Non-fiction Sunday

When selecting books to read, I typically select chapter books that I think would appeal to my students in grades 2-5. In an effort to broaden my range I decided to bring home several non-fiction books that I found interesting. Wrapped up in my afghan to ward off the chill I curled up with my six books. Quickly working through my stack I found that I enjoyed the experience so much that I have christened today as Non-fiction Sunday. I will try to make it a weekly practice to bring home several non-fiction books to read each week. After which I will select several to "formally" review. Not that my reviews are formal, by any means, but that I will officially post my thoughts and comments.

So...how do I review the wide range that is non-fiction? I consider many aspects from the ease of the text, the depth of the information and the illustrations. As a teacher I appreciate the few authors that include research notes. I hope to use these books as an introduction to research. Information picture books would make a great alternative to the typical research paper. I just now need to figure out the details.

Thoughts?

Shameless begging

OK, so I'm going to be a little shameless and beg for your vote. This award is administered by the ALA and supported by The Carnegie Corporation of New York and the New York Times and will award $5,000 to ten librarians. Wow! I mean WOW! That's huge, really, really, huge.

So I ask...please nominate me. The money would be such an added bonus to my school library. I know...this is supposed to be a personal accomplishment. But how could it be when winning the award would be dependent on how I impact my school staff and students? After all, wouldn't a wonderful impact be the updating of the reference section? Or perhaps a major acquisition of Spanish titles? Oh, oh, what about adding a graphic novel section to entice those reluctant readers? Or even better yet, the creation of a Parent/Child Take Home reading section?

I know, I know, no one wants to hear how small my budget is. After all, I know of libraries that are considerably worse off when it comes to money. But this is about me. Well, not really me, but my library. So here's a bit of information to help you complete your form and send in that nomination.

This is my seventh year in the library of Mark Twain School in Wheeling Illinois. We are a PK-5 Title I school with a predominate Spanish speaking population. In addition to serving as librarian I also organize many family learning events, student clubs, and an after school program.

Our extremely popular Family Field Trips are held throughout the year with our premier event held annually on Columbus Day. Each year we visit a major downtown museums and other local venues, bringing over 300 parents and children together in fun cultural activities. In collaboration with my local public library we were able to facilitate the creation and growth of Family Reading Nights throughout their patron area. When we are not traveling to the library to enjoy their program we are hosting our own. One of the biggest impacts on our families are our Family Learning nights which brings parents and students back to school for evenings of learning and fun.

In addition to our family events we also provide noon and after school activities for our students to expand their interests. One of our most popular has been our knitting club, their joy upon completing their first scarf is one of the most heart warming experiences. All the staff involved donated their time and talents. I even got my left-handed mom to visit and help out.

I hold a BA in Elementary Education from Elmhurst College, a Master's in Informational Science and Learning Technology from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and a Master's in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign. In addition to promoting reading and learning at school I am also becoming increasingly active in my state library association, serving on our new book award committee.

So...now that you have the facts. I'll beg one last time. Please, please, please...nominate me for this award so that I can in turn create something new and wonderful for my students, staff, and parents.

Thoughts?

The reality of library purchases

The reality is...there just isn't enough money to go around. I originally was going to title this posting "the new reality..." then I realized that perhaps the lack of funding wasn't really such a "new" situation. This past week I spent the better part of two hours selecting which new books I would like to purchase. Then I spent the next hour crossing out what I couldn't afford and agonizing over what to keep on the list and what to cut. In the end I went from wanting $3500 in books to purchasing $1046. BIG difference! Of course this was just my English purchases. My Spanish/Bilingual purchases didn't really take much of a hit since there are always less quality Spanish/Bilingual books to choose from. And, given that my bilingual students account for the majority of my student body AND I'm still trying to build my Spanish sections I try balance my spending between English and Spanish purchases.

Well my red pen yielding moments got me to thinking about overall school library budgets. According to School Library Journal's Spending Survey, of 4/1/2009, the median expenditure in 2007-2008 for books and periodicals was $12.65 per pupil. I have a mere $7.70. And that includes an increase I managed to receive in order to purchase some Playaways. The difference between my budget and the median ($2400) would have allowed me to spare the red pen and purchase almost all the books from my list.

Which leads me to ask the question...Why do some districts and/or school administrators value their school libraries more than others?

Thoughts?