Celebrate Libraries!

As you may know, School Library Month has always been April, to coincide with National Library Week. This year’s theme is “Communities thrive @ your library®” and the spokesperson is Laurie Halse Anderson. Sponsored by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), the theme of the first year, 1985, was “Where Learning Never Ends: The School Library Media Center.” For more information, visit:
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/aaslissues/slm/schoollibrary.cfm

National Library Week is April 11 – 17, 2010, again with the theme “Communities thrive @ your library®." The National Library Week Honorary Chair is Neil Gaiman. Visit:
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/pio/natlibraryweek/nlw.cfm

Drizzle by Kathleen Van Cleve is about an extraordinary farm. They grow chocolate rhubarb (yum!), giant rhubarb, medicinal rhubarb and regular rhubarb. Every Monday at 1 pm it rains and visitors ride the umbrella ride during the rainfall. But now, the rain has stopped. Polly (11), one of the children of the owners, is deeply concerned. What has happened to the magic? Polly needs to find her gift and hope it will rescue the farm. She can’t imagine living anywhere else. I’m really enjoying this quirky story and can’t wait to find out what happens next.

The Nebraska Library Commission receives free copies of children’s and young adult books for review from a number of publishers. After review, the books are distributed free to Nebraska school and public libraries.

Book Activities

Publisher HarperCollins provides an A-Z list of some popular picture book titles that includes activity ideas teachers and librarians may like to use. So far, my favorite is a sheet of A-Z items to make a stinky alphabet soup, to go with the book I Stink by Kate and Jim McMullen. And I have just started to explore. The list can be found here: http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/Teachers/BookActivities.aspx
Hope you find some terrific ideas!

I just finished reading a review copy of Dragonbreath: Attack of the Ninja Frogs by Ursula Vernon. This is the second book about Danny Dragonbreath, an actual dragon, his best friend Wendell, an iguana, and their new friend Suki (well, Wendell’s friend anyway). Suki brings in a possible girlfriend aspect to the story as Wendell likes her quite a bit. Danny currently is fascinated by the martial arts and when they discover that ninja frogs are following and trying to capture Suki, it’s like a dream come true for Danny. Real ninjas! Told mostly in text with numerous black, white, and green illustrations, the story is occasionally told with a page or two of graphic novel format and then back to text. It’s great fun. Danny is almost fearless and Wendell is overly cautious so they balance each other nicely.

The Nebraska Library Commission receives free copies of children’s and young adult books for review from a number of publishers. After review, the books are distributed free to Nebraska school and public libraries.

Top 100 Children’s Books

Betsy Bird asked readers of her blog to each send her their list of the top ten children’s novels ever published. She compiled the lists received, and the top 100 titles receiving votes are being announced on her blog. To see her final list, in sections, visit her blog on the School Library Journal site: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/1790000379.html
She lists them in groups of five, except for the first post where she started with numbers 91-100. As of today, February 18, 2010, she has listed numbers 51-100. The books’ publication dates range from 1908 – 2009 (so far). It really gets me thinking about the many books I have read over the years and what my Top 100 list would be, or my Top 10. Or what a Nebraska children’s librarians’ Top 100 list would be.

I just started and finished a review copy of Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshall by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson. This 32 page book is a great introduction to this real historical figure. She tells a little about his childhood, but focuses on his years as a lawman. As she says in her author’s note, “Bass’s story is so incredible it comes close to sounding like a tall tale.”

(The Nebraska Library Commission receives free copies of children’s and young adult books for review from a number of publishers. After review, the books are distributed free to Nebraska school and public libraries.)

March 2 is Read Across America Day!

Celebrate Dr. Seuss and reading aloud! Sponsored by NEA (National Education Association) here are two sites you can visit for information and ideas:
http://www.nea.org/readacross/
http://www.nea.org/grants/13019.htm

more ideas and handouts are here:
http://baucomes.wcpss.net/readacrossamerica/readacrossamerica.htm

I love the idea of taking time to read aloud to children, family and friends. It’s a great way to share time together with a favorite book, old or new. Another chance for promotion of reading aloud will come in November: our state’s “Read Aloud to a Child Month” sponsored by Read Aloud Nebraska. Visit http://www.readaloudnebraska.org/ and click on “Read Aloud Favorites” to find out what other Nebraskans love to read. You can recommend a book, too.

Once again I am reading a library book: Notes from the Dog by Gary Paulsen. I’m enjoying short books right now; Paulsen’s book is 132 pages.
Finn (14) is planning to spend the summer reading, avoiding talking to anyone, and spending time with his true friend Matthew, who understands his goal. A 24 year old MLS student is house-sitting next door to Finn’s. She is a breast cancer survivor, still getting chemo, and soon Finn and Matthew are helping her raise funds for research, put in a garden, and more. Oh, yeah, the dog. Finn has a border collie named Dylan who occasionally runs up to him with different torn pieces of paper bearing cryptic messages, such as “You’re not as ugly as you think.”

Remember the Baby-Sitters Club?

