From Publishers Weekly:
Monday, August 31, 2020
Supporting school libraries through COVID-19 and beyond
Monday, August 24, 2020
PROQUEST EXPANDS TO LOCAL LIBRARIES
The move provides a secondary method of access for the K-12 Online Project content to insure availability for all California K-12 students
Every local library in California is able to provide access to multiple K-12 Online Content educational resources -- including ProQuest resources, as well as TeachingBooks and Britannica. The California State Library announced the local-library expansion last week.
“It’s a simple idea: Help more California school kids succeed by being able to find more reliable information more easily where they’ll be going to school this fall – online,” said Greg Lucas, California State Librarian in a press release.
“Yet another reason every Californian should have a library card,” he added.
The expansion means that these vital distance-learning resources from TeachingBooks, Britannica, and now ProQuest will be available with a local library card, in addition to the access through public school districts and charters.
The change comes as educators and parents seek quality online teaching tools during the pandemic. TeachingBooks and Britannica offered their K-12 resources through local libraries for the past two years. This is the first year for six ProQuest platforms to be available through library websites as well.
The six resources from ProQuest are: CultureGrams, SIRS Issues Researcher, SIRS Discoverer, Research Companion , eLibrary, and School and Educators Complete (eBooks).
Educators and parents interested in exploring the resources during the summer teacher-training open access period can go to the Quick Access page at the California State Library until mid-September.
Training is free for local education agencies, libraries and other K-12 education-related entities. Individuals, including parents, can participate in the trainings offered and announced by the K-12 Online Content Project. Two overviews are offered this week (see story below).
For those who need a quick overview of these resources available through summer teacher-training Quick Access (extended to mid-September), consider sharing the 20-minute video overview (Zoom recording) created by the State Library, or explore the site while the Quick Access page is available these next few weeks. Local library staff looking for assistance with set-up with any of the content providers can email marybeth.barber@library.ca.gov to be redirected for help.
Thursday, August 6, 2020
CSLA Blog Book Reviews for August
Welcome to the CSLA Blog Monthly Book Review! I’m sure everyone is in the process of preparing for the start of school soon. We are all trying to figure out how to get books in the hands of our students, with many of us beginning in distance learning. Each month I will post two reviews – a fiction and a non-fiction book.
In the spirit of summer reading, I’d like to introduce “The Midnight Hour”, by Benjamin Read and Laura Trinder. This debut novel is both part fantasy and part mystery. The book begins with our heroine, Emily being sent to bed without dinner after a fight with her mother. When she wakes up the next morning, her mother has disappeared. After a week with no word, Emily’s father leaves at midnight to find her. Left alone, frightened and confused, Emily makes plans to search for her parents armed simply with snacks and a sleepy hedgehog friend in her pocket. The post office where her father works is only open at midnight. Soon Emily finds herself in a magical world, set in Victorian London, where it time is frozen at midnight. A magical Big Ben is all that prevents the enchanted creatures from this world from entering Emily’s present day London world.
In her search for her parents, Emily teams up with magical creatures, including a policeman with a secret of his own. Along her journey, Emily fights evil creatures, and fights to save her parents, and discover family secrets, including one of her own. This book is light-hearted, fun, with action-packed adventure, magical creatures, friendship and love. This book is a great addition for any library serving grades 4th through 8th grade.
My non-fiction pick of the month is “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You: A Remis of the National Book Award-Winning Stamped from the Beginning”, by Ibram X. Kendi, adapted by Jason Reynolds. If you haven’t read this book, you must. If it’s not in your library, go get it. Award-winner Jason Reynolds speaks at an easy level to which young readers can connect. He begins the book immediately by informing his audience that this is “not a history book”, connecting to his readers and pulling them in. The book makes clear what it means to be anti-racist, and proceeds to walk through history from the time of slavery, through present day. He explains the difference between assimilation and anti-racism and connects with readers as he takes a complicated topic, and relates it to both past and present, helping to make clear to readers the relevance and importance of this topic today.
This book is an essential read for any middle or high school student.
