November 6th meeting minutes

In case you missed our November meeting, here's what happened:

I. Welcome!
-Recap of collaboration panel (check out the collaboration post on the blog)
-Recap of Children's and Youth Services Forum
-Recap of Showcasing Information Literacies: New Dimensions 2008

II. Job Postings:
-Metuchen: Middle School Position (http://www.metuchenschools.org/metuchen/)
-Bloomfield Public Library: children's librarian (http://www.bccls.org/buckles/jobs.shtml)
-Clifton Public Library: Children's librarian (http://www.bccls.org/buckles/jobs.shtml)
-Tenafly Public Schools- Elementary (www.tenafly.k12.nj.us)
-Upper Freehold Regional- K-8 (www.ufrsd.net)

III. NJASL Conference
-Thursday, Nov. 13-Sat. Nov 15: early registration for this year's conference has passed.
-Hilton, East Brunswick
-On-site registration is $95 for students (all three days) or $90 for one day
-Review of Programs: Lots of great programs; check out the schedule here: http://www.njasl.org/Conferences.htm

Alicia, Kristie, and Jess will all be attending, so contact RASL if you are looking for some company at the conference!!!

IV. Spring Registration: began on Sunday November 9
-If you haven't done so already, meet with an adviser! Even if you already know what courses you are taking, this is a good idea because of the structure of the SLM program...make sure you're on track so that you can graduate on time! Carol Gordon will be happy to meet with you to discuss course registration. Her office is in SCILS room 332 and her email is cgordon1@rci.rutgers.edu
-We passed out our handy scheduling planning sheets.

V. Next meeting: Thursday, December 4 at 5pm
-Election of new co-president
-Holiday celebration/celebration of graduates

Education Sequence for School Library Certification

If you DO NOT have a degree in education, you will probably need to complete 3 courses in an education sequence for school library certification. These classes are all offered online, and generally 2 of of the 3 courses are offered per semester (summer, fall, spring).

To qualify for Associate School Library Media Specialist or School Library Media Specialist, in addition to your library studies courses you must meet one of the following requirements:
(1) Hold a standard New Jersey or out-of-State instructional certificate. A military science endorsement will not satisfy this requirement; or
(2) Complete a State-approved college teacher preparation program with or without student teaching; or
(3) Complete a coherent college program at a regionally accredited college or university that includes a minimum of nine semester-hour credits in educational theory, curriculum design and integration, teaching methodology, student/learning development, and behavior management.

Here is a listing of these courses:
Theory and Foundations of Education for the School Library Media Specialist
17:611:520 (3 credits)
An introduction to the historical foundations and major theories and philosophies in education. The focus is on the role of the school library media specialist as a teacher in the media center and the professional community of the school. Students will explore and apply learning and child development theories; develop strategies for communication with students, parents, faculty and staff, administration, and other professionals; and explore legal issues connected to the role of library media specialist. A major component of the class will be to support each student in developing a personal philosophy of education. Prerequisites: permission to enroll in this course will be granted to students who are seeking certification as a school library media specialist or associate school library media specialist, as evidenced by current or previous enrollment in appropriate coursework; experience using email and basic World Wide Web searching techniques, your own reliable Internet account, and the hardware and software required for an online course.
Planned to be offered in fall and summer.

Curriculum Design/Integration and Teaching Methodologies for the School Library Media Specialist
17:611:521 (3 credits)
This course is an introduction to teaching strategies and learning models used in the classroom and library media center. Students will focus on new trends in educational research and identify current trends in instruction. Emphasis will be placed on the planning and construction of lesson plans and units of study based on principles of curriculum design for the instruction and integration of New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards and Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning. Prerequisites: permission to enroll in this course will be granted to students who are seeking certification as a school library media specialist or associate school library media specialist, as evidenced by current or previous enrollment in appropriate coursework; experience using email and basic World Wide Web searching techniques, your own reliable Internet account, and the hardware and software required for an online course.
May require observations to be completed in a school setting. Planned to be offered in spring and summer.

