Author Archives: Jennifer Wrampe

February 25, 2013

Dr. Ed Scantling
UNK College of Education Dean, 308.865.8502

The University of Nebraska Kearney announced today that the School Librarian Endorsement Program (housed in the College of Education, Department of Teacher Education) has been nationally recognized by the American Library Association/American Association of School Librarians (ALA/AASL) and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). This national recognition signifies that UNK’s School Librarian Endorsement Program fully meets all five of the ALA/AASL standards for initial preparation of school librarians: Teaching for Learning, Literacy and Reading, Information and Knowledge, Advocacy and Leadership, and Program Management.

UNK’s School Librarian Endorsement Program, one of only a handful of university school librarian/media specialist preparation programs recognized this year, becomes part of an elite group of just 45 programs nationwide currently recognized for achieving this level of excellence. Only graduate-level programs are eligible.

“We are honored to have been recognized by ALA/AASL and NCATE. This distinction provides great motivation to continue our work,” said Dr. Sherry Crow, coordinator and primary professor of the program, which draws students from a wide national and international arena. “Well-prepared school librarians are essential to creating information-literate P-12 students able to access, evaluate, and use information intelligently, empowering them to succeed educationally. Our mission is to foster lifelong learners who grow to become informed, technologically savvy 21^st century citizens.”

For more information on the UNK School Librarian Endorsement program, visit http://www.unk.edu/academics/ecampus.aspx?id=6216. For more information on the recognition of school librarian preparation programs, visit the ALA/AASL website at http://www.ala.org/aasl/aasleducation/schoollibrary/ncateaaslreviewed or the NCATE website at http://www.ncate.org/tabid/165/Default.aspx.

The Nebraska Humanities Council will sponsor the statewide tour of the newest Museum on Main Street Smithsonian Institution Exhibition.  Nebraska is one of only five states selected for the inaugural tour of Hometown Teams in 2014.

Hometown Teams will explore the deep roots of sports in American community and culture.

The exhibition will contain a sampling of  uniforms, sports equipment, game posters, player cards, audio of team songs and radio broadcasts, and archival film drawn  from the Smithsonian Collections at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian American Art Museum, National Portrait Gallery, and National Museum of African American History and Culture, and from  rich sports memorabilia and history collections around the country including the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum at Cooperstown, New York, and the Heinz History Center and Sports Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The exhibition will explore the origins of popular community sports in America and their evolution to today, the rise and significance of company-owned teams and leagues, and the role of sports in the civil rights struggles by minorities and women.

Six Nebraska communities will have the opportunity to host the exhibition and explore their own hometown team stories.  Selected communities will receive the freestanding exhibit for approximately six weeks with support and materials from the Nebraska Humanities Council and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service.

In preparation for this exhibition, the Nebraska Humanities Council is seeking stories of Nebraska’s great local sports heroes, sites, legends and rivalries.

If your small-town museum, library or other community organization is interested in hosting Hometown Teams between March and December 2014, visit our Museum on Main Street page at www.nebraskahumanities.org to learn more and apply, or contact Mary Yager at (402) 474-2131 ext 103 or mary@nebraskahumanities.org.  The application deadline is February 15, 2013.

Thanks to a grant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, the American Library Association (ALA) and its Office for Literacy and Outreach Services (OLOS) will continue funding the American Dream Starts @ your library®, a literacy initiative for adult English language learners and their families.

The newest American Dream libraries join a cohort of 100 previously funded programs in Dollar General communities. These American Dream libraries built easily replicable programs, developed coalition-building strategies and provided annotated lists of proven resources for libraries across the country serving adult English language learners. A January 15 news release announced that Lincoln City Libraries’ Bennett Martin Public Library will receive this grant funding. All American Dream libraries are located within 20 miles of a Dollar General store, distribution center, or corporate office. To see the list of the 2013 libraries, visit www.americandreamtoolkit.org.

How do you respond when patrons ask why there aren’t more e-books at the library? It’s not an easy question. Turn your (and your patron’s) frustration into action. Attend PLA’s free, 90-minute webinar, “E-Book Action:Inform and Inspire Your Community,” noon-1:30 p.m. Central on Tuesday, December 18, and learn about two creative e-book campaigns initiated by libraries, as well as a comprehensive communications template kit to help you develop your own! You’ll find new strategies for reaching out to your community members not only to explain why libraries have limited e-book collections but also to enlist their help in improving e-book access.

