Meet Diane Stauffer
Diane Stauffer is the High School Librarian at the Evelyn Crowder Memorial Library at Jerome High School. She has been in the library field since college. “During my training for my library degree I was placed in a brand new elementary school and started the library from nothing. I was in the work/study program as an assistant to the library science professor and accompanied him when he was invited to evaluate school libraries for accreditation. I graduated from Eastern Montana College (now Montana State Billings) in 1974 with a major in business and a minor in library science. I had two children and stayed home with them until 1979 when I began teaching typing here at JHS. During my 11 years in the classroom, I also taught shorthand and record keeping (which included a big unit on personal finance),” she said. This is her 18th year as the librarian at Jerome High. The school serves approximately 940 students in grades 9 – 12.
Diane came from a very small farming community in Montana. “The library at my school was pretty sad. Since my business degree brought me to secondary education, I was in the right place at the right time when this position became available. I felt very fortunate to have the opportunity to create a library where students wanted to be.”
She also felt fortunate when she heard the high school and public library were each receiving $1 million from the estate of Evelyn Crowder. “At the Grand Opening of the new library, we were able to show a video of Evelyn Crowder filmed by her attorney explaining why she wanted to donate $1 million to build a new library for the high school. She explained that it would be a gift that would keep on giving for years and years to come. Her story is an interesting one.” To go on a virtual tour of the beautiful facility, click on this pdf document to see photos of the library. Diane has also shared the wonderful facility with other librarians in the area for LiLI-D training and other meetings.
In addition to working in a state-of-the-art library, Diane says she enjoys when the students and even some teachers get really excited to see that I’ve acquired a book that they want to read. She says the students request books all the time. “They love to tell me what I should buy. I take my Book Club to Barnes and Noble, usually in March, to hear book talks and choose books they would like to read. I also speak to classes, upon request, prior to a research project. The English staff brings the 9th graders in for a tour of the library in the fall.”
When asked what she considers her biggest success and challenge she says the biggest success would “have to be surviving the move from the old library. My biggest challenge is upholding the ‘no food or drink’ rule. Bottled water is allowed, but that’s it. This is the fourth year in the new library and the members of the School Board and Foundation have commented that it looks as good now as the day it was opened,” she said.
Diane had a tough time listing her favorite children’s author or book because she likes so many of them. “But when my children were little, they loved me to read What Was That, by Geda Bradley. It’s a story about night noises. My granddaughters like Pigs in the House, by Steven Kroll.” As a child she read the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. And now she just started reading the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich.
When Diane is away from work, she makes music. “For 28 years I was heavily involved in musical theater and starred in several of them. But my energy level has dwindled so I am retired from that. I now sing and play the flute with a band. We performed at the Jerome County Fair, and the Thousand Springs Nature Conservancy Festival in the Snake River Canyon. I have also recorded (myself singing) in a professional studio. I only shared copies with family and friends. I enjoy travelling, reading, and going to movies.”
Pralines and Cream is Diane’s favorite ice cream flavor.
It’s not often we get to see a million dollar school library and we appreciate the time it took Diane to take the photos she sent as well as being profiled in this issue. We also wanted to thank her for hosting some recent ICFL training sessions there and giving back to the Idaho Library Community. Thanks, Diane!
Library to Library
Idaho Libraries Utilize Retailing Methods
Last issue we highlighted some of the retailing techniques used at the Parma High School Library. This issue we hear from two more librarians who attended the "Trading Spaces" workshop about what changes they have made to their libraries.
Jane Somerville, director at the Stanley Community Public Library District, said she really liked the idea of baskets or bins. "I went through all the picture books and took out the paperbacks that always get lost in the stacks. I put them in plastic tubs on top of the shelves with the hardback picture books. The kids can take the entire bin off the shelf for browsing. This also eliminated a need to weed to make room for new books! I moved the board books down to the lowest shelf and also put books with tapes on the lowest shelf. The browsing bin now has spots for individual authors, i.e. Dr Suess in several bins, Jan Brett, Stephen Kellog, etc. These can easily be switched monthly (or whenever I get around to it!). I also like the idea of stacking series or books by the same author. I haven't had a chance to get to the YA room yet, but I’ll be doing some rearranging there as well in the winter.”
Susan Nickel, NBCT Teacher Librarian at Capital High School in Boise, is in the middle of transforming their library. “We are in the process of getting new tables and chairs. We are teaming up with the Distributive Ed teacher to have a coffee shop in the library. We also plan to get a circ desk that is ADA compliant. We hope new carpet will be installed over the summer. We will be transforming the walls, shelving, reading areas, etc. too."
