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Category Archives: Youth Services
Apply for MakerLab by November 17
The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), in collaboration with 3D Systems, will support 3D Systems’ mission to build digital literacy and expand access to 21st century tools like 3D design, 3D Printing and 3D scanning for young adults across the nation, through the new MakerLab Club initiative. YALSA members are eligible to become part of the MakerLab Club and for a limited time, apply for 3D printer donations from 3D Systems as part of MakerLab Club membership.
Through the online application, libraries must illustrate a commitment to creating or expanding makerlabs or maker programming and to providing community access to 3D printers and digital design. Applications will be accepted through Nov. 17, 2014. After the application deadline, applications will be put through a competitive evaluation process to determine the recipients of the donated equipment.
“This is a grand opportunity for libraries across the nation to really advance their libraries’ digital literacy” said YALSA President Christopher Shoemaker. “Teens will have the opportunity to experience digital literacy in a way they’ve never experienced before. We are very excited that this opportunity exists.”
“We are proud to launch The MakerLab Club, providing critical equipment, training, and support to libraries and museums across our country,” said Neal Orringer, vice president of Partnerships and Alliances, 3DS. “Today, libraries and museums are democratizing making in their local communities and reinforcing their longstanding position as centers of the arts, education and culture. We urge anyone interested in getting involved to contact us and get started setting up your lab today.”
The MakerLab Club is a new community for thousands of U.S. Libraries and museums chartered to advance 3D digital literacy through public access to 3D printing technology. Members of the MakerLab Club will receive other benefits such as access to training webinars and curriculum. To learn more about the MakerLab Club and to apply for a donated 3D printer, please visit 3D Systems’ official MakerLab Club page.
Contact:
Anna Lam
Communications Specialist
Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)
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“Building STEAM with Día” mini-grants: Applications due Oct. 17
The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association, is now accepting mini-grant applications from libraries interested in developing and implementing a “Building STEAM with Día” program. Intended as an expansion of El día de los niños / El día de los libros, the mini-grants will be awarded to libraries that demonstrate a need to better address the diverse backgrounds within their communities and develop culturally diverse and appropriate STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) programs. Apply by October 17. Visit http://dia.ala.org/content/2015-building-steam-d%C3%ADa-mini-grants-available for more information.
What’s Sally Reading?
National Book Award Long List Announced!
The list for Young People’s Literature is included with the other categories on the National Book Award web page. I notice one of our recent “Friday Reads,” Redeployment by Phil Klay, posted on August 8, 2014, is on the Fiction list. Though I spend most of my time reading children’s and teen books, I do enjoy taking a look at lists of titles for adults that I might someday read.
At this point I have read one title on the Young People’s Literature list, though several are on my “to read” list and now I need to add a few more to it. How many do you have in your library, and are the children or teens checking them out? The Finalists will be announced on October 15.
Adventure, steampunk, and possible war are included in the 2013 One Book for Nebraska Teens, Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld. Look for book club kits on the Commission’s list.
(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, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)
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What’s Sally Reading?
“Life Prep” Skills for Teens…
Not so long ago a member posted on the YALSA-BK mail group that she had asked her teens what specific “life prep” topics they would like a program on, they responded with the list below:
– making cheap but meaningful gifts
– cooking good meals cheaply (including for a date!)
– finances – getting a loan, establishing good credit, checking and savings accounts, how to budget/save/invest
– buying a car – what to look for/watch out for, what questions to ask, how to test drive, how to bargain, how to weigh your options
– renting – what lease agreements should/shouldn’t include, how to check on the neighborhood, roommate issues, setting up utilities, security, landlord/tenant rights and responsibilities
– how to find/access community help
– fixing appliances
– cleaning tips
– repurposing found/thrift shop items into furniture, etc.
– packing and moving
– travel tips and cheap vacations
– cars – how and when to register, get oil changed (or how to do it yourself), what basic parts look like and do, insurance, trouble-shooting
– relationships – healthy boundaries, saying no, building friendships (especially in a new area) – getting plugged into a new community
Wow! Maybe you would like to think about some possible presenters and then ask your teens what they would like to learn (or learn more). If you have a Teen Advisory Board you could run this idea and/or list by them to find out what they think, and maybe they know someone who could present. Good luck!
Looking for a humorous, fun title for readers? The 2013 One Book for Nebraska Kids is Aliens on Vacation by Clete Barrett Smith. Look for book club kits on the Commission’s list.
(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, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)
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NCompass Live: Teen Tech Time: Remix Fun with Mozilla Webmaker Tools!