Presenters include Lisa Bitney, reading and materials director, Pierce County (Wash.) Library System; Jo Budler, state librarian, Kansas State Library; Larra Clark, director, Program on Networks, ALA Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP); Mary Getchell, marketing and community relations director, Pierce County (Wash.) Library System; Vailey Oehlke, director of libraries, Multnomah (Ore.) County Libraries.

Registration Information

Young readers in grades 4 – 10 are invited to write a personal letter to an author for Letters about Literature (LAL), a national reading and writing promotion program. The letter can be to any author (living or dead) from any genre—fiction or nonfiction, contemporary or classic—explaining how that author’s work changed the student’s view of the world. This reading and writing promotion is sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, in partnership the Nebraska Center for the Book and Nebraska Library Commission, and locally supported by Houchen Bindery Ltd.

LAL awards prizes on both the state and national levels. The Nebraska Center for the Book has a panel of judges who select the top letter writers in the state. Nebraska winners will be honored in a proclamation-signing ceremony at the state capitol during National Library Week in April 2013. Nebraska winners will receive state prizes, and then advance to the national judging.

A panel of national judges for the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress will select one National Winner per competition level (Level I for grades 4-6, Level II for grades 7-8, and Level III for grades 9-10) to receive a $1,000 cash award. The judges will also select one second place winner on each competition level to receive a $150 cash award, to be announced in May 2013.

Teachers, librarians, and parents can download free teaching materials on reader response and reflective writing at www.lettersaboutliterature.org. Submissions must be postmarked by January 11, 2013. State winners will be notified in March 2013 and national winners by mid-April. Nebraska-specific information (including letters from Nebraska winners of past contests) is available at http://centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/programs/LAL.html.

For more information contact Mary Jo Ryan, 402-471-3434 or 800-307-2665.

The Nebraska Center for the Book is housed at the Nebraska Library Commission and brings together the state’s readers, writers, booksellers, librarians, publishers, printers, educators, and scholars to build the community of the book, supporting programs to celebrate and stimulate public interest in books, reading, and the written word. The Nebraska Center for the Book is supported by the Nebraska Library Commission.

As the state library agency, the Nebraska Library Commission is an advocate for the library and information needs of all Nebraskans. The mission of the Library Commission is statewide promotion, development, and coordination of library and information services, bringing together people and information.

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The most up-to-date news releases from the Nebraska Library Commission are always available on the Library Commission website, www.nlc.nebraska.gov/publications/newsreleases.

Application Deadline: November 30, 2012

ServeNebraska is excited to offer the opportunity for Nebraska non-profit organizations, schools, and governmental entities to apply for service learning grants that engage youth in addressing community needs.

Check out further details including the application form

Service Learning is an effective teaching and learning strategy integrating meaningful community service with study & reflective practice to enrich learning, build civic engagement and strengthen communities.  Projects should provide youth with meaningful engagement and leadership development.

Projects should incorporate an activity related to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service (January 21, 2013) and feature a significant capstone event on Global Youth Service Day (April 26-28, 2013).

“In past years we supported some very innovative and impressive one-day Global Youth Service Day efforts,” explains Cathy Plager, ServeNebraska AmeriCorps/Disability Program Officer who is providing staff leadership to the initiative. “For 2013, we are encouraging more sustained efforts that allow young people to be involved over the course of the spring. We really hope to get applications from groups throughout Nebraska.”

Organizations can apply for funds in two categories:

* State Farm Grants: $1,000 each for youth-led service learning projects focusing in the areas of Auto Safety, Home Safety, Financial Literacy and/or Education.

* Youth Service Grants: Up to $400 for youth-led service learning projects focusing efforts on a community need.

The same brief-and-easy application form is being used for both categories.

ServeNebraska is proud to have been selected by Youth Service America to be a Lead Agency for Global Youth Service Day. Support for this opportunity comes from Youth Service America and State Farm.

www.letsbuildnebraska.org

Let’s Build Nebraska is a resource to enhance the capacity, skills and abilities of volunteers and staff serving to strengthen Nebraska.

Do you have questions or want additional information about ServeNebraska?