According to an article in the December 30, 2009 New York Times book section, Scholastic is planning to re-release “The Baby-Sitters Club” by Ann M. Martin. She has written one new book, a prequel titled The Summer Before which will be released on April 1. They have “slightly revised” the first two books in the series to gear them to the 7-10 age range and update some older terminology. Here’s a link to the article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/books/31babysitters.html

Right now I’m reading another book from the library: Double Eagle by Sneed B. Collard III. Michael, 13 or 14, is spending the summer of 1973 with his father on a small island off Alabama. A salvage ship is looking for treasure nearby, and Mike would really like to know what they have found. Mike and his new friend, Kyle, make a surprising discovery at the old fort, and the salvagers may want what they found. A good adventure story for this summer’s “Make Waves @ your library” theme.

News About Rick Riordan

The first book in Rick Riordan’s new series, The Kane Chronicles, Book One: The Red Pyramid will be released on May 4, 2010. It features a brother, Carter, and his younger sister, Sadie, who will face Egyptian gods in the present day. Riordan says the characters will age with the series. In the first book, Carter is 14 and Sadie is 12. The publisher plans to release one book a year for a total of three books (unless he decides to write more). The 11/5/09 Publisher’s Weekly has a article on the series, visit: http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6705617.html

The article also mentions that his next Camp Half Blood series will debut in the fall of this year. An earlier article (4/2/08) stated it would debut in 2011, so we will have to wait and see if they have moved up the date. I’m looking forward to them both!

After finishing The Monstumologist (good, but gruesome!) I needed something different, so I just finished Gauge, book two of “The Dragons of Wayward Crescent” by Chris D’Lacey. Lucy’s mother makes dragons and other things to sell from clay. Every once in a while she uses a very special item on the small clay dragon she is creating, and it comes alive to help the household. Fun for readers grades 2-4. Who wouldn’t want a special dragon (or five) in their house?

ALA Book Awards

Welcome to the first of what I plan to be weekly blog entries about my perspective of goings on in the book world, from articles in library journals to whatever book I am reading that week. Let me know your opinion of the titles I mention by adding your comment to the appropriate entry.

The ALA book awards were announced this week, visit: http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pressreleases2010/january2010/ymawrap2010.cfm
or see the Commission’s announcements page for the winners), and I was pleased to notice that one of the Honor Books for the Printz Award, The Monstumologist by Rick Yancy, is the title I checked out of the library last week. (I can’t be too smug because I did not check out the Printz winner, or the Newbery winner, etc.)

The main character, Will Henry, is 12 and is the assistant to Dr. Warthrop, a monstrumologist: one who studies and defeats various monsters in the world. A knock at the door in the middle of the night begins this adventure when a local grave robber brings in a strange and fearsome dead creature. The monstrumologist is certain there are more such creatures and they must be destroyed as soon as possible.

It already has offered a couple of scary places that make me happy to be reading it during the day (I am easily scared!), still I can’t wait to know what will happen. I wish it had a drawing of one of the Anthrpophagi they are after, but maybe my imagination is enough. It will appeal to readers who like things a little scary and Rick Yancy is a proven story teller, his Alfred Kropp books are such fun. Visit his website at: http://www.rickyancey.com/

I am thrilled to let you know that Ellen Klages, author of our current One Book for Nebraska Kids, The Green Glass Sea, would like to visit Nebraska! We are planning to have her arrive in Scottsbluff on Sunday, October 11, ready to talk with students and library patrons starting Monday morning. She will travel across the state (visits have not yet been determined) and leave from Omaha on Sunday, October 18. Yea! And the best part is she emailed me offering to come to Nebraska! Wow!

We have decided to ask public librarians and media specialists to let me know if you are interested in hosting a visit from Ellen Klages. Her route through Nebraska will be determined by 1) who is interested and 2) what is physically possible. So it will be a little bit like a raffle – having your name pulled out of a hat – with the addition of needing to be sure the route will not completely wear Ellen and I out.

We have only a few requirements:
1) You send an email to me stating that you are interested, and tell me you have already had a group of children/students/tweens read and discuss the book or will have before Ellen’s visit.
2) Reading her book is a requirement – copies are available from each of the library systems and from the Library Commission, some copies have already been reserved, it is first come, first served.
3) You agree to hold an “after” event, anything from a discussion session about what Ellen Klages shared with everyone during her visit to having your students research something about the atom bomb or World War II. What your event is, it is up to you.
4) If there is a great deal of interest we will end up pulling names out of a hat.
5) You are not eligible if you hosted Ben Mikaelsen during his visit (unless no one requests a visit from Ellen)

Please let me know if you are interested no later than 4pm CDT on September 4, 2009 so we can set up the route!

Sally Snyder
Coordinator of Children and Young Adult Library Services
Nebraska Library Commission
1200 N Street, Suite 120
Lincoln, NE 68508-2023
800-307-2665 or 402-471-2045
email

After a longer than expected hiatus, NCompass Live is back! NCompass Live is the Nebraska Library Commission's weekly online event, covering NLC activities and library topics presented by NLC staff and guests. The free one-hour sessions are offered every Wednesday at 10:00AM (CT).

We are now using the GoToMeeting online meeting service to present NCompass Live. GoToMeeting sessions are live presentations that you access from your own computer via the Web. Audio is provided via Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) using a microphone.

The first session is scheduled and we are working on adding more to the list. So, keep your eyes on our mailing list and blog for announcements of future sessions.

Our first new NCompass Live will be held next Wednesday, August 12 - All About Twitter, presented by Michael Sauers, Technology Innovation Librarian at the NLC. Register for this session on our NCompass Live website.