Join us for next week’s NCompass Live: “Teen Tech Time: Remix Fun with Mozilla Webmaker Tools!”, on Wednesday, September 10, 10:00-11:00 am Central Time.
In this session, Melissa Techman, School Librarian, Broadus Wood Elem School, Earlysville, VA, shares her easy-to-duplicate public library events, in which teens explore coding, writing, and remixing. Starting with 2 templates made with Mozilla’s Thimble, a free online html edit-and-create, participants can tinker and customize according to their interests. In the process, they learn a little coding and explore connected and creative learning and writing.
Upcoming NCompass Live events:
- September 17 – Broadband and Mobile Broadband Coverage in Nebraska
- September 24 – Tech Talk with Michael Sauers
- October 1 – How to Lead a Book Group With No Discussion Questions Provided
- October 8 – NO NCOMPASS LIVE THIS WEEK – ENJOY NLA/NSLA!
- October 15 – Tech Talk with Michael Sauers
- October 22 – Teen Theater Groups: Creating Communities of Empowered Teens
For more information, to register for NCompass Live, or to listen to recordings of past events, go to the NCompass Live webpage.
NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website. The show is presented online using the GoToWebinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoToWebinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.
Posted in Education & Training, Technology, Youth Services
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Youth Grants for Excellence Applications due 10/1/14
The Nebraska Library Commission announces that grants are available to accredited public libraries and state-run institutional libraries for special projects in the area of children’s and young adult services. These grants are awarded to encourage innovation and expansion of public library services for youth and their parents or caregivers. Applications will be accepted for projects in listed areas of service to youth. (See the “Introduction” link below.)
The Youth Grants for Excellence require a 25% match of the amount requested (grant amount), of which at least 10% must be a cash match. The minimum amount that will be awarded per grant is now $250. The $250 minimum grant amount plus the required 25% local match ($63) combine for $313 as the lowest total project amount for a Youth Grant for Excellence.
There are two different application forms. For projects requesting $250 – $1,000 in grant funds use the abbreviated, or short form. Applications requesting more than $1,000 must use the long form. Please be sure to use the correct form for your project. Please go to the “Introduction” page for links to the forms (at the bottom of the page).
Please note: AWE work stations, or similar stations of other companies, are allowed this year (2014) and next year (2015) and then will no longer be eligible beginning in 2016.
You may also be interested in viewing the NCompass Live session from 8/20/14:
You are welcome to call or email Sally Snyder with questions or to ask for more information.
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NCompass Live: What You Need to Know to Apply for a Youth Grant
Join us for next week’s NCompass Live: “What You Need to Know to Apply for a Youth Grant”, on Wednesday, August 20, 10:00-11:00 am Central Time.
Are you planning to apply for the Youth Excellence Grant this year? Attend this webinar to make sure your application rises to the top! Sally Snyder and Devra Dragos, from the Nebraska Library Commission, will talk about how to answer the application questions to best present your youth project. Many of the items they will talk about will also be useful when applying for other grants as well.
Upcoming NCompass Live events:
- August 27 – Tech Talk with Michael Sauers: RFID, Checkout Kiosks, Security Gates, and … a New Way to Check Out
- September 3 – Resource Description and What? RDA for Non-Catalogers
- September 17 – Broadband and Mobile Broadband Coverage in Nebraska
For more information, to register for NCompass Live, or to listen to recordings of past events, go to the NCompass Live webpage.
NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website. The show is presented online using the GoToWebinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoToWebinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.
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Plum Creek Children’s Literacy Festival Scheduled for Sept. 25-27, 2014
Nebraska library staff are invited to attend the Plum Creek Children’s Literacy Festival. Originating in 1996 at Concordia University in Seward, NE, the festival is a three-day literacy event for school age children and adults. Participants are provided with an opportunity to interact with nationally acclaimed authors and illustrators. The festival has grown from a one-day, one-author event to a three-day nine-author event. Over 10,000 school-age children and their teachers attend two Children’s Days of the festival at no charge. An adult conference is held the third day, with nine authors and seven literacy experts speaking to approximately 600 attendees. For a short video about the festival and registration links, see www.cune.edu/plumcreek.
2014 Hispanic Heritage Month Essay Contest Now Open
Librarians across Nebraska are encouraged to share the information below with the youth of Nebraska and to inspire them to enter the 2014 Hispanic Heritage Month Essay Contest. Each year Nebraskans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, by celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.
