South Texas Librarian

Podcasting revisited

2011-06-05T12:35:00.000-07:00

Book trailers at the library

2011-06-05T12:24:00.000-07:00

I really like the idea of book trailers. I want to use them often for next school year. At the moment I do not have a working data projector, but one is on order for me and hopefully it will arrive by the start of the school year. I recently attended a workshop on making book trailers and it got me excited about making some for my students. Below you will find the trailer I made during the workshop but really it is geared at middle school or high school students. This trailer is for Shipbreaker by Paolo Bacigulpi.

It's been awhile!

2011-06-05T12:21:00.000-07:00

Wow! It's really been awhile since I've blogged about my life in the library at North San Juan Elementary. Since my last postings, I've had a baby boy and things have changed a little in the library. Due to district wide cutbacks, I've lost my library aide. So despite having over 900 students that I serve I'm hanging in there. I'm feeling optimistic about the coming school year. I feel lucky to have a supportive principal who has mentioned some changes to my schedule next year that will hopefully make it easier to manage the load. I'm hoping to update all summer long with new tech finds and plans for next school year.

We have a new test coming up in our state, the STARR test and I plan to learn all I can to have be an integral part of preparing our students for this test.

DE Techbook

2011-05-28T07:40:00.000-07:00

I got a chance to preview UnitedStreaming's science resource called TechBook recently. How cool! I really love the way each area is organized and easy to follow. I checked out 5th grade matter and energy. I liked the way it is organized in tabs of engage, explore, explain, elaborate, evaluate. Each one of these tabs has videos about the topic. There are lesson ideas, hands on, and evaluation ideas. I am previewing this after my students have already left for the school year, so I didn't get to have anyone try it out. But I am sure that it would really get them interested in science.

Cool library website

2009-07-29T10:15:00.001-07:00

I am always on the look out for great library websites to inspire me. Here is one I stumbled upon while looking for book coverart. ACPL Teens. I will definitely be going back to this website as I start updating my own library page for the coming school year.

Stakle anyone?

2009-07-29T10:07:00.000-07:00

Stackle is a Jenga-style physics game where you have to remove blocks from the structure and place them on top without causing it to collapse

Online Physics Games

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

2009-07-29T09:52:00.000-07:00

This is another audio book I listed to with my daughter. She saw the movie first and just had to read the book. Since it was not available at out local libraries I ended up purchasing it at http://www.audiblekids.com/ as an instant download. It was a great investment because my daughter was so excited about starting right away on it.

Although some might find the storyline dark, my daughter and I really enjoyed getting lost in the fantasy of it. In this story, Coraline is living a humdrum life. She has just moved into a new house, her parents are constantly too busy for her, and she loves to explore. When she finds a secret door, she follows a path that takes her to another reality. In this world, her other mother and father are perfect. They cook yummy food, play games with her, and give her lots of attention. But, everything is not as it appears to be. Before long, Coraline wants to go home but she is trapped in this alternate reality. How will she escape?

This book reminded me of another book by Neil Gaiman that I read recently called the Graveyard Book. If you liked Coraline you might like this one as well.

Ivy + Bean and the Ghost that had to go

2009-07-29T09:45:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed listening to this audio book with my daughter Haille. After reading Ivy + Bean on her own, we decided to listen to book two in the car together. You can check it out on audio at the Pharr Library.

Ivy is an imaginative student who is always getting in trouble in class for talking too much or being off task. But she doesn't mean to cause trouble...HONEST. Bean is her bestfriend...who usually just goes along with what Ivy suggests. When Ivy decides that a Ghost has started to haunt the girls bathroom, pretty soon the whole school knows about it. No one want to go to the bathroom anymore, even the teachers start to suspect something. Ivy + Bean decide to create a potion to banish the ghost forever... the problem is that the bathroom is being watched by the teachers...not to mention the fact that the ghost might get them first. Will they survive?

Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card

2009-07-29T09:36:00.000-07:00

After reading Ender's Game I really got hooked on the Enders series of books. However, although I highly enjoyed this book, I don't think it is appropriate for elementary students.

This book takes place 3,000 years after Ender and his sister leave Earth and travel around the universe. Because of their time in space they age much slower than normal and the story begins when Ender is about in his 30s. He goes by Andrew (his birth name) and he is an official Speaker for the Dead. His job in society is to travel around to different planets and speak for the dead after they have passed. The goal is to clear up any confusion about the departed person and set things right. When he gets an urgent message to preform this ritual for a planet that has the only known alien race coexisting on it...Ender sets out right away. His hope is to get to know this new race nicknamed the Piggies.

This race turns out to be very intelligent and interesting. I found myself immersed in the storyline long after it ended. Ender and his sister became tangible to me...and the Piggies...I found myself also wanting to know them better.

Highly recommend for 8th grade and up!

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

2009-07-29T09:27:00.000-07:00

Well...I have been meaning to write this up for a while now. I finished book 2 in the Harry Potter series about a month ago! But during the summer it is easy to allow time to get away from you.

First of all I must note that I did listen to this as an audio book. I have found this is extremely convenient for me...since I am a busy body. I can multitask and listen while I wash clothes or cook.

In book two, Harry is back at Hogwarts although the year starts out rather bumpy when he misses the Hogwarts Express and he and Ron must borrow Mr. Weasley's enchanted muggle car and fly there! Also something is not right in the halls of the school. Messages start appearing about the Chamber of Secrets and people are being attacked! Will Hermonie, Ron and Harry figure out the clues fast enough?

Be sure to check out Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets to find out...

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

2009-07-05T07:39:00.000-07:00

Based on the recommendation of my wonderful principal, I borrowed Ender's Game in audio to read this summer. I have found that I really like to listed to audio books. When I first took young adult literature at Sam Houston State University and Dr. Lesesne recommended that we ourselves should use audio books and promote them with our students, I thought why...reading it yourself is always superior! I have to say it is a whole new experience listening to it.
Ender's Game was based on a novella the author wrote in 1977! It is a fast paced sci-fi book. Set in the future, where families are only allotted two children, Ender is a 3rd. He was commissioned by the government to work as a space invader. Since an early age he wore a devise that monitored his every movement. The government watched all the time in hopes that he might really be the ONE who would save the world. Aliens had invaded many years before Ender's birth and he was specifically born to fight this species of aliens when they return. The only problem is...no one asked Ender what he'd like to do. He is isolated since no one at school wants to associate with a 3rd. His brother hates him because he is so special and when no one is looking he tortures Ender with mind games and abuse. I really enjoyed this book, although I don't know that I would recommend it for an elementary school. There are some bad words used and some inappropriate scenes. If you are in middle school/ high school this book would be better suited for you.

Lower Rio Grande Valley Collection- UTPA Library

2009-06-29T07:40:00.000-07:00

At UTPA one of the special collections is the Lower Rio Grande Valley Collection. This collection is held on the first floor to the left of the circulation area. Materials included in the collection pertain to all areas from Laredo to Rio Grande City. The nothern most Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, and Coahuila are also represented in the collection. There is a serials collection of newspapers and magazine produced in these regions. A complete listing of these serials is located online. Titles are available in both English and Spanish.

In addition there is a Chicano collection that focuses on the Chicano movement. Also there is a map collection of South Texas and Northern Mexico. One feature I find neat are the oral histories recorded by locals. What a neat way to preserve your heritage! Vertical reference files are available with local materials. Genealogy resources on local family history is present as well. The room is decorated with artifacts and artwork from this region.

I think this room would be very useful to an author writing a book about the area or a person with a special interest in the area's history. I think it is a very useful feature of the library.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Audio

2009-06-29T07:31:00.000-07:00

I feel like I might be the last librarian on the face of the planet who has not read a single Harry Potter book. I don't know what took me so long. I did try when it first came out, I swear I did. Maybe it wasn't the right point in my life to read it. It just didn't hold my attention back then. This time however, I really fell in love with the series.

I decided to listen to the audio for a few reasons. It came high recommended to me by Professor Nana (Dr. Lesesne.) And we all know she definitely knows what she's talking about when she says a book or audio is good. Some things I loved about this audio version was the many different voices the narrator uses for the different character. Even though he is a man it was very believable when he played female characters. I liked the faced pace feel of this book. However, I started out listening with my daughter who will be in third grade and it was too fast for her. Perhaps that is still okay, since this book is actually at a fifth grade reading level. I went right away on got book 2 on audio and and I will be sure to review it here as well.

I'm enjoying my summer. I love pleasure reading/ listening. I am also enjoying being crafty and a little traveling with my family. How are you spending your summer?

University of Texas Pan American- 6/24

2009-06-26T08:31:00.000-07:00

I was able to visit UTPA (my alma mater) on Wednesday 6/24. Things sure have changed since I graduated in 2000! The library has since expanded quite a bit. I did not get a tour, instead I did my own research ahead of time and just wandered around taking it all in. According to their webpage, "the collection consists of more than 417,300 volumes, 21,500 government documents, 5,300 audiovisual materials, and 2,035 annual periodical title subscriptions."

The library lobby is very large and spacious. Students can walk through it without actually accessing the library. This makes it more convenient than walking around the library to reach your class. There are many snack items for sale in the lobby. Also there are many display cases with student work. Seating is staggered around the room.

The first floor has theft prevention devices that you walk through on the way in and out. There is a circulation desk for assistance. In addition, there are popular new books displayed here. Back behind the circulation area, there are library instructional classrooms. This is where librarians conduct classes on how to research, etc. Among other things, there is also a writing lab where students can seek assistance with research writing. Down the back hallway is an art gallery of student work and outside contributors.

The second floor consists of research materials including print journals, government documents, reference books, research and internet computers. The reference desk is located here as well as administration. Dispersed throughout are study carrels as well as small group study rooms. There are seventy five computers available for research located right beside the reference desk. Call numbers A-L are located in the stacks on this floor.