If you have any questions, please contact Christa Burns , 800-307-2665, or 402-471-3107.

On Wednesday, January 7, 2009, the Nebraska Library Commission premiered our new weekly online event, NCompass Live. Since the first broadcast, more than 230 people have attended NCompass Live sessions and the recordings have been watched over 125 times.

NCompass Live will be taking a short break while the Nebraska Library Commission switches to new online meeting software, Microsoft Live Meeting. We're not sure how long the transition will take, but we hope to be back with new NCompass Live sessions sometime in July. As soon as the new system is ready, we will announce the new schedule via our mailing lists and blog.

Until we are back live again, you can watch archived recordings of our previous NCompass Live sessions.

It's time for the census of 2008 library gaming programs!

Did your public, academic, school, or special library run a gaming program in 2008?

Did you have Chess, Scrabble, Computer games, Console games or ANY other type of gaming as a library program?

Then please take the Gaming Programs in Libraries - Census of 2008 Programs. The survey will be open until May 31st.

This is an annual survey done by Dr. Scott Nicholson, associate professor at Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies, and is designed to develop a better understanding of how libraries supported games and gaming activities in 2008.

The Library Game Lab of Syracuse has been collecting this data for the last two years, and it's been very valuable in helping them to understand how libraries are using data. This data is useful in getting grant funding for the field and helps to demonstrate how we are taking gaming seriously.

If you have questions about the survey or the research, please contact Dr. Nicholson at srnichol@syr.edu

You can find publications that have come from the previous surveys on the Library Game Lab website.

Looking for creative and innovative ideas for a gaming program in your library? Check out the winning proposals for the American Library Association’s (ALA) Libraries, Literacy and Gaming Grants, funded by the Verizon Foundation. You're sure to find inspiration from these libraries!

The winners, representing a broad spectrum of libraries – seven public, two school and one academic – will use the funds to develop and implement gaming and literacy programs that provide innovative gaming experiences for youths 10-18 years of age. The 10 libraries were selected out of 390 that applied for the grant.

The following libraries were chosen:

• Anderson Public Library, Anderson, IN
• Brewster Ladies Library, Brewster, MA
• Cascade Middle School, Cascade, WA
• Henshaw Middle School Library, Anchorage School District, Anchorage, AK
• Indian Trails Public Library, Wheeling, IL
• Manhattanville College Library, Purchase, NY
• San Pablo Library, San Pablo, CA
• Sewickley Public Library, Sewickley, PA
• Wayne Country Public Library, Goldsboro, NC
• Weber Country Library System, Ogden, UT

“These library gaming programs will help tweens and teens build 21st-Century literacy and learning skills,” said Dale Lipschultz, literacy officer with the ALA’s Office for Literacy and Outreach Services.

Read the full announcement, with descriptions of each of the winning projects.

Legislation was introduced in March by U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) to amend the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) to exempt ordinary books from the lead limit within the act. This is a welcome step toward ensuring libraries will not be adversely affected by the law.

In August 2008, Congress passed CPSIA, an important law to protect children from the real dangers of toys made with lead-based paint; however, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) misinterpreted the law to apply to ordinary books for children 12 years of age or younger.

The law was set to go into effect on February 10, 2009, but in late January 2009, the CPSC issued a one-year stay of implementation for enforcement of the new lead limits in children’s products, stating that the commission will not impose penalties against anyone for making, importing, distributing or selling a children’s product to the extent that it is made of certain natural materials, such as an ordinary children’s book printed after 1985.

Fortenberry’s bill, H.R. 1692, would remove the pre-1985 provision and states that CPSIA was not intended to apply to ordinary books – those books that are published on paper or cardboard, printed by conventional publishing methods, intended to be read, and lacking inherent play value. H.R. 1692 also states that testing has shown that finished books and their component materials contain total lead content at levels considered non-detectable, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has determined that there is little risk to children from lead in ordinary books.

“We are grateful for this bill since it supports what the ALA, libraries, teachers and parents know to be true – books are safe and should not be regulated by this law,” ALA President Jim Rettig said.

“Reading is critical to child development, and libraries should be free to continue providing services to children without the fear of having to comply with unnecessary and expensive testing. Rep. Fortenberry’s bill corrects the CPSC’s misinterpretation that would deny our children access to books and limit their opportunities to learn.”

Read the full text of the bill here.

Residents of Lincoln, Nebraska were invited to “Unleash your inner rock star or realize your dream of winning the Masters Cup at the Foundation for Lincoln City Libraries’ Wine & Wii Game Night and Silent Auction” this spring. And they did. The Lincoln Country Club was the site of the gathering featuring a silent auction and computer gaming.

People of all ages and walks of life played the most talked about games, competing against friends and neighbors at Wii gaming booths. Gaming equipment was donated by local sponsors and turned over to the library for youth programming activities after the event. Sponsors include Kingery Construction, Whitehead Oil Company, LaMar’s, Clark Enersen Partners, Carpets Direct, and Allergy Asthma & Immunology Associates, PC. The silent auction included items such as a lunch with Ted Kooser (U.S. Poet Laureate, 2004-2006), tickets to the Lied Center, tickets to a Cornhusker Football game and a Lincoln Stars game, autographed books, local art, vacation at an Inn in Jamaica, a Wii machine, hand-made wood furniture, and many gift certificates and unique items in all price ranges.

