Common Core Links

   It was so nice to get together for the CMCIG Roundtable at the annual conference last week.  At our Common Core discussion  I mentioned some links that were helpful to me and I thought I would share them here.

The Chicago Public Schools 2012 Purchasing List has a nice explanation of how they selected the books while keeping the CCSS in mind.  You can find that here: http://cpslibraries.wikispaces.com/purchasinglistscurrent


Another CCSS link at the top of my list right now is three part webinar series from School Library Journal. The first one is available as a recording and the next two have yet to be presented.   They are free and well worth your time since they are aimed at librarians.  http://www.slj.com/webcasts/commoncore/#_

My own Libguide on the Common Core is still a work in progress, and that can be checked out here:  http://libguides.bgsu.edu/commoncore

Happy Reading, Kathy Yoder
Bowling Green State University

ALAO 2012 Preconference Workshops

Participatory Librarianship:
Shaping Conversations to Advocate the Impact of Our Academic Libraries

How can academic libraries use participatory practices to impact their own academic communities? How can we spark, encourage, and sustain conversations for learning, as well as build rich, meaningful community engagement? Together, through small and whole group conversations, we will examine existing effective practices and strategies. We will brainstorm new possibilities for elevating the role of the library to an integral affinity space that cultivates and nurtures the evolving needs of our higher education communities.

The Unquiet Librarian, Buffy Hamilton, a 2011 LJ Mover and Shaker, will lead small groups in interactive conversations about maximizing and communicating value by framing our services and programming through a lens of participatory librarianship. We will follow the World Café model, which promises a fun, visually-rich, stimulating workshop with plenty of energizing take-aways from the shared energy and collective wisdom of our colleagues.

Interested in learning more? View this PDF of the workshop.
Preconference registration: http://www.alaoweb.org/events?eventId=536222


Researcher Revolt:
What Faculty Want from Publishers, Libraries and the Open Access Movement

The issue of open access is changing the landscape of scholarly communication. There is increasing demand for public access to research and an intense debate on the best way to accomplish this goal. Historically, libraries have supported faculty and institutions in their research, but are becoming increasingly involved as the research and publishing communities attempt to navigate in the new world. It is essential, however, that libraries align their efforts to what researchers want and need. This session will convene a panel of faculty from a variety of disciplines and schools to speak to their experiences with open access. Join us as we discuss how academic libraries can best support our institutions in the changing landscape of scholarly communication.

Faculty Panel includes:

• Dominique Belanger, PhD, Director of the Wright State University Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program
• Tschera Connell, PhD, Head of Scholarly Resources Integration Department at The Ohio State University Libraries
• Sebastiaan Faber , PhD, Professor of Hispanic Studies and Director, Oberlin Center for Languages and Cultures, Oberlin College
• David Mark Goss , PhD, Professor of Mathematics at The Ohio State University and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Number Theory
• Mason Posner, PhD, Chair of the Department of Biology and Toxicology at Ashland University
• Moderated by Alan Boyd, Associate Director, Oberlin College Libraries

Interested in learning more? View the workshop PDF
Preconference registration is available: http://www.alaoweb.org/events?eventId=536226

Registration is open for the 2012 ALAO Conference, to be held at the Roberts Centre in Wilmington, OH on Friday, October 26th.  This year's theme is "Impact Factor: The Value of Academic Libraries".

Looking over the list of programs being offered, there are some very interesting sessions that will make tough choices.  We hope you will pencil in two sessions in particular.  At 1:30, CMCIG will hold a Roundtable discussion on the common Core Standards with the ever-fabulous Kathy Yoder leading the group.  At 2:30, CMCIG is sponsoring "Storytime in the Academic Library"; Jennifer Smith (NKU) will tell the group about how she started a children's storytime at her library and give suggestions on how to bring children's and family programming to your academic library.

Remember, Early Bird Conference Rates run through Sept. 19th!  Here is a link to register:  http://www.alaoweb.org/events?eventId=518633

Hope to see you there!

CMCIG 2012: Managing eBooks for Kids

Kathy Yoder, Education Librarian

William T. Jerome Library, Bowling Green State University

What do Curriculum Materials Centers want in an eBook platform for children? The same thing all libraries want: an easy, logical, and attractive interface for users, unlimited access for unlimited users, a variety of publishers offering both fiction and informational texts, titles that are tablet/smartphone compatible, and MARC records for our catalog. Yes, we want all this and we want the final puzzle piece: affordability. All of this is good and well, but the world isn’t a wish-granting factory (thanks, John Green for reminding us), so what is a Curriculum Materials Center to do?

