Alabama Virtual Library: Biography Reference Bank

One of the most useful AVL resources for students is the Biography Reference Bank. They can search for the names of historically significant or famous individuals related to a learning activity (each grade's social studies course of study is chock full of "famous people"), and can also perform as advanced or as basic a search as their needs and abilities require. Older students can define search parameters such as a person's year of birth, place of origin, date of death, and even the person's profession or activity of merit. These advanced search options provide students with experience in utilizing unique reference sources.

There are "Featured Biographies" each day that students can peruse to discover more unique, significant, and  interesting people as well.

Library Fun for the Littles

We elementary school librarians are always on the lookout for fun, cutesy activities that are engaging to our young readers. Here are a few ideas I have gleaned from Pinterest recently that I hope to do with my students this year:

Story Art

Musical Books

Leaf Glitter (perfect for Lois Ehlert's Leaf Man book)

Name Skeletons 

Clipboard Organization and Storage

Alabama Virtual Library

Alabama's education budgets have suffered considerably in recent years, but thankfully we still have access to the Alabama Virtual Library. This incredibly powerful tool provides equitable access for all Alabamians to quality resources and information. 

Remember the days when you were assigned those little blue AVL cards with the crazy user names and passwords? Thank goodness, those days are behind us! Now we have the benefit of geo-caching, which authenticates that a computer is in the state of Alabama and therefore grants access to the databases without requiring signing in. 

Now, if you still have some of those blue AVL cards, don't throw them away!!! Repurpose them as bookmarks or bulletin board decorations. 

If you need AVL bookmarks or mouse pads, simply ask and you shall receive! Contact the AVL helpdesk from the AVL's home page, and let them know how many you need. 

*We should all keep in mind that the Alabama Virtual Library's resources have already been cut many times. Usage statistics (broken down by district and sometimes even by school) are major players when the committee has to have the hard discussions over what to cut, so remember that the most important way we can preserve the AVL is to USE it! :)

There are database-specific posts with usage tips on the way. 

Read 100,000

Looking for ways to increase reading scores? We can tell students to read all day, everyday, but Scholastic has created a neat tool to add some novelty to keeping up with reading minutes that kids will love! The program is called Read 100,000, and will allow kids to be a part of a Worldwide Record-Breaking reading team this summer. Here is how it works:

The school librarian sets up an account on the Scholastic website by registering your school to participate. Then students will be able to register their minutes by logging in to the "kids" sign in area. They create a username by "spinning the wheel!" One bonus of signing up for the program during the school year is that students will be accustomed to signing in to the site when summer starts. Then they can help read for a World Record. That way, all you have to tell them for a summer reading program is to continue using their Read 100,000 account. (There are other options for registering large numbers of students at once).

Reading logs, flyers, and sign up information are all located in the resources section of the webpage as are bookmarks and a certificate of achievement.

One nifty feature is the Reading Calculator which - no surprise here - adds up the minutes of reading for the individual student or the whole school. The point is to get the whole school to read 100,000 minutes.

Here's an example:

200 Students

x Reading 30 minutes a day

x 180 Days

That equals 108,000 minutes! There is no end to the mathematical calculations that can be done!

Now, all you have to do is meet with your language arts colleagues and plan a time for students to register on the site. My school is doing it during their Book Fair time. While some students browse, I will have others signing up for the program. The program runs through April 2012.

Alabama School Libraries Week

The Alabama School Library Association works tirelessly on behalf of school librarians in our state. One of the newest efforts established by ASLA is Alabama School Libraries Week. This year ASLW is November 14-18th, and marks the third annual celebration of school libraries in our state. Alabama School Libraries Week helps us direct some much-needed focus on the wonderful programs we have established in our libraries. It is also an incredible opportunity for advocacy. 

How can you use ASLW to advocate for your library? 

1. Use the resources already created for you by the ASLA to promote the week. Bookmarks, posters, postcards, etc. are all ready for you to print! 

2. Plan special activities to highlight the library. Invite a guest reader from your district's central office. Give out temporary tattoos for QR codes that link to your OPAC, website, wiki, or blog. Hold participation contests where you draw for door prizes of everyone who checks out a book on a certain day. Write newspaper articles about your school library and send it to the local media. There is a more comprehensive list available on the ASLA site. 