The Foundation for Lincoln City Libraries was founded in 1954 to provide private financial support for Lincoln’s public libraries. For more information about the Foundation and its programs and events, visit www.foundationforlcl.org or call (402) 441-0164. What fundraising events have your library foundations and friends groups held recently? Click on comment below to share ideas.

El Día de los Niños / El Día de Los Libros (Children's Day / Book Day) is April 30
What is Día? According to children's author Pat Mora's Website, Día is a daily commitment to link all children to books, languages, and cultures. It was founded in 1996 by author Pat Mora who was enthusiastically and creatively assisted by REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking. Día is now housed with the American Library Association (ALA) and the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC). Culminating Día celebrations are held across the country on or near April 30th.

Libraries across the Nebraska and the nation are celebrating Día...are you?
Be sure to register with the ALA and ALSC and post a comment to this blog entry to announce your participation or efforts.

Do you have an event, programming, or awareness campaign in place?
Día is an opportunity to celebrate bilingual literacy and diversity with your entire community. As you reach out to the Spanish-speaking community in particular, your library can also promote where your library is, your Spanish-language collections, Internet access, ease of signing up for a library card, your friendly, helpful staff, or the library as a place for the whole family to spend time together.

Whether you have a full day of activities planned, a brochure to hand out, or a press release, please share how you are making an effort to say that you celebrate children and bilingual literacy in your community.

CHICAGO – Libraries are changing and dynamic places, and no better evidence of that exists than the spread of gaming in the nation's public, school and academic libraries.

In recognition of this trend and the increasing value of gaming to literacy improvement, the American Library Association, with assistance from a $1 million grant from the Verizon Foundation, has developed an online toolkit to aid librarians in serving this growing constituency.

The Librarian’s Guide to Gaming: An Online Toolkit for Building Gaming @ your library offers content contributed by expert gaming librarians across the country. The toolkit includes a wide range of resources to help librarians create, fund and evaluate gaming experiences in the library.

Games, from traditional chess games to authentic board games to popular video games, help libraries fulfill their mission by providing educational, cultural and recreational resources for patrons of all ages.

“Games of every type play an important role in developing fundamental competencies for life,” said ALA President Jim Rettig. “They require players to learn and follow complex sets of rules, make strategic and tactical decisions, and, collaborate with teammates and others, –all things they will have to do in college and in the workforce."

By providing grant dollars to fund the project, Verizon recognizes the growing importance of gaming in promoting literacy.

“We at the Verizon Foundation believe that learning is not only for the hours between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the classroom,” said Albert J. Browne, national program director and vice president of education and technology for the Verizon Foundation. “We believe that libraries can help children learn more and continue to learn even when they are not in a classroom environment.

“We also think gaming in itself is a powerful tool that has an amazing ability to help in learning 21st Century skills,” he added.

Librarians are also recognizing the potential of gaming. On Nov. 15, hundreds of libraries across the country celebrated the ALA’s first annual National Gaming Day @ 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.

Evidence of the growing influence of gaming on library programming is backed by recently collected data. In 2007, a pilot study was conducted by Dr. Scott Nicholson, University of Syracuse.

Four hundred libraries randomly selected public libraries responded to the survey. The study found that at least seven out of every 10 supported gaming, four out of 10 public libraries run gaming programs, including both board and Web-based games, and more than eight out of 10 libraries allowed patrons to play games on library computers. Nicholson wrote, “Over the last few years, some libraries have been turning to gaming activities like Dance Dance Revolution as a way of bringing in new demographic groups and exposing them to library services.”

For additional information contact: Dale Lipschultz, Literacy Officer, Office for Literacy and Outreach Services, by phone, (312) 280-3275, or e-mail, dlipschultz@ala.org.

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 10-18.

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

Ten $5,000.00 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, 2009. The grant application is available online. All applications must be submitted by 11:59 pm, 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 Nov. 15, 2008, hundreds of libraries across the country celebrated the ALA’s first annual National Gaming Day @ 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 e-mail, dlipschultz@ala.org.

On Wednesday, January 7, 2009, the Nebraska Library Commission will premiere a new weekly online event, NCompass Live.

NCompass Live will cover NLC activities and library topics presented by NLC staff and guests. The free one-hour sessions will be offered every Wednesday at 10:00AM (CT) and will include a mixture of presentations, interviews, book reviews, Web tours, mini training sessions, and Q & A sessions.

NCompass Live will be presented online using Centra Live eMeeting software. Centra sessions are live presentations that you access from your own computer via the Web. Audio is provided via Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) using a microphone. Sessions will be recorded for anyone who may want to see it again or who cannot attend it at the scheduled time.

Check out NCompass Live for the schedule and to register for a session.

FOULSA will award 20 matching grants during 2009 for $500 each to Friends of Library groups, librarians, women's clubs and other official entities with an interest in early childhood literacy to purchase Books for Babies kits to distribute in their communities.

Applications for the first grant cycle are due by April 1, 2009. Recipients will be notified by April 15 and kits must be ordered by June 1. Applications for the second grant cycle are due by October 1. Recipients will be notified by October 15 and kits must be ordered by December 1.

More details are available online at www.folusa.org.