Are you making changes to your library? Revamping your teen space? Trying some new display methods? We want to hear and see what you're up to! Send a quick e-mail to Stephanie and we'll send a new book to add to your "new" space. We also have some great books in the ICFL Collection about retailing and merchandising your library. Click on this bibliography or search the catalog. The "Merchandising Strategies" DVD shown at the "Trading Spaces" workshop is now available to check out (although you may need to place a hold on it since it's popular!).
Hello, Goodbye!
The Garden City Public Library held a “Hello, Goodbye” party for its children’s librarians in December. Children could say hello to Gabriela Magnuson, the new children’s librarian, and goodbye to Melody Eisler, who was recently hired as a librarian at Boise Public Library’s new branch at Collister.
Gabriela was also featured in a great article by The Idaho Statesman. You can read the article at www.idahostatesman.com/life/story/265596.html. The story was also picked up nationally by Reading Rocket’s news feed. Congratulations, Gabriela and Garden City Public!
Young Adult Corner
Idaho librarians explore new technologies to improve services to teens
Thirty school and public librarians met face-to-face in Boise in January before diving into a six-week online course exploring “New Technologies and Literacies for Teens.” This is the second year the Idaho Commission for Libraries has worked with YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) to provide training in Web 2.0 tools and how to use those tools in libraries.
During the first meeting the group talked about some of the challenges of keeping up with technology. Five librarians who attended the first session in 2006 were on hand to talk about the projects they developed as a result of attending the previous training. The group also watched video clips from the Digital Natives Focus Groups, set up Instant Messaging accounts, and talked to each other about what they hope to get out of the course.
“Getting everyone together was great way to start the year. We were really pleased with the response since every spot was filled and were also pleased that half of the participants this year are from school libraries,” ICFL library consultant Sue Walker said.
Sue coordinates the Talking Book Services at ICFL and will be taking the online course with the other participants. “Newer technologies offer so many opportunities to increase users’ access to the printed word, including those with disabilities. I hope to be able to incorporate them into our outreach throughout the state when I complete the course,” she said.
The group will get together in Boise again on February 22. By then, they will be familiar with wikis, pod casts, MySpace, Second Life, and other social networking sites and tools that teens use daily. They will also talk with teens in their communities about how they use technology and how they perceive the library as part of their lives. The final project for the class is developing the start of a service plan for utilizing some of the things learned in class in the library.
We hope participants will share what they’ve learned in upcoming issues of The Scoop!
Book Look
ALA Announces Award Winners
The American Library Association (ALA) announced the top books, video and audiobooks for children and young adults - including the Caldecott, King, Newbery, Schneider Family and Printz awards - at its January Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia.
A list of all ALA Youth Media Awards for 2008 can be found at www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2008/january2008/announce08.htm .
Upcoming Events
Apply now to participate in the 2008 Idaho Jump Start kindergarten registration program. The Read to Me Program will send free books for children registering for kindergarten and early literacy packets for parents to anyone who applies. Public libraries, school libraries, or Parent Teacher Organizations may apply. The online application is available at http://libraries.idaho.gov/jumpstart-ap. We're hoping to reach more families with this important message this year!
There is still room at the Reaching Out: Connecting with Your Spanish-Speaking Community workshops. Learn and share information about how your library can best meet the needs of the Spanish speaking community, ultimately identifying ways in which library services and technology can improve their lives. For more information see http://libraries.idaho.gov/reaching-out.
Held the first full week in March, Teen Tech Week urges teens to use their libraries for the different technologies they offer, such as DVDs, databases, audiobooks, electronic games, and more. It's a great time to promote e-audiobooks and the LiLI Databases. See www.ala.org/teentechweek for more information.
Read Across America Day will be celebrated March 3, 2008. See www.nea.org/readacross for more information and resources.
Summer Reading News
Get some terrific books for your library by participating in the 2008 Read for Your Library Program!
Public libraries are encouraged to partner with up to three elementary schools in your community to receive 20 great hardback books for your library AND 20 hardback books for each of your partner schools! To take at look the great titles your library could receive (worth over $300 retail), click on this pdf document. Please note that we have ordered those titles, but can’t always get the quantities we request and may need to make substitutions. You and your partner(s) will also receive a Summer Reading flag.
Find the application at http://libraries.idaho.gov/08summer-reading. Mail, fax or submit it online by March 14.
To get the books, you need to:
- Attach a support letter from each of your partner school’s principal(s).
- Attach IRI scores (www.sde.state.id.us/iri/iristats/IRIAnalysis.asp) for each partner school.
- Set participation goals with your partner school(s).
- Set up a fall recognition event at each school.
- Track partner school participation and submit the number by September 10, 2008.
- Make at least one spring presentation to parents, educators or community members at a place other than the library.
Letter writing & student tracking tips, reading certificates and more can be found at http://libraries.idaho.gov/08summer-reading. If you have any questions about the program, please contact Peggy or Stephanie any time.