Student Learning Development and Behavior Management for the School Library Media Specialist
17:611:522 (3 credits)
An introduction to the characteristics and learning styles of learners, techniques for classroom management, and rules and expectations in the school library and classroom. Prerequisites: permission to enroll in this course will be granted to students who are seeking certification as a school library media specialist or associate school library media specialist, as evidenced by current or previous enrollment in appropriate coursework; experience using email and basic World Wide Web searching techniques, your own reliable Internet account, and the hardware and software required for an online course.
May require observations to be completed in a school setting. Planned to be offered in fall and spring.

In order to register for these classes, you need to contact the office of Professional Development. They will then email you an application to complete and mail into their office. When they receive it, they will email you a special permission number to register for the course.

The PDS website's FAQ page is located here: http://tinyurl.com/64tbuj

If you have any questions, you can contact Melanie Andrich at: mandrich@rutgers.edu

Collaboration Panel, Thursday 10/16

The Rutgers Association of School Librarians (RASL) Presents a Collaboration Panel!

You hear a lot about collaboration in your classes, but what does it take to make it happen?

Join us for a panel discussion on the challenges & benefits and strategies for successful collaboration.

Participants on the panel include school and public librarians and teachers who work with students of all ages.

Bring your questions on how to make collaboration and quality communication a reality, or just come to listen.

Thursday, October 16th
SCILS Student Lounge
Refreshments at 6pm, Panel at 6:30pm

Hope to see you there!

Live blogging from the NJASL board meeting

Below are highlights from the meeting that may be of interest to RASL members.

10:30 AM 

• Meeting called to order.
  
• Budget revisions discussed.
• NJ Center for the Book Wednesday, October 22, 2008 -- conference (see link)
• Enthusiastic Reader competition beginning.  More details to follow.

10:45 AM

• NJEA collaboration panel discussed.
• Rolling Research library grant discussed. Issues: de-professionalizing school libraries and against current regulations
  
• Mentoring guidelines discussed.

11:00 AM

• Conference attendance and reimbursement now reflected in budget.  Available online for NJASL members.
• RASL collaboration panel discussed.  
• Website redesign slated to be launched by the conference. 
• NJASL conference -- infolink on Saturday; Jane Austin program; other preliminary programs.
• NJKI -- currently in a two of a three year contract; continuing until 2010.  Databases available to every library member (public AND school). 

11:15 AM

• Youth Services Forum October 15th -- student registration only $12.50!
• Performer's Showcase 
• Scholastic grant 
• ALSC contest 
• Novelist online training available.
• Scholastic grant mentioned.  More information to follow.
• JR Trader -- librarian discount 

11:30 AM

• Not everything for the conference is available through on-site registration (meals and the like).
• With new high school graduation requirements, we will ensure that students are ready for college or the job market.  

11:45 AM

• Bill discussed re: professional development and coursework reimbursement for current school librarians.
• CISSL -- NJASL/CISSL research: Transforming school libraries in New Jersey

12:00 PM

• Norma Blake scholarship 
• Professional development -- format needs to be changed.
• Next year's conference is two days -- Friday and Saturday (November 13-14)

12:30 PM

• Board member to speak to RASL in November about the conference.  
• Meeting adjourned.

9/11/08 meeting minutes

Greetings RASL members,
Welcome to our new RASL friends and thanks for attending (even if you only came for the pizza..). In case you couldn't make it this week, here's how we kicked off the semester:

I. Welcome to SCILS/RASL and Introductions all around

II. Informal discussion regarding scheduling and the "myth" of graduating in 3 semesters
-We have an official discussion regarding scheduling in November before registration for spring classes, so stay tuned!

