While the report, Perceptions of Libraries 2010: Context and Community,  prepared by OCLC doesn't look too inspiring on the cover I recommend you scroll in a few pages and read some of the data. It is beautifully presented and fascinating to see how usage has changed over the last 10 years in the various age groups from teens (14-17yr), to young adults (18-24yr) to Gen X, Boomers and Seniors.  I found it noteworthy that the first recommendation among the younger groups when asked how libraries could be better was to "add/update collection." Its a large report but the presentation sucked me in and I read more in one sitting than I anticipated. Hope you find it as interesting and useful.           Katie

Yes.... SlimeKids !  A great new site created by a teacher/librarian in Minnesota to provide a place where young children have easy, appealing, access to resources and educational games. Slime is an acronym for 
SChool LIbary MEdia   The name and the color choice will catch the attention of young learners and the contents looks appealing too. In an email advertising the site, creator Andy Fine give us permission to link to his site from our webpages with this statement - "Hey everyone,
Check out SlimeKids (slimekids.com), the perfect website for your library/media center.
Share this fantastic resource with your students. They'll love it!
It's free. Create a link on your webpage so they can access it anytime.
Take a look yourselves by going to the link belowhttp://www.slimekids.com/
-- 
Andy Fine, Reading Specialist & Library Media SpecialistRobbinsdale Area Schools, New Hope, MN"

As you start gathering resources to showcase for Black History month don't forget the AP Images collection in our Online Resources. Included under their Historical Photos is a collection on Civil Rights, Jazz Greats (who are not all African-American by any means) and Muhammad Ali. There is a collection under Featured Events in the Photos of the "First Family." There is also an audio section which includes "The President's Weekly Addresses." 

Yes, the State Library has added yet another fascinating collection of photos from their historical collections called The Shipwrecks Online Exhibit.  Students and adults alike will find this aspect of Alaskan history intriguing. Check it out!

Start planning now for Women's History Day in March. The Alaska Digital Archives has a collection of photos honoring the "Women on the Pipeline"  What a great  way to link the event to Alaska! 

The winners of the 2011 Caldecott, Newbery and others are now posted on the ALA website. Check it out!!

Those of you running Mock Caldecott programs can see how your winner (if you even have one yet) stacks up to the official winner. Don't be discouraged however as I think the students often make a better choice!

The AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prizes for Excellence in Science Books celebrate outstanding science writing and illustration for children and young adults. The prizes are meant to encourage the writing and publishing of high-quality science books for all age groups. AAAS believes that, through good science books, this generation, and the next, will have a better understanding and appreciation of science.

Here are the finalists for the 2011 prizes.  The winners are marked with an asterisk.

Children’s Science Picture Book

 Bones. Steven Jenkins. (Illus.) Scholastic, 2010. 
 Lizards. Nic Bishop. (Illus.) Scholastic, 2010. 
 *Magic School Bus and the Climate Challenge. Joanna Cole. (Illus. by Bruce Degen; from the Magic School Bus Series.) Scholastic, 2010. 
 Why Do Elephants Need the Sun? Robert E. Well. (Illus.) Albert Whitman & Company, 2010. 

Middle Grades Science Book

 *The Hive Detectives: Chronicle of a Honey Bee Catastrophe. Loree Griffin Burns. (Photographs by Ellen Harasimowicz; from the Scientists in the Field Series.) Houghton Mifflin, 2010.
 Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World's Largest Parrot. Sy Montgomery. (Photographs by Nic Bishop; from the Scientists in the Field Series.) Houghton Mifflin, 2010. 
 The Secret of the Yellow Death: A True Story of Medical Sleuthing. Susan Jermain. Houghton Mifflin, 2010. 
 The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter's Wonder. Mark Cassino and Jon Nelson. (Illus. by Nora Aoyagi.) Chronicle, 2009. 

Young Adult Science Book
The Case for Pluto: How a Little Planet Made a Big Difference. Alan Boyle. Wiley, 2009.

The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of Elements. Sam Kean. Little Brown, 2010.

Every Bone Tells a Story: Hominin Discovery, Deductions, and Debates. Jill Rubalcaba and Peter Robertshaw. Charlesbridge, 2010. 

*The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Rebecca Skloot. Random House, 2010.


Hands-On Science Book

 *The Book of Potentially Catastrophic Science. Sean Connolly. (Illus.) Workman, 2010. 
 Insect Detective. Steve Voake. (Illus. by Charlotte Voake.) Candlewick, 2010. 
 Nature Science Experiments. Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen. (Illus. by Edward Miller; from the MAD Science Series.) Sterling, 2010.
 You Are the Earth: From Dinosaur Breath to Pizza from Dirt. David Suzuki and Kathy Vanderlinden. Greystone, 2010. 