A 3-year study, underwritten by the MacArthur Foundation, has found that online social networks, online games, and electronic devices such as cell phones and i-pods are integrated into youth culture. Teens aren't wasting time online, but are gaining technical and social skills. Read more about the study's conclusion on the project site, Kids' Informal Learning with Digital Media: An Ethnographic Investigation of Innovative Knowledge Cultures, or check out the New York Times report, "Facebook, MySpace Beneficial to Teens" on the study.

Especially interesting to librarians may be the report of the roles of adults in this teen culture.

Can your patrons outwit other library gamers?

Hundreds of libraries across the country are preparing to celebrate the American Library Association’s (ALA) first annual National Gaming Day @ your library on Nov. 15, 2008. ALA invites libraries of all types to join in the celebration by registering for two national gaming activities: a national video game tournament and board game challenge. Libraries also can develop their own National Gaming Day activities by using free resources from the ALA Gaming Resources Website.

The national videogame tournament uses a GT System, a free service of the Ann Arbor (MI) District Library that provides web-based tools for running tournaments for players of any age or experience level. On National Gaming Day, library gamers will be able to see how they rank on local, regional, and national leaderboard.

In addition, libraries will try to set a record for the most number of people playing a board game at the same time. Through a generous donation from Hasbro, every public library branch in the U.S. will receive a free copy of Pictureka!”, a frenzied version of finder’s keeper’s. Hasbro will ship the games in early November. Libraries interested in participating in either activity and receiving additional products are encouraged to register online.

The ALA is also providing a National Gaming Day @ your library publicity tool kit to help libraries promote their gaming programs and events to the media. The online tool kit includes downloadable artwork, a customizable postcard, a sample press release, a sample letter to the editor, and much more.

To learn more about National Gaming Day @ your library, or to register for national activities please visit the ALA Gaming @ your library wiki.

When students are thinking about careers, do they entertain the idea of becoming a librarian or media specialist? We are looking for librarians, media specialists, career counselors, library supporters, and others who would like to staff exhibits at local career fairs to help young people think of library careers when they plan for their future. The Nebraska Library Commission project, “Recruiting the Next Generation of Nebraska Librarians @ the movies,” is funded by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services Librarians for the 21st Century initiative to increase the number of qualified professionals and recruit future librarians for employment in Nebraska libraries. It is designed to attract promising high school and college students to the profession.

Would you like to help by sharing your story and the joy you find in your work? If you would like to help with this effort, contact the Nebraska Library Commission now to reserve a recruiting kit. The kit includes everything needed to set up a display at a career fair: a poster with tear-off return cards and tripod, print materials, pencils, and a DVD of a sixty-second PSA that can be played on a laptop continuous loop. We also have materials suitable for a small counter display.For information or to reserve a recruiting kit, contact Mary Jo Ryan, Nebraska Library Commission Communications Coordinator, 402-471-4002, 800-307-2665; e-mail: Mary Jo Ryan.

Unleash teen creativity and win a new Smith System book truck! Unshelved, the library comic strip, is once again sponsoring their "Pimp My Bookcart" contest. Decorate a book truck and send a picture of your library ride to Unshelved by October 31, 2008. Winners will be announced in mid-November. For inspiration--they're really great!--check out pictures of the winners from 2007 and 2006.

Nebraska libraries offer summer programs for children of all ages to encourage their continued exposure to books and reading. The goal of See to Read is to highlight the resources offered to Nebraska's young people through their local libraries, with the understanding of how healthy eyes are vital to the ultimate benefits of reading.

Complimentary copies of the See to Reader are available at Nebraska public libraries. Included in the Reader are:
• warning signs of vision problems,
• booklist for children relating to vision,
• first aid for eye emergencies,
• puzzles,
• ideas for developing a child into a strong reader,
• information for receiving a FREE professional vision assessment for any three-year old in the state, and
• reminders for parents with children entering kindergarten regarding vision evaluations now required by Nebraska law.

This information can also be found by visiting www.NEchildrenvision.org, under See to Read. One out of five children entering kindergarten in Nebraska has an undetected vision problem. This "unseen" health issue may greatly influence the outcome of a child's academic and social behavior as they struggle to keep pace with other students. Parents and educators need to be aware of this potential link to poor reading performance and other developmental skill lags in children. Is raising this awareness a good role for public libraries? Have you heard the radio PSA about this partnership in your area?

For more information contact: Sally Snyder, 402-471-4003, 800-307-2665.

The Nebraska Humanities Council wants to expand Prime Time Family Reading Time to public libraries in Nebraska communities and neighborhoods where student reading scores are not meeting state standards. Since 2002, the Nebraska Humanities Council has funded Prime Time—a six-week reading and discussion program for low-income families with children ages six to 10—at 14 libraries and five schools in 13 communities across the state.

Last summer, Prime Time expanded beyond Spanish-speaking families to help fund sessions at Omaha’s Washington Branch library, serving African-American families from neighborhoods where poverty is high and student reading scores are low. According to John Bernardi, director of the Washington Branch, several participants told him that Prime Time was “one of the best programs the library offers and that it has become very important to them.”

For more information or to apply as a new Prime Time site, go to: http://www.nebraskahumanities.org/programs/prime.html or contact the NHC office at (402) 474-2131 or e-mail: nhc@nebraskahumanities.org.

