Did you know that the Library of Congress has collections of choral music accessible digitally? Maybe you should let your chorus teachers know. Check out their collections here: LOC-American Choral Music
Blog Posts
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Today is Ada Lovelace Day! Born in 1815, Ada was a gifted mathematician and wrote instructions for the first computer program in the mid-1800’s. She is remembered for her work with Charles Babbage on the analytical engine.
To celebrate, read one of the many books about Ada Lovelace – Ada Lovelace, Poet of Science by Diane Stanley (available in our Overdrive collection), Dreaming in Code by Emily Arnold McCully, Ada’s Ideas by Fiona Robinson or Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine by Laurie Wallmark.
Then try Ada’s Poetry Generator, which teaches students how to program a poetry generator in Scratch.
SLS Mini-Grants
The SLS Mini-Grant deadline was Friday, October 4th. The review process begins today, and the awards will be announced on October 15th. We are looking forward to reading them! If you did not apply for a Mini-Grant, and would like to volunteer to help with the review process, please contact Katie Bertrand.
October Workshops
Multimedia Content for your Classroom (WEBINAR)
Wednesday, October 16th | 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Monroe One BOCES Multimedia Service offers a wide variety of content and tools to enhance your teaching. We’ll explain how to access them and highlight our newest content in this hour long webinar update. This workshop is designed for teachers and librarians who participate in the Monroe One BOCES Multimedia Service. Click to register.
Create and Code Interactive Stories with Twine Series
(WEBINAR) Tuesday, October 29th | 3:00 pm – 3:45 pm
(IN PERSON) Wednesday, October 30th | 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm
(IN PERSON) Wednesday, November 13th | 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Learn how to create, code and share your own interactive stories using Twine! Marrying story development with coding, Twine provides an avenue to build rich narratives, while learning accessible, natural-language based coding.
This workshop series will start with a 45-minute webinar overview of Twine. A hands-on, hour and a half, in-person workshop will follow, with participants practicing key coding concepts and learning the foundations of creating interactive story games. The third session will be an hour and a half of facilitated work time, where attendees can practice their coding and plan a lesson with students. Click to register.
Video Production Tips for the Classroom
Wednesday, October 30th | 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm
This workshop was designed from my experience as an educational Videographer/Editor. This workshop will cover the basics of video production such as proper interview setup, green screen technology and basic production tips that teachers and students will benefit from. Please note that I will be demonstrating these techniques with an iPad. However, these tips and tricks can be utilized when recording on any video camera. Click to register.
Check out Alyssa Satin Capucilli at the upcoming Children’s Book Festival held annually at MCC in Henrietta.
The books above are available in the Monroe One Overdrive account.
Alyssa Satin Capucilli is the author of over 100 books including Biscuit, the popular bestseller used to launch the My First I Can Read Series from HarperCollins. With over twenty-eight million books in print, Biscuit has been deemed a modern classic and has been translated into numerous languages worldwide. Other works include the Katy Duck series, the My First non-fiction photo series and numerous picture books.
There are lots of resources about Alyssa Satin Capucilli, including interviews, a book list, and audio excerpts on teachingbooks.net. If you do not remember our password, please contact me.
Alyssa is available to schedule school visits November 1st (Primary Grades). For details contact Wendy Petry.
“Imagine a world where everyone could see themselves in the pages of a book.”
These were the first words of the presentation last Tuesday by We Need Diverse Books. They then asked us to close our eyes for a minute and think about what that would look like. What would you see or hear, and what would that mean for everyone?
The responses from the audience were, “More possibilities would be open to people”; “There would be more avid readers”; “People would know that their narratives are important as well, regardless of their abilities, of what they looked like, or who they were”; “There would be more diversity in careers, in life in general”; “We would see an increase in overall well-being”. It sounds Utopian, doesn’t it? This is within reach.
It can still be difficult to find great books that tell diverse stories, but it is not impossible. The folks at We Need Diverse Books have made it their mission to help us accomplish this goal. If you know where to look it will make your life easier. Some publishers offering diverse reads are:
On their diversebooks.org website is a listing of sites that provide diverse book lists. Under the Resources tab on their site, they also include a book talking kit.
Most helpfully, they have also created an app, currently accessible through your browser, called OurStory, which highlights books with diverse content and by content creators from marginalized communities. It is basically a database designed for you to find books for your libraries.
Look at our Libguide for more resources on diversifying your collection. *The page is currently under construction, so please continue to check back frequently.* Which reminds me: Diversifying your collection is an ongoing process. We live in a constant state of growth and change. Informally audit your collection and add to it frequently.
On September 19th, U.S. Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden, named Joy Harjo the Nation’s 23rd Poet Laureate. Harjo is a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation and is the first Native American to serve as U.S. Poet Laureate.
The Poet Laureate serves as the official poet of the United States, and is appointed annually by the Librarian of Congress. In this position, the poet is tasked with raising public appreciation for poetry writing and reading.
