkirk Public Schools, sends this library story:

We just had a wonderful Centennial/music program at our school. It is called Acoustic Thunder of the Oklahoma Plains. My husband, a retired teacher, is one of the presenters. They presented it at our elementary school, an elementary school in Tonkawa, and several of the schools in Ponca City. The reviews were great!

The program features 12 acoustic instruments that could have come to Oklahoma around statehood. A Brief history of the instrument (age appropriate) is given along with a song featuring that instrument and presented with fun, humor, and interactive songs. The program is 30-45 minutes long.

The program will be available to schools again between September 20 – Christmas Break. Price for the assembly has a basic rate of $300, plus mileage .

For booking information on this time sensitive assembly, please contact: Dale Eisenhauer at (580)-362-5437, or email at daleeisenhauer@sbcglobal.net.

School Library Journal talks about Library Camp

SLJ | Librarian Camp: Where kids learn all things library-related

...Saulmon, who created the camp concept, says she's proud that a quarter of her campers—all of them referred by school librarians and some public librarians—included boys, while 100 percent were kids interested in "checking out" the librarian career path. As a past president of the Oklahoma Library Association (OLA), Saulmon recalls speaking out about the shortage of librarians even before it became a major topic. "I was thinking how, in Oklahoma, we have a real shortage of school library media specialists; we have had for several years," Saulmon says.

This school library event seems to have been a hit, judging from entries on the Information Matric Camp (IMC) blog. "Today was a very good day after my tiring morning we went to go read to some elementary students at Telstar elementary!!!" writes one camper. "After being there I realized that I should be proud of what I have instead of complaining about what I don't have!! I felt I was inspiring younger kids and teaching them what I learned when I was their age!"

On visits to libraries, Saulmon says with a chuckle, she made sure her campers were introduced to "some very young, cute librarians."

gee Sharon -- you didn't come see me -- ;-)

Jones to get elementary school librarian

The Sun | Jones Elementary to get new librarian, library

The Jones School Board voted Monday to approve a statutory waiver that would allow a first grade teacher at Jones Elementary School to take over as the library’s media specialist beginning next year.

The school will also have a new library that will double as a tornado safe room. It is scheduled to be completed in August.

Lori Travinski, the first grade teacher, is finishing her second year of teaching at the school. She will have to complete a master’s in instructional media information at the University of Central Oklahoma in three years.

Travinski said she plans to do it in two years, taking courses at UCO beginning in the fall and cramming as many as she can into the summer.

At the board meeting, Superintendent Mike Steel noted that the state accreditation officer had said there are no media specialists available. Travinski said that the school had searched for a librarian at UCO and at career fairs....

Norman Public Schools library media program recognized

Buffy sends this library story

CHICAGO -Norman (Okla.) Public School District, Harpeth Hall in Nashville, Tenn. and North Elementary School in Noblesville, Ind. will receive this year's National School Library Media Program of the Year Award (NSLMPY) from the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). The honors will be presented at the AASL Awards Luncheon at the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. on Monday, June 25, 2007.

The 2007 School District award goes to Norman Public Schools in Norman, Okla., with 21 schools serving 13,000 students. The Norman library media program is aligned with the overall district plan of instruction, resulting in numerous opportunities for creative and innovative collaboration. There is evidence of strong support from the central administration, and the library media program is an important component of the district’s long-range strategic plan. The program is further strengthened through ongoing, cooperative relationships with the local community, including the Pioneer Library System and the University of Oklahoma School of Library and Information Studies.

Job Postings | Norman

Norman Public Schools has openings for School Library Media Specialist positions. Go to http://www.norman.k12.ok.us/site/personnel for information and an application.

On the left side of the page select "Employment Opportunities." Scroll down to Library Media Specialist in the alphabetical listing.

Time study: Oklahoma Media Specialists (pdf)

I found this via Library Lines:

Oklahoma Association of School Library Media Specialists Time Task Study

Premise: A decade of research, starting with Dr. Keith Lance’s well-known “Colorado II Study,” has shown that quality library media programs contribute to academic achievement and student success.1 Many school libraries, however, remain so understaffed that they fail to achieve their potential to impact student learning. Staff reductions and program elimination, we believe, is often due to a lack of understanding of what professional librarians do. Successful school librarians support teaching and learning while they manage the day-to-day operations of the library media center when they have the assistance of clerical staff. This study sought to clarify the various roles of professional librarians and show how much time is contributed to each in a nominally staffed library that includes one or more professionals and one or more library assistants.

Goals: The study had four goals:

Identify and organize descriptors of school library media roles and specific tasks.

Measure the amount of professional and clerical time needed on specific tasks to provide quality services.

Determine the balance and relationship between “professional time” and “clerical time” spent in quality library media programs.

Develop a baseline profile of a school library media specialist and assistant for communication and reflective practice purposes. The results may also provide a piece of a rationale to support full staffing of school library media programs.

A rather quick 10 page read with lots a graphs. Actually there's a lot of information in it academic and public librarians could use as well.