The third floor holds audio visual materials as well as reserve materials on hold for students in particular classes. Microform readers, microfiche are located on this floor as well as a help desk. The general fiction book collection is located here and classified according to LOC. There is a large lounge area on this floor. Call numbers M-Z are located in the stacks on this floor.

The fourth floor has a brand new media lab with state of the art technology. Bound periodicals are located here, as well as oversized items, and the juvenille collection. Group study rooms as well as individual study carrels are available on this floor.

George Bush Presidential Library 6/15/09

2009-06-22T07:14:00.000-07:00

When I came to this library, I really didn't know what to think. I thought that a presidential library was just a library funded by a president. I figured it would have displays about the president...maybe a museum about him. But...I really believed that this library would have stacks of books for checkout or research....SHOCKER! It didn't have books for check out!

I had the pleasure of getting a "special" tour from Zachary Roberts, archives Technician at the George Bush Presidential Library. We went through a special entrance to view the research area. Mr. Roberts was very informative. In fact, it was a little hard for me to keep up with all the great information he was giving me. Once we arrived at the second floor, he showed me their "clean" research room. He said what this means is that no purses, backpacks, food or drinks allowed. One technician is always on staff to supervise. Patrons must make appointments and be escorted in. I asked Mr. Roberts how patrons go about finding the materials they need at the library and he broke down the steps for me:
1. Patron calls and requests materials to be gathered (usually this can be accomplished within 30min to 1 hour.)
2. Patron views the materials in the research room under the supervision of technicians.
3. There is a separate room for lunch, if a patron plans to be at the library for many hours.
4. No photos allowed.
5. Technicians ensure security of the documents.

Next we went to see the main stacks (also on the second floor.) As I walked in, I was shocked...the shelves were filled with boxes and boxes and BOXES...no books. Mr. Roberts informed me that this library has about 50 million pages of materials from George Bush's presidency. I noticed two types of boxes on the shelves. One was the traditional brown shipping box, labeled with marker. The other type of box was gray and looked kind of like magazine boxes with a typed up label of the contents. The brown boxes were unprocessed, while the gray boxes are processed. According to Mr. Roberts, only 15% of the collection is processed. Each processed box has a code. For example. FI= Finance and BB= Barbara Bush. Besides having a main identification code such as FI or BB, each box also has a unique identifier and then a code is attached to each document inside the box to facilitate location at a later time. Mr. Roberts' job duties are as follows- rotate on phone reference and work on classifying materials. In order to classify each document an archivist must sit and read each document and determine whether it meets all guidelines in order to be made public. If it is private/ personal or a national security risk then those items are sent to a clearing house to determine whether it can be made public or marked classified. Once a box of items is classified, it must be labeled and imputted into the database. Finally it is ready for research.

This library has approximately 35 staff members on duty each day, 12 of which are archival, 4 research technicians, and 4 AV/ Media personnel. Something I didn't realize is that this library was a federal library. Also records for a presidential library are not released until five years after the presidency has concluded.

I was not taken to the third floor however, Mr. Roberts told me about the collection there. This floor is dedicated to 3-D items the president may have received as gifts during his presidency. At the end of a president's term, he may choose to purchase the gifts given to him at market value or allow the library to store and display these items. The museum does their best to rotate these items into the museum collection.

George Bush Museum Tour 6/15/09

2009-06-19T17:10:00.000-07:00

On Monday, June 15th my family and I went to the George Bush Library in College Station. First we went through the museum exhibits. The museum was much larger than I had anticipated. In fact, to be quite honest I really thought the museum would be small and most of the building I would be seeing would be a library. I truly learned a lot by visiting this establishment.

The museum was presented in chronological order. We picked up an audio wand to listen to information while walking through the museum. While this was useful, we found ourselves putting it aside and immersing ourselves at our own pace. The first display includes a presidential limousine and other symbols representing the presidency. Scrapbooks of the Bush Family were also displayed throughout the museum. There is a WWII section with a restored 1944 TBM Avenger. I thought it was neat to see a replica of Barbara's wedding gown and some quotes about George's love for her.

One standout in the museum is the 30 foot tall replica of the Capitol dome which features campaign advertisements and articles. Our family took a picture in a replica of the Oval Office. How neat is that?

The literacy lounge is a resting stop during the museum tour. It is a room filled with sunlight, comfy seating and plenty of children's books. On the TV screen, you can see George and Laura acting goofy. There is a child-size White House playhouse that the kids can play around in.

On the way out, visitors can get a "personalized" letter from the president. You type in your name and whether you want a letter from Barbara or George. Then you choose a question you would like answered.

Riverwalk Waterfall

2009-06-19T16:37:00.000-07:00

Destination Relaxation- San Antonio Style 6/14/09

2009-06-19T16:26:00.000-07:00

I have been reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I really enjoyed the first section about eating and living it up in Italy. While in San Antonio we stayed at La Mansion Del Rio (Omni Hotel). It was such a nice luxurious hotel stay. One morning I was lucky enough to wake up before my family and I went out to the River Walk and enjoyed breakfast on my own. I walked from my hotel to Starbucks and ordered a tray of fruit and cheeses.

It was............PHENOMENAL. I sat by the water in the shade and ate brie and apples, cheddar and Asiago with crackers. Chai Tea Latte. YUM! It was so nice. I sat close enough to a man made waterfall to enjoy the peaceful sounds while I ate. I don't know if I would have thought about how nice a breakfast on my own could be if I hadn't been reading this book.

San Antonio Central Library Mix Book 6/12/09

2009-06-17T13:45:00.000-07:00

For the photo book below I used MixBook. It is a really easy webtool for creating virtual "coffee table" books (and you can choose to pay to have an actual book created of your images as well.)

Using Tabblo to Feature Your Pictures

2009-06-17T12:13:00.000-07:00

Click on the image below to see full size. You can also click on each individual picture once you go to the Tabblo site. Tabblo is fun and easy to use with WYSIWYG technology (what you see is what you get.)

We arrived at the museum on 6/9/09 at about 10am. My daughter Haille (8), was excited to spend some alone time with me.
... See my Tabblo>

Pedro Meyer, Photographer

2009-06-17T11:50:00.000-07:00

My favorite part of the museum was the collection of photographs by Pedro Meyer entitled Heresies. This was the only portion of the museum I was not allowed to take pictures of. I looked online at Meyer's website for some background on him. Meyer's artwork is known for pushing the limits between reality and fiction. As I observed his photographs, I noticed some added element that did not belong in each. It made looking at the photographs very interesting for me. I made it a sort of game to determine what was out of place and why the artist chose to add that element. The collection was titled Heresies for exactly this reason- each image is both true and untrue. After researching him on his website, I was led to ZoneZero, a collection of his artwork online (along with other artists). I especially liked his Self-Portraits collection that is on the Zone Zero website. It has background music and a little background information. I liked the way his shadow is used as his self portrait in one section of the collection. He shoots pictures of his shadow at different angles, different lighting, different locations. It was really quite splendid. I wanted to include a picture of him or his work here, but I didn't have any copyright free photos of him to use.

IMAS Exhibits

2009-06-17T11:27:00.001-07:00

Besides Grossology, there were some other interesting exhibits on display at the International Museum of Arts and Sciences in McAllen. Paul Valdez's Fragments (left) was a neat collage of signage from both Mexico and the United States. Valdez is an instructor at the University of Texas Pan American. According to his statement, he wanted to "capture the feel of the border." It took him three years to paint the images in this display of 450 pieces.

Another exhibit was Ancient Egypt: The Quest for Eternal Life from the private collection of Giovanni Amin. On display were replications of relief panels (right), sarcophagus, and death mask. The sarcophagus (below) was very large (full size I believe.) It was really neat to see these items closeup.

In addition, there was ICONS Stained Glass Windows which originated from St. Paul's Church in Albany, New York dating back to 1914. The room where these windows are on display has been recreated to look like a chapel. The room is dimmed and each window is illunimated from behind. In the center is a bench that resembles a church pew. The room is calm and relaxing. We spent a while here admiring the details in each stained glass window.

Uploading Videos

2009-06-17T10:30:00.001-07:00

When I started the post about IMAS I thought, well it should be easy to upload a video with my Flipcam...and it was...Sort Of. In total, I wanted to make a video of all the clips from Grossology which came out to about 8 1/2 minutes. I created the video but it ended up being more than 300mb. This was too big to upload on Blogger. So I thought well let me try OneTrueMedia... I've used it before and been pleased with the final product. Unfortunately, it kept giving me an error message for the file upload. SO then I thought, well TeacherTube would work...it is certainly educational. However, it too has a file size limit of 100MB. So I ended up having to re-do the video into three short clips of under 100MB. Maybe there is a way to compress the full length video, but I was not sure how to do that. Since the focus was on the exhibit and not how to compress a video I decided to just go ahead and post here as three clips. They can be viewed in any order.

McAllen International Museum 6/9/09

2009-06-17T08:05:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, my daughter Haille and I visited the McAllen International Museum of Arts and Sciences (IMAS). We had a great time spending the morning together at the museum. We started out by exploring their special exhibit called Grossology (or the science of the body.) I had been here once before on a field trip, but I didn't get a chance to fully enjoy the exhibits since I was so busy keeping an eye on the students and taking pictures for the website. I had the chance to take some footage using my FlipCam at the museum. Since all the features of the exhibit were interactive the FlipCam really captured the exhibit better than merely taking pictures. (Although I did do both.)

Preparing for my trip to San Antonio

2009-06-17T07:47:00.000-07:00

Last week on Monday, I called Central Library in Downtown San Antonio to schedule a tour. The person I spoke to was very helpful and scheduled me for 3pm on Friday, June 12th. I searched the web for some background information about this San Antonio library. On their homepage, I noticed the interesting architecture and bright colors. According to their site, the design and colors of the library have "changed the face of downtown." It was designed by Ricardo Legorreta an architect from Mexico. He is well known for bright colors and geometric shapes. This library was built through the funding of a bond issue in with construction beginning in 1993. The doors opened to the public in 1995.