My quest for answers all started because I simply couldn’t ignore eBooks for kids anymore, although I’ve tried. Early examples of children’s eBooks were often clunky and uninspiring and my strategy was to wait until publishers offered a product I could be excited about. Finally my tipping point arrived based on three things: kids’ eBooks are becoming user friendly and in some cases quite impressive, Education faculty are starting to show a real interest in them, and eBook purchases at our institution are moving past the experimental stage. I wanted to get in on a piece of the eBook pie at the ground level .

At this point I decided to try to get my head around what is available. My experience with eBooks at my public library has been rocky at best. As much as I hate the hassle of being on the reader end of eBook checkouts I knew I didn’t want to be on the other end of that headache. So I came up with my dream list as described in the first paragraph. I considered how children’s eBook might be used by pre-service teachers in the classroom. I took into account the requests by faculty on what they would like to see. The last thing I did was take a whole lot of test drives on various free trials and watched demo after demo.
While checking out the different platforms I kept in mind how I thought the eBooks might be used by our Education students. Since interactive whiteboards are nearly commonplace in classrooms in our area, I want kids’ eBooks that can be projected and used interactively on them. To me, this option is very exciting for student teachers and how they will be sharing books in the future. A web-based eBook format fits this type of use.

Tutoring is another very popular way our students interact with children and I want them to be able to use eBooks for that. Our School of Teaching and Learning recently acquired tablet computers for tutoring use, so children’s books that work on iPads would be ideal. For this use a downloadable format would be required. I determined that I’m primarily looking for picture books of various complexity, both fiction and nonfiction while I am not interested in providing children’s texts that download onto standard eReaders.

The following are some of the products that I’ve looked at. Some are platforms provided by aggregators, while others are platforms from publishing companies. Follow the links and check them out, and please add suggestions for others in the comments.

Mackin VIA
http://www.mackin.com/ESERVICES/MACKIN-VIA.aspx
This one will be demonstrated at our workshop. This platform offers a large selection of children’s eBooks and is particularly strong in informational texts.

Follett Shelf 
http://www.aboutfollettebooks.com
Another platform from an aggregator. Allows you to select titles in bundles or individually.

Epointbooks 
http://www.epointbooks.com/ 
This platform offers books from Rosen, Gareth Stevens, Britannica Education, and Windmill publishers. It suffers from severe unattractiveness.

Freading
http://freading.com/index 
The children’s collection doesn’t have much for pre-service teachers.

Overdrive 
http://overdrive.com/Solutions/Schools/K12/SDL/
Strong in text, and is compatible with many types of devices, but can’t be used with shared devices (everything has to be downloaded).

Axis 360 and Blio 
http://www.baker-taylor.com/axis360/index.htm
Baker and Taylor’s platform. Not clear about the extent of children’s content.

Scholastic BookFlix (grades PreK-3 ) 
http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/bookflixfreetrial/index.htm
- and -
TrueFlix (grades 3-5) 
http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/trueflix_freetrial/index.htm 
Scholastic publishers offer a small but focused collection, designed with whiteboard use in mind.

TumbleBooks 
http://www.tumblebooks.com 
For younger children. Since they don’t require a log in this can be viewed at library websites such as http://kids.nypl.org/reading/Childrensebooks.cfmInfobase 

Publishing eBooks 
http://www.infobasepublishing.com/GradeLanding.aspx?eBooks=1 
Offers Facts on File, Chelsea House, World Almanac among others.

Disney Digital Books
http://disneydigitalbooks.go.com/ 
Institutional subscriptions not available as a stand alone. In some aggregators.

ebrary for High Schools 
http://www.ebrary.com/corp/schools.jsp
Even the promotional material is boring, but then again I’m more interested in content for younger kids.

Capstone Interactive Library 
http://mycapstonelibrary.com 
This one comes from the publisher.

Sesame Street eBooks 
http://ebooks.sesamestreet.org/ 
Like Disney, this is for home purchase as a stand alone but is available in some aggregators.

Crabtree ebooks
http://www.crabtreebooks.com/Store/SearchByCategory.aspx?CategoryCode=540
Another single publisher offering.