School Zone
Picturing America℠
In 2007, Nancy VanDinter, school librarian at Bishop Kelly High School in Boise, applied for a Picturing America℠ grant. The goal of Picturing America℠ is to enhance the teaching, study, and understanding of American history and culture by bringing some of America's greatest works of art into school classrooms and public libraries.
Recently, the posters arrived at Bishop Kelly, and Nancy send us this report:
"After we announced that we had received our Picturing America℠ art prints we were pleasantly surprised by the immediate and enthusiastic response from our faculty. Across the curriculum, biology, history, English, music and art teachers wanted to use the prints in their classrooms. Bishop Kelly High School is a pilot recipient of Picturing America℠, an initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities in cooperation with the American Library Association. We were awarded 20 double-sided posters and a Teachers Resource Book that contains information on each image, as well as ideas for classroom activities in multiple subject areas. We also have access to a useful website. In addition to checking out the posters we will display them in the library in a weekly rotating exhibit.
"The posters represent a wide range of American art. They include such diverse works as Gilbert Stewart's painting of George Washington, quilts from the 19th and 20th centuries, a photo of Frank Lloyd Wright's house, Fallingwater, and James Karales' dramatic photo Selma-to-Montgomery March for Voting Rights in 1965. The collection represents a range of different aspects of American history and culture. The grant application was easy and short. The 24"x 36" posters are durable and of high quality. They will last for years and will be a way for us to expose our students to important works of American art on a continuous basis."
For more information and to apply online, visit the NEA Picturing America℠ website: http://picturingamerica.ala.org/index.php. Application deadline is April 15, 2008.
Know the Numbers
Facts About Idaho's Head Start Program
Head Start has existed in Idaho since 1965. During the 2006-2007 program year, 4,727 Idaho children were enrolled in federally funded Head Start/Early Head Start programs in Idaho. Idaho Head Start currently serves only 25% of the eligible low-income children (this includes the recent TANF supplement to the program). The average income for Head Start families is between $6,000 and $9,000 per year. Head Start serves 72 communities in Idaho. (Source: http://www.idahoheadstartassoc.net/ )
A Closer Look at LSTA
LSTA Is Not a Four Letter Word
or the FAQs on Writing Your Own Grant Application
by Tina Cherry
Here is a tongue-in-cheek imaginary FAQs about writing a LSTA grant proposal. These are questions I might have asked before writing my library’s wildly successful “Smartest Card Rocks J Town Library” advocacy grant. Well, I would have asked them if I wasn’t afraid to look as dumb as I felt… The answers are what I learned through doing it. And it was wildly successful. No false modesty here!
Q: Don’t you have to have a special talent or experience for that kind of writing?
A: You need more will than talent. Talent is overrated, or as my daughter’s drum teacher says “talent is 99% hard work.” Aim for correct spelling and clear sentences.
Q: I’m terrible at budgeting. How will I ever figure it all out?
A: Miraculously, the budget almost works itself out as you write. No kidding! It also helps to have a sympathetic mathamagician around when it all looks like binary code. You’ll have to make a few calls to vendors to get estimates.
Q: How can I stay true to my idea and fulfill the grant requirements?
A: Brainstorm. There’s no substitute. Think big, don’t be scared. Give the grant application what it wants while incorporating your ideas. I wanted to give teens something for getting a new library card. The grant application wanted us to educate them with anything we gave them; A + B = thumb drives loaded with a teen made video introducing teens to our library. Anne Abrams, ICFL’s Marketing and Advocacy Consultant, helped me tailor my ideas to make them grant-worthy. My library’s Smartest Card grant didn’t look much like my original idea – it evolved into something much better. Focus on the big idea and be flexible enough to alter individual elements until the whole proposal answers both the grant requirements and your library’s vision.
Q: How do I know when my application is ready to send to ICFL? or “I’ve been looking at this for so long that I can no longer see it.”
A: Get a few someones to read it. Listen to their criticism. Send early drafts to your area consultant. Listen to criticism. Pour yourself a cup of whatever comforts you and rewrite the rough spots. You’re almost done!
Q: What if I win the grant and fail to achieve the stated goals?
A: ICFL understands that you’re charting new waters. There might be sharks. The thought of failure is really scary, I know! But if you won’t try for fear of failure, you can’t succeed in reaching those goals either. Remember, in the worst case scenario, there are no library firing squads in Idaho!
Q: What is the first step?
A: For me, it was to take the LSTA grant guide home with me and read it in bed instead of Stephanie Meyer’s vampire books. It was a tough sacrifice, but worth it in the end. Pay special attention to the sample grant proposals. They can ease your fears about writing for a grant, and they might spark an idea.
Q: Then what?