The library has a few special features including the Blue Room created by Stephen Antonakos. This room marks the entrance to the library was designed to have a calming effect on patrons as they enter the library. Another feature is a mural created by Jesse Trevino. The 36 foot long mural he created for the library is a collage of images from San Antonio during World War II.

Interesting points to note- this library is more than twice the size of the former main library. It has six floors above ground on one floor below ground. Its seating capacity is 1,300.

I look forward to arriving at the library on Friday.

6/3/09 Liberty Middle School Library

2009-06-10T13:55:00.000-07:00

On 6/3/09 I met with Mrs. Dee Lopez, librarian at Liberty Middle School in Pharr, TX. This school was a huge change from Ramirez Elementary. Liberty has only been open about seven years. It is state of the art in many ways. It services 1,502 students and has 16,221 books and 1,000AV items. As I walked into the library, I immediately noticed the theft prevention devices at the door. I think this is essential for a secondary library. The circulation desk greets you next. I really like that it is spacious enough to accommodate three people but not so big that it takes up too much room. It has a drop box right as you enter.

Right in front of the circulation desk there is a computer station with 16 student computers for reference and testing and in separate kiosks there are two computers dedicated for OPAC usage.

There are also two leisure areas on either side of the computer area with couches. In the far corners of the library there are quiet areas for independent study. I really like the shelving in the library. Sections of shelving fan out around the library to feature particular areas/ genres. On top of the shelves, there are neat displays of books by series or topic. In the center of the library there are two separate class areas. Each section has eight tables with four chairs each.

This library has two librarians and one aide. This type of seating allows the library accommodate two classes at a time if desired. Each librarian has a private office. In addition, there is a large AV room, where VHS, DVD, Audiobooks and checkout equipment are stored. There is also a workroom, with a copier, tables, refrigerator, and restroom.

It was interesting for me to see the difference between elementary and secondary libraries. I really like the layout and features of this library. My only concern is I don't see much that looks "geared for teenagers." Since the goal should be to get teens to love coming to the library, it should have some finishing touches such as posters, art, decoration, student work, that teens would enjoy.

6/1/09 Ramirez Elementary

2009-06-10T13:31:00.000-07:00

On June 1st, I was able to meet with Lizet Valenciana, librarian at Ramirez Elementary in Pharr. Ramirez Elementary is an older campus (at least 15 years old.) The library is located in a separate building apart from the classrooms. As I walked into the library I immediately noticed it was quite small. The circulation desk was rather large, it took up about 1/4 of the room. The second thing I noticed was that there were not very many books on the shelves. I knew that this school was a recipent of a grant to purchase additional books for the 2008-2009 school year. In total, they received approximately $30,000 which was spent on books, computers, staffing, etc. I did not realize how little books their campus must have had before the grant. The librarian informed me that the goal of the grant was to raise the average age of the collection. Previously it had been in the 1970's. This year she weeded over 700 books from the collection in an effort to make it more current.

During my interview of Mrs. Valenciana, I found out that her school enrollment in 720 students. She has 36 classes which meet on a fixed schedule. She is in rotation with PE and Music for grades 3-5. She says she does not like this schedule and she is asking her principal to take her off of rotation. In total she has 8,149 books in her collection and 519 AV items. The library has very limited seating. Six small tables are arranged in the center of the library with four chairs each for a total of 24 seats. Towards the back of the library is a computer station with ten computers (some of which were purchased with the grant.) I had to take into consideration that this was during inventory time, so there were not many displays or decorations in the library.

I was curious about how books were shelved and labeled in the library. Mrs. Valenciana stated that all books have a yellow label with a number on it. This number signifies the grade level. The only problem, she says, is that some of these labels are hand written. She is working to replace all handwritten labels with typed professional labels. Mrs. Valenciana mentioned that she had literacy nights once per week during which the library was open until 5pm. She said that sometimes these events did not draw a very large crowd.

I think it is important to visit other libraries within my district to inspire me to try new ideas in my own library. It is also a good way to network with other librarians.

Online Scrapbooking with Smilebox

2009-06-10T13:21:00.000-07:00

This summer I am taking a travel class, during which I will be traveling around the state of Texas visiting libraries and reflecting on the experience. I am trying out this new tool called Smilebox as a means of sharing my experiences. Please let me know what you think. The version below is the free one, so there are ads. You can also pay per scrapbook or pay a monthly fee for ads free scrapbooking.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

The Luck of the Loch Ness Monster

2009-06-08T09:34:00.000-07:00

One of my goals this summer (besides spring cleaning, visiting libraries across the state of Texas and crocheting a baby blanket for a dear friend) is to read all the books on the Texas Bluebonnet Award list for the coming school year.

This is the funny of tale of a small worm who grew to be the Loch Ness monster. It all started when Katerina-Elizabeth is sailing aboard a ship and cannot stand the oatmeal she is given. So what else could she do, but throw it over board? It turned out that a tiny worm found the oatmeal she tossed over the side of the ship and gobbled it all up. It was so yummy to the worm that it started to following the ship throughout its journey. All the while the tiny worm grew and grew and GREW. What happens when Katerina's ship docks? Will the worm be all alone? Be sure to read The Luck of the Loch Ness Monster to find out.

Getting people hooked on the library

2009-05-31T18:14:00.000-07:00

I was browsing around tonight on Twitter. Checking out Cathyjo's twitter page and stumbled across Buffy Hamilton. She had a link to this video advertising a library re-opening. I could see myself creating something similar about coming to the school library again at the start of the school year. To make the library feel like a fun place, because it should be. To get kids revved up about what there is to offer.

Library Re-Opening (Aaron Andzik) - watch more funny videos

A Neat Video about 21st Century Learners

2009-05-31T18:07:00.000-07:00

Inventory

2009-05-24T16:17:00.000-07:00

It is my first time conducting inventory and I am please it is going well. Right now it took me about 3 days to have about 5,000 books inventoried. I have about 7,000 to go. As I go through the shelves I am pulling out books that I plan to weed. Our shelves are very full and I think we will need more shelves soon. I moved all the books to the left and filled up an entire additional three shelf bookcase. Back in December I asked for additional shelving but I was told I could not have any at that time. Maybe after seeing how full our shelves are we might be able to purchase some with the coming school year' budget.

I will be working eight more school days and then summer vacation begins! I have some organizational tasks I plan to attend to. I need to add all the new book sets, videos and audio books to the print list. In fact, I will probably retype them all because I was unable to find the previous list on my computer. I also have an assortment of books that belong in the book set boxes that are pending. I need to figure out which belong where and which need to go in the "prizes" box.

I had a really awesome first year in the library. I am so pleased with my decision to become a librarian. I think it is a really good fit.

Podcasting 101

2009-05-21T18:00:00.000-07:00

Well I have officially created four podcasts. And I must admit that once I got the kinks worked out it was not as hard as I thought it would be. In fact it is pretty easy! I am using podbean to host my podcasts, but I just figured out how to use my school website to host my podcasts as well. The only bad news is it can be a little challenging for visitors to the site to find my podcasts on the school page.

Today I had a student create a podcast. It was pretty simple process. I created a template for her to use as a script. Once she wrote out what she wanted to say, we were able to record her in about five minutes. Then I sent her back to class and went to work mixing in the music at the beginning and end of the track. I have been using FreePlayMusic.com to find royalty free music. Then I mix it in and finalize it.

I will be creating a tip sheet soon for those of you interested in creating your own podcast. My best advice is to try a few on your own first, so you can feel confident when you're working with the students.

Embedding my podcasts

2009-05-16T17:52:00.000-07:00

I'm officially podcasting!!!

2009-05-16T17:48:00.000-07:00

Here is my podbean account. I still need to learn how to embed this. Hopefully the next post will have my podcast embedded into it.

I must say...I put off podcasting for a while. I was intimidated by it, but once I had the right tools it was pretty easy.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to have a good microphone. Don't believe me? Just listen to my 1st podcast vs my 2nd podcast. The 2nd one is much better. All it too was an $8 standup microphone from Target. Who knew? The 1st podcast was done with a cheapie headset microphone. I can't keep from making popping sounds with the mike so close and the quality was just rinky dink.

Free Webpage Development Options

2009-05-16T17:35:00.000-07:00

I have been trying out both Google Sites and Webs for my technology class at Sam Houston State University. I thought I would write up a little review.

Just a note: both webpage developing sites are free, although the free version of Webs has advertisements.

Google Sites
First take a look at what my Google Sites webpage looks like.
Google Sites is easy to use for basic webpage development. It has a few themes/ layouts for your pages. This is a draw back for me. Since I really didn't LOVE any of the layouts. To edit a page you simply click edit page and begin typing just like in MS Word. I have encountered problems every time I try to embed HTML code. I am not a super tech. I don't know a lot about HTML. But I want to be able to copy the code from a variety of websites so that I can add slideshows, images, videos, etc. With, Google Sites, I am given an error about some of the content being blocked and then the HTML code is removed from the post. After tinkering and searching online for how to go around this, I finally was able to embed one thing...a counter for the homepage. The way I did this was I had to remove parts of the code and keep trying until I removed "the blocked scripts" and was allowed to embed it. It was not easy or convenient. It was FRUSTRATING. I plan to make a tip sheet for how to get around the blocks in Google Sites and I'll post it here when it is ready.

Final word= good for beginners, but a little frustrating if you want to add some "Frills" to your site. B

Webs
Here is my webs account.
I really like the themes and professional look of Webs. I do not like the advertisements. However, you can subscribe to have those removed. Editing the page is as simple as Google sites. You simple type in the box. Embedding HTML code is very easy. I have not had any problems adding items to my site. In addition, Webs offers different layouts for page types. You can choose a videos page, photo album, links page, or just a standard page. There are even more options with Webs.