III. schedule of events for the semester
-Wed. October 15: Youth Services Forum @Monmouth County Library, 9-3; $12.50 students; visit www.njla.org for more info
-Wed. October 22: Showcasing Information Literacies: New Dimensions 2008 @ Newark Public Library; 9-3:45; $55; visit www.njcenterforthebook.org
-Thurs. November 13-Sat. Nov. 15: NJASL Fall conference; Hilton East Brunswick; $60-95 for students; www.njasl.org

IV. RASL plans for the semester
-Collaboration panel to be held sometime in October; the focus will be both on collaborating with teachers in a school setting, as well as from a public library perspective. Collaboration is vital to the role of SLMS (and really, ALL librarians), so make sure to attend! (date TBA)
- Possible shadowing TBA...option to be placed in either a school or public library
- NJASL: possible guest speaker from the organization or from an MLIS student who has attended in the past to give tips on what to expect at conferences

V. Organizations
-introduction to some of the important organizations to be aware of
-ALA: American Library Association
-AASL: American Association of School Librarians; part of the ALA; focuses on policy; information literacy standards for the 21st century learner; Information Power; Guided Inquiry
-CISSL: Center for International Study of School Librarians; began at Rutgers: Carol Gordon, Ross Todd, Carol Kuhlthau
-only international organization of school librarians
- if you're interested in teaching/being a librarian abroad, check it out!
-offers scholarships
-NJASL: NJ Assoc. of School Librarians
-fall conference; job postings; scholarships and awards
-voluntary mentoring program for first year SLMS
-will be unveiling a new website in the near future
-current debate: a K-8 school in Millford, NJ was awarded a $10,000 grant for "rolling libraries" containing subject-specific reference books. These have been maintained by teachers and students, who have also done all of the cataloging of materials. NJASL is working to uphold the reputation of school librarians and demonstrate that students/teachers are not qualified to maintain and should not be in charge of cataloging library materials. NJASL has led the push for only certified school librarians from accredited universities to serve as school librarians.

VI. Carol Gordon dropped by
-Professor Gordon teaches MLIS courses, oversees the school library media program, and is a founder of CISSL
-she encouraged students to stop by for advising (Room 332 in SCILS); she also suggested that if you are "on the fence" regarding pursuing school library media, to stick with the school library track because it will be easier to switch careers later than to return to school to get your certification later.

VII. If you are interested in reviewing children's books (some with an economics spin) contact Yana Rogers at yrogers@rci.rutgers.edu for information. This is not a paying job, but you will be allowed to keep the books that you review.

Members in attendance:
Alicia Blowers
Kristi Revicki
Jess Emili
Steph Mikitish
Robert Thompson
Rachel Bavolar
Dawn Hoesterey
Ariel Franklin
Helen Prichett
Rosemary Sherry
Adriane Gash

First meeting of the fall semester!

RASL invites all MLIS students (school library and public library alike!) to our first meeting of the semester:

Date: Thursday, September 11
Time: 5pm
Location: SCILS Student Lounge
Topics: Welcome & Intro., Semester Events
Other: We'll have food, so don't worry about grabbing dinner between classes - it's on us! Also, don't worry if you can't be there for the start of the meeting, latecomers are always welcome!

Hope to see you there!

Tuesday, May 6 meeting minutes

In case you couldn't make it to the final meeting of the semester, here's what happened:

a recap of NJLA

Job Opportunities:

Clearview Regional High School (www.njasl.org/JobOpenings)
Caravel Academy Middle School (SCILS job board)
Holland Township School, K-8 (njhire.com)
Villa Victoria, 9-12 (njhire.com)
Cranford High School FT SLMS (Cranford BOE)
Ewing Elementary Schools FT SLMS (SCILS job board)

Discussion for next year:

panels, guest speakers, best practices sharing, shadowing current SLMS, field trips

