Media Specialist, School Librarian, Teacher Librarian, Information Specialist, Cybrarian, Library Guru, or Book Dude…. No matter what you call yourself, call yourself “here!” at the NCSLMA conference in Winston-Salem, October 6-8. I'm personally looking forward to the keynote and sessions offered by the amazing Gwyneth Jones, a teacher librarian at Murray Hill Middle School in Laurel, Maryland, a member of the ISTE Board of Directors, a Library Journal 2011 Mover & Shaker, Gale/SLJ New Leader, and the author of the award-winning Daring Librarian blog. (Think of a super smart “I Love Lucy” on steroids!) She is an innovator, a techno-whiz kid with fabulous energy, and she always entertains, challenges, and inspires -- I can't wait! The Frances Bryant Bradburn Award Distinguished Service Award will be presented this year, on Friday October 7th. It's not often that this Award is presented and this year's recipient is truly deserving -- I know this will be exciting and hope you can be on hand to congratulate the winner! Bring your hankies…. this should be a good one. Need a little advocacy?? Use the power of the force, the technology force, to build your skills in networking and advocacy – Nancy Mangum of the Friday Institute will be your Jedi Master. How about “Web 2. Uh Oh! Making the Leap from technoPHOBE to technoFAB!” a fab pre-conference con-fab presented by two of our state’s leading Jennifers – Jennifer LaGarde and Jennifer Northrup. I wonder if they’ll mention eReaders or QR codes….? For you history buffs and literature lovers, you can’t beat the session on “Coming to America: Exploring Immigration through Children’s and Young Adult Literature” offered by the very smart and charming Maggie Gregor from App State’s Instructional Materials Center. And those are just some of the pre-conference offerings! I can’t wait! Check out the conference schedule -- there are lots of great learning opportunities for all you 21C school library types, including sessions on the new Information and Technology Essential Standards and the new professional Standards. Plus, there’s free lunch on Friday. Be there or be square! Are there authors?? Oh yeah! Ever heard of Gloria Houston? And what about that Origami Yoda guy (Tom Angleberger)? They’ll be there. I will be having lunch with noted author, Frances O'Roark Dowell – how about you? Almost every one of this year’s authors is from North Carolina and they’ll be autographing books and sharing their inspiration. Bring your books. Bring your camera. Bring your Flipcam! I can’t wait! Poetry performed by Asheville’s amazing Allan Wolf, news from those “DPI people”, and a rock star, LIVE on stage, previewing his latest music video. Did I mention . . . I can’t wait?! Excitement, adventure, free stuff, and food! Authors, books, library t-shirts, books, cool gadgets, and a road trip with friends! I can’t wait! Pre-registration closes on September 30th. At $100 (including lunch on Friday), it's a great deal for high-quality PD (with CEUs)! This year, the conference is on Friday and a 1/2 day Saturday to make it easier to get away and get smart! Check out the schedule and start saving your nickels and packing your bags – it’s conference time! I. Can’t. Wait! DPI person & Conference Fanatic, Kelly Brannock
 Jessica Harden Moore, NCSLMA Communications Section Chair and media specialist at Winter Park Elementary in Wilmington, NC, and a second grade teacher at her school just won the Gale/Library Media Connection Teams Award for their collaborative project with 9 second graders and all 4 of the other specialists at Winter Park. It all started with a single child's interest in a book and ended with the incredible digital story you can view at http://www.nhcs.k12.nc.us/wpark/Student%20Projects.html. Jessica and the second grade teacher have already presented The Lost and Found of Sabrina twice in New Hanover County and taught a workshop on enrichment groups at a summer institute. They will be presenting again at the North Carolina School Library Media Association's annual state conference in October. Jessica and the second grade teacher will be accepting Gale's award on behalf of the enrichment team at the American Association of School Librarians in Minneapolis, MN on October 28. Three awards are given annually, one at each level - elementary, middle and high. Along with the award, they will receive a check for $2500 and an additional $500 in Gale products. Click on the link above and view this incredible example of collaboration. It is truly worthy of this national recognition. This is what teaching is all about! Thanks to Jessica's mom, Patricia Harden, media specialist in Wake County, for sharing the good news!Deanna Harris, NCSLMA President Posted by Ms. Dee at 8:11 AM
Never knew conference planning looked like this, did you? This picture doesn't show it, but I can tell you there will be a lot of great sessions this year! Posted by mrsjustice at 5:08 PM