Final word= great for beginners- intermediate tech users. A- only for the advertisements on the free account.

What do you think? Google Sites or Webs?

Regional Technology Conference

2009-05-16T16:49:00.000-07:00

I recently had the chance to present at the Regional Technology Conference for Educators at South Padre Island.

If you have never been to "the island," as we natives call it, you're really missing out.

Here it is pictured at left. (I did not take this picture myself.)
For the conference, my topic was Web 2.0 Tools for the Classroom or Library. I had a full house both times and some really positive feedback from the participants. Overall, I was very pleased with it. I presented my information as a webpage. Here is the link. I will continue to update this webpage with more useful 2.0 information for educators. In fact, I am currently working on a podcasting basics section. More on that later.

If you have a chance check out my webpage on Web 2.0 and tell me what you think!

I'm Twittering!

2009-04-26T18:27:00.001-07:00

Well, last week I decided to go ahead and jump on the Twitter Bandwagon! Although to me it is a lot like a chatroom, I figure if Joyce Valenza's doing it...it is something I should check out.
Here is my link: www.twitter.com/Amy_DZ

Hunted by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

2009-04-26T18:22:00.000-07:00

In this installment of the House of Night Series, Zoey has just escaped Kalona and the Raven Mockers. She and her friends are hiding in the tunnels with the Red Fledglings. Neferet has become evil and is a powerful enemy. Zoey and Eric seemed to be making up just as Heath arrives again! And when Zoey is seriously injured she must drink from Heath and their Imprint is reestablished. Not to mention, Kalona has been stalking Zoey in her dreams and wants her to be his A-ya. That is three guys after Zoey so far and there is still a fourth she encounters that she begins to fall for! I enjoyed the fast pace of this novel.

By the time I reached the end, I half hoped that things would be resolved but I also didn’t want the story to end. Will Zoey remain with Eric? What about her Imprint with Heath? Can she save Stark? Defeat Kalona?

Book Reviews

2009-04-26T18:08:00.000-07:00

I am not sure yet how to link my two blogs together. I would love to have my book reviews blog feed directly into this one. I don't want to lose my following on that blog so I guess for now I will just copy each review over to this blog. You can find my other blog at http://booksforteens.edublogs.org

Oggie Cooder by Sarah Weeks

Oggie Cooder doesn’t mind being different. He does wish he had more friends, but the people in town just can’t accept his weird clothes and odd habits. When he accidentally auditions for Hidden Talents and is chosen to appear on TV everyone in town starts to notice him. It starts out as a blessing. Oggie loves to Charve (Chew and carve- a word he created himself) cheese into sculptures of the states. However, when Donnica becomes his manager, she wants to be famous at all cost. Will Oggie make it all the way to Hollywood? Make sure to check out Sarah Weeks’ novel to find out!

TLA Conference

2009-04-16T19:06:00.000-07:00

TLA was awesome. And I plan to write all about it. But, it's past my bedtime already.

Check out one of the fun pics I took at the conference. Here I am reading to Darth Vader. Boy I look mad about reading to him...don't I?

I swear it was fun...really it was!

Month of March

2009-04-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

Yep! It's been too long. I am finding it hard to keep up with my blog(s) and work and my Master's. But I am back in the saddle and I am trying my best to keep up with weekly entries. I am going to back track some to keep up to date on what has happened from Feb. 22-Apr. 16.

Well, let's see...it's been busy. Actually most of March I was in charge of administering an online test.
March 2-6 (TELPAS Testing)
March 9-13 (Spring Break!!!)
March 16-20 (TELPAS Testing)
March 23-27 (TELPAS Testing)
What all that means is that I was out of the library...

The last week in March I was able to attend the Texas Library Association Conference. It was so much fun...but for now more on that is another post.

Library Makeover 2009

2009-02-22T18:44:00.001-08:00

I have been working hard to redecorate my library. Please tell me what you think so far.

Video Editing

2009-02-21T06:27:00.000-08:00

Guess what? I went out and bought a flip cam (ultra)! And...I love it. I am not the most technologically advanced person in the world, but this is the simplest device ever for creating videos. I have been playing around with editing a few of my videos.

I used the Muvee editing software that comes with the camera. It was really easy to capture a still image, add music, mix it up, cut out parts. I actually read the reviews on Cnet to decide which model of the flip cam I should buy. If you are thinking about purchasing one I would highly recommend you check out these reviews.

In addition, I am comparing some free online video editing sites. I have been reading some reviews from ExtremeTech about 5 Free Online Video Editing sites. I haven't tried one out yet, but I think I might try One True Media or Jumpcut. I'll let you know what I find out and which I prefer.

My first video conference

2009-02-21T05:59:00.000-08:00

Thursday 2/18 I set up my first video conference with the MegaConference Jr. 2009. I can't say everything went smoothly but we survived and made it work. I set up my unit at about 8:15 and I couldn't get it going for some reason. (Remember this was my first attempt at using the unit.) Well after looking at all the connections and making sure everything was plugged in I realized I hadn't turned on the video conferencing unit's main switch. DUH! Well, one thing accomplished. Then the images started streaming in however they were highly pixilated and indistinguishable. Also there was no audio. I called the service providing the stream from the MegaConference and I was assured nothing was wrong on their end. So I called my district Tech department and they came to the rescue. One of our technology integration specialist walked me through a few things and then decided he would come straight over. In the end 3 techs showed up and worked on my connection.

The problem, I was told is that our school runs on a T1 connection and since all the classrooms in the school (about 50) were on the Internet ahead of me by the time I tried to squeeze in there was not enough bandwidth left. But our specialist saved the day, they made calls and slowed down some Internet connections across the school to accomodate the video conference and from there it was pretty much smooth sailing.

It was a realy great learning experience. My favorite part of the conference was watching the world's youngest teacher Adora. Click on the clip below to learn more about her.

Love Your Library Month

2009-02-16T04:36:00.000-08:00

Sorry it has been so long. My master's classes and my job are keeping me quite busy. Here's a recap of what's been going on:

February is Love You Library Month so we are having an art contest in the library where students complete the phrase: "I love my library because..." Then they draw, paint, etc. their reason why. So far I have receive about 5 entries. I can't wait to see all the reasons the students love the library.

Appreciation- Last week one of the parents from my school gave me a potted plant and a really nice compliment. She said something along the lines of, "This is the first year my kids have been really excited about the library. Thank you for that." Wow! That is so great to hear and I hope I am able to continue making the library better and better.

Makeover Library Edition- My assistant and I are working on redecorating the library. I am not sure what it was, but one day I walked into the library and I thought...it looks so out-dated...so I thought about some decorations and came up with a plan. I have been taking some pictures and will post some before and afters of our hard work. It is not major changes, just decorative touches.

Technology Inspiration- I finished my Intel Master of Technology class here is the link to the site I created for my final project if you'd like to check it out. It inspired me to start using Flip Video to create some videos for work. I went out and got one yesterday, but I haven't had a chance to try it out yet. I also got a microphone to use at home and work and plan to start having some of the kids make podcasts where I interview them about their favorite books. I am a little intimidated by Audacity, but I am going to give it a try. I post a link when I have them ready. Back to the Flip, I purchased the Ultra because of the reviews of cNet. I especially liked the software (MUVEE) that is built-in and allows for easy editing and movie mixes.

Library Science Master's Classes- I am taking Library Administration, which and I know this sounds corny, is a lot of fun. I have to create some action plans, floor plans, budgets, etc. I really like this side of library science. For my other class I am taking Computer Science. Yes...I love that one too! I am creating a mock library website, although I think I may use it as my school library homepage after I get it all set up.

Intel Master of Technology Certification

2009-01-25T17:35:00.000-08:00

I mentioned in a previous post that I am currently working on the Intel Master of Technology Certification. I am more than half way through. Through this course, you learn about pedagogy and implementing technology through project based learning. I am creating a blog to be used for my student project. Please check it out and see what you think.

Here it is:
NSJE Library

Shopping...

2009-01-25T17:30:00.000-08:00

Shopping for the library sounds fun...right? Well it is at first. What more could a girl want than to go shopping, I thought. I was given a set amount of money to spend from our district library department back in August. Our deadline was Jan. '09. It was no problem coming up with the list. The problem came when I had to get three quotes for each order! It's time consuming...but I did it.

To my surprise my campus informed me that I will be able to order another large amount of books. I tried to be ahead of the game this time and have my lists ready. So I think I will be able to submit my orders early this coming week. Just a few final touches. I am excited to say that I am working hard to increase our collection to meet Texas Library Standards. We have so much fiction, and while I love it too, I know we need mainly history books. So I am purchasing a tremendous amount of history/ biographies. I can't wait for all the boxes to arrive so I can see all the beautiful covers and put them into the hands of our students!

Pizza Making Field Trip

2009-01-25T17:24:00.000-08:00

Wednesday Jan. 14th I took the Top 100 AR students from my campus to Mr. Gattis' Pizza for a pizza making class. It was lots of fun. The kids were great and we got lots of compliments.

In groups of four students took turns pressing a metal ring on the dough to form an outline. Then one spread on sauce. Another put the ring back on and poured a scoop of cheese in the middle. The next student took hold of the metal ring and tray and shook the pan. This spread out the cheese! How cool is that? Finally the last person put on the sausage and shook the pan to spread it out. I had no idea they made pizza that way.

After making their pizzas the kids got to play in the arcade. No problems...it couldn't have gone smoother. We even got photographed for the PSJA ISD newspaper!

Vacation came and went!

