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.