This information applies to 2012. I'm not sure if this will be an annual event. Connected Educator Month is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, and several organizations are sponsoring programs and activities, including AASL and SETDA, the State Educational Technology Directors Association. So what is CEM, anyway? "Online communities and learning networks are helping hundreds of thousands of educators learn, reducing isolation and providing 'just in time' access to knowledge and opportunities for collaboration. However, many educators are not yet participating and others aren't realizing the full benefits. In many cases, schools, districts, and states also are not recognizing and rewarding this essential professional learning. For these reasons, the U.S. Department of Education's Connected Educators initiative has made August 2012 Connected Educator Month. Throughout the month, there will be coordinated opportunities to participate in events and activities in dozens of online locations to develop skills and enhance one's personal learning network." As one ad for the program proclaims, it's "all of August, all for free, all online - shape the future of the profession." Explore activities in the starter kit at your own pace: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/38904447/starter-kit-final.pdf

"Banned Books Week (BBW) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. Held during the last week of September, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States." 50 State Salute (Want your library to participate to represent Oregon?): http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/calendarofevents#50statesalute Virtual Read-Out: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/calendarofevents#virtualreadout Ideas and Resources (listed in the column on the left): http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/ideasandresources BBW Promotional Items from ALA Store: http://www.alastore.ala.org/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=269

Some of the text below applies to the 2013 event, but the site's URL stays the same year to year. "World Book Night 2013 is a celebration of literacy by publishers, bookstores, libraries and individuals who love books and reading. On World Book Night 2013, 25,000 'book givers' will each give away 20 copies of a specially-printed, not-for-resale WBN edition of book they have read and loved (from a list of 25-30 titles selected by librarians and booksellers) to complete strangers - people who may never have owned a book of their own. To promote this literacy event, libraries and bookstores - as organizational participants in the event - form a nationwide advocacy and distribution network." Last year was the inaugural event, which happens on April 23rd. If you want your library to participate as a distribution center, fill out the attached application by October 1, 2012. Specific responsibilities of official participants are outlined in the application. The deadline on the form indicates September 1st, but according to discussions on ALAConnect, it was extended by a month. Sign up for the mailing list to learn when applications go online annually: http://www.us.worldbooknight.org/component/forme/?fid=3

"There are some remarkable efforts underway in American schools to invest the next generation of students with the literacy skills needed to innovate, solve problems, and meet unprecedented challenges. Until now, there has been no way to connect these initiatives, to provide models for advancing literacy learning in every subject, to collaborate in identifying and pursuing critical research questions about literacy teaching and learning on a consistent, sustained basis. That's about to change. The National Center for Literacy Education (NCLE) is building a coalition of stakeholders representing the premiere education organizations, policy analysts, researchers, and foundations who are working together to identify and share the plans, practices, support systems, and assessments used by educator teams working to improve literacy learning. NCLE will celebrate the work of successful school teams across the country that are achieving remarkable results in advancing literacy learning, and share what is learned with education policymakers…NCLE is providing the Literacy in Learning Exchange as a free resource to all educator teams. All educators are invited to use the free site to build or further develop a team in their school, district, or across schools/districts, or in their out-of-school setting. Educators that embrace the challenge of sponsoring and supporting a team will be eligible to apply for recognition and support as Centers for Literacy Education." Does your school have (need) a literacy team? If so, hopefully library staff is involved. Centers for Literacy Education, or collaborative groups/teams working toward capacity building for literacy: http://www.literacyinlearningexchange.org/about/centers-literacy-education

Studying about the Oregon State Capitol but can't afford a field trip to visit? Or, do you live too far away from the Capitol to visit? Then consider touring it via a series of short videos posted on the Oregon State Legislature's website. View 2- to 3-minute video segments labeled Rotunda and Seal, Capitol Marble, Tower and Grounds, Senate Chamber, and House Chamber. There's also an 8-minute video about the Golden Pioneer.

A school librarian created a list of resources related to holidays.

"As an initiative of the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) was created in 2002 to be a central and trusted source of scientific evidence for what works in education." See their findings about Accelerated Reader: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/interventionreport.aspx?sid=14.

"The Coretta Scott King Book Awards Donation Grant was created to help build collections and bring books into the lives of children in latchkey, preschool programs, faith-based reading projects, homeless shelters, charter schools and underfunded libraries." Applications are usually due in late January.

"The Awards target innovative and content-rich programs and websites that augment the classroom curriculum and improve teacher productivity, providing parents and teachers with the technology to foster educational excellence. Some selection criteria are academic content, potential for broad classroom use, technical merit, subject approach and management system. Winners are selected from titles submitted by publishers around the world."

Here's information about the Universal Service Program for Schools and Libraries, otherwise known as the e-rate program. A new criteria starting in the 2011-12 school year requires schools to teach students about Internet safety. http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2011/08/internet_safety_ed_now_require.html http://statelibrary.mykansaslibrary.org/?p=10298 Five tips for e-rate success: http://www.eschoolnews.com/2011/11/03/five-tips-for-erate-success/

The Oregon Poetry Association sponsors an annual poetry writing contest for K-12 students. The submission deadline is usually in January or February.

"The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) presents 30 Second Thought Leadership: Insights from Leaders in the School Library Community, a new video podcast series delivering brief and practical advice from respected school library leaders on important questions about school libraries today and in the future."

Most nominations for AASL awards and grants are due in January or February.

This document identifies the major shifts in the English Language Arts & Literacy Common Core standards, including an emphasis on reading informational text.

This blog is maintained by staff in Library Development at the Oregon State Library and is designed to advertise resources in our Library and Information Science collection. Scan the tags and click on School Libraries to view relevant items. You are welcome to suggest titles for purchase. Want to borrow a book? http://www.oregon.gov/OSL/LD/school/index.shtml#Requesting_Materials_from_OSL_ Want to browse the OSL online catalog? http://catalog.willamette.edu/screens/opacmenu_s2.html

It's easy to borrow books from OSL's Library and Information Science Collection.

"Welcome to the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Standards for the 21st-Century Learner Lesson Plan Database, a tool to support school librarians and other educators in teaching the essential learning skills defined in the AASL Standards for the 21st-Century Learner." You can both utilize and contribute lesson plans. http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/guidelinesandstandards/lessonplandatabase/lessonplandb.cfm

"One of the realities some school librarians face in their jobs is pressure by administrators and classroom teachers to label and arrange library collections according to reading levels. Student browsing behaviors can be profoundly altered with the addition of external reading level labels. ..." Do you agree or disagree?

"Empowering Learners advances school library programs to meet the needs of the changing school library environment and is guided by the Standards for the 21st-Century Learner and Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in Action. It builds on a strong history of guidelines published to ensure that school library program planners go beyond the basics to provide goals, priorities, criteria, and general principles for establishing effective library programs." This book can be ILLed from the Oregon State Library: http://www.oregon.gov/OSL/LD/school/index.shtml#Requesting_Materials_from_OSL_.

"How are AASL's new learning standards, the Standards for the 21st-Century Learner, incorporated into the school library program? This publication from AASL takes an in-depth look at the strands of the Standards for the 21st-Century Learner and the indicators within those strands." This book can be ILLed from the Oregon State Library: http://www.oregon.gov/OSL/LD/school/index.shtml#Requesting_Materials_from_OSL_.