OK..... so I got waylaid in getting the post below posted...by 4 months!!  It is still a great article and I don't want to  wait for Literacy Day this year to publish it. Lori Learned's sharing yesterday of the website International Children's Digital Library reminded me of Literacy Day (don't even try to follow the route my memory takes!) and this entry which has been languishing in draft form. Both sites are worth checking out...the ICDL should be shared with teachers, bi-lingual tutors and parents as its a fantastic  resource.  Kt
--from September----------------------------------------------------------------------------------This blog post poses the question "Are All Readers Literate?" It speaks to the need for our young learners to be acquiring what they call background knowledge, or domain knowledge, domain-specific content knowledge.  What any reader, not matter what their age or skill level, needs in order to fully understand text. This is an area where our profession can help by guiding students to resources which expand their knowledge base; by taking the time to explain idioms and pointing out metaphores and similies; and by making connections for them between a feature in a fictional setting (Charlotte... as in Charlotte's Web) and the Dewey section on spiders. We can help them build background knowledge with games and contests that challenge them to learn new facts and broaden their horizons. We can share a bit of our selves, our interests and backgrounds in order to expand their background information base but also to encourage them to exercise a little self examination and see that they may have a some stories to tell and information to share which will expand our knowledge base as well.
I would encourage you to read not only the short blog post but also to follow some of the links the article alludes to.

Below are ideas shared by our elementary library staff on ways to help reluctant readers in the library setting-

• Listen carefully to what they want to read, be it comics or manga, and purchase what they ask for within guidelines. Get over providing only "good literature" and give them what they'll pick  up and read.
  
• Provide especially topics boys want to read... examples shared include military topics, super hero series, 'look and find' series, Star Wars readers and old standards like Garfield and Calvin and Hobbes. 
  
• Have enough copies (as many as 4-5) to fill the demand in order to take advantage of the enthusiasm from peer sharing when a new bestseller hits the shelves.
  
• Help them identify their reading level so their reading experience is successful. Methods include the 5 finger approach and the AR program.
  
• Make the book displays enticing, the library inviting.
  
• Group the books by genre to make it easy for them to find what they want.

These are just a few ideas. Don't hesitate to forward YOUR ideas and suggestions to LMS for sharing in this blog.  lms@k12northstar.org

Higher Higher by Leslie Patricelli 978-0763632410 (NE)
What Are You So Grumpy About by Tom Lichtenheld 978-0316065894 (SH)
Leo Cockroach, Toy Tester by Kevin O'Malley 978-080277604 (SH)
Eoin Colfer's Legend of Spud Murphy by Eoin Colfer 978-0756965143 (SH)
Nasreen's Secret School by Jeanette Winter 978-1416994374 (MD)
Benny & Penny in the Toy Breaker by Geoffrey Hayes 978-1935179078 (LM)
Benny & Penny in the Big No-NO by Geoffrey Hayes 978-0979923890 (LM)
Permabound's DC Super Heros Series
Are You Ready to Play Outside? (An Elephant and Piggie Book) by Mo Willems 978-1423113478 (LM)
The "Wild Outdoors" series by Capstone (Duck Hunting, Deer Hunting, Bowhunting, Freshwater Fishing)9781429648080,9781429648073, 978142964809, 9781429648103 (CS)
"Becoming a Sodier" series by Meish Goldish, Bearport Pub., Air Force, 978-1936088102; Army, 978-1936088119; Marine Corp, 978-1936088133; Navy, 978-1936088140; Coast Guard, 978-1936088126 (CS)
Little Wolf's Book of Badness 978-1840028232 (PF)
Of Thee I Sing: a Letter to My Daughters by Barack Obama 978-0375835278 (PF)
Groundhog Weather School by Joan Holub 978-0399246593 (JF)
The Story of Snow: the Science of Winter's Wonder   by Mark Casino 78-0811868662 (JF)
The King's Taster by Kenneth Oppel 978-0060753726 (JF)
City Dog, Country Frog  by Mo Willems; illus by Jon Muth 978-1423103004 (GT)
Three Questions by Jon Muth 978-0439199964 (GT)
Oh, No! or How My Science Project Destroyed the World by Mac Barnett 978-1423123125(BB)
Chalk  by Bill Thomson 978-0761455264(BB)
Shark vs.Train  by Chris Barton 978-0316007627(BB)
Sit-in: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down 978-0316070164  (BB)
A Beach Tail by Karen Lynn Williams 978-1590787120  (BB)
Lincoln Tells a Joke: How Laughter Saved the President (and the Country) by Kathleen Krull 978-0152066390  (BB)
Back of the Bus by Aaron Reynolds 978-0399250910 (BB)
"Survive Alive" series  by Neil Champion, Amicus Pub. Finding Food and Water, 978-1607530374; Making Shelter, 978-1607530411; Finding Your Way, 978-1607530381; Tools and Crafts, 978-1607530428 (BB)
The Kid's Guide to Building Cool Stuff  978-1429622769 (BB)
How to Draw Cool Fashions 978-1429634069  (BB)
The Secret Cave: Discovering Lascaux by Emily Arnold McCully 978-0374366940  (CN)


What a collection!!! You can't imagine how I miss hunting for treasures like these and being able to buy and share them with students. Thanks for sharing folks!!      Katie