2009-01-25T17:11:00.000-08:00

Well, time definitely flies in the library. When I was a teacher last year (it seems so long ago) I had no idea that librarians were sooooo busy. Let's catch up on what's been going on. It feels like so many things have happened, but would you believe I had to consult my iGoogle Calendar? I went back to work on Jan. 5th and 6th to an inservice. I am participating in the Intel Master of Technology Certification program. It is five full days of inservices during which I have independent reading and homework. So it is keeping me busy, but it is a really neat program...more on that later. Let me give you a run down on my schedule lately:

1/12 Family Time at the Library
1/13 Library classes were canceled
1/14 AR Field Trip (more on that in a later blog)
1/15 Intel inservice
1/16 Tech training for teachers ALL day
1/18 RIF Week starts/ tech training all day
1/19 tech training after school
1/20 set up teacher's document readers
1/23 librarian meeting all day

Needless to say I have definitely felt overwhelmed!

Wow! It's been a while...

2008-12-12T08:47:00.000-08:00

Things have been super busy. My Masters classes are almost over. And thank goodness I'm all done with my assignments. At the library, the days are flying by. I got some of my book orders in. I tried hard to focus on areas we were weak in. I got quite a bit of math and science as well as some books on music, art, cooking, and other hobbies. I got some really neat new fiction. My students are excited and can't wait to read.

Right now we have about 18,900 points. Our goal is to earn 50,000 pts by the end of the school year. If we reach this goal I will be in the dunking booth! (Yes, you read that correctly.)

Also we now have 4 millionaires in the Millionaire's Club. I mentioned this in a previous post. This club is for students who read a million words.

We collected enough Box Tops for Education to earn over $300 for library! Each box top is worth $.10 so that's a lot of box tops!

We collected 106 pounds for the Ronald McDonald House charities. We were second place in the Valley. Hopefully we will bring in the most by the end of the year and receive a presentation by Ronald McDonald.

So did that sound busy enough? I am ready for the Christmas break!

Slide.com

2008-11-23T13:43:00.001-08:00

If you read my last post, these are the same photos, only remixed using Slide.com

Reading is Fun Week

2008-11-23T12:38:00.000-08:00

This week was Reading is Fun Week (RIF) at the library. You can learn more about RIF at www.rif.org. We received 900 books to give away to students. Our theme this year was Wild About Reading so I decorated our library really nicely to coordinate with this theme. I hung party decorations with wild animals from the ceiling. I drew a large toucan to hang on the back door of the library. We hung beautiful animal posters on the front doors along with a banner which said: "Wild About Reading Zone...Enter if you dare." In addition, I cut out paw prints on brown construction paper and laminated them. We put them on the floor in a path leading up to the front doors of the library. We set up three tables covered with a jungle patterned table cloth and laid out books for students to choose from. I also played some really great African music with wonderful beats and wild animal sounds as the students entered the library.
We set up 3 centers at the library. One group chose a book and watched an animal movie for 10 min., the second group went online to Encyclopedia Britannica's Learning Zone to learn about animals around the world, and the third groups had a coloring sheet appropriate for each grade level (connect the dots animal, animal riddles, animal fact sheets, etc.) Soon I hope to post a slide show with 280 slides of our celebration.

Create Slideshows Online

2008-11-23T12:17:00.000-08:00

This year I have had some issues with PowerPoint. On one occasion, I worked all weekend on a PowerPoint presentation. When I got to school I tried to use my USB drive and for some reason the school laptop would not read it (although it works on every other computer I have tried.) I tried to email it through gmail. Alas is was so big it just kept loading and never attached in the email. So I gave up :-( and the students didn't get to see my powerpoint. If I had known about this website 280 slides, perhaps I would not have had this problem. You can go on this site and create your slideshow using tons of themes, links to pictures/ videos, etc. It is similar to PowerPoint, so don't be worried about learning to use a new program. It is pretty easy. Finally you can save your finished product as a PowerPoint Document or save it directly on the 280 Slides website. This eliminated the hassle of trying to email your finished product or using a USB drive. Another option, you can embed it in your website/blog.

How learning is changing...

2008-11-23T12:12:00.000-08:00

| View | Upload your own

Fair Use for Media Literacy Education

2008-11-23T11:58:00.000-08:00

After viewing the blog Hey Jude I found this interesting video clip about Fair Use.

Millionaire's Club

2008-11-16T13:31:00.000-08:00

We have a new incentive at the library. Students are encourage to read a million words and earn a 90% average to be invited to join the millionaire's club. At the end of the year these club members will be taken on a limo ride and out to eat. How cool right?

Fun FRIDAY

2008-11-16T13:25:00.000-08:00

Wow again! Friday was rush, rush, rush! I had a small fundraiser after our Jungle Jim School. We sold Jungle Jim beaded bracelets for $2.00 each and the library got to keep one dollar per bracelet! I sold Thursday and delivered the orders to the classes on Friday. In all I sold $610! So the library got to keep $305.

Now I just need to think about how to best spend this money.

Thursday...my first day without my assistant :-(

2008-11-16T13:21:00.000-08:00

I am really really blessed, because my library assistant is way more talented than I am. So I am truly lucky to be able to work with her! She has wonderful attendance. This week was the first time I had to be alone in the library all day. She told me in advance(because that is the wonderful kind of person she is) that she would be out. I felt a little nervous, because my Spanish is shaky and she is like my security blanket.

My morning went awesome. No problems...in fact one class did not show up due to heavy rain. They were trapped in their portable outside. Then at around 1 pm my daughter (who attends school at the same campus) was sent home by the nurse. So I had to leave early. The library closed in the afternoon, since neither I nor my assistant were present. And you know...things didn't fall apart! I couldn't have asked for a better day.

Especially since, my daughter was not really very sick and felt better by that same evening.

Week of 11/10

2008-11-16T13:10:00.000-08:00

Wow...this week has been crazy busy. I found out on Monday that I could be having a special presentation on Tuesday at my campus. I was very lucky to have Jungle Jim come to our school to talk to our students about a variety of animals. Monday zoomed by as I went from grade level to grade level training teachers during their conference periods. At the same time I came up with a schedule of shows for Jungle Jim. Tuesday arrived and it was lots of fun. I am including a picture of me holding a snake from the Jungle Jim Show.

On Wednesday, I took the top readers for the 2nd six week on a trip to see Sue the T-Rex at the University of Texas Pan American. We also got a tour of the campus, saw the planetarium and went for a picnic lunch at the park.

On the same day, back at the campus my wonderful SPECTACULAR assistant took care of our six weeks cafeteria party for all the students who met their Accelerated reader goals. At the cafeteria party we had 9 stations, including: face painting, snack bar, dance off, bingo, musical chairs, etc.

Thank goodness...it all went really smoothly!

Bluebonnet Award Winners

2008-11-01T16:36:00.001-07:00

Library Discipline

2008-10-28T16:27:00.000-07:00

This week is already flying by! I had my first "rough" experience in the library today. Tuesday is my difficult class and of course it is scheduled when I do not have a library aide. I had to raise my voice for the first time today. I also had to send out two disruptive students. I am looking for some ideas for that class to make the period go smoothly. Both are behavior problems throughout the school (not just the library.) When one is absent, the other is manageable and vice versa. It is frustrating having to send anyone out. I don't like to admit defeat, but I have tried a few things.
1. Having them be helpers...works sometimes only.
2. Seating them apart... they yell across the library :-(
3. Seating them outside on the bench for a time out (the door is open so they can be monitored)...they refuse to move and it becomes a battle for me
4. Asked for the teachers help (some teachers will keep difficult students or sit in with them or offer advice)...the teacher basically told me "try having them all day!"

Their disruptive behavior includes: putting others down, talking back, being loud in the library, rough housing, not following library rules, talking while I'm talking, etc.

I'll report back next week to see if their meeting with the counselor today made a difference.

Thing 23- Review 23 Things

2008-10-28T16:23:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed completing this workshop. I also showed the directors of technology in school district and I asked if they might be interested in starting it. I even mentioned that I would be willing to lead the program. We'll see how it turns out and I will post it we decide to use it in our district. If you haven't checked out 23 Things... search for it...there are now many groups offering. I went through Library2Play. But School Library Journal is also offering a course. I highly recommend it.

Thing 22- Ning

2008-10-28T16:17:00.000-07:00

A ning is a social networking tool that allows you to collaborate with others. I checked out the Texas School Librarian's Ning. Which is sort of like a MySpace for Texas Librarians. I thought it was neat, to have online forum for Texas librarians. Also there are photos, videos and blogs. I think nings are interesting, although I really like the list-servs better. I subscribe to LM_NET currently and I really like it.

Wiki 101

2008-10-28T16:09:00.000-07:00

Things I have learned about using a wiki in the library:

1. Only one students can edit the page at a time. (Maybe this sounds obvious, but I didn't realize.)
2. 30 minute schedules in the library are not really enough time to get much done on a wiki.
3. Kids love the idea of writing online!
4. I need to be very organized.
5. Maybe 5 students per library visit will be able to edit the page...one at a time.
6. It would save time to have a one user name for the session of 5 students, rather than one per child, since logging in and out is time consuming.
7. I want to do this again, but for book reviews.
8. I did a trial run with one class and now other students are interested in using the wiki.

I've got a Wiki!

2008-10-26T07:27:00.000-07:00

I decided to start a library wiki for my students to use when reviewing books. Our first discussion topic will be Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen. Here is the link to my wiki- NSJE Library. I plan to have the students start working on it on Monday 10/27/08.

Week 6 (10/13-10/17)

2008-10-23T04:49:00.000-07:00

Let's see...what happened last week? It's all a blur...last week I worked a lot on order processing. Coming up with a good list of books to order is time consuming. I decided I wanted to focus on science, math and social studies as well as fiction for older students. I got about $500 of fiction for 3-5, $500 of Spanish nonfiction, $500 of Math, $500 of Science, $500 of History, $500 of Teacher Requests, $500 of Award Winning Titles and $500 of "fun stuff." I think I have a good variety that will support our curriculum.