The day of September 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September 18, respectively. Also, Columbus Day or Día de la Raza, which is October 12, falls within this 30-day period. Please consider setting up a materials display in your library and/or other promotional activities to help you engage with your community.
2014 Hispanic Heritage Month Essay Contest
For our theme, we have chosen quotes from two influential Hispanic leaders: Jaime Escalante and Frida Kahlo. Please choose one of the quotes below and tell us what their words mean to you:
Jaime Escalante: Educator – “One of the greatest things you have in life is that no one has the authority to tell you what you want to be. You’re the one who’ll decide what you want to be. Respect yourself and respect the integrity of others as well. The greatest thing you have is your self-image, a positive opinion of yourself. You must never let anyone take it from you.”
Frida Kahlo: Artist – “I used to think I was the strangest person in the world but then I thought there are so many people in the world, there must be someone just like me who feels bizarre and flawed in the same ways I do. I would imagine her, and imagine that she must be out there thinking of me too. Well, I hope that if you are out there and read this and know that, yes, it’s true I’m here, and I’m just as strange as you.”
PRINT FRIENDLY COPY OF THE GUIDELINES
ESSAY: When writing your essay, please answer one or more of these questions: Both quotes deal with self-reflection. How does your heritage and culture reflect who you are as a person? How has society or current events impacted your self-image as an ethnically diverse individual? What do Frida’s or Jaime’s words mean to you and have they influenced your opinion of Hispanic Heritage Month?
ELIGIBILITY: The contest is open to Nebraska students of all ethnicities and backgrounds currently enrolled in a Nebraska public, private or magnet school (grades 6 – 12). Entries are welcome in English or Spanish and must be submitted with an entry form (see attachment)
RULES: Essay content must be original, typed or legibly handwritten, and double spaced. The word length is 250 – 400 words for middle school students and 500 – 700 words for high school students. The Hispanic Heritage Month State Planning Committee reserves the right to disqualify submitted essays that contain offensive language, political messages, and derogatory statements. A blind jury will judge the essays based on writing style, grammar, content and cohesion to the theme.
AWARDS: Cash prizes, certificates, Kindle Nooks, and McDonald’s gift cards will be given to six winners. Winning students will be recognized at the Hispanic Heritage Month State Commemoration, scheduled for October 10, 2014 at the Nebraska State Capitol Building in Lincoln. First place winners will be asked to read their essay at the Commemoration and McDonald’s will publish first place winning essays on their tray liners. The Commission reserves the right to edit essays for fitting purposes.
SUBMISSION: All essays due by Thursday, September 18, 2014 at 5:00 p.m. Essays and entry forms may be submitted by email, preferably as a PDF, to Jasel.Cantu@nebraska.gov, via fax at 402-471-4381 or mailed to:
Nebraska Latino American Commission
Hispanic Heritage Month Essay Contest
P.O. Box 94965
Lincoln, NE 68509-4965
EDUCATORS/LIBRARIANS: For background information and teaching tools on Hispanic Heritage Month, Jaime Escalante and Frida Kahlo, visit the links below:
Hispanic Heritage Month: For teaching materials on Hispanic Heritage Month with links to the Smithsonian, Library of Congress, and more, click here.
Jaime Escalante (1930-2010) was a high school math educator from Bolivia of Aymara ancestry. He achieved fame after introducing and teaching AP Calculus at Garfield High School in Los Angeles, CA in 1978. His students would go on to ace AP Calculus and helped build an exceptional Advanced Placement program in the school. At the height of his influence, Garfield High School graduates would go on to attend the University of Southern California in more numbers than all graduates from the working-class East Los Angeles area combined.
For library and classroom-friendly teaching material, educational videos with interviews, and background information on educator Jaime Escalante, click here. Recommended 1988 film “Stand and Deliver” on Jaime Escalante starring Edward James Olmos, family friendly, rated PG. View trailer.
Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) was a Mexican artist of German and Indigenous ancestry from Mexico City. Her artwork was among the first to include Mexican and Indigenous culture, tradition, and religion. She is also known as the wife of painter Diego Rivera and was influential in his art as well. She is the first contemporary Mexican artist to have artwork displayed at the Louvre in Paris. Her artwork would come to influence modern art and bring attention to the culture and art of Mexico.
