January Newsletter!

“The difference between readers and non-readers is that readers have plans” 

Penny Kittle, author of Book Love

It’s Back !

• GenreLand is here again for 2016 with some great prizes!
• Use the above gameboard to keep track of your reading this year (last year JoLynn made this great electronic board of what she read--check it out!)
• Submit your finished books to this Google Form to keep track--the more times you finish, the more times your name is entered into the drawing to win prizes!!
• All submissions due by May 10th, 2016.

Insignia Info

Just a quick reminder that we are upgrading Insignia from version 6.7.5 to 6.9.4 on Monday, January 11.  It includes some minor feature enhancements, the relevant enhancements are in the OPAC and Reporting modules as indicated below.

• Labels Label sort default can be set in Administration>Library Setting>Configuration>Catalog II.
• OPAC Librarian can remove material types that shouldn’t be included in Most Circulated in OPAC.  Administration>Library Setting>Configuration>OPAC IV.
• OPAC Local notes can be searched in Simple Search in OPAC using drop down menu (Keywords, Relevance, Title, etc.)
• Reports In Outstanding Fine List, Fine Slip, and Fine & Overdue Message report, user can specify to Include Library Name as a column to see which library the fine belongs to.

Click here if you would like to read the full release notes.  

Please let Rae know if you have any questions or experience any issues after the upgrade on January 11. Remember to clear your browser cache that Monday to see the new version.

Learning for You!

• Our next Teacher Librarian meeting will be Tuesday, January 12th from 4:00-5:30pm at Crest View Elementary! Host is Nancy Carabell with snacks and book talks brought to you by Erika Arias, Nancy Carabell & Katrina Griffith
• Workshop Sessions
• Research Skills Round Table with Erika Arias
• Bring your favorite research mini-lessons to share - it could be on taking notes, use of Table of Contents and Index, skimming and scanning, taking notes in your own words, evaluating resources, or any other research skill you can think of!  In addition, we'll discuss which skills you target at each grade level and why.  My hope is that this round table discussion will increase the size of teacher's toolkit and foster new ideas when it comes to teaching research!
• Beyond Book Talks!
• Participate in a variety of book talk activities that move beyond the stand and deliver method--bring a book to share and ideas that you use to take book talks beyond! Get some good ideas for GenreLand :-)

What to Know @BVSD this Month!

• Submit your pictures and reflections from Hour of Code! We heard from many librarians that participated in this event--we would love to have a place to share out what happened! If you add your thoughts and/or pictures of your Hour of Code you will be entered to a raffle to win a cool prize! http://padlet.com/bvsd_edtech/hourofcode
• The Digital Literacy Specialist job is will be posted by this Friday! Please pass this to your colleagues who might be interested in this incredible role! Read this post in our Google Group for more information about the expansion of library leadership.

Connect Beyond BVSD!

• Submit to present at CAL/MPLA Check out the CAL 2016 website--they’re working hard to revamp CAL to be a conference that is innovative and inspiring! (You might also see a few friendly faces in those pictures) http://cal-webs.wix.com/calcon16 Submissions are due by February 12th 2016!
• ALA/ESEA overview Our ALA, CDE & CO State Libraries have sent out information regarding the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) recently reauthorized as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) by congress. This overview helps understand the potential roles school librarians will impact as this law moves forward.
• From Barnes & Noble-- Liz Schnaitter will be hosting a small reception and book presentation just for Teacher-Librarians and friends. There will be light snacks and coffee available while she presents some leisure-reading fiction and non-fiction options based on recommendations from a variety of sources, including my very knowledgeable booksellers, Maureen Corrigan of NPR's Best Books of 2015, and GoodReads. We'll get started at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, 1/13 at Barnes & Noble Boulder

On-Demand: Libinars!

Our new Libinar Playlist on YouTube is ready for you to check out to find the on-demand recordings of past Libinars!

You can also follow the BVSD Ed Tech YouTube Channel and receive an email when new content is uploaded for your access. Just click "subscribe" to get the updates. 

Want to host an upcoming Libinar? Contact Nannette McMurtry to set one up! 

See the photos below of Colleen Jiron recently leading her Libinar entitled "Increasing Student Library Engagement and Circulation" 

Colleen, our recent Libinar teacher librarian!

The Command Center of a Libinar

Salary Credit for Teacher Librarian Workshops & LIBinars!

Salary Credit Information

Salary Credit for Teacher Librarians Workshops & LIBinars!