A little about me. My name is Jamie Baxter. I have worked at Tierra Linda Middle School/Mariposa Upper Elementary School in San Carlos for three years. In addition, I have been pursuing a Masters in Information Science with a concentration in School Librarianship online through Rutgers University. I am in my final semester and will then transfer my teaching credential to California and pursue the next phase of my journey. I love Middle School and hope to continue to serve this age group. I live with my three kids, a Tonkinese cat and my King Charles Cavalier Spaniel, Athena. When not reading, I enjoy needlepointing, teaching my daughter to quilt, and spending time with friends and family (socially distanced right now of course!)
If you have any books or topics you would like to see featured, please email me at mrsblibrarian@gmail.com. Feel free to suggest books or write your own review to be included. Make sure to include your name, school or location and anything you want to share about yourself or your library.
Jamie BaxterTuesday, August 4, 2020
CSLA Northern Region - Events and opportunities to be involved
CSLA Northern Region, Section 4, is sponsoring an Unconference on August 11th at 4:30 pm for a chance to socialize, connect, and share ideas as TLs move into this school year.
Ideas for discussion can be entered before the meeting on this Padlet.
Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/2316789777?pwd=RWhVZHdodkh2Q2NMYTlNb0ZtcGUvdz09
Meeting ID: 231 678 9777
Passcode: CSLA
Members of the Northern Region attended a virtual leadership retreat in June 2020. Members reflected and set goals for the upcoming year and participated in committee work. Anti racist statement and COVID-19 infographic will be forthcoming for the members.
NR scholarships: DUE October 15, 2020
Jewell Gardiner Memorial Fund Scholarship California School Library Association - Northern Region - Teacher Librarian Scholarship Application 2021
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe77nds806u1SIPW_Emj2H7xxnKauvqo-vzZXyGRKhsTuI03g/viewform
California School Library Association - - Northern Region - Library Information Technology Scholarship 2021
CSLA Anti-Racist/Equity Statement
Anti-Racist Statement
The California School Library Association (CSLA) stands with Black Lives Matter and supports all efforts to end institutional, structural, and systemic racism and inequity in both our organization and in California’s school libraries. As a part of this, we are examining our history as a predominantly White organization, identifying and removing racism where it exists in our organization, and centering our work on equitable access for students and staff in California.
Responsibility for Past Actions
CSLA stands with the American Library Association (ALA) to accept and acknowledge our role in upholding unjust systems of racism and discrimination against Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) within the association and the profession. Some examples include: lack of diversity in leadership roles within the organization, lack of representation at conferences by presenters, content, and insufficient focus within the organization on racism. We apologize for our participation in the systematic denial of knowledge for our students which is necessary to be successful in an ever changing world.
CSLA answers the call from The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) to reflect on the evidence of injustice in school communities and take action against such systemic injustices. CSLA will actively work to develop inclusive school libraries that celebrate Black American experiences, honor all home cultures, and provide mirrors, windows, and microphones for all students in California.
Equity
Equitable access to school library programs is essential for student success. The digital divide in California is also racist. Our most vulnerable populations are often the ones lacking computers and access to Wi-Fi. It is alarming that in our state, one in five students do not have access.
CSLA commits to improving current California school library programs to promote anti-racist and inclusive policies and practices. Credentialed Teacher Librarians provide direct instruction in areas that are necessary to thrive in the world today, specifically information and media literacy.
A strong library program is crucial for all students in California. The disparities that exist in school library services worsen the achievement gap, perpetuates racism and white privilege, and undercuts a just and democratic society.
As the most populous state in the nation, California ranks 4th in the world for Gross Domestic Product and makes up 14% of the U.S. economy. In contrast, California, which serves 6,543,800 public K-12 students, ranks 37th in spending for K-12 education. It is not only 50th in high school graduation rates, but also last in providing school library services. California has by far the poorest ratio of students to Teacher Librarians in the nation. The most recent data (2015-16) exposes California having only one Teacher Librarian to 32,000 students, despite the state’s model standards recommending employing one full-time Teacher Librarian for every 785 students. California’s refusal to mandate library services for all California schools is a systemic failure for the neediest students.