* Submitted by Kathy Yoder

CMCIG Spring 2012 Workshop

CMCIG 2012: 
The Future of Ohio Libraries

State Library of Ohio  
274 East 1st Avenue - Columbus, OH 43201

Friday, May 18, 2012 - 8:30 am to 3:30 pm

Establishing and Maintaining an eReader Collection
Sue Polanka, Head of Reference & Instruction, Wright State University
Approximately 15-17% of academic and school libraries are lending eReaders to their patrons. There are a variety of ways to establish this service in a library. During this session, the nuts and bolts of establishing and maintaining an eReader collection will be discussed and demonstrated. Device selection, collection development, purchasing, policies and procedures,and budgeting will be discussed and debated. 

eReaders for Kids
Kathy Yoder, Education Librarian, Bowling Green State University
As academic libraries grapple with presenting electronic content to their patrons, curriculum materials centers also want to serve pre-service teachers with children’s eBooks from a variety of publishers. In this session we will take a look at what we want and need from an eBook platform: MARC records, unlimited access, affordability and more. Guest Lindsey Newman will demonstrate one such product, Mackin VIA, and Kathy Yoder will share her search for a children’s portal that meets the needs of an academic setting.

Grade School eTextbooks in the CMC
Ann Raney, CMC Director, University of Dayton
With the release of the new “Digital Textbook Playbook” by the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Department of Education to help advance the federal governments initiative to bring digital textbooks to all American students within the next five years, it is imperative that our collections begin the transition from print to digital format. During this session, PreK-12 textbook reps will share their digital textbook options.

State of Ohio's Libraries
Beverly Cain, the State Librarian.
Ohio’s school libraries are at a crossroads. State Librarian Cain will share information that has been gathered about them by the Working Together to Support Ohio’s Libraries Committee.

Event Registration:
Registration is now open! Visit the ALAO Web site and view events for more information.  The $35 registration fee includes a continental breakfast and lunch (options available at time of registration).

Register Now! CMCIG 2012: The Future of Ohio Libraries

Questions? Contact: CMCIG chair Stephanie Bange
Email: stephanie.bange - at - wright.edu

ALAO 2012: Call for Proposals

Impact Factor:  The Value of Academic Libraries
ALAO 38th Annual Conference
Friday, October 26, 2012
Roberts Centre, Wilmington, Ohio

CALL FOR PROPOSALS  --  Deadline:  May 4, 2012

The ALAO Conference Planning Committee invites you to submit proposals for presentations, lightning sessions, round table discussions and poster sessions for the 2012 Annual Conference. Share your experiences, practical solutions, expertise, and innovative practices with colleagues from all types of academic libraries.  Applicants are encouraged to develop creative proposals that show thoughtful exploration of this year’s conference theme: “Impact Factor:  The Value of Academic Libraries.” Join us as we explore the many ways in which academic libraries impact the campus, our communities and our profession. Possible topics include:·      

• Calculating value through assessment
• Identifying the library’s role in student learning and retention
• Reallocating resources to increase return on investment
• Promoting the library through marketing, programming, and public relations
• Showcasing the value of library staff
• Meeting the needs of our diverse user communities
• Serving our community through outreach & service learning
• Curating and publishing unique institutional content
• Adopting new technologies to connect users with information

PROPOSALS WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR THE FOLLOWING:

Presentations may take the form of contributed papers, demonstrations, workshops, research, or panel discussions. 

Lightning Talks are designed to be fast-paced, thought provoking, and energizing.  Presenters will have 7 minutes to deliver their practical or conceptual topics. There will not be scheduled time for Q & A; however, presenters may use part of their 7 minutes for this purpose.

Roundtables are small, informal group discussions designed to facilitate networking and information exchange. Facilitators should identify and develop a topic that will allow participants to discuss how they are dealing with specific issues at their libraries. Please include 2-3 questions to be addressed during the discussion in the proposal.

Posters should graphically represent a topic and include text, tables, images, or other multimedia formats. Handouts are welcome and encouraged. Presenters will share their ideas with attendees during a designated time slot of the conference.


PROPOSAL PROCESS GUIDELINES:·       

You are welcome to submit multiple proposals, however, please know that no more than 2 will be included in the final program.

• All proposals will be blind-reviewed for content, relevance to the conference theme, and overall appeal.  A concise, clearly written description and abstract will help the reviewers evaluate your offering more clearly.
• Exclude the name of your institution, department and any personal names in the abstract to expedite the blind review process. You do not need to exclude this information in the brief description.
• You will be contacted regarding your a-v/technology requirements when your proposal is accepted.
• Please print a copy of the completed form for your records before submitting.
• You will receive an email confirmation upon submission. If you do not receive this confirmation email, please contact:  Aaron Olivera, The Ohio State University, olivera.3 at osu.edu
• Need help? Click here for a PDF document describing the online proposal process.
• All presenters will be responsible for their own registration and travel costs.

