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From owner-pubyac@nysernet.org Sun Nov 2 13:22:21 1997
From: Angela Reynolds <ajrcm@teleport.com>
Subject: MocK Newbery Election
Just had to share my good moment...our group of twenty 4th and 5th
graders plus two home-school students met for the first time yesterday,and
they were so excited they were literally grabbing books from me.
(I am working with the school media specialist on this--talk about
cooperation!!)
There are almost as many boys as girls in this group, and it is satisfying
to see kids this age be so jazzed about reading. By the way, here are the
books we have chosen for our Mock Newbery Election:
*The Iron Ring, Lloyd Alexander
*Seedfolks, Paul Fleischman
*The War in Georgia, Jerrie Oughton
*Chasing Redbird, Sharon Creech
*Out of the Dust, Karen Hesse
*Wringer, Jerry Spinelli
Angela Reynolds
West Slope Community Library
Portland, OR
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From owner-pubyac@nysernet.org Sun Nov 2 13:22:22 1997
From: af522@rgfn.epcc.Edu (Kathy M. Aiau)
Subject: Dragon Craft
Hello,
Can anyone provide a good dragon craft? We are going to sing
"Puff the Magic dragon"(short version!)" We have a variety of
ages that participate.
Thanks in Advance, Kathy Aiau
af522@rgfn.epcc.edu
--
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From owner-pubyac@nysernet.org Sun Nov 2 13:22:23 1997
From: Melissa Karnosh <emmelisa@bc.seflin.org>
Subject: School assignments and the reference collection
I have been closely following the thread on teacher assignments to
children, and have already snapped up a few good ideas to help with the
situation at our library. And I agree with the poster who reminded us
that these are the exceptional assignments--the majority of kids just
come in, find what they need, and go.
The situation at my branch is somewhat exacerbated by the fact that we
have to serve 16 elementary schools, 4 middle schools and 3 high schools.
And those are just the ones in our direct service area; I'm not counting
the ones that are technically served by other branches but whose students
mostly use our library. The average attendance at each of these schools
is about 1000 for each elementary, about 2500 for each middle school, and
about 3500 for each high school. Sometimes it seems as if we see more
than our share of vague/frustrating/misunderstood/deliberately misleading
assignments! There is also the fact that with so many schools out there, the
assignments overlap from school to school. There's never just one class
doing reports about planets: usually it's more like 10-15 classes.
We use all the classic methods to cope: teacher letters, temporary
reference books, finding out how many other students are likely to
need the same question answered, beefed-up collection in the areas where
assignments hit hardest, etc. We limit the number of books which can be
borrowed on each subject, and the limit is enforced on everybody,
including teachers. We get some angry teachers with this policy, but
the fact of the matter is that one teacher can wipe you out on a
subject, leaving nothing for any other teachers or their students.
Generally, when we explain that the reason for the policy is to make
sure everyone has access to books for their assignments, the teachers
simmer down a bit.
Naturally, we make heavy use of our reference collection. We have worked
hard to build a collection which can provide at least some basic
information about nearly every assignment, at a level the students can
understand. We are always thrilled to find a new reference source
(such as the "Scientists" or "Explorers and Discoverers"
sets from UXL)
that fills yet another niche on our referenc shelves. This collection
has really helped us to keep on top of the flood of assignments that pour
in to our library from all these schools. BUT--
Recently, I have noticed a trend in the assignments that has me worried:
student after student comes in to say that, "My teacher says I can use
anything EXCEPT a reference book; it has to be a book I can take home."
Lately, it seems that as soon as we get a reference source that is perfect
for some of the more esoteric assignments, the students begin to tell us
that their teachers won't let them use that source! Frankly, there are
some assignments that just aren't well served by the circulating
collection, or can't be served at all ("Write a report about any five
famous mathematicians"). Shutting the students out of the reference
collection shuts them out of the information, period; or it forces them to
spend hours searching through periodical databases, Web search engines,
and microfilm in hopes of finding a few fragments.
Or that perennial quote: "I'm not allowed to use an encyclopedia"
(even
when the work is a specialized reference source such as the "Raintree
Science