Explain the birds and the bees to my daughter...wear a bathing suit...teach a group of 7th graders while my skirt is tucked into my pantyhose...these are all things I would rather do than make a presentation to a group of my peers. But, since I don’t have a daughter (two boys so I’ll leave that talk to my husband), I never wear a bathing suit except at the beach, and I never wear pantyhose, much less a skirt (hello! I climb under the computer tables all day long to plug in the elusive missing cables)...a few years ago I decided to sign up for a presentation slot at the NCSLMA conference, and I have done it almost every year since. I have attended the NCSLMA conference every year since my first year in the media center. Sometimes, I would have difficultly finding a session to attend because most seemed to be geared towards elementary and middle grades only. After a few years of complaining to myself about this, I decided that since I was a high school person, maybe I would squash that fear of speaking in front of my peers and sign up for a spot. At that time, DPI was discussing the idea of requiring Graduation Projects for all schools. Since our school had required the projects as part of graduation since 2000, I felt like I should impart the knowledge that had made ours such a success. Would anyone care about this? Would anyone show up to the presentation? Did I actually know what I was talking about? To say I stressed out would be an understatement. But, thankfully the presentation was a success. There was an overflow crowd, I ran out of handouts, there were some great questions, and I don’t think anyone walked out. So, for the next few years, I did this same presentation until DPI decided that maybe requiring the projects wasn’t such a good idea (shame on them). During this time, I also was drafted by NCCAT one time to present on their National Boards support program. I was more than happy to brag on this since I have taken advantage of it many times as a participant and a mentor. And last year, I presented once again. This time I talked about “fun”draising. We all need more money, don’t we? And it should be fun! You might be asking, “What’s the point in this article?” Well, it’s just a little pep talk for those of you who are on the fence about presenting. We all are great at something, but might not realize that other people would like to hear about it. I think we all feel that what we do in our program is probably what everyone else does...but a lot of times that is not true. Teach us! Share with us! And, if it is something that we all do, at least know that some of us feel better about ourselves to know that others do the same thing. Are you ready to present now? If this isn’t enough to push you over the edge, maybe you should take into account that a lot of conferences waive your registration fee for presenting. This was always a nice way to convince my director that I had to go to the conference, and she could pay for food and travel instead! But, the Call to Present form will be available only a few more days. So, before July 15th, you need to fill out an application at http://tinyurl.com/5uzqmg7. And finally, my journey to sheer terror has not stopped with my small group presentations. This year, I am the president-elect of the NCSLMA. So, during my first presentation to the whole group if I happen to have my skirt tucked into my pantyhose...don’t giggle...too much. Posted by mrsjustice at 6:49 AM
The planning has started...speakers have been booked...convention center is getting ready...All we need is you! The 2011 NCSLMA Conference Call to Present is now available at http://tinyurl.com/5uzqmg7. The 2011 theme is "Hello...My Name Is" What's the reasoning behind this? Well, it's simple. For years we have advocated for our program, but now it's time to advocate for ourselves. The easiest way to do this is to make sure everyone knows your name and knows what your speciality is! So, show us some of those specialities! Are you good at technology? library promotion? reading programs? professional development? Strut your stuff at the 2011 Conference and let us get to know your name. Posted by mrsjustice at 11:38 AM
If you were at the NCSLMA conference last week, you had something to talk about. If you weren't there, you missed 2 panel discussions that were frank, forward-focused, ferocious at times, and frightening to some. If you weren't in Winston-Salem, you need to connect with someone who was there* and talk about where our profession is headed. Whatever your reaction to the panelists' remarks, you have to admit it got us talking about our library lives. It's true that some of the statements were pretty strong, even hard to hear, but I also believe that those assertions were meant to challenge our thinking about our current practice and the future of our profession. Book lovers in the audience probably cringed at the pointed remarks about storytime. Hard as it was to hear, there was truth in that statement. Unfortunately, there are some in our field who wield storytime as an easy way to fill the time, simply reading aloud without enriching or connecting the literature to the curriculum beyond the boundaries of the book. Even when our schedules make us feel undervalued and overworked, we HAVE to be promoting reading in all formats, focusing on student learning, and supporting school-wide goals for student achievement. If we're using storytime to merely fill the time, then we're not adding any value with our school library programs. If you're like me, books worked their magic and lured me into this