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