For classroom-friendly teaching material, lesson guides, suggested class activities, and background information, click here. Recommended PBS Documentary: “The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo” is also available for free viewing online. NOTE: It is recommended that librarians and educators view the film and observe Kahlo’s paintings first and decide which elements to present in class as a conflicting yet contiguous mix of politics, social unrest, and cross-cultural elements influenced her art and life. For recommended sections of the film with corresponding classroom lessons, click here. A Parent’s Guide and Teacher’s Guide are available for the film from NET and PBS.
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NCompass Live: #SVYALit Project: Using Young Adult Literature to Talk with Teens About Sexual Violence and Consent
Join us for next week’s NCompass Live: “#SVYALit Project: Using Young Adult Literature to Talk with Teens About Sexual Violence and Consent”, on Wednesday, August 6, 10:00-11:00 am Central Time.
NLA YART presents Karen Jensen from Teen Librarian Toolbox and her guest, YA author Christa Desir, to discuss using young adult literature to talk with teens about sexual violence and consent.
Project goals:
- To discuss sexual violence in the lives of teens and in ya literature on an ongoing basis;
- To raise awareness of the issues and titles that can be used to discuss the topics with teens;
- To give librarians, educators and parents the tools to evaluate and discuss these topics in the lives of teens;
- To promote teen reading and literature.
Upcoming NCompass Live events:
- August 13 – Harlequin Take Me Away: the NLC Booktalks Romance
- August 20 – What You Need to Know to Apply for a Youth Grant
- August 27 – Tech Talk with Michael Sauers: RFID, Checkout Kiosks, Security Gates, and … a New Way to Check Out
For more information, to register for NCompass Live, or to listen to recordings of past events, go to the NCompass Live webpage.
NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website. The show is presented online using the GoToWebinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoToWebinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.
What’s Sally Reading?
Book Club for Kids…
If you have thought about starting a book club for kids, or want to rethink your current program design, take a look at this librarian’s approach outlined on her blog Thrive After Three. Lisa Shaia has found something that works well for her community. She shares her weekly time break down and also lists some titles that have worked well for middle grade readers and some titles for tweens/early teen readers. Hope you find something helpful.
The 2014 One Book for Nebraska Teens is Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransome Riggs. The Library Commission has a book club kit librarians can borrow. If it is out when you would like it, we have plenty of other book club kits of previous One Book for Nebraska Kids and One Book for Nebraska Teens. Take a look at the web page for book club kits, or this web page to look at previous One Book for Nebraska Kids or Teens titles.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransome Riggs:
(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, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)
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NCompass Live: Tech Talk with Michael Sauers: Branding Your School w/ Twitter
Join us for next week’s NCompass Live: “Tech Talk with Michael Sauers: Branding Your School w/ Twitter”, on Wednesday, July 30, 10:00-11:00 am Central Time.
Make the power of social media work for your district to tell your story, celebrate your students, and create transparency for stakeholders, as well as create professional development resources for staff and learning networks. Presenter: Cynthia Stogdill: School Librarian at Bellfield/Milliken Park Elementary at Fremont (NE) Public Schools. Tech Nerd, Cat Lover, and Massive Reader. Passionate about teaching research and authentic learning.
In this monthly feature of NCompass Live, the NLC’s Technology Innovation Librarian, Michael Sauers, will discuss the tech news of the month and share new and exciting tech for your library. There will also be plenty of time in each episode for you to ask your tech questions. So, bring your questions with you, or send them in ahead of time, and Michael will have your answers.
Upcoming NCompass Live events:
- August 6 – #SVYALit Project: Using Young Adult Literature to Talk with Teens About Sexual Violence and Consent
- August 13 – Harlequin Take Me Away: the NLC Booktalks Romance
- August 20 – What You Need to Know to Apply for a Youth Grant
- August 27 – Tech Talk with Michael Sauers
For more information, to register for NCompass Live, or to listen to recordings of past events, go to the NCompass Live webpage.
NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website. The show is presented online using the GoToWebinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoToWebinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.
NCompass Live: Opportunity – Collaboration – Engagement: UNL Extension’s Community Vitality Initiative
Join us for next week’s NCompass Live: “Opportunity – Collaboration – Engagement: UNL Extension’s Community Vitality Initiative”, on Wednesday, July 23, 10:00-11:00 am Central Time.
The future is before us! The opportunity exists for innovative collaborations to help Nebraska communities expand their capacity to be vibrant, prosperous places where people want to live and raise their families. A new University initiative, Community Vitality Initiative (CVI), brings partners together throughout the state. CVI engages organizations and communities in three areas:
•Creating 21st Century Communities
•Developing and/or Growing Business
•Engaging Youth and Young Adult
The presentation will provide an opportunity to discuss local and statewide collaboration, engagement and involvement!