The American Library Association (ALA) Public Information Office blog, Visibility @ your library®, shows how ALA uses Google Video to promote libraries and literacy. It features a Google video (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4514698237320024574&hl=en) pulled from a live Webcast of the ALA Youth Media Awards held at this year's ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia.

In an age when home video can “go viral,” reaching millions of viewers, the opportunities for using outlets like Google Video for promotional purposes are vast. I'm sure there are some Nebraska activities that we could make into a good, short video...any nominations?

During National Library Week, libraries of all types will host special gaming programs in support of a new literacy initiative called gaming @ your library.

Historically, libraries have provided print resources, but as new formats have been introduced, libraries have included them in their collections. Videogames are one more format, one that has grown in use and popularity during the last 30 years.

Interesting gaming facts:

• Adults of both sexes play games over seven hours a week
• The average age for players is 33
• 25% of game players are over 50 years old
• 38% of game players are female

  Source: ESA’S 2006 Essential Facts About the Computer and Video Game Industry

Visit gaming @ your library for Library Gaming Resources and a logo to use for your event.

For all the details, read the ALA Press Release.

You can also share photos of your event in the gaming @ your library Flickr group.

Leave a comment and share your gaming @ your library stories with us!

The Nebraska Library Commission will bring children’s author Ben Mikaelsen to Nebraska for an April statewide author tour. Mikaelsen will present programs for school children and the general public in ten Nebraska communities, in cooperation with the Regional Library Systems. Author Ben Mikaelsen, has won the International Reading Association Award and the Western Writer’s Golden Spur Award. In addition, his novels have won many state Reader’s Choice awards, including the 1995 Nebraska Golden Sower award. Mikaelsen is the author of Rescue Josh McGuire, Nebraska’s 2007 One Book for Nebraska Kids selection. He lives in a log cabin near Bozeman, Montana, with a 750 pound black bear that he adopted and has raised for the last twenty-five years. For more information see his Website, http://www.benmikaelsen.com.

Join us on the Nebraska April Author Tour with Ben Mikaelsen

School visits (not open to the public):
Broken Bow, DeWitt: Tri-County Schools, Elgin, Fremont, Gretna, Hastings, Ogallala, Plainview

Public Library programs for the general public:
Ogallala, Goodall City Library: Becoming the Author of Your Own Life – April 14, 4:00 p.m.
Hildreth Public Library: Becoming the Author of Your Own Life – April 15, 4-5 p.m.
Holdrege Area Public Library: Becoming the Author of Your Own Life – April 15, 7:00 p.m.
Mahoney State Park: Research—Finding the Heart of the Story – April 16, 7:00 p.m.

This is not the first time Mikaelsen has visited Nebraska. We've heard lots of stories of his travels across the state. Please share your memories of previous Mikaelsen author tours in Nebraska by clicking in the Comment space below.

For more information about the tour, contact Sally Snyder, Nebraska Library Commission Children’s Services Coordinator, 402-471-4003, 800-307-2665.

IMPORTANT NOTICE!

All Nebraska Library Commission web sites, including NebraskAccess and Nebraska Memories, will be down for 10-12 hours on Saturday, January 5th, beginning at 6am.

This power outage is due to electrical work being done in the Atrium building and affects all NLC web sites. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause to your own services.

1. If your library links directly to the database resources from your own library web site, and does not go through or login via the NebraskAccess web site, the power outage will NOT affect your use of the resources.

2. Libraries that use the NebraskAccess web site to link to the databases can use direct links and passwords during the outage. If your library has IP access, you will not need the usernames and passwords from within the library.

3. For those libraries and patrons that use the NebraskAccess web site to link to and login to the databases, you may use the direct links to login to select resources during this time.

A message with the direct database links and passwords has been sent to all Nebraska Library Commission mailing lists. If you did not receive this message, please contact the Reference Desk for the information at 800-307-2665 or 402-471-4016. Please note that the Commission closes at 5:00pm tonight.

Do you have a great program idea for YALSA's Teen Tech Week, but need a little extra cash to make it a reality? Then apply for a Teen Tech Week Mini Grant.

You could win $450 for programs and services plus $50 in Teen Tech Week products from ALA Graphics!

Thanks to the 2008 Corporate Sponsor, Dungeons & Dragons, twenty mini grants are available to YALSA members who plan to offer unique, engaging programming activites, services or resources to celebrate Teen Tech Week in their community.

Check out the official rules, and e-mail your application form and proposal to the YALSA office. Mini grant applications are due January 7.

Questions? Contact Nichole Gilbert at 1-800-545-2433, ext. 4387.

During NLA/NEMA 2007, at the Nebraska Library Commission booth, we demonstrated three popular gaming systems that libraries across the country are beginning to incorporate into their programming. Many of you asked us how you can do this at your own library. Well, we listened! And we are now proud to invite you to attend our day-long workshop, "Get Your Game On! The Why and How of Gaming in Your Library".

Get Your Game On! The Why and How of Gaming in Your Library

Date and Time: April 17, 2008, 9:00am - 4:00pm (Central Time)
Location: Nebraska Library Commission, 1200 N Street, Lincoln
To Register: Training Portal

Don't know much about gaming, but want to know how it can benefit libraries? Not sure what kinds of services your library could offer (especially on a limited budget)? Are you an avid gamer who would like to offer services but you need help convincing others? Just want to hear what other libraries are doing?