Before becoming a librarian I didn't realize that Texas libraries have standards. This is kind of like the rating a school gets for test performance. Libraries can be unacceptable, acceptable, recognized, and exemplary. Our campus is currently at the following ratings in my opinion:
Standard 1-
Standard 2-
Standard 3-
Standard 4-
Standard 5-

(Status coming soon.)
I plan to present my findings to my campus principal so we can set goals to improve our rating. My campus is an exemplary campus for test scores, so I am pretty sure my principal will want our library to be exemplary as well.

Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen

2008-10-16T19:14:00.000-07:00

Please check out this teaser for Lawn Boy by Gary Paulsen.

Suzy Red Conference

2008-10-16T15:15:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard of Suzy Red...you need to go check out her website...like RIGHT now! I went to her conference on Wednesday and it was absolutely wonderful. At her conference "Transformers" she discusses each of the Bluebonnet Award winning books for 08-09 and gives participants a manual with 10+ pages of activities for each book. In addition it comes with a site license for your school and a CD filled with "jeopardy" like games and interactive websites and much more. It was the best workshop I have been to in a while.
You can buy her book online at her website...or simply browse all the links for the Bluebonnet books by clicking on the Library link on her homepage.

On a side note, at the conference I ran into my junior high librarian. She said she recognized me when I volunteered to read for a reader's theater (those are included in the manual too!) It was really neat to have her recognize me. I told her I have always liked to read and she said, "Yeah I remembered that about you!"

My 1st Dewey Wordle

2008-10-13T16:54:00.000-07:00

img src="http://wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/246567/500s_Dewey_Decimals"
style="padding:4px;border:1px solid #ddd">
I think this turned out nicely. I plan to make some for each of the Dewey numbers.

Fun librarian t-shirts

2008-10-09T16:56:00.000-07:00

I just love google! While I was checking my gmail account tonight I stumbled upon a link in gmail to librarian t-shirts at Cafe Press. I am including a couple of shirts I found funny. Well, I could only get one to link. Here is the direct link to see more shirts. Be forewarned som are "racy."

Fun stuff for the library.

2008-10-09T09:40:00.000-07:00

I just saw the coolest idea from School Library Journal...Joyce Valenzia never fails to impress me. In her blog, The Neverending Search, she mentions that she found an idea from Lucy and Ethel's library schemes blog. The idea is simple, use Woordle to create Dewey signs in the library. Be sure to check out the 900s poster Joyce created.
What a fun idea! I also found this wiki with some great ideas for technology integration in the education field. I haven't gotten a chance to explore it thoroughly yet.
http://webtools4u2use.wikispaces.com/

I also checked out Valenzia's wiki called bookleads. I am so impressed with the setup of the page. I really like Glogster. I have to try that out. Valenzia reviews Glogster and Sproutbuilder here.

It's dorky...I know

2008-10-09T07:08:00.000-07:00

I was so excited this week...I got my new name tag that now says "Librarian." I can't help but be super happy about it.

Also, I had the sweetest thing happen yesterday. I went to my mailbox at work and I found a letter inside from a student. It said something along the lines of "Dear Mrs. Marquez, I came to the lidrery yesterday and my password wasn't working. You tried to help me, but coodn't. You said I needed a new passward. Can you please get me a new passward ASAP? I like to test a lot every day. Sincerely, ___________ rm. #, teacher's name"

It was so cute that this second grader wrote to me in form of a formal letter. I replied back in a formal letter and thanked her for her patience with the delay. She came over after school ended yesterday excited to get her reply letter. It was really nice.

Parent Time at the Library

2008-10-09T07:02:00.000-07:00

I had my first "Parent Time at the Library" on Monday, Oct. 6th from 3:15-4:30. It was a great success. In fact we had more parents than seats and my library has about 50 seats! I had lines waiting for AR testing and lines waiting to check out. I think it went really well. At the end of the day though, we had 3 large book carts of books to shelve! Oh, my it was overwhelming. On the following day, we closed the library and worked on catching up on the shelving. I am so SOOOOOOOOO lucky to have a dedicated volunteer who comes daily for about an hour to help me shelve. Also I have a college student who will be coming all week for half a day each and every day to help us organize the shelves. She has already gone through the entire fiction collection and made sure they are in correct alphabetically order! In addition, and I feel like such a lucky lady, my principal saw the overwhelming amount of books we were shelving and got us some extra help. Everyday for 40 min we will have someone come in the morning to help us shelve.

Librarian Sink Hole

2008-10-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

Did I mentioned I fell in a new librarian sink hole? Well, not literally of course but I was called by a vendor who will remain nameless to see if I would like to preview their new books. It was the first week of school. She said I could look over the boxes and if I liked what I saw I could get together the PO and send it to her at my convenience or I could return them at no charge. She described the books to me and they seemed to be interesting titles so I said yes. It was a hesitant yes, but I was busy so I went ahead and agreed. When the books arrived I opened the boxes and realized immediately...there is no way I can keep these! They were beautiful books with no barcodes, spine labels, ar tests, or anything. I knew after processing that large order that arrived to me with half of the stuff I wanted on them, there was no way I wanted to start from scratch and put on everything myself. So I called back, and it was difficult to convince the vendor I really was NOT interested. Finally I was able to ship them back and I think I probably won't get a call next year from them. That's okay with me, I have learned my lesson. No one warned me about that one so I am spreading the word to other new librarians so it doesn't happen to them. Don't get me wrong...the books were great...and if you have the time to process them all yourself it can be a great deal...but I don't live in a slow paced world.

Week 5 New Books on the Shelf

2008-10-09T06:48:00.000-07:00

I am proud to announce that I finally got all $10,000 of new books out on the shelf yesterday! WoooHooo! It took me so long to process all of them because they needed to be color coded according to how our library is arranged. Each book has a color code indicating their AR reading level. In addition, I really wanted each book to have the quiz id number inside so students could easily find the coordinating AR test. I know that AR sells little labels with this information, but I was not the person who placed this huge order and I plan from this day forward to order everybook with an AR label attached! Who has time to be writing on each and every book?

AR Incentives

2008-10-06T04:49:00.000-07:00

This year I am working hard to make our reading program, Accelerated Reader, more fun for our students. AR is pushed really hard at our school. Each six weeks the top 20 in each grade level are rewarded with a field trip. In the past, the students went to a pizza restaurant every six weeks. This year, I thought I would mix it up and change around the field trips. Here is my tentative plan:
1st 6 Weeks-Pizza Place
2nd 6 Weeks- Sue the T-Rex (We have a T-Rex skeleton on display at our local university. )

3rd 6 Weeks- Quinta Mazatlan (An urban forest and wildlife preserve)

4th 6 Weeks- Chuck E. Cheese (Brand new in our area)

5th 6Weeks- Mr. Gatti's Pizza- build your own pizza event

I will post more about our library incentives at a later date.

Collection Development

2008-10-06T04:38:00.000-07:00

I am excited because I got my library budget. I love books and I love shopping so I thought this would be FUN. I went to my Collection Development class on Saturday...ALL day. It was a long class meeting. I don't feel like it made me all that more insightful. I do like the textbook however. I plan to study my collection bit before I place my order.
During a librarian's meeting a while back I got to visit the book mobile by Escue and Associates. It was fun scanning all the books I was interested in. It was even funnier when they sent me my wishlist and I saw that I had chosen about $10,000 worth of books! I already started comparing what I want with what we have and I am narrowing the list down. Also I uploaded our collection to Perma-Bound and it is neat to see the collection analysis they have online. I plan to print that out at school today and analyze it more thoroughly.
I know I want to focus on a couple of areas: 4th-5th grade novels (especially 5th) since there are not that many novels for this group and they are having to use 3rd grade novels to supplement. I also was to increase our number of books about the arts, because that is one of our smallest Dewey sections. The challenge I am having is whittling down the list but still focusing on my target areas and still getting a little something for everyone.
When I get it ready I will post how many books in each category I ended up purchasing.

Week 4

2008-09-28T18:32:00.000-07:00

Wow! It has been a busy week! I had my first overwhelming week this past week. I think that is pretty good. I made it until the last week of the six weeks before I felt stressed out. (I know I said week a bunch of times LOL.) Well let me break it down for you as to why I was stressed out.

Friday
Last Friday I was out all day at a Library meeting and I was already getting behind at the library.
Monday
Monday I arrived all excited about getting the week off on a good start and I found out at 8am that I would be having a professional storyteller visit the school and I needed to organize that. Well, of course I jumped at the opportunity! How neat!
I quickly made some banners to welcome her, rushed from class to class inviting the teachers, got my camera ready and then proceeded to work on Tuesday's stuff. The storyteller arrived. I posted a video in a previous blog. She was wonderful! I had a great time and I know that kids did too! When she was done I continued getting ready for Tuesday. I needed to prepare for a huge library ceremony for the winners of our summer reading contest. I needed to work on decorations and laminate.
Tuesday
I was out all day decorating the auditorium with the other librarians. By 3:30 I went to pick up my daughter for the ceremony (she was the winner for 2nd grade...I'm a proud mama!) We had to rush home eat and shower and return by 5:30. The decorations were all taken down by 9pm.
Wednesday
I got to school all excited about having time to work in the library and I found out I was administering an online test to all 3rd-5th graders! Okay so I organized the testing documentation and then supervised the testing.
Thursday
More testing...ALL day!
Friday
Librarian Meeting...ALL day! I returned to campus at the end of the day and worked until 5:15. Then picked up my daughter from daycare.
Saturday
I went to school to run end of the six weeks reports and process some of our new books that are still in boxes.

