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.