PROPOSALS MAY BE SUBMITTED VIA:  http://alaoweb.org/events

GRANTS AVAILABLE
FOR STUDENTS AND SUPPORT STAFF

ALAO seeks to encourage  support staff development and participation in ALAO activities.  ALAO also seeks to provide opportunities for students and new librarians to grow professionally and encourages participation towards a career in academic libraries.  To that end ALAO awards a Support Staff Presenter Grant and a Student Presenter Grant annually.  Grant monies of $150 for each award are intended to assist with the costs incurred in preparing the presentation and modest travel costs associated with the presentation. 

More information, including eligibility requirements is available via the following links.

• Student Presenter Grant:
  http://www.alaoweb.org/procmanual/policies.html#studentpresenter
  
• Support Staff Presenter Grant:   
  http://www.alaoweb.org/procmanual/policies.html#sspresenter

Applications for student and support staff presenter grants are available at http://alaoweb.org/events.  

2012 ALAO Elections are Open

The 2012 ALAO Officer elections are now open!

ALAO members have an exciting opportunity to elect several key leadership positions; Vice President / President elect, Secretary, Membership Chair, and three Board Members at-large.  Visit the 2012 ALAO Officer Election page to access candidate information and online ballot. Polls are open through April 21, 2012.

ALAO Newsletter: March 2012

The ALAO Newsletter, Volume 30, Number 1 (March 2012) is now available.  Featured in this issue is:

• President's Report, Brian Hickam
• Past President's Report, Rocki Strader
• New Interest Group: Special Collections and Archives
• Interest Groups & Committees
• People & Library News

ALAO elections are scheduled to begin soon!  Information will be posted on the ALAO website.

CMCIG 2012 Spring Workshop Save the Date!

Mark your calendars! The CMCIG Spring Workshop hit a major bump in the road this spring and have had to do some scrambling the get it together. It is the same date announced earlier -- Friday, May 18th -- but has changed venue and theme. It will now be held at the State Library of Ohio, 274 East 1st Street, Columbus.

With the theme: The Future of Ohio Libraries, the program will be full of applied technology changes coming down the pike. ALAO Vice-President Sue Polanka will open the day with a presentation about establishing and maintaining an e-reader collection. We will have presentations and begin discussions on using e-readers for kids and access to grade school e-textbooks for our university students. Tours of the State Library and Ohioana Collection will round out the day. Registration information will be posted on the ALAO website shortly.

We look forward to seeing you there and thank you for your patience.

DLIG Spring Workshop

The first of ALAO's annual spring Interest Group workshops has been announced! Distance Learning Interest Group - DLIG - is presenting INOV8: Strategies & Models for Distance Library Services on Friday, April 2th.  The following information is from the ALAO list announcement on February, 17,2012.

INOV8: Strategies & Models for Distance Library Services

• DATE: Friday, May 11th 
• LOCATION: Miami University’s Voice of America Learning Center, located in West Chester, Ohio (just north of Cincinnati) 
• COST: $40. Includes continental breakfast, lunch, parking, and all workshop sessions. 
• STUDENT DISCOUNT: Students pay only $25.—valid student ID must be presented at registration. 
• DEADLINE: All registrations (with payment) must be received by Friday, April 27th . 
• TO REGISTER: Visit the ALAO Web site to register securely by Credit Card and for instructions on paying by check. 
• GET MORE DETAILS: Get directions, lodging information, session descriptions and information about our presenters on the DLIG blog http://distancelibrarians.wordpress.com 

Overview of Workshop Sessions 

Registration & Continental Breakfast begin at 9:00 a.m. and the first session begins at 9:30a.m. The final session should conclude by 3:00 p.m.

A Strategic Plan for Distance Learning Support with Kenneth Burhanna 
You may know the importance of libraries for distance learning, but does your campus community? In this session, you'll get a clearer vision for the strategic role libraries can play in distance learning--a vision you can take back to your campus. Learn additional tools and approaches for providing leadership on distance learning initiatives, models for creating guiding documents and online support tools, and boost awareness of key challenges for libraries in distance learning.

What’s the Fuss? Understanding Why “Quality Matters” with Janet Hurn 
In this session, you’ll learn more about how universities utilize Quality Matters to develop “quality” online courses. What are the standards & how are they met? Even if your institution does not use QM, you’ll gain insights that will help you market your distance library services to faculty teaching online–insights that will help you and your library stay relevant to faculty while supporting the needs of students taking online courses.

Models & Tactics for Embedded Librarians, Panel  Discussion
Robert Zai (Northern Kentucky U.), Lauren Wahman (U. of Cincinnati Blue Ash), Rob Snyder (Bowling Green), and Kenneth Burhanna (Kent State)

Have you ever wondered how other people were doing DL? Each panelist will give a 5 minute overview of what they are doing…and why they chose to do it that way. After viewing sample embedded course content and the panelists’ preferred tools, attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions, seek guidance, and; share their own methods. Registered attendees will also be invited to submit their questions in advance; details will be included in a DLIG pre-workshop email.