The University of Nebraska is a land grant institution committed to serving Nebraskans through research, education and engagement (or Extension).
Presenters: Connie Hancock, Connie Reimers-Hild, and Kim Bearnes; UNL Extension
Upcoming NCompass Live events:
- July 30 – Tech Talk with Michael Sauers: Branding Your School w/ Twitter
- August 6 – #SVYALit Project: Using Young Adult Literature to Talk with Teens About Sexual Violence and Consent
- August 13 – Harlequin Take Me Away: the NLC Booktalks Romance
For more information, to register for NCompass Live, or to listen to recordings of past events, go to the NCompass Live webpage.
NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website. The show is presented online using the GoToWebinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoToWebinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.
What’s Sally Reading?
No Flying No Tights: A Graphic Novel Review Website —
No Flying No Tights is a wonderful resource for librarians looking for information, explanations, and lists of graphic novels, comics, manga, and anime (but not about superheroes!) including a “Comics 101” section on the web page. Librarians unfamiliar with anime will appreciate the web page’s staff picks for “Must Have: Anime for the Uninitiated.” It will give you a good place to start.
The 2014 One Book for Nebraska Kids is Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen. The Library Commission has a book club kit librarians can borrow. If it is out when you would like it, we have plenty of other book club kits of previous One Book for Nebraska Kids and One Book for Nebraska Teens. Take a look at the web page for book club kits, or the web page to look at previous One Book for Nebraska Kids or Teens titles.
Here is my book talk about Lawn Boy:
(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, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)
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What’s Sally Reading?
Books Full of Ideas…
Recently a discussion was held on YALSA-BK about holding a live Clue® game for teens. One person noted that ideas on how to do this were included in RoseMary Honnold’s 101+ Teen Programs That Work (2003). I looked through it several years ago and just took another look today. It is a wonderful resource of ideas from those that need very little funding to those that need quite a bit. She followed with a second book, More Teen Programs That Work (2005) which follows the same format and has many more ideas to use with teens. The Library Commission owns both titles and you are welcome to borrow either one whenever they are here. The publication dates show they are a tad old, but the ideas are still fresh.
Patrick Eats his Peas and Other Stories by Geoffrey Hayes begins with Patrick claiming peas are “little green balls of mushy poison.” Mother is patient and firm, finally Patrick finds his own way to eat a few peas. The other stories involve Patrick helping with chores, taking a bath, and going to sleep. Told in graphic novel format the appealing illustrations convey Patrick’s energy, his tendency toward trouble and his parents’ love and patience. Great for beginning readers.
(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, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)
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NEST 529, College Savings Plan Scholarships!
NEST 529, College Savings Plan Scholarships!
We are excited to announce the opportunity for children and teens, ages 3-18, to have their names entered into a drawing for a $529 scholarship. Fifteen names will be drawn, five each from our three Congressional Districts. In order to be included in the drawing, children and teens need to complete their library’s summer reading program, as determined by each individual public library. Additionally, each winner’s home library will receive $250.
Information, Official Rules, and a sample file for name submissions can be found here.
Instructions included on Tab 1 of the sample submission file are:
- Please inform parents or guardians of the library’s intention to submit the children’s names for the drawing. The parent or guardian has the right to exclude their child from the drawing.
- Print out and post the Official Rules for the NEST 529 drawing.
- As stated in the Official Rules — “Eligibility: Participation is open only to individual, legal Nebraska residents 3 to 18 years of age as of the date of entry.”
- Include a phone number &/or email address to contact each child/teen. (Space for these is included on Tab 2 of the Excel file designed for submission.)
- Libraries must submit contestant information electronically to the Library Commission.
- If you do not have Excel or another spreadsheet program, send us the names electronically in an email.
- In order to receive the scholarship, after the drawing the parents of the winners must agree to establish a 529 College savings account.
- Email the completed file to Sally Snyder by the Deadline of 11:59:59 p.m., CT, on August 15, 2014.
- Visit this Library Commission web page for links to the complete rules and a poster to display in your library.
Have a fun summer!
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What’s Sally Reading?
Great Websites for Kids —
ALSC, the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association has had for a while a section promoting the best websites for children they have found. Called “Great Websites for Kids” it is updated regularly, so check back if you haven’t visited it lately. The first page has categories listed you can select: “Sites of the Week,” “Recent Sites,” Most Popular,” and “Top Rated” and contains links to sites from The Crayola Home Page to Giggle Poetry and Farmer’s Almanac for Kids. If you are wondering what sites you are missing, here is a good place to start. I gave up trying to count the number of sites to which they link. There are also plenty of author sites included: Shel Silverstein, The Brown Bookshelf, Jan Brett, Avi, and Janet Stevens for a start.
My Bus by Byron Barton has a human bus driver picking up dogs or cats at each of the bus stops. The driver takes some of the animals to the boat, some to the train, and others to an airplane. A simple story that includes favorite animals and popular transportation machines. A little math is implied: addition as the animals board the bus and subtraction as they depart. Each illustration clearly shows the dogs and cats still on the bus, so counting how many are there is another activity for listeners. A good choice for story times.
(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, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)
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NCompass Live: Tech Talk with Michael Sauers: Introducing GAFE (Google Apps for Education) to Elementary Students
Join us for next week’s NCompass Live: “Tech Talk with Michael Sauers: Introducing GAFE (Google Apps for Education) to Elementary Students”, on Wednesday, May 28, 10:00-11:00 am Central Time.
This presentation will share the lessons learned in introducing the GAFE (Google Apps for Education) products to fourth grade students earlier this spring. Presenter: Cynthia Stogdill: School Librarian at Bellfield/Milliken Park Elementary at Fremont (NE) Public Schools. Tech Nerd, Cat Lover, and Massive Reader. Passionate about teaching research and authentic learning.
In this monthly feature of NCompass Live, the NLC’s Technology Innovation Librarian, Michael Sauers, will discuss the tech news of the month and share new and exciting tech for your library. There will also be plenty of time in each episode for you to ask your tech questions. So, bring your questions with you, or send them in ahead of time, and Michael will have your answers.
Upcoming NCompass Live events:
- June 11 – Broadband + Libraries = Community Growth
- June 18 – EDGE: Connecting Technology and Community
- July 9 – Is It Copyrighted? Can I Use It?
- July 23 – Opportunity – Collaboration – Engagement: UNL Extension’s Community Vitality Initiative
For more information, to register for NCompass Live, or to listen to recordings of past events, go to the NCompass Live webpage.
NCompass Live is broadcast live every Wednesday from 10am – 11am Central Time. Convert to your time zone on the Official U.S. Time website. The show is presented online using the GoToWebinar online meeting service. Before you attend a session, please see the NLC Online Sessions webpage for detailed information about GoToWebinar, including system requirements, firewall permissions, and equipment requirements for computer speakers and microphones.
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What’s Sally Reading?
Start Now and Be Ready for Teen Read Week
Teen Read Week is October 12-18 this year, the theme is Turn Dreams into Reality @ your library, and YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) has a website with a variety of items to help you and your teens be ready. Resources and incentives include:
- Downloadable low-resolution theme logo
- Forums: Discuss and share TRW related resources and experiences
- Ready to use planning and publicity tools
- Products: Posters, bookmarks, manuals, and more
- Showcase: Share your planned events
- Webinars : Free access to a live webinar to help you prepare for TRW, as well as archived webinars
- And more resources and perks to come
And remember the Teens Top Ten will be announced the week after Teen Read Week. Your teens can read the nominated books and vote for their favorites. Visit their website to find a PDF of the 25 nominated titles with descriptions.
How to Catch a Bogle by Catherine Jinks finds orphan Birdie (10), in Victorian London, proud to be an apprentice to Alfred Bunce, the Bogler, this life is much better than being a rag picker. Her job is to act as bait to lure the bogle out for Alfred to catch and kill. Alfred lost one assistant to a bogle and is determined to never have that happen again. He is not the expected cruel master, he worries for Birdie’s safety however this is the only way he knows to catch the deadly bogles. Now something odd is about, orphans are disappearing and Alfred and Birdie may be in more danger than usual. This title has spookiness, concern for Birdie’s well-being, the social divisions in London, and the concept of considering other options for catching and killing dangerous bogles. For grades 4-7.
(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, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)
Posted in Books & Reading, General, Youth Services
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Nebraska Librarians Invited to Celebrate Children’s Book Week May 12-18
Children’s Book Week is the annual celebration of books for young people and the joy of reading. Established in 1919, Children’s Book Week is the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country. Every year, commemorative events are held nationwide at schools, libraries, bookstores, homes — wherever young readers and books connect! May 12-18, 2014 is the 95th anniversary of this nationwide celebration. For more information, see http://www.bookweekonline.com/about. Order free posters at http://www.bookweekonline.com/poster.