Carol Gordon led a discussion regarding collaboration between teachers and SLMSs; points included:
-teachers often don't see librarians as "real teachers"
-teachers often don't know about all of the technology/resources available: use this to your advantage to encourage collaboration with them!
-collaboration between SLMSs and teachers should happen EVERY DAY! teachers are the lifeline to the student population
-Erin proposed putting together a pamplet of FAQs regarding collaboration for graduating MLIS school media students (maybe next semester?)
-someone else brought up the idea of collaborating with the graduate school of education
-International Association of school librarians in August (Berkeley, CA): Professor Gordon has attended in the past; she says international libraries view school libraries as an important source of information/reading materials for the entire school community (including parents); international school libraries focus on multilingual/cultural materials more than US schools; more advanced collaboration between libraries and teachers in international schools

Upcoming:

May 20th: SCILS Awards Ceremony; 1:30-3:30, Voorhees Hall 105
May 20th: SCILS Convocation; 5 pm, College Avenue Gym: THIS IS THE ONE TO GO TO!
May 21st: University Commencement; 1:30 pm, Voorhees Mall
NJASL Fall Conference: November 13-15, Hilton East Brunswick- Anyone interested in doing a poster presentation?

Congratulations to our graduates!!
See you next semester!!

Last minute announcement (Sorry!): Meeting tomorrow 5/6/08

It's our final meeting of the year! Tuesday May 6, 2008 at 5 pm in the SCILS lounge.

On the agenda this week: Celebrating our graduates, electing new officers, and planning for next semester.

Pizza will be served. Hope to see you there!

Out of State?

For those of you planning on working in schools out of New Jersey, you might want to look at this site. 50 States has information about everything students would want to know about the US, but it also has from the Departments of Education and Certification (or equivalent licenser) for each state. It might not have the exact requirements, but it at least has the right people to contact to find out what the requirements are for your desired state.

RASL meeting minutes- April 16th

In case you missed it, here's what happened at last week's RASL meeting:

Recap of "NJ Children's and Young Adult Author Day" at Woodbridge Public Library: see the NJLA website for details on the authors

Check out the Internet School Library Media Center: http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/index.html
-ISLMC has pathfinders for specific subject areas (eg. Egyptology)
-the page is being shut down, so check it out while it's still there! Also, check archive.org for closed pages

Scholarship Reminder: Al Staley Scholarship
-$750
-3 available: one for a media specialist without certification, one for a current MLIS student, one for a potential MLIS student

Job Opportunities:
-Cranford High School: FT SLMS (listed on Cranford BOE)
-Ewing Elementary School: FT SLMS (listed on Rutgers job board)
-Jefferson High school: FT SLMS (Rutgers job board)

Discussion: School Library Media Month
-creative ideas:
-bookmarks with authors by genre
-scavenger hunt
-read-alouds (high schoolers to former elementary schools)
-reader recommendations (teachers write up blurbs about their favorite books from when they were teens, with photo)
-student book club (high schools): once a month students; student-run
-encourage students to donate books to school library/start a "take a book give a book" swap
-to find out what other schools have been doing, see these websites:
-http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/libslmday.htm
-http://schoollibrarymedia.pbwiki.com/FrontPage
-http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslissues/aasladvocacy/schoollibrary.cfm

Discussion: Students with disabilities

-http://dsp.berkeley.edu/TeachStudentsWithDisab.html (college website, but applicable to school libraries)
-Collection: Books on CD/Playaways partnered with hard copy book; large print books
-Facilities: physical arrangement (aisles, shelving, seating areas); computer stations to accommodate wheel chairs, headphones, screen magnifiers
-"The High/Low Handbook"- high interest books for students at lower reading levels

Upcoming:

NJLA Conference: April 30-May 1 in Long Branch; early registration is closed
NJASL Spring Meeting: Saturday, May 3 at the Hilton East Brunswick; $35
NJASL Fall Conference: November 13-15 at the Hilton East Brunswick

Final meeting of the semester: tentatively scheduled for May 1st, but will probably change due to NJLA conference: check the RASL website/blog/LISSA listserv for updates!

