DOE Report Praises Improving Literacy Through School Libraries Program

Students attending schools that received grant money from the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries (LSL) program perform higher on state reading tests than those in schools that didn’t participate in the program, says a recent report by the Department of Education. The program, originally created by Wisconsin educators to avoid losing funding as the result of low test scores related to the No Child Left Behind Act requirements, is now in its sixth successful year. Overall, the goal is to increase instruction related to literacy skills, specifically research skills. The full report can be read at: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6638887.html

Friend no more?

Forgot what is due the next day and want to call the teacher to double check. No problem. Want to "friend" your teacher on Facebook. Banned. The School District of Elmbrook, in Brookfield, WI, has recently created a policy banning communication on instant messaging or social networking applications not sponsored by the school district.
The policy, approved by the school board on February 10, stipulated a range of “practices considered irresponsible,” including personal communication between staff and students via social networking and IM.
During the school day, accessing sites deemed problematic is less of a problem as many schools have filters in place that prevent anyone, staff or students, from logging on to Facebook, MySpace, and even select email servers. But policing this new ban during a teacher’s off-hours may prove tricky. While the restricted sites aren’t named, it’s understood that these popular applications, perhaps even Twitter, are included.
Still, Elmbrook does allow students to communicate with teachers and other staff through email and other district-sponsored applications. The district reportedly plans to add other social networking sites that have an educational component in coming years. For now, though, writing a note on a teacher’s MySpace profile or transmitting content to students through Facebook is off limits.
The full article, as well as more information, may be viewed in the February 2009 Edition of School Library Journal.

Apply Now for the Library Diversity Internship

McIntyre Library seeks a junior or senior UW – Eau Claire student with an interest in librarianship and the ability to bring a diverse perspective to our library and our profession. The McIntyre Library Diversity Internship provides 10 hours per week of professional library work under the direction of a mentor librarian, and the intern will be paid $12.00 per hour.* The internship begins September 1, 2009 and ends May 14, 2010, with time off during the winter and spring breaks. The intern may choose to focus on one of the following areas of librarianship: Reference and Instruction, Collection Development, Education / Curricular Materials / School Librarianship, or Special Collections & Archives. The internship also offers the following benefits:

**Travel, room, board, and registration fee for a state or regional librarian conference.

**Travel, room, and board for visiting the UW – Madison and/or UW- Milwaukee Graduate Schools of Library and Information Science as a prospective student.

You are warmly invited to apply if you:

**Are a junior or senior enrolled at UW – Eau Claire
**Have a interest in a career in librarianship
**Can bring diverse perspective to McIntyre Library
**Have experience working with diverse communities

Application procedure:

**Write a brief essay (no more than 500 words) addressing your interest in a career in librarianship, the area of librarianship that most interests you, and your ability to enhance the diversity of McIntyre Library.

**Submit the names, addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses of two references: one UW – Eau Claire faculty member, and one work or volunteer supervisor.

Please submit applications to Colleen McFarland, Head of Special Collections & University Archivist, McIntyre Library (mcfarlcd@uwec.edu). Application due date is April 1, 2009. Decisions will be announced no later than April 30.

African American Read-In, February 10 @ 10:00

Help celebrate Black History Month when the Office of Multicultural Affairs and McIntyre Library co-host the 5th Annual African American Read-In for the UW-Eau Claire Children's Center on Tuesday at 10:00.

The event will feature a short story presentation by Dwight Watson and Kati Tvaruzka in the 2nd floor Breezeway. Each child attending will take home a commemorative bookmark and a book by an African American author.

More information about the African American Read-In's 20th anniversary can be found at http://www.ncte.org/action/aari.

Walter Dean Myer's Newest Book Available for Free Online!

Coinciding with the February 10 release of Dope Sick, Walter Dean Myers’s latest title, the entire book will be available online for free reading at AdLit.org. An entire section devoted to writing endeavors, related activities and online resources for teachers, parents and students is also available. The section includes a video interview with Myers about his work and a reading guide.
Myers has made this generous opportunity available to AdLit.org to reach teachers, parents, mentors, and anyone who can help positively influence the choices young people make. He believes that teens that read can make better decisions, and through this effort, more at-risk teens can be reached. (Library School Journal)

YALSA Quick Picks For Teen Detainees

YALSA has added a new category to their recommended book lists- "Quick Picks for Detainees". The books are selected for teens ages 14-19 and were specifically chosen for incarcerated teens. Since many librarians serving detention centers can’t all bring in hardbacks and purchase everything on the list, incoming committee chair Amy Chaney from Alameda County Library, Fremont, California, has created a subgroup of titles that will work best in juvenile detention centers, broken down by paperback and hardback. To access this list along with YALSA's many other lists visit: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/booklistsawards/quickpicks/qphome.cfm

Top 10 Web 2.0 Tools for Young Learners

This THEJournal.com article gives a brief description of the top ten most important, quickly growing, or useful Web 2.0 tools. The user friendly guide is an excellent resource for teachers, parents, or students looking for an easy definition of a new tool. The article can be viewed in its entirety at: http://www.thejournal.com/articles/23898/