CONTACT:
Greg Donovan
ServeNebraska
greg.donovan@nebraska.gov
402-471-6249

The Nebraska State Historical Society’s Nebraska History Museum—15^th and P Streets in downtown Lincoln—will be the site of the 2012 Celebration of Nebraska Books, sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book, Nebraska Humanities Council, Nebraska Library Commission, Nebraska State Historical Society, and Friends of University of Nebraska Press. The Jane Geske Award will be presented to the Bess Streeter Aldrich Foundation. The Bess Streeter Aldrich Foundation promotes the memory, life and writings of the author. The Foundation solicits memberships and donations to sustain the Aldrich home and museum in Elmwood, NE and sponsors the Annual Bess Streeter Aldrich Short Story Contest with divisions for intermediate, middle, and high school age groups and an adult category. See www.bessstreeteraldrich.org for more information about the Foundation.

The Nebraska Center for the Book annually presents the Jane Geske Award to an organization, business, library, school, association, or other group that has made an exceptional contribution to literacy, books, reading, libraries, or Nebraska literature. The Jane Geske Award commemorates Geske’s passion for books, and was established in recognition of her contributions to the well-being of the libraries of Nebraska. Jane Geske was the director of the Nebraska Library Commission, a founding member of the Nebraska Center for the Book, a Lincoln bookseller, and a long-time leader in Nebraska library and literary activities.

The celebration—free and open to the public—will also feature presentation of the 2012 Nebraska Book Awards, and the celebration will include readings by some of the winning authors. A list of the winning books is located at http://centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/awards.html. This year the Celebration marks the eighth year of One Book One Nebraska, selecting and promoting a title for Nebraskans to read to celebrate the literary richness of our state. “I Am a Man:” Chief Standing Bear’s Journey for Justice is the 2012 One Book One Nebraska and Nebraska libraries and other literary and cultural organizations across the state are hosting activities and events to encourage all Nebraskans to read and discuss the same book (see http://onebook.nebraska.gov/2012/index.aspx). Author Joe Starita will speak about the book and his experience discussing this book with Nebraskans across the state through the One Book One Nebraska program.

The Nebraska Center for the Book Annual Meeting will be held at 2:30 p.m.—just prior to the 3:30-6:30 p.m. Celebration. An Awards Reception honoring the winning authors, book signings, and announcement of the 2013 One Book One Nebraska book choice will conclude the festivities. The Nebraska Center for the Book is housed at the Nebraska Library Commission and brings together the state’s readers, writers, booksellers, librarians, publishers, printers, educators, and scholars to build the community of the book, supporting programs to celebrate and stimulate public interest in books, reading, and the written word. The Nebraska Center for the Book is supported by the Nebraska Library Commission.

As the state library agency, the Nebraska Library Commission is an advocate for the library and information needs of all Nebraskans. The mission of the Library Commission is statewide promotion, development, and coordination of library and information services, bringing together people and information.

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The most up-to-date news releases from the Nebraska Library Commission are always available on the Library Commission website, www.nlc.nebraska.gov/publications/newsreleases.

The ALA Washington Office is encouraging librarians to use their library’s website to promote Vote 411, a new tool the League of Women Voters provides that helps people register to vote, and offers information on voting requirements and state deadlines. The American Library Association’s support of Vote 411 comes off the heels of the ALA Council’s unanimous passing of the resolution opposing voter suppression at the recent 2012 ALA Annual Conference. The Vote 411 tool allows users to build an online voter’s guide, view political races, compare candidate positions side-by-side and print out “ballots” that can be used to remind the public to vote on Election Day. The tool also provides visitors with helpful voting information, candidate statements and details on current issues.  http://www.vote411.org/

Webinar Thursday, October 18 2:00pm-3:00pm (central time)

Join us  to learn how your library can be part of ‘Money Smart Week @ your library,’ a national initiative in its third year between the ALA and the Federal Reserve Bank (Chicago) to provide financial literacy programming to help members of your community better manage their personal finances.  Libraries of all types can and do participate, providing programming for all ages and all stages of life on topics such as: basic budgeting; managing student debt; retirement planning; home purchasing; saving money through couponing; and how to prevent identity theft. Last year public, academic, school, and even prison libraries in 39 states participated. So mark your calendars to participate April 21-27, 2013 and join us for a one hour webinar on October 18th to learn about how easy it is to participate, programming ideas and tips from veterans and first-time participants, and partnership opportunities.

To Register

Jennifer Petersen
PR Coordinator
Public Information Office
American Library Association
50 East Huron Street
Chicago, Ill 60611-2795
Phone 312-280-5043
Fax 312-280-5274
jpetersen@ala.org
www.atyourlibrary.org