• If you signed up for salary credit (did so by telling Nannette or entering it onto our meeting sign in), these are the expectations! 
• Total=15 hours of worktime!
• You must attend 7.5 hours of face-to-face workshops OR LIBinars AND complete the following requirements.

Date	Hours Worked	Work Required	How will you document this work has been completed?
2015-16 School Year	3	Implement workshop learning in the library and/or in instruction and collaboration with teachers	Salary Credit Log
2015-16 School Year	3	Share to other teacher librarians how they have implemented the workshop learning by sharing images, video and/or student products and exemplars of this work	BVSD Teacher Librarians Google Group & Salary Credit Log
2015-16 School Year	1.5	Compose and publish a BVSD Libraries blog post on how a workshop has impacted how to do work in library and with students	BVSD Libraries Blog & Salary Credit Log
		TOTAL HOURS	7.5 (many TL’s will work beyond this time) SALARY CREDIT LOGS DUE To Elene Medicraft MONDAY, MAY 16, 2016

December Newsletter!

“One of the magical things about reading to me is it helps me imagine life outside of myself”

~John Green, We Need Diverse Books

Think!

“If this all seems too intimidating, gather a few of your adventurous students and let them lead you. I know kids at our school will practically demand it, not only because they understand that these skills are important, but because they’re excited to tinker around with these ideas to see how and why they all work.”

~Phil Goerner, Tips for Celebrating Hour of Code at your Library

Phil Goerner, teacher librarian at St Vrain Valley School District’s Silver Creek High School, recently posted an article to School Library Journal about how he celebrates Hour of Code--check it out!

Why read this article?
Phil shares practical ideas for how to celebrate hour of code in your library and with your students! Join him on Twitter (@pgoerner )  and share how your school is celebrating hour of code!

What to Know @BVSD this Month!

• Special Announcement: Collection Development Mini-Grants Available to you!
• Through collaboration with the Library Advisory Council, we are excited to announce that this year, the CDE State Grants to Libraries funding, is available for you to write a mini-collection grant!
• Please submit your grant interest through this form. Grant requests MUST follow the guidelines set by CDE for this funding AND demonstrate need for collection development in the particular area you are requesting.
• Hour of Code & CSED (Computer Science Education Week) begins Saturday! See this valuable info from Jackie Weber and the CSED team!!! Share in the comments section below how YOU are celebrating hour of code and be entered to win a prize!
• Boulder Book Store is giving away THOUSANDS of books to educators!! Read more about it and share with your teachers!

Insignia Info

• Who do you contact for Insignia questions?
• As always, you can contact Insignia directly when issues arise: Insignia 866-428-3997 x2 insigniasupport@insigniasoftware.com
• Submit a case within the ILS (under Help menu)
• Insignia Training Site
• Rae Ciciora, rae.ciciora@bvsd.org
• Rae is our assistant cataloguer and will be fielding Insignia questions until we can post and hire for replacing Amy’s position
• Discovery Layer is coming! See email from Rae and blog posts from October for information. We appreciate your patience as we’ve been testing and making sure our environment was ready for this change.

Learning for You!

• Salary Credit --if you have not told Nannette that you would like to earn salary credit for this year’s TL workshops and LIBinars, please let her know. Look for a blog post soon about what is required to earn this credit.
• Upcoming BVSD LIBinar: Increasing Student Library Engagement & Circulation with Colleen Jiron, Teacher Librarian @Community Montessori Wednesday, December 9th 2:45pm
• Upcoming CDE Library Webinar: The Irresistible Library: Renovate and Rejuvenate! Wednesday December 9th from 3:30 -4:30 pm. Access the webinar here!
• January Professional Development Day for ALL Elementary Teacher Librarians: January 4th from 8:00am-12:00pm @IT Copper Room. Please park at Arapahoe Campus and then enter through IT!We will have coffee provided for you this morning!

• Look forward to these amazing guest speakers!
• Becky Russell, CDE School Library/Digital Literacy Instructional Specialist: The Future of Libraries
• Casey Veatch, CDE Digital Literacy Instructional Specialist: Integrating Technology in the Elementary Library--an experience from planning to implementation!

November Announcements

“The library should always be within reach”

~Dr. Michael Stephens

Assistant Professor in the School of Information @San Jose State University

Think!

“[The authors] document how educators and parents can lead a new path to a place they call 'Readialand' a literacy-rich world that marries reading and digital media to bring knowledge, skills, and critical thinking to all of our children. This approach is driven by the urgent need for low-income children and parents to have access to the same 21st-century literacy opportunities already at the fingertips of today's affluent families.”