Help Save RIF Funding

From the RIF website:

"Reading Is Fundamental was eliminated from the President's proposed FY2009 budget. Congress can save it.

Contact your congressional representatives and urge them to support RIF's $26 million funding appropriation.

Last year, 4.6 million at-risk children were able to choose and keep 16 million free books through RIF programs. Without this funding, these programs will cease."

Take action.

Great Depression Lesson Plans

One of the great resources you can find on the AASL School Media Month site Renee posted earlier is a pdf of wonderful lesson plans involving the Great Depression. You can find the link straight to the pdf below:

Great Depression Lesson Ideas

National Library Week: Reference Desk

Check out ALA's NLW promo videos on YouTube. Enjoy!

[For some reason, the videos are posted under several user names. Use this link for the username AmLibraryAssociation to see them all (I think). ]

It's National Library Week AND School Library Media Month

AASL has ideas and information for promoting School Library Media Month on their website here. (For some reason, the @ your library home page links to older materials for school libraries - still good, but just be aware that some of it appears to be from past campaigns.)

Here is the information on National Library Week. Be sure to check out the YouTube videos--post them on your blog, MySpace, Facebook, and send them to your friends.

Fall registration info

Fall registration begins April 6, 2008 at 10pm! The schedule of classes is available here.

New! Alicia has put together these fabulous tools to help you plan your course of study:

SLMS Course of Studies Planner (pdf)
Coursework for SLMS Certification - On Campus (pdf)
Coursework for SLMS Certification - Online (pdf)

For more info on planning your course of study, check out the Classes page on our RASL website.

Meeting minutes from 3/26/08

Opening Announcements
1. Discussed scholarships available for MLIS students:
- Carol Gordon brought up a scholarship not on the agenda: CISSL scholarship includes working about 5 hours per week as a research assistant for her or another professor in the department- email her if interested in applying (cgordon@scils.rutgers.edu)
-Al Saley Memorial Scholarships- 3 for $750; apply by May 1
(http://www.emanj.org/Awards.htm)
-Phi Beta Mu: check website (www.beta-phi-mu.org/scholarships.html)
-Executive Women of New Jersey (http://www.ewnj.org/scholarships.htm)

2. Fun Events
-NJ Children's/YA Author Panel: register online (http://www.njstatelib.org/News/news_item.php?item_id=932)
-NJLA conference: April 29-May 1; early registration ends on April
4 (then the price goes up!)
-April is School Media Month: check out the ALA website
(www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslissues/aasladvocacy/schoollibrary.cfm)

3. Elections
- Jessica Emili was elected secretary
- Treasurer position is still open

4. Scheduling and advising
-RASL Advisor Carol Gordon offered the following advice: Plan backwards! plan your last semester first so that you have less trouble distributing course work; save your elective for summer session- you will have more options because additional classes are offered through the WISE consortium; suggested electives for the school media concentration are collection development and social networking
-2 professional development courses are offered in the summer- these are online courses: 575 "Management of School Library Programs" and
592 "Field Work" are CO-requisites- plan on taking them together!
-575 is only offered in the spring- there's a possibility of getting into the online class in the fall, but don't count on it as online students have first priority in scheduling
-List of required School media courses was made available at the meeting, as well as a list of when courses are offered
(fall/spring/summer) [This will be posted on the website.]

Elections

Anyone interested in becoming treasurer or secretary for RASL should make sure to attend tomorrow's meeting, because we are going to have elections for both officer positions. I look forward to seeing you there!

RASL meeting this week!

Wow! It's that time again already. :-) We're meeting before the colloquium, this Wednesday at 5 pm in the SCILS lounge.

On the agenda this week: Registering for Fall 2008 and Planning Your Course of Studies. Also, Carol Gordon will be speaking with us, and we'll be sharing info re: scholarships and upcoming events.