3. Use the postcards (printables on the ASLA site) to let students write notes to your legislators or central office staff giving your school library a shout-out. Let their powerful little voices be heard! 

4. Make a "Why I Love My Library" bulletin board for students to add their comments.

 Don't put it off...start planning your ASLW activities TODAY! 

Alabama Library Media Online

Have you used your ALMO today?

ALMO is our pet name for the state department's webpage for Alabama school librarians. It's filled with pictures of Alabama school librarians in action and ways to hone your skills.

Check the First Friday page (under Professional Development) for a list of upcoming sessions and topics.

The Publications page will give you links to all official state documents for school librarians, as well as archived sessions from past First Fridays.

Check the Library Happenings page for everything from Alabama School Library Week (coming up November 14-18!) to photographs of new libraries being constructed around the state. If you are in a school with a newly constructed library, please send pictures to the state department to have your school featured on this page!

The Resources page is also filled with information that is specifically tailored to our needs in Alabama. It is being updated often, so be sure to share any tips or suggestions with the state department.

Pinterest for Librarians

Pinterest is growing a name for itself in the world of education. A visual social bookmarking tool, it was once used mostly for DIY project ideas and home decor. 

We teachers, however, have a superpower of making things fit to suit our needs. In the past several months, I've noticed an explosion of educators using Pinterest to share and glean ideas that help with teaching strategies, classroom/library organization, and creative lesson ideas and printables. I've seen everything from bulletin boards to anchor charts posted on Pinterest, and the teachers are gobbling it up. So much that in the most recent update (a few weeks ago), Pinterest added a specific category just for education. Pretty nifty. 

Are you new to Pinterest? Here are a few basics...

1. Before you do anything, you must have an account. You can go to Pinterest and request an invite, OR I can send you an invite. Email me at mwilson518 at gmail for an invite or leave a comment and I'll send you one. 

To complete login, you have to click on a link Pinterest emails you and then log in with your Facebook or Twitter information. The point of this is that Pinterest wants to connect you with people you know who are already using Pinterest. 

2. How does it work? Pinterest is a visual bookmarking tool. I've also heard it referred to as a social catalog. You see something you like, and you "pin" it (which means saving it for later). To pin something, you categorize it to a "pinboard." You can use the defaults or you can change the names of your boards to suit your needs. You can add or delete pinboards as your heart so desires. That explains the catalog part. The social part of it is that you are viewing other people's pins and other people's pinboards on Pinterest (Yes, there is an app for that!)

3. Once you get your pinboards like you like them, start pinning things. If you are using Pinterest from your computer, you can click on "About" and go down to the "Pin It Button" page. This helps you install a bookmarklet that helps you pin things you see from elsewhere on the internet (as long as there is an image and a website associated with it, you can pin it.)

4. You can leave the pin descriptions as they are or you can edit them to suit your needs. What librarians love about Pinterest is that the nature of the tool is sharing resources, but it is impossible to do so without connecting the image to its original source (read: CITATION). As a matter of fact, Pinterest is pretty serious about copyright violation. Here's a glimpse at their policy:

5. So, with all this awesomeness...what's not to love?

Well, a word of caution...

*Pinterest is social in nature and you must understand that if you choose to peruse the entire Pinterest catalog, there may be pins you come across with offensive language or perhaps a tad more skin than you want to see. Therefore, this is not a tool for students. This is not a tool to use in plain sight of students (ex: do not browse on your projected desktop). Pinterest is an INCREDIBLY useful resource for teachers and librarians...so use it wisely.

I showed Pinterest to some of the classroom teachers at my school and they have loved it. It gives them access to so many resources to use with their students, and our hallway displays prove just how creative some of their Pinterest ideas are. If you'd like to complete a training with your teachers, feel free to use my handout. 

6. Just one more thing! :) There are librarians on Pinterest whose pinboards you may want to follow. Here are a few to get you started:

Sharon Matney
Jessi Peterson
Elizabeth Eastman
Yours Truly

7. And yes, guys, Pinterest users seem to be mainly chicks. :) Don't let that scare you away, though!