Needless to say I feel a little more caught up, but it looks like another busy week. Did I mention that in addition to all that I made DVDs for the Summer Winners of a slideshow of pictures? They came out super nice. If I could figure out a way to post them on here I would. Well, that's another project to tackle at a later date.

I am feeling more optimistic tonight. Tomorrow I am back on the wagon and going to give it my all! Do I still love it? Yes...is it lots of work? yes! But, I feel I have found my niche!

Angela Davis Visits our library

2008-09-22T16:51:00.000-07:00

Students in Pre-K, Kinder, and 3rd grade enjoyed Mrs. Davis' performance on 9/22/08 in the library. I had a great time too. She is a wonderful storyteller. The students were actively involved with the presentation. Her first story was a tale of friendship about a girl named Selida who has a beautiful necklace. Some other girls trick her into throwing her necklace into the ocean. When she realizes her mistake she dives in and swims to the bottom. She sees an old woman covered in sores and hideously ugly. The old woman tells her that she will only help her if Selida licks all the sores on her arms. Selida is very good hearted and wants to help so without thinking twice she licks the old hag's sores. Immediately the old woman turns into a beautiful woman. She gives Selida a necklace full of precious stones and takes her back to land. When the other girls see Selida's new necklace, they become jealous of her and jump in the ocean to find their own! (Mrs. Davis asked me to participate as one of the mean girls and a few other teachers played parts too.)
When they swam down to the bottom, the old hag swallowed them up. The mean girls begged her to let them out. They tickled her stomach until she finally spit them out. The mean girls immediately went to Selida to ask for her forgiveness. After a few weeks, Selida decided they were sincere and decided to forgive them.

The kids and I had a super time!

#21 Photostory

2008-09-18T17:45:00.002-07:00

I got ahead of myself and completed this one before it was scheduled. Here is a link to the post about my first Photostory.

Week 3

2008-09-18T17:45:00.001-07:00

This week was SO busy! I went with the BRIGHT summer winners on a field trip to Quinta Mazatlan for a nature walk. The kids and I really enjoyed seeing the birds and other animals within this urban forest. Also this week I started teaching the students how to use shelf markers. I am teaching the youngest students 1-3 the shelf marker song.

To the tune of the Hokey Pokey
You put your shelf marker in
You take the book off the shelf
You take a look at the book
and see what it's about.
You do the bookey lookey
and you see if it's just right.
That's what it's all about.
***I found this song online. I don't know where it originated. You can view a video of another librarian using this song on TeacherTube. (Well of course now I can't find it anywhere on teacher tube!)

In addition I talked about how to decide if a book is just right. I will be out all day tomorrow at a librarian meeting. I think I might be coming in for half a day on Saturday to work on getting the shelves in order. I noticed since the first week back that the books were not in order correctly. All sections, but especially the nonfiction. I really never get a chance during the day to work on this so I plan to go with my kiddos to the school Saturday and see what I can get done.

This week was also a great week for me. I had two students tell me today that they thought working in a library would be a fun job. I said "I am really enjoying it."

Week 2

2008-09-18T17:45:00.000-07:00

Wow! Sorry I have been MIA a while. I have been trying to keep up with all the demands in my life. Let me start by explaining my second week in the library. For week two I spoke to the students again about library rules and we discussed keeping the library neat. For my PK-K students we read and watched a short video. We also did a movement activity that they seemed to enjoy quite well.

I have really been feeling blessed with my new job. I absolutely LOVE working in the library. It is so busy I find that I never really catch up. I have a wonderful parent volunteer who helps me shelf for an hour each day. Also my library assistant is a life saver! She helps me with classes when the teachers need me for technology issues since I am also the classroom instructional technologist (CIT) on campus.

One week with kids

2008-09-07T20:23:00.000-07:00

Well, I can officially join the club and say that I have conducted library classes for one week! Everything went quite smoothly. No major snags along the way. I especially enjoyed getting to know the students who will be my frequent library customers. Some students I have seen everyday in the morning and/or after school checking out books. Here's what I did with week one:

Overview of library rules/ procedure
Signed library contracts
1st-5th checked out books
PK-K watched a video

I went to the district office and got to take a picture for our librarian calendar. You heard me right! We have a "Wild About Reading" theme calendar this school year. I got to pose with a book on my lap and my hand in the air like I am petting a wolf (which will be Photoshopped in later.) The background is a winter woods scene. I am thinking I will probably be the December or January picture. I am excited to see the finished product and I plan to post it here as soon as it is ready.

Being a librarian is keeping me on my toes. It has been a fun challenge to balance all the tasks I am in charge of. This week I had my first teacher training. I met with staff members after school on Wednesday and I walked them through updating their web pages. I had a large turn out. In fact, I didn't have enough copies or chairs to accommodate everyone who arrived. I will hold another session this Wednesday to reach the remainder of the staff members.

On a personal note, my daughter was really sick and I have had to be out of the library. It is not any fun to miss work so soon in the school year. The good news is I had already prepared about 4 weeks worth of lesson plans. The bad news is that the books are piling up that need to be reshelved. My baby is sleeping here beside me as I balance my college homework, this blog and a personal life. Mostly I am just very happy that her fever has broken. She has had a fever off and on since Wednesday. Did I mentioned I am already sick too?

I know it will be a good year, when all I can think is I am so lucky to have this job! I just love it so far. It is definitely a big change from being in an 8th grade classroom. Oh...also my daughter Haille won the Summer Reading contest for her grade level (2nd grade)! I am super proud of her and I just had to brag for a minute!!!

A Fair(y) Use Tale

2008-08-30T14:48:00.000-07:00

For my Fall 08 class I just viewed this video on Copyright law:

For those of you within a school network you can also view this video at:
Standford.edu

I enjoyed watching this video about the laws of how to copyright correctly. I am already thinking about how I can use this with my students in the library and teacher trainings. In a way I wish I could use this at the middle school level with students. I think it goes pretty faster for elementary kids. Overall, I thought the producer/ creator did a great job. I also kind of wish it came with a transcript since some of it is hard to follow. Check it out and tell me what you think!

Screencasts

2008-08-28T17:28:00.000-07:00

**Update-- I got it to work. Here is the link to my school library webpage: click on advanced email tutorial. Oh and the problem? I just renamed the file and it saved perfectly? Who knows why it didn't work the first time...just glad it works now.

Today I had a chance to make my first screencast! I know some of the staff at my campus need tutorials on our email system. So when I was asked today about how to attach a file to an email I thought: "this is the perfect time for a screencast." I decided to download a program from Wink. It was sort of user-friendly. I watched the included tutorial first and that was helpful. My finished product came out well. I didn't have a microphone so I included textboxes with notes. My main problem however is now that I am all done I am unable to embed it or link it in my school webpage.
After I arrived home tonight, I thought: I should have emailed the file to myself to see if I could do the link at home. Alas...I thought of it too late. It really consumed a good amount of time. Tomorrow I will have to try some more. In the meantime I made a print version of the tutorial until I can figure out how to upload it to the webpage.

#20 Teacher Tube

2008-08-24T15:11:00.000-07:00

It has been in the last six months that I discovered Teacher Tube. What I really like about it is that it is similar to YouTube except it is all educational and teacher approved. It is a super convenient source of video clips for professional development and class lessons. I took some time today to view some of the most popular videos on Teacher Tube. I learned something pretty useful to me with the following video. It shows you how to make classroom posters using Excel.

After viewing this tutorial I was able to make a poster advertising our summer reading program. I am super excited to print it out and hang it up at school tomorrow! The best part is that is was so easy to do. What is a little funny to me is, I was looking at a poster the previous librarian made which used four sheets of paper taped together. I was thinking...how did she do that? Oh well...and then today I discovered this. PERFECT!

Hit the ground running!

2008-08-23T14:01:00.000-07:00

This week I finally got to start working with student data. I was able to get the students' names and ID numbers on Thursday afternoon and I have been working quickly to enter in all the data. It is a tedious chore and gives me a new appreciation for all the librarians out there. As a teacher, I never realized how much work was associated with the start of the school year.

Our library coordinator recently mentioned to me that she was once told that librarians are always just sitting around at the computer (with the implication that they either 1. didn't do anything; or 2. were probably "playing" around on the Internet.) She said she replied by saying something along these lines: "Look at this beautiful library. All those books don't get there by osmosis."

I suppose that is what I mistakenly thought about the circulation system. I guess I always thought that the names were already "in" there so how hard could it be to start the year. Now I know. In my case, our school district is changing student ID numbers this years so that means a patron by patron update of ID #, grade level, and teacher. Not only once mind you but twice...since I have to do this for both Athena (our circulation system) and Accelerated Reader. On Friday I decided I had to leave by 5:15 p.m. since it was the weekend and my family needs me. As of right now I am not finished entering in student data into either program. Regardless, I will be opening the doors to students on Wednesday. Students will not be checking out books until 9/1/08.

I am really enjoying my campus so far. My library aide is wonderful. I couldn't have hoped for a better person to work with. Also all the staff members I have met have been wonderful to work with. The principal provided lunch for us on Thursday and Friday which was a really nice change from my previous campus. Lunch was delicious. I realize this is maybe a little off topic, but I had never tried Jason's Deli's chicken salad. It is a very tasty combination of white meat chicken, pineapple and almond. It also came with a cranberry, macadamia nut, oatmeal raisin cookie that was irresistible.

I was pleased to decorate the library this week. I removed all the old posters and put up some new (non-faded) kid friendly decorations. I also added a Dr. Seuss welcome sign to the front entrance. The library is ready for the students on Monday! Hooray!

I recently read on LM_NET a list-serv for librarians about an idea for handling interruptions during library lessons. A fellow librarian suggested using quiet tickets. She said she first explained that when you drive too fast a police office gives you a ticket. In her library she does the same thing with quiet tickets. She makes laminated "Shhh!" cards and gives them to the student who is interrupting. This first time is a warning. The second time...another warning. They get the chances before getting a note to their teacher/ parents. I plan to implement this in my library. Hopefully I will be able to make my "Shhh!" cards this weekend for use in the library next week. I will definitely post an update with how it all turns out.