A: Scribble some notes and talk to your ICFL area consultant about your idea. They will let you know if you should move forward or try another idea. They might even suggest something brilliant that your idea sparked.
Q: Where do the ideas come from?
A: You steal them! Read (or reread) the Perceptions of Digital Natives study that the Commission commissioned. This will help even if you’re target isn’t teens, because what these young adults want is what the future of libraries is. Are. Argh! Read lots of library related blogs to find cutting edge ideas. Find out what hasn’t been done here. Then rearrange it to suit you, your library, your target, and the ICFL grant guidelines.
Q: I don’t have time to write a grant proposal.
A: Hey, that isn’t a question! But yes, you do. If you have time to weed, file, shelve, catalog, process, chat with customers, run programs, repair books, troubleshoot computers, and all of the other things most everyone in small libraries everywhere does – you just let some things wait a little here and there. Small sacrifice for potentially big reward. Your coworkers will eventually forgive you – or at least they’ll pretend to.
So, you’ve overcome your fears, right? It’s time to dig up that LSTA guide and make friends with it. My library’s Smartest Card grant netted us new professionally printed brochures, a new IM reference service, a two month boost in paid hours for me and a coworker, 98 attendees at a teen program, a huge increase in both student card usage and YA materials circulation, and 264 new student library card holders. (Can I say that again?) And 264 new student card holders! What is your dream?
Tips & Tools
New Books!
The Idaho Commission for Libraries Professional Development Service (PDS) provides access to numerous titles in the field of library and information sciences. Free shipping to and from your library is provided! See http://libraries.idaho.gov/pds for more information. The following are a few of the recent additions.
Literacy Libraries and Learning: Using Books and Online Resources to Promote Reading, Writing, and Research, edited by Ray Doiron and Marlene Asselin, Pembroke, 2005. This thought-provoking book discusses the literacy needs of students and the changing responsibilities of classroom teachers and teacher-librarians in helping students become better readers, writers, and researchers. [ICFL 372.6 LITERAC]
The Leadership Challenge, by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner, John Wiley, 2007. Building on the knowledge base of the previous books, this fourth edition is grounded in research and presents extensive with a diverse group of leaders at all levels in a wide variety of organizations from around the world. It is updated and revised for a new generation of leaders living and working in a global environment. [ICFL 658.4 KOUZES]
Assessing Student Learning in the School Library Media Center, AASL, 2007.
This book is a compilation of contributions from the 2006 American Association of School Librarians Fall Forum participants. [ICFL 027.8 ASSESSI]
Creating Cyber Libraries: An Instructional Guide for School Library Media Specialists, by Kathleen Carver, Libraries Unlimited, 2002. Before the Internet school library media centers were bound by place, collection size, and time. Now libraries that require only an Internet connection to retrieve information are called cyber-libraries and they offer unprecedented opportunities to provide users with a learning and research-rich environment that is unsurpassed in the history of education. [ICFL 027.8 CARVER]
We the People Bookshelf Grant
Public and school libraries can apply for the We the People Bookshelf until January 25th. Through the program 3,000 libraries will receive a set of classic books for young readers related tot he theme "Created Equal." This program is possible through a partnership between the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association. Applicants may include public libraries or K-12 school libraries (public, private, parochial, charter schools, and home school consortia). More information including requirements, application, and the titles in the "Created Equal" collection are available at www.ala.org/wethepeople.
News Beyond Idaho
Library Language Included in Head Start Bill
The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate conferees have approved a conference report for the Improving Head Start Act (H.R. 1429). Head Start is a comprehensive child development program with the aim of increasing the school readiness of young children in low-income families.
The American Library Association advocated for language to be included in the bill that provides opportunities for libraries to play a greater role in Head Start programs. That language was included in the conference report. By recognizing the important role that public libraries play in improving literacy and school readiness in the Head Start reauthorization bill, libraries across the country can continue to develop new, innovative programs to provide young children with the tools they need to succeed in school and life. The bill has been sent to the President for his signature.
The conference report calls for applicants to coordinate and collaborate with other public or private entities providing early childhood education and development programs and services for young children in the community involved, including: (vii) local entities, such as a public or school library, for:
i. conducting reading readiness programs;
ii. developing innovative programs to excite children about the world of books, including providing fresh books in the Head Start classroom;
iii. assisting in literacy training for Head Start teachers; and
iv. supporting parents and other caregivers in literacy efforts.
For more information, see "Head Start," American Library Association, October 11, 2006. www.ala.org/ala/washoff/woissues/earlychildhood/headstart/headstart.cfm (Accessed January 23, 2008)
Talk Back: We welcome your feedback on anything in The Scoop. Just e-mail Peggy or Stephanie and we'll print your comments in The Scoop.
Last updated: January 25, 2008 - 9:08am by stephanie.baile...