She succeeds Tracy K. Smith who served for two consecutive years.
The SLS MiniGrant deadline is this Friday, October 4th!
Each applicant may request up to $1,200 in grant funds. The awards will be announced on October 15th and must be completed by March 23rd, 2020.
Allowable mini-grant projects include:
- Collection Development
- Innovative Projects
- Professional Development Programs
For more information about the grant application and process, please visit our website: www.monroe.edu/sls
The Re-imagined ESIFC
There is still room to register for the Re-Imagining Information Fluency and Standards Alignment for our Students.
As school librarians, we know we must teach our students the skills they need to succeed in the ever-changing and complex information environment. The Empire State Information Fluency Continuum (ESIFC) has been re-imagined to provide a guide for that teaching; it is a comprehensive PD-12 continuum of the skills, responsibilities, and dispositions that will enable our students to flourish, both personally and academically. The skills of the ESIFC will align with the expectations of various national and New York State standards documents, including NextGen science standards, New York’s Social Studies and ELA standards, and AASL and ISTE standards.
In this workshop, we will explore the new ESIFC and translate it into action. You will discover essential skills of inquiry, multiple literacies, design thinking, social responsibility, and even student agency. Most importantly, you will be able to collaborate with colleagues to develop personalized approaches, lessons, formative assessments, and strategies to transform teaching and learning in your school.
The event will be held on October 10th, 2019.
***Reminder: Our SLS Council meeting will be held on Thursday, October 3rd from 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm.
Check out Julie Berry at the upcoming Children’s Book Festival held annually at MCC in Henrietta.
Julie is the author of the 2017 Printz Honor and Los Angeles Times Book Prize shortlisted novel The Passion of Dolssa (available in the Monroe One Overdrive Collection as an ebook), the Carnegie and Edgar shortlisted All the Truth That’s In Me (available in the Monroe One Overdrive Collection as an ebook), The Odyssey Honor Title The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place, and The Emperor’s Ostrich. Her new young adult novel, Lovely War, has received four starred reviews, and her first picture books will release in fall 2019.
There are lots of resources about Julie Berry, including interviews, book lists, and audio excerpts on teachingbooks.net. If you do not remember our password, please contact me. She also published this video on YouTube outlining the historical backdrop for The Passion of Dolssa.
Julie is available to schedule school visits on October 31st and November 1st (Grades K-3 or 6-12). For details contact Wendy Petry.
Above, the trailer for The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place.
The Rochester Children’s Book Festival is coming up on November 2nd, 2019. Some of the out-of-town authors are interested in doing local school visits.
These are:
- Julie Berry (Available October 31 and November 1)
- Laurie Calkhoven (Available October 31 and November 1)
- Alyssa Satin Capucilli (Available November 1)
- Peter Catalanotto (Available October 31 and November 1)
- Matt Chandler (Available October 31, November 1, November 4 and November 5)
- Jerry Craft (Available November 4 and November 5)
- Nikki Grimes (Available October 31)
- London Ladd (Available October 31 and November 1)
- Mark Shulman (Available October 31, November 1, November 4 and November 5)
Contact Wendy Petry for more information. A full list of authors with new releases is at the festival website: rcbfestival.com. (We will feature some of these authors in future posts).
The festival will be held at Monroe Community College R. Thomas Flynn Campus Center, 1000 East Henrietta Road (Park in Lot M) from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm.
#1 Harold Hacker Fund – Applications Due Monday, September 30th, 2019
It’s time for the annual grant opportunity created to honor Harold Hacker, founder of NY library systems, of the Pioneer Library System, the Monroe County Library System, and the Rochester Regional Library Council.
Harold believed in collaboration and innovation. The Harold Hacker Fund for the Advancement of Libraries, offered through the Friends & Foundation of the Rochester Public Library (FFRPL) and the Rochester Regional Library Council, is looking for proposals that measure up to those ideals.
For the 2019-20 grant cycle, funding is available for projects that meet the stated funding areas:
- To further education and professional development for librarians and library staff throughout the five-county region served by Rochester Regional Library Council.
- To further innovative library projects and programs at RRLC member libraries and the Monroe County Library and Pioneer Library Systems and their member libraries.
All RRLC member libraries and library systems, all PLS libraries and all MCLS libraries are eligible. Click the link above to open the application page.
#2 Monroe One BOCES SLS MiniGrants – Applications Due Friday, October 4th, 2019
The Monroe One BOCES School Library System Council has approved funding to provide mini-grants to member school librarians*. Available funding for 2019-20 mini-grants is $20,000. Each applicant may request up to $1,200 in grant funds for use in a collection development initiative, an innovative instructional or extracurricular project, or professional development.
Allowable mini-grant projects include:
· Collection Development
· Innovative Projects
· Professional Development Programs
*All grant applicants must be certified NYS School Library Media Specialists
Click the link above to open the application page.