profession. But books can no longer be the end-all and be-all of school libraries. If we're too focused on the primacy of the book or if we let our easy love of the book interfere with the teaching of other essential skills and content, then there isn't a very promising future for school libraries. Never mind the future, we're doing today's learners a tremendous disservice. So, what should we do about our peers whose best just isn't good enough any more? Does it really matter if the school librarian/teacher librarian/media specialist at another school isn't at the top of their professional game? It matters. I am convinced that we have to elevate the practice of our peers -- their practice shapes the opinions of stakeholders about our profession and more importantly, their students deserve better! Whether we want to believe it or not, we're all in the same boat and we need to start talking and paddling hard in the same direction. So, let's keep the discussion going. NCSLMA isn't just the conference. NCSLMA is us, a reflection of our daily work life and a vibrant professional community if we make it so. Just sayin' . . . North Carolina, let's give 'em something to talk about. Kelly Brannock Past President, NCSLMA 2009-10 *check out the Twitter stream from the conference at #ncslma2010. Posted by Ms. Brannock at 5:06 PM
What are conference authors, speakers, and attendees saying about this year's NCSLMA conference?Lisa YeeLisa Yee blogs about her experience at NCSLMA in Winston-Salem in her latest entry at her blog: http://lisayee.livejournal.com/149019.htmlCheck out the photos of Lisa and Peepy, her muse, along with school librarians Becky Palgi, Beth Obenschain, Evelyn Bussell, and Yvette Davis and authors Cynthia Kadohata and Kirby Larson. You might even find yourself in the pictures from the author luncheon with Lisa on Friday! Doug JohnsonDoug Johnson just blogged about attending the NCSLMA conference -- he looked at attendance at our conference and others, and then wonders if library conferences are fading away? Here's the URL for his blog: http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2010/11/6/library-conferences-fading-away.htmlOn Twitter#ncslma2010 @DebLogan we have to stop advocating for #teacherlibrarians and start advocating for students and who else we serve. - @jenniferlagardeMedia centers have been seen as a respite from testing, but this doesn't help w advocacy or relevance #ncslma2010 - @kellybrannockHome from #ncslma2010 and fired up. Look for something big soon. - pcaggiaWhat are you talking about? Posted by Ms. Dee at 8:28 PM
Okay, folks, if you haven't looked at the conference program online, go look now! I'll wait. Well? Aren't those some incredibly, fabulous concurrent sessions happening on Thursday and Friday? Yes! Those are your smart, creative, forward-thinking colleagues presenting some of those sessions. And yes, those are some well-known national school librarians presenting some other sessions. And yes, those are some incredible children's and YA authors and illustrators presenting those other sessions! So you're coming to the conference, right? Great! But what about you? No, you didn't pre-register. Well, that's okay, you can still come on Thursday morning and register on-site for the two day conference. So you can only make one day? Then do it! Take Thursday or Friday off and get in your car and head to Winston for some of the best professional development you'll get! Posted by Ms. Dee at 1:40 PM
Have you seen the list of authors that will be signing their books at Thursday's night's reception and autographing session?! There is an author for everyone! The All Conference Reception and Author Autographing Session is Thursday, November 4th from 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. You definitely do not want to miss the opportunity to meet these authors: And there's food -- lots of food -- planned for the reception! So much food you could make your own "dinner with an author" session while you graze the buffet, enjoy a drink from the cash bar, and get your favorite author to sign his or her latest book! See you Thursday night! Posted by Ms. Dee at 1:15 PM
Get connected at lunch on Thursday, November 4, 2010! The All Conference "Connections" Luncheon, included in your conference pre-registration, features some of our national leaders in school librarianship, 21st century learning, and leadership and advocacy for school librarians: - Doug Johnson, media and technology director, author of numerous professional books and creative genius behind the blog, Blue Skunk Blog.
- Cassandra Barnett, immediate past president of American Association of School Librarians
- Deb Logan, school librarian, member of American Library Association advocacy committee
- Diane Chen, school librarian, member of American Library Association executive board
The focus of the panel discussion will be the future of school libraries and school librarians. Be sure to connect with your colleagues and these national leaders at lunch on Thursday! A limit number of lunches will be available to those who register for the conference on-site; however, all are invited to attend the panel discussion. Posted by Ms. Dee at 8:02 PM
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