The State of California maintains an unjust funding system that underfunds public education and widens the achievement gap by abdicating its responsibility to ensure equity for our most underserved students. California’s unequal distribution of state monies, exacerbated by unequal tax bases, creates a funding vacuum to be filled at will at the local level. This leads to discretionary local control funding decisions, local bond measures, parent and foundation funded school libraries, all of which continue to segregate school libraries and cement in place an enduring racist system. Each district is left with the impossible decision of local control to decide who will have access to qualified library staff, resources and materials, and who will not. Students of color, immigrant students, socio-economically challenged, unhoused, and foster youth are the ones most left out.
Dedicated Steps for the Future
CSLA will address the following areas to build a more equitable association and best serve our students, current and future members, and school libraries. CSLA commits to the following actions:
Ensure representation and support of BIPOC in leadership, professional development within the organization, and beyond. Additionally, collaborate with other educational associations to educate, advocate, and promote school libraries and literacy rich environments as a support in building anti-racist schools.
Provide professional learning, anti-racist/anti bias resources including an inclusive rubric for collection development and school library programs and services.
Collaborate with and reach out to K-12 credentialing programs and other educational organizations to encourage diverse entry into school library services.
Eradicate institutional racism and racist policies from CSLA’s guiding documents by reviewing the CSLA mission statement, policies, and position papers to refine and update as needed.
Incomplete data and ineffective dissemination of the California Department of Education (CDE) annual school library survey, compels CSLA to make transparent the current demographics of its members and the state of staffing and funding for California school libraries to bring to light the inequities that CSLA anticipates exists in California.
A Call to Action
Recognizing the disparities of funding and a community’s access to the school library services and materials, CSLA commits to the following actions:
Insist the CDE identify areas in California that do not have library services and highlight socio-economic and cultural ethnic makeup of those districts.
Demand accountability and action from our educational leaders and organizations, who need to answer for denying California’s students instruction on the skills and knowledge necessary to become well-informed and empowered global citizens.
Demand the CDE to revise, update, promote, and share the results of the school library survey to obtain important data on library staffing, districts, percent of budgets allocated to school libraries, resources available, the cultural responsiveness of school library collections, current library staff in an effort to be culturally responsive and more inclusive in the resources, professional development, and advocacy efforts.
Compel all of California’s stakeholders to join the advocacy efforts for student access to relevant and anti-racist school libraries. Every student in California deserves access to a fully funded and staffed quality library program.
A Plea on Behalf of California’s Students
The narrative of California’s school libraries is alarming, appalling, and racist, and without radical measures they will deteriorate further. The abysmal statistics on school library services are the worst in the United States. The bottom line is school library services as they exist in California are NOT equitable. CSLA adamantly invites all stakeholders to join this narrative of disruption and progress to empower the state’s younger generations. Work must be done to ensure BIPOC students have full access to robust school library programs. Equity means providing equitable access to vital resources, tools, and trained professionals. It also means hiring library staff reflective of the diversity throughout our state. Teacher librarians fill the integral role of collaborative teaching to instill in students a love of reading at an early age and to help students build critical thinking, inquiry skills, and vital 21st century literacies. Beyond that, there is a call, too long unanswered, to decentralize the White point of view. Creating an anti-racist library environment begins with school libraries embracing a fully inclusive narrative of all cultures, showcasing diverse voices, and developing culturally relevant and responsive collections. The next chapter mandates the decolonization of curriculum and embedding an Ethnic Studies framework throughout K-12 education to amplify the all too often silenced stories so that all students in California are prepared to engage as just and vibrant global citizens.
Survey on attitudes to media
A national report explored the long-term trends of American attitudes on the news media. According to the report, most Americans, perceiving increased bias in the news, are losing confidence in the idea of an objective media, and believe news organizations have shifted from observer to participant in the politics. Here are some findings:
- Americans see increasing bias in the news media.
- Americans think the media is pushing an agenda.
- Distrust in the media cuts along partisan lines.
- A majority say the media are under political attack (depending on their own party).
- Attitudes about the media varies by age, with youth being the most negative.
- Americans blame the media for political divisions but also see how media could heal divides.
- Americans want more newsroom diversity by political party and ethnicity.
- Americans feel overwhelmed news volume and speed, which the Internet makes worse.
- Local news is closely linked to civic engagement.
- Americans still think the media is vital for democracy.
American Views 2020: Trust Media and Democracy. (2020). Knight Foundation.
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