Pizza will be served. Hope to see you there!

Lesson Plans

I apologize for making you wait so long. Without further ado...

Library Sparks
This link takes you to the magazine's homepage. Here, you can subscribe or try out a free issue. There are also web resources with some lesson ideas and plenty of worksheets. You can also browse all the previous web resources. They also have indexes for previous issues, but I have been unable to find a way to order back issues. I would suggest contacting them if that is something that interests you, or applying for an ILL.

Read Write Think
This site is not a library site, but was found to be very helpful by library media specialists. Each lesson plan is very comprehensive and includes a variety of supplemental resources.

Hanover County Public Schools
There are a bunch of lessons for Kindergarten through eighth grade with occasional worksheets littered throughout. One helpful aspect about these is the inclusion of national standards (it also indicates standards for the state of Virginia).

School Library Media Activities Monthly
Not only can you get a subscription, but you can access select articles online. There is also the Activities Almanac with brief lesson ideas for specific days of the month. Into the Curriculum is a great place to build a bridge between the library and the classroom with standards driven lesson plans.

Library Media Connection
I highly recommend the print version of this source for both lesson plans and professional development. The website is lacking, but does have some things of note on their New Hot Stuff page.

RASL meeting this week!

Join us on Thursday, February 21st at 5pm in the SCILS lounge. We'll be doing a craft and sharing lesson plans and program ideas for school and public libraries.

If you have a tried and true lesson or activity that you would be willing to share, please e-mail Alicia at ablowers at eden.rutgers.edu. Attach your plan and any associated documents to the e-mail. Be sure to indicate the age level (we need everything from babies to teens!). We'll compile all submissions and distribute the packet at our meeting.

Hope to see you there!

Ever want to live in Utah?

Well here is your chance. Apparently the state is facing a major shortage for school librarians. They are looking to increase ranks in droves over the next three years. Check this article out if you are interested!

Discount Subscription for Students

I picked up a copy of School Library Media Activities Monthly at ALA Midwinter. It is published by Libraries Unlimited. The February issue has some interesting articles on information literacy and collaboration, and lesson plans that key into different subject areas. Could be a useful resource for your field experience and when starting out as a SLMS.

Check out some sample articles on their website. The regular subscription rate is $55 per year, but they offer a discount student subscription at $30 here.

At last... the RASL meeting update!

I enjoyed the first RASL meeting of the semester (my first ever!). I’m in the online program, so it was great to get to campus and meet everyone. Here’s a quick recap of the agenda and what we covered.

Origins of RASL - Check out the RASL website for a brief history of our organization.

NJ Department of Education requirements for School Library Certifications - The most up-to-date information can be found here on the SCILS website.

Plan of Study for SMLS and timing of classes - Did you know that the School Library Medial Specialist track allows only one elective? Did you know that some required courses are offered only in the fall semester or only in the spring semester? Several of our members have run into trouble with the timing of their classes, and strongly recommend faculty advising sessions as you map out your plan of study. We are working to include the timing of classes on the RASL website. In the meantime, the SCILS website lists required courses here.

SLMS jobs - Members talked about various websites that post job openings for school library media specialists. We have a list of job links on the RASL website that we are looking to update. If you know of a job website, please post it as a comment here, or email Renee.

NJASL and other library organizations - "Network, network, network!" was the advice from several of our members. Get involved in RASL and NJASL, NJLA and ALA. Student volunteers can often attend conferences for free or at reduced rates. Links to these and other professional organizations are on the RASL website. Be sure to look for discount student memberships when you join!

Forum: What do you want from RASL? - Everyone had lots of great ideas. Check out Kristie's post below, and please feel free to send your suggestions to us as comments on this blog, or via email.

Next meeting: Thursday, February 21, 5 pm SCILS lounge. Hope to see you then!

Listservs

Here is a link of a bunch of children's literature related listservs you can join, if you fancy.