~Publisher's blurb from Tap Click Read

• Tap Click Read: Growing Readers in a World of Screens

Why Read This?

Digital equity is a necessity for students to have the same opportunity as their peers both locally and globally. This book, and accompanying website tapclickread.org, provide resources for building literacy to create what they’ve coined as “Readialand”, as well as resources for supporting digital equity in your school. This topic and book is a helpful companion to our 1:Web program!

Insignia Info

• On Monday, November 9 (UPDATE: This change is on hold for now. You will receive an update with a new release date) your student catalog will transition to the Insignia Discovery Layer. For more information about this change please see:
• Are You Ready? New Insignia Discovery Layer Coming November 9 - 31 people have viewed this post so far
• New Insignia Discovery Layer Coming Nov 2015 - 48 people have viewed this so post far
• If you have any questions about the Discovery Layer, please ask Amy.

Celebrations

• Katie Darrin, Flatirons Elementary and Creekside Elementary - chosen as a book reviewer for School Library Journal
• Loran Lattes, Whittier International School - named a Tech4Learning Innovative Educator

What to Know @BVSD this Month!

• Hour of Code Celebrations @BVSD; National Information Share what you & your school are hoping to do in the comments below!

Why Participate?

Hour of code is an opportunity to connect with students and empower their learning in whole new ways. Collaborate with the teachers in your building to help celebrate this powerful day! Need inspiration? See the CODEGIRLS (this link has been removed by the publishers).

Learning for You!

• Our next Teacher Librarian meeting is Tuesday, November 10th at Ryan Elementary School
• Host: Erika Arias, Ryan Elementary School
• Snacks: Loran Lattes, Laurie Brockway, Kelli Chynoweth (don’t forget your book talks!)

Connect Beyond BVSD!

• National Novel Writing Month
• Are you celebrating? Share how in the comments below!

Why Participate?

Participating in #NaNoMo is a way to empower writing in your life, and the lives of the students around you. Share this opportunity with your staff and let writing bloom! Write for you, write with our students.

• Colorado Blue Spruce Nominees deadline is coming up fast--December 31st. The website includes ways to access resources to promote this in your library.

Teacher librarians who share in the comments section how you and your students/school are celebrating Hour of Code, National Novel Writing Month or the Colorado Blue Spruce nominees, will be entered into a drawing to win some fun prizes!

Are You Ready? New Insignia Discovery Layer Coming November 9

UPDATE as of 11/16/15: This change is on hold for now. You will receive an email with a new release date.

On November 9, 2015 we are transitioning to a new version of the Insignia student catalog called the Discovery Layer. Hopefully you had a chance to read the previous blog post announcing this change.

Get a Sneek Peek

I have created two screencasts to give you an introduction to the Discovery Layer and its key features. I highly encourage you to watch both of them; they are about 10 minutes each.

• Intro to Discovery Layer pt. 1
• Intro to Discovery Layer pt. 2

What to Expect on November 9

I anticipate that the transition to the Discovery Layer will be pretty seamless. You won't need to make any changes to the catalog links you have on your library websites or other online resources. On November 9 the existing web address will point to the new Discovery Layer.

You can use the Discovery Layer in any web browser, including Chrome.

As a reminder, this change is only for the student catalog. The administrative part of Insignia will remain the same.

Try It for Yourself

Feel free to try the Discovery Layer before it goes live and send me your feedback. The test link is https://library.bvsd.org/library/discovery (note that we will only use this link during the testing period).

Email me, amy.hitchner@bvsd.org, with any questions. Thanks!

LIBinar recap: Developing an LGBTQ Collection for the Middle School Library

Congratulations to Barb Miller, our first BVSD teacher librarian to host a LIBinar. She did a great job sharing her passion for her Allies group and her LGBTQ collection. She even said that doing a LIBinar wasn't that scary!

In case you missed the live stream yesterday, 10/29/15 at 4:00 pm, you can watch the recording here.



Barb's Google Slides presentation contains lots of great info and links. Contact her if you have any questions or want to chat about resources.

If you're interested in sharing your passion in an upcoming LIBinar, please contact Nannette or Amy.

Our next LIBinar is 11/17/15 at 12:00 pm. Colleen Jiron will be sharing how she increased circulation at Community Montessori. Look for a calendar invite with a link to join soon. We hope to see you there (virtually)!