Friday, September 27, 2013

Librarians Build Communities In Macon


Georgia’s second Librarians Build Communities project will take place in Macon October 9-11 during the annual conference of the Georgia Council of Media Organizations. Food and donations will be collected for Loaves and Fishes, a local non-profit organization that assists community members  with food, clothing, and other necessities.

Libraries Build Communities began at ALA’s Annual Conference in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.That year librarians from all over the United States volunteered to help build new homes, remove damaged areas from existing homes, and restore libraries of all types. In 2011, a group of Emerging Leaders developed plans for state and regional associations to conduct similar projects under the new name Librarians Build Communities. 

Visit GaCOMO 2013 website for more information.

Friday, September 20, 2013

Cobb County School District and Cobb County Public Library Collaborative Summer Reading Programs in the Spotlight!



by Janell McClure


Knowing the power in partnerships between school systems and public libraries, as well as the impact of summer reading programs on avoiding the “summer slide,” Janell McClure, Library Media Education Supervisor for the Cobb County School District (CCSD), contacted Patty Latch, Manager of the Youth and Media Department at the Cobb County Main Branch, Switzer Library, and Jonathan McKeown, Associate Director for Central & Outreach Services, and proposed a collaborative effort.  Patty and Jonathan enthusiastically agreed, and in May 2013, for the first time ever, the two entities created complementary summer reading programs. 

The two groups chose to adopt the same program “theme” in an effort to maintain a consistent message among school and library patrons.  The schools then shared the suggested reading list with the public library staff so they could cross-reference their branch collections and ensure availability. Meanwhile, a team of CCSD media specialists created a summer reading program that asked students to choose from a list of “response-to-reading” activities, some of which involved the public library. For example, one option read, “Going on a trip? Visit your public library for fiction and nonfiction books about the location you are visiting or the communities on the way.  Read the book and create a travel brochure that includes details from the book that describe your destination, daily expenses you incurred while away, and miles traveled round trip.”  Others included checking out audio books or participating in local branch events.

Each spring, children’s lit representatives from the public library would visit CCSD elementary schools to talk about the summer reading programs offered at each branch. The public library staff continued that practice, only this year, librarians promoted the CCSD program in conjunction with the public library events.  In return, the school district promoted the public library summer program through the local schools as well as on the websites for the school district and the Library Media Education department. School media specialists informed students that all books read for one program would receive credit for the other program while the public library gave reading logs to the elementary school children with the understanding that students could turn the same log in to their school and receive equal credit.  Finally, Patty, Jonathan, and Janell created a one-minute video, which appeared at the beginning of the CCSD summer reading promotional video, describing their collaborative efforts.

These efforts improved participation in the public library program overall.  One public librarian stated, “…There has been a greater interest in both the school and library summer reading programs.”  Another commented that her branch had received the summer reading program requests faster than in year’s past and attributed this to the collaborative efforts of these two organizations. The proof, though, was in the numbers.  This summer saw a 24% increase in the number of CCSD students who participated in the public library program!  With this obvious impact, the two groups are brainstorming additional collaborative opportunities.

More information about Cobb County School Media programs can be found at http://www.cobbk12.org/librarymedia/.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Leveraging Visual Literacy for Communication: Free Webinar, October 3, 2013

The Georgia Library Association is pleased to announce the October 2013 session of the Carterette Series Webinars.

Leveraging Visual Literacy for Communication
Presented by Nicole Brown
Thursday, October 3rd, 2013 2:00pm to 3:00pm Eastern Time
REGISTER

The ability to critically engage with and communicate through visual materials is becoming a core competency for participation in today’s highly visual culture. This presentation will share successful techniques for using images in libraries. Visual learning objects will show how images can frame an instruction session by capturing learners’ attention and preparing them to delve into conceptual content. Pedagogical considerations of using images in the classroom will also be discussed, with special attention to active learning. Attendees will take away concrete ways to integrate visual literacy into existing content.

Nicole Brown is the Multidisciplinary Instruction Librarian at NYU, where she teaches research workshops to a variety of user groups and works to expand and strengthen the teaching role of librarians. Her first teaching position was at the American University in Cairo, where she spent three years teaching a required information literacy course. She also worked as the Instruction Coordinator at Emerson College, where she partnered with the Center for Teaching to create an Information Literacy Learning Community. She has given presentations, workshops, and led professional development training on four continents and has written articles for Library Journal and Internet Reference Service Quarterly. Her research interests include innovative teaching practices and incorporating new literacies into teaching and learning environments. As a member of the ACRL Visual Literacy Task Force, she works to promote the integration of visual literacy into library instruction. Nicole earned her MLIS from the Pratt Institute in 2004 and attended the ACRL Immersion Program Track in 2008.
                                              
The Carterette Series is an educational webinar series which highlights trends, innovation, and best practices in libraries. The free sessions are open to interested parties from all geographic (and astral) locations. Topics are chosen to be of interest to students and employees from all library types, and each session is approved for one Georgia Continuing Education (CE) contact hour.

Can't make it to the live show? That's okay. The session will be recorded and available on the CSW site for later viewing.

To register for the online event and access the archives of the previous events, visit Carterette Series website.


Contact a member of the Carterette Series Planning Team with questions or suggestions.
Casey Long: clong@agnesscott.edu
Kimberly Boyd: kboyd2@brenau.edu
Sarah Steiner: ssteiner@gsu.edu