Children's Museum News

One of the topics brought up at the forum was the idea of children's librarianship merging with museums. I found an article about the Long Island Children's Museum and their upcoming programs for 2008. At least one of the programs is funded by a grant given to the museum by the Institute of Museum & Library Services. I also recommend going through the LICM's homepage (link above), aside from looking at the news article.

Just for Fun: Dance your fines away!

Okay, I know I still owe you guys a post about the last RASL meeting. It's coming...right after my Learning Theory, Media & Curriculum paper, and my Reference Sources/Services and Materials for Children assignments. (Sorry!)

In the meantime, here's a fun item from LIS News: Wadleigh Memorial Library in Milford, NH let patrons donate food or dance their library fines away on DDR.

Forum Results

Sorry to post twice in the same night, but I wanted to get this information on the web in case I misplaced the sheet, forever loosing the data gathered at the meeting!! For those of you who were unable to attend the meeting, we surveyed the group to see what people wish they could get from RASL. Below is a bulleted list with the suggestions that people contributed. Didn't go to tonight's meeting? Don't worry, you can still be heard! If you think of something else, just post it here and we shall find it!

The list

• More social events
• Opportunities to network with professionals in the field
• Children's education coupled with museums and artistic environments
• A trip to the Zimmerli
  
• Liberty Science Center

• Field trips and tours of school libraries
• Information on services for children with disabilities
• Program Ideas
• Techniques for controlling large groups of children
• Storytelling techniques and festival information
• Arts and crafts for libraries
  
• Bridge-building between public and school libraries
  

AASL Survey

I know that the majority of the people that attended tonight's meeting have not yet begun their field study, but for those members that have, or know a school librarian, please send them this link! It came from the NJASL list serve and connects you to a survey entitled School Libraries Count! It's a longitudinal study conducted to show the numerous ways that school libraries improve children's education and daily lives. Even if you don't know a school librarian, you can still go to the site and check out last year's results!

You're invited!

All MLIS students are invited to attend our first meeting of the semester. The first colloquium of the semester, featuring Librarian of the Year Norma Blake (NJ's state librarian), will begin at 7 pm, so we encourage you to come to the meeting and stay to hear Norma speak.

Here are the details:

Date:Wednesday, January 30th
Time: 5pm
Place: SCILS Lounge
Topics: Forum on what you'd like to get out of RASL, Scholarship/Award Opportunities for MLIS students
Other: Dinner (baked ziti) will be served.

Hope to see you there!

Just for fun: books that make you dumb?!

Virgil Griffith, Caltech student and creator of Wikiscanner, has released a new web report, "Booksthatmakeyoudumb." He correlated the average SAT/ACT scores of more than 1300 US colleges and universities with the 10 most popular books listed on their Facebook pages. Fun to look at and see where your favorites lie.

Several books scored way higher than I would have expected. (Reminds me of the "WTF?" group on Shelfari.) Enjoy! [Found at lisnews and librarian.net, and cross-posted on my blog]

Something Fun

In case you find yourself in front of a computer, bored and procrastinating--yet still wanting to be productive, here are some games for you to test out! Carnegie Mellon University is in the final stages of two library-centered computer games aimed to help students with their researching skills. This looks a great way for kids to become engaged during a library overview (Not to mention, it's quite fun for librarians too!).

Games found on Fuse 8's blog.

Mark your calendars!

Come out and see what RASL is all about, network, get involved, meet your new officers, or just come for the refreshments! ;-) Here is our Spring schedule of meetings. Hope to see you soon!

Wednesday, 1/30/08, 5:00 PM
Thursday, 2/21/08, 5:00 PM
Wednesday, 3/26/08, 5:00 PM
Wednesday, 4/16/08, 5:00 PM
Thursday, 5/1/08, 5:00 PM

Meetings are held in the 2nd floor SCILS lounge, unless otherwise noted. Check back here or on our website for programs, meeting notes and changes.