Best Practices: A Collaborative DLIG Workshop Project 
By the end of the panel discussion, the DLIG community will have a clearer perspective on best practices for distance learning library services. As a group, we’ll wrap up the workshop by creating our own Best Practices list that attendees can take back to their institutions.

Need more Details? Get directions, lodging information, session descriptions and information about workshop presenters on our blog at http://distancelibrarians.wordpress.com.

Ellison All-Star Die

I have 8 die for the Ellison All-Star that I ordered in error.  If you have this machine or know a school or library that has one, please contact me. (937-229-3140 or araney1@udayton.edu).  Ann

Deadline Extended: ALAO Continuing Education Grant

Great news! The following announcement was sent via the ALAO List; an extension for applicants wishing to apply for the continuing education grant is now available.

The Academic Library Association of Ohio (ALAO) Continuing Education Grant is awarded each year to support the cost of participating in professional development opportunities. Current ALAO members are eligible to apply for funds to defray the costs of attending any library-related educational opportunity occurring during the 2012 calendar year.

The ALAO Professional Development Committee (PDC) will select the application(s) that best explain how the grant will further the applicant’s professional development. The amount of money available for the 2012 Continuing Education Grant Program is $2,500.  These funds may be awarded to one individual or divided among two or more top-ranked applicants. The PDC will take into consideration the amount of funding the applicant’s employer will provide for the request, as well as what the employer provided during the past fiscal year. The PDC will notify award recipients and will arrange payment. Within sixty days of the educational event, the recipient must submit a brief report to the PDC confirming proof of attendance.

Please note that awards equal to or greater than $600 USD are subject to taxation and will be reported to the Internal Revenue Service.  Recipients of awards equal to or greater than $600 USD must provide their social security number to the ALAO fiscal agent prior to disbursement of award monies.Please complete the online application for the grant at http://www.alaoweb.org/events.

Be sure to provide the required documentation, including a description of how the continuing education opportunity will further your professional development and an itemized list of associated costs.

The NEW EXTENDED deadline for application is February 10, 2012.If you have any questions, please contact the PDC Chair, Krista McDonald at: mcdonak@muohio.edu.

ALAO: Call for Nominations

From the ALAO List Serv: 1/11/12

Nominations are open for the following ALAO Board positions: 

• Vice-President/President-Elect (must be a member of ACRL)
• Secretary
• Membership Chair
• Three Board Members-at-Large 

Self-nominations and nominations of others are equally welcome.   Secretary and Member-at-Large are great ways for newer members to serve on the Board.  

Position descriptions are at http://www.alaoweb.org/procmanual/board.html 

ALAO is a volunteer organization, and its quality depends on members.  We have an excellent reputation both regionally and nationally; serving on the Board is an excellent way to be directly involved with continuing and extending our tradition of excellence. 

Please contact Rocki Strader if you would like more information on any position, or to nominate someone (or yourself). Nominations will close on Friday, February 17, 2012. Thank you for considering this important opportunity.

ALAO Continuing Education Grant

The Academic Library Association of Ohio (ALAO) Continuing Education Grant is awarded each year to support the cost of participating in professional development opportunities. Current ALAO members are eligible to apply for funds to defray the costs of attending any library-related educational opportunity occurring during the 2012 calendar year.

The ALAO Professional Development Committee (PDC) will select the application(s) that best explain how the grant will further the applicant’s professional development. The amount of money available for the 2012 Continuing Education Grant Program is $2,500. These funds may be awarded to one individual or divided among two or more top-ranked applicants. The PDC will take into consideration the amount of funding the applicant’s employer will provide for the request, as well as what the employer provided during the past fiscal year. The PDC will notify award recipients and will arrange payment. Within sixty days of the educational event, the recipient must submit a brief report to the PDC confirming proof of attendance.

Please note that awards equal to or greater than $600 USD are subject to taxation and will be reported to the Internal Revenue Service. Recipients of awards equal to or greater than $600 USD must provide their social security number to the ALAO fiscal agent prior to disbursement of award monies.

Please complete the online application for the grant at http://www.alaoweb.org/events. Be sure to provide the required documentation, including a description of how the continuing education opportunity will further your professional development and an itemized list of associated costs. The deadline for application is January 20, 2012.

If you have any questions, please contact the PDC Chair, Krista McDonald at: mcdonak@muohio.edu.

*Apply Now for ALAO Continuing Education Grant was originally published on the ALAO Blog, 1/6/12