Join us for a day long workshop on gamers and how gaming can be used in your library. Gaming has tremendous potential for libraries to reach out to new users, offer new services, and help complement efforts in community-building, information literacy, and other areas. Our panel of librarians from around Nebraska will share how they are using gaming to attract and retain their library users.

So that you can try out some of the games yourself, there will be hands-on time with:

• Wii Sports - Tennis, Baseball, Golf, Bowling and Boxing
• Dance Dance Revolution - PlayStation 2
• Guitar Hero III - Xbox 360
• Rock Band - PlayStation 2

At the end of the day you will have the chance to win prizes in our Gaming Mini-tournament!

There will be a one hour lunch break at approximately 12:00noon. Lunch is on your own.

The class size is limited to 18 participants.

Want to try out some of the games that can bring new users into your library?

Come to the Nebraska Library Commission's exhibit booth at the NLA/NEMA Annual Conference on October 25-26 in Kearney and play them yourself!

We will have consoles set up in the NLC booth throughout the conference with:

Wii Sports - Tennis, Baseball, Golf, Bowling and Boxing
Dance Dance Revolution - PlayStation 2
Guitar Hero II - Xbox 360

You can view pictures of your colleagues playing these games at the NEBASE Annual Meeting held in August.

Come play with us!

Yesterday Susan Knisely, Online Services Librarian, and I were in Scottsbluff for the NEBASE Annual Meeting West. We had a great day presenting sessions and sharing information with library staff from the Panhandle.

One of the day's topics was gaming in the library and a lot of it focused on using games to bring teens, especially, young boys, into the library.

Just before lunch I received an email from another co-worker about a YouTube video showing seniors enjoying have a ball at a bowling tournament. But this was not just any bowling tournament it was a Wii bowling tournament. It was a great example to show everyone that video games aren't just for the younger generation.

Maybe your library could set up Wii bowling for seniors, family teams, or kids. Take a look and let us know what you think.

The 2007 Nebraska Book Festival, rescheduled for October 26-27, is moving to downtown Lincoln where events will be staged at locations along Centennial Mall near 15th and P Streets, including the Nebraska State Historical Society’s Museum of Nebraska History, Lincoln Children’s Museum, and University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) College of Journalism and Mass Communications in Andersen Hall. Other downtown locations include the Nebraska State Capitol at 15th and K Streets and the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center at 13th and Q Streets. The locations for the Festival are surrounded by coffeehouses, restaurants, bookstores, theaters, shops, and night spots.

The Warner Chamber in the Nebraska State Capitol will serve as the site for the keynote address on Friday, October 26, at 5:30 P.M. Native American scholar and author Joseph Marshall III will open the Festival with an address focusing on the great Sioux warrior and tactician, Crazy Horse (the subject of Nebraska author Mari Sandoz’ biography, Crazy Horse: Strange Man of the Ogalala, the 2007 One Book One Nebraska selection).

On Saturday, October 27, the Nebraska Center for the Book will announce the winners of the annual Nebraska Book Awards in a ceremony in the Nebraska State Capitol Rotunda, at 11:00 A.M., to be followed by the annual Book Festival luncheon in the Chez Hay banquet hall in the Noodles and Co. building at 14th and P Streets. Luncheon guests will hear readings by Nebraska Book Award winners.

At 7:00 p.m. on Friday, October 26, Coup de Torchon, a mystery film, will screen at the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center. Outside the Lines: Creative Storytelling Activities for Children is scheduled for Saturday, October 27 at the Lincoln Children’s Museum. Admission is free. The schedule of activities for children is available www.unl.edu/NCB/CreativeStorytelling.html.

Nebraska Book Festival Director Michael Cartwright comments, “The 2007 Nebraska Book Festival is shaping up to be a memorable event.” The Nebraska Book Festival is sponsored by the Mari Sandoz Heritage Society, Nebraska Arts Council, Nebraska Center for the Book, Nebraska Humanities Council, Nebraska Library Commission, Nebraska Secretary of State, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and University Press.

For more information see www.unl.edu/NCB/current_festival.html or contact Michael Cartwright, Nebraska Book Festival Director, 402-471-4006, 800-307-2665, e-mail: Michael Cartwright.

Please comment below on the plans for Nebraska's Book Festival. Thanks, Mary Jo Ryan

Nebraska Astronaut READ® Posters Available

Could the young people that visit your library relate to an astronaut from Nebraska? Nebraska native Clay Anderson, currently aboard the International Space Station, describes his experience in space as “the ride of my life.” Anderson, born in Omaha and raised in Ashland, is the first native Nebraskan to fly in space (and the first to walk in space).

When he returns to earth, he plans to visit classrooms and other groups to encourage youngsters to pursue their dreams. In a recent broadcast from space, Anderson reflected on the fifteen times he applied to the astronaut program before being accepted. “Don’t ever give up...You can be whatever you want to be. You just have to set your mind to it...and go get it,” he said.

Anderson generously posed for READ® posters and bookmarks for Nebraska libraries and school media centers to use to promote books and reading. Upon request, the Nebraska Library Commission will send Nebraska libraries and school media centers a CD with the posters and bookmarks. They can be printed at a local print shop or quick-copy shop. One hundred and fifteen CDs have already been distributed. To use this promotional tool with your customers, contact Alyssa Bundy, Nebraska Library Commission Student Intern, e-mail:
Alyssa Bundy.