Let's see...what else...my mind is racing to say the least. I am overloaded with new ideas, new people, new programs, just everything new. Oh I know...let me leave you with this quote I heard on Friday:

Experience is what you get, when you don't get what you want. --Dan Standford

Web 2.0 Awards-- My Hertiage Genealogy

2008-08-23T12:40:00.000-07:00

I just had a chance to check out MyHeritage an online geneaology tool. It is very easy to use and has a popup guide to help you along the way. In a matter of minutes I was able to enter in my parents and grandparents as well as my husband and our kids. I liked the optional email feature which allows people who you are including in the family tree to view it and add information to it. There is also a search feature which allows you to see if there are any matches for the names you have included in your family tree. When you are ready, you can easily print out your family tree. This is a fun tool for geneaology buffs.

Web 2.0 Awards- Comiqs

2008-08-17T10:21:00.000-07:00

Today I had fun playing around with Comiqs a website that allows you to create and publish a comic book. I chose to make one to advertise our summer reading program for my school. Here is my finished product:

Bright Summer Readers 2008 from Amy_DZ on Comiqs

I am really excited about using this website to promote my library. It is easy to use and has a picture library through Flickr using copyright free photos, or you can upload your own. If you haven't tried it out yet, I highly recommend it.

Web 2.0 Awards- Lulu

2008-08-16T16:36:00.000-07:00

Lulu is a publishing tool for aspiring authors. What I found especially cool about this site is that it has a section for teachers/ students.
Here's the dish (directly from their site):
"If you're in grades K-8, Aspiring Authors will help you create your very own book. Have your teacher register your class on Lulu and start writing your original story. Each student that completes a book will receive their first printed copy for free."

I will be definitely be looking in to this to use with our fourth graders especially since in Texas 4th grade is tested in writing on the TAKS.

#19 Web 2.0 Awards- SpanishPod

2008-08-16T16:15:00.000-07:00

This is probably one of the best activities on 23 Things in my opinion. I liked seeing all the best web tools in one place at the Web 2.0 Awards Site. The first I decided to explore was SpanishPod. They have a pretty cool set up to help you learn Spanish through podcast/ mp3, lessons, etc. The free stuff on this site consists of podcasts. For $5 per mo. you can get a little bit more and if you're willing to dish out even more $$ then SpanishPod has lots more to offer. I went ahead and subscribed to the Spanish podcasts for free to see what SpanishPod has to offer. I am trying hard to improve my Spanish but I am on a budget.

#18 Online Productivity Tools

2008-08-16T15:20:00.000-07:00

I signed up for Google Docs a while back when I set up my igoogle/ calendar. I must add that I have been using igoogle as my homepage and I ABSOLUTELY love it.

Now back to Google Docs. One thing I like is the ability to save my documents online and no longer have to rely on my pen drive. I didn't like that the formatting was not the same when I uploaded it to Google Docs. I also liked the variety of templates available such as this scrapbook. There is also a template for a credit card payoff calculator. Not that I need to use that as an educator but for my personal use that is pretty cool. I liked the business cards template. There is even a teachers/ students section. In addition I like that the templates are organized by type: document, spreadsheet, presentation. I think I will definitely be going her for templates.

Another option for online productivity tools is OpenOffice. I decided not to download this program at this time. Right now I am not using my personal computer and to me it is sort of a hassle to have to download it to try it out.

Librarian Training Day

2008-08-14T05:09:00.000-07:00

Well, a lot has happened over the past two days. I wanted to write this entry sooner, but you know how life can interrupt some times. My daughter, who is fifteen months, started daycare this week after hanging out with her father and I all summer. So in the evening, she needs mommy time which limits my blogging time. Just seeing how excited she is to have me sit down and play with her makes it so special to me.

I started back to work on Tuesday. I felt like I got quite a bit done. First and foremost I want to thank the previous librarians. Whichever one(s) of you were sooooo organized...it is much appreciated. I discovered that in the storage closet there are clear plastic boxes perfectly labeled with each month's name and decorations were inside. There were handmade curtains and other misc. items. Wow! That is SUPER! Along with the help of my new library aide, who came in to help even though she is not being paid I might add, the library is starting look ready for students.

I got about three weeks worth of lesson plans done. I made a nifty checklist to have my library aide use for each week to help me prepare the lessons. I will attach it here later. Right now it is at school and this site is currently blocked. (Although I have already requested that it be unblocked.)

Yesterday, I found out I am the Campus Instructional Technologist (CIT) for my campus. This I am excited about. I really enjoy technology. I started working on my library webpage and the school home page. Right now I am looking around at other campus websites to get some ideas for how I can improve our school site. Next week I will attend a training session for CITs to help make sure we are familiar with software/ hardware issues.

Let's see....what else? Today is my first meeting with the library department. I will get to meet all the other elementary librarians. I can't wait to get jazzed up about all the new things we are doing this year. Did I mention they are providing lunch? That's perfect because right about now I am broke.

I have to send out a great BIG THANKS to Dee Lopez, my library mentor, for coming on Tuesday to my school and showing me the ins and outs of the Athena program. It was so generous of you. Every new librarian should be as lucky as me to be taken under the wing of a veteran librarian.

It's about 7:20 a.m. and I need to go to drop off my daughter at daycare and then off to the meeting. Wish me luck ;-)

Today is the DAY!

2008-08-12T05:09:00.000-07:00

Today is my first day of work as on "official" librarian. I am sure you can tell I am pretty excited about that fact. While I was at Target yesterday I picked up two books. One to use in the library called First Day Jitters and the other one I have been wanting to read (but never had time for it due to my SHSU literature classes)--Eclipse. First Day Jitters is about how everyone gets nervous going back for their first day of school. Last night I was sooooo restless and I kept waking up... I think so that I wouldn't accidentally be late. I will have to post later tonight or tomorrow to late you know how it went.

Here is what I hope to accomplish:
1) scheduling of classes
2) shelving new books
3) becoming familiar with Athena
4) finding out exactly what my library has to offer

There is much more to do, but I guess I will just have to see where this leads me.

Using Creative Commons photos

2008-08-10T13:51:00.000-07:00

Librarians everywhere push for patrons to be sure to use images that do not have copyrights. A while back I found out that Flickr has a feature that allows you to search for creative commons images. It was a bit tedious for me. If you click the link mentioned above, images are sorted into six different categories: Attribution License, Attribution-NoDerivs License, Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, Attribution-NonCommercial License, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License and Attribution-ShareAlike License. At times this is very useful, based on how you want to use the images. But, it can be cumbersome to search each category for the image that interests you.

That is where this tool comes in handy: JohnJohnson's Flickr CC Search Toy. Not only can you search for creative commons images on Flickr. This website will help you embed the picture you want from Flickr along with an attribution. This is definitely going to be added to my bookmarks. The image below is my first attempt at using this new "toy."

Photo by Pensiero
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License

I must also note that I found out about this new toy from using my Google reader to keep up with all the library blogs I read. If you liked this useful tool, you might like Cathy Nelson's blog Techno Tuesday.

#17 Rollyo

2008-08-10T09:28:00.001-07:00

I tried out Rollyo, a really cool customizable search engine. The one above is for book reviews. I think this will be very useful for students and teachers. I think I will probably use this website when I train the teachers in using great webtools.

Wikis...I'm back for more!

2008-08-10T08:44:00.000-07:00

Well, I felt a little frustrated by the last post. I want to figure this Wiki thing out and to be quite honest I love technology and I dislike the idea that I can't make something work for me. So this morning I spent some time getting to know PBWiki better. I looked through their tutorials and informational whitepages and came across Mr. Lindsay's wiki. Wow, he did a great job. Since, at times I am not that creative...I needed to see a site like this to help me visualize just what can be done with a wiki in the library. (Although Mr. Lindsay's wiki is for his classroom...not the library.)

So here are some of the things I'd like to have in my library wiki:

Help desk- for library issues and tech issues
calendar
to do list - for me to list things I am working on
about the librarian
about the wiki
student blogs
teacher blogs
lesson plans- so parents can see what their children are learning in the library
book reviews- students can collaborate here to recommend books to each other
resources for educators
cool stuff for kids

#16 Wikis

2008-08-09T19:48:00.000-07:00

Okay, well I kinda get wikis and I kinda don't. I keep looking around for a really good example to inspire me to use this in my library. Just about everyone has used Wikipedia. An online reference tool that allows users to contribute their expertise to the topics of their choice. It is a really neat collaborative tool. Wikis are that way. A meeting point that allows users to contribute to defined subjects. In the classroom/library, we can set up topics and allow users to contribute. I guess I am uncreative, because I have a hard time picturing what I would have students contribute about.

Then I found this wiki about booktalking. I went ahead and logged in (the password is booktalk) and I posted a review of a realistic fiction book. I think I am starting to get this now. I like the idea of collaborating with other people who share a common interest with me.

I also really liked Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki.

Something new I learned is that Wiki means quick in Hawaiian.

#15 Web 2.0 and its effect on the library

2008-08-09T19:14:00.000-07:00

According to this article librarians need to prepare their libraries for the current shift in technology that is happening. There are three icebergs that may hinder the success of librarians: 1) keeping a collection "just in case" it is needed; 2) not teaching patrons how to use technology; 3) focus on bringing services to patrons instead of expecting patrons to seek us out.

How to be a librarian 2.0:

plan for your users
embrace web 2.0 tools
question the necessity of new technology
evolve and change as needed
plan for the future but don't take too long to decide
use popular web features to promote the library- google, MySpace, Flickr

How exciting it is to be a part of this shift in thinking! I feel lucky to be here to see how everything all unfolds.