Please comment below on your use of READ® posters and other READ® materials with your library customers. Thanks, Mary Jo Ryan

Do you have some favorite YA titles to recommend to YALSA for this new list to help celebrate their first 50 years?

YALSA's 50th Anniversary Taskforce is asking your help in compiling its "Librarians' Choice: 100 Super Summer Reads for Teens" list. If you know of a great summer read, please add it to the list. You can access and add to the list from YALSA's wiki:
http://wikis.ala.org/yalsa/index.php/Summer_Reading

Since the focus is on summer reads, lighter leisure reading for teens, please suggest titles that are fun and frivolous.

I'm going to suggest Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy. What title will you recommend?

Hiring any youth this summer for your library? If so, you should be aware of state and federal laws related to where and when a teen is allowed to work. (Things are a lot more complicated than when I used to work during the summer!) Actually these laws apply to hiring youth any time of year and are designed to protect them from dangerous jobs, too-long hours, etc.

Here are some of the guidelines. (I won't list them all but will list resources for you to check out for more detail.):

Flickr user repoort has created a set of photos featuring Flat Stanley. The best part is that these are available for you to use under a Creative Commons License that allows copying, distribution, adaptation and transmission and long as you attribute their source, typically by including the flickr URL of the photo, or just linking to it as I've done in this post, somewhere in your creation. (Though I don't recommend showing some of the photos to young children as this version of Flat Stanley get's himself into some trouble.) If you're not familiar with the Creative Commons concept you can check out the Create Commons Web site. Also, watch for future presentations on CC from the NLC.

A movie of The Golden Compass, the first book in the "His Dark Materials" series, is scheduled for release on December 7, 2007. The web site for the movie:

http://www.goldencompassmovie.com/

has a place for the visitor to discover their own personal daemon (companion creature). Take a look at the site, find your daemon, and tell your teen patrons know about it. I predict they will love finding their daemon!

Mine is a gibbon named Callum. What is yours?

March 2 was Read Across America Day. A reminder to all to read aloud to children, and to celebrate Dr. Seuss. The staff at the Nebraska Library Commission marked the day with two Dr. Seuss books read aloud. Shannon read Yertle the Turtle and Sally read The Cat in the Hat. It's fun to take some time and acknowledge the joys of reading aloud.

How did you celebrate Read Across America Day?


  

Here's a report on another Friday afternoon Flickr experiment. 

Several weeks ago, during a Flickr training session, I was showing the class how Westmont Public Library in Illinois uses Flickr to promote their new acquisitions.  Every month they take photos of new books, videos, DVDs, etc., and they add them to Flickr.  They then add a Flickr note to each item in each picture.  The note contains a hypertext link, and when you click on the link you are taken directly to the screen in their OPAC that lists shelf status for the item.  (If you're curious about this, take a look!)

Well, someone in class asked me if it would be possible to link to a sound file.  I hadn't seen it done, but it certainly seemed feasible, and that's what I told him.  His question got me thinking though.  It's neat to link from a picture of a book to its catalog record, but wouldn't it also be cool to link to an audio review or audio blurb?  Hmmmm....who do I know who would be willing to let me record them talking about a book?  Sally!

It's great having colleagues who are good sports.  I mentioned my idea to Sally Snyder, Coordinator of Children and Young Adult Library Services at the Nebraska Library Commission, last Friday morning.  Not only was she willing to do it, she had some short book blurbs already written and she was free to record that afternoon!

If you'd like to see the results of our experiment, click on the picture of Sally that accompanies this blog entry.  It will take you to the image in Flickr, where you can move your mouse over each book and click on a link to hear Sally talk about it!

And as always, we'd love to know what you think!

What is your favorite title for this summer’s reading programs? Either for “Get a Clue @ your library®” or for the teen theme “YNK @ your library®” – let everyone know! Share your favorite title and learn about other titles you may want to add to your collection before summer arrives.

You’ll hear all about my favorites at the summer reading program workshops in February and March.

The CSLP (Collaborative Summer Library Program) group is asking for ideas for future summer reading program topics or themes. Slogans (the actual phrasing) are not needed at this time, only topics. Three general themes were discussed and are still under consideration for the future. They are: Water, Health, Food.

Please post any topic/theme ideas you would like the CSLP to consider for 2010 and beyond. I have been asked to submit five ideas from Nebraska, so add support to any suggestions you especially like. I was going to suggest dinosaurs, but we now have a chapter on them in the 2007 manual, so maybe I’ll save them for a while. What topic or theme would you like for the 2010 summer reading program?

Keep in mind CSLP wants the public to instantly associate the program with the LIBRARY and READING. Thank you!

"Each year the Coming Up Taller Awards recognize and reward excellence in after-school and out-of-school arts and humanities programs for underserved children and youth." The Institute of Museum and Library Services, along with several partners, encourages nominations. Semifinalists for the 2006 Award include several literacy and writing programs. Do you have a program or know of one that you'd like to nominate? Award "recipients receive $10,000 each, an individualized plaque, and an invitation to attend the annual Coming Up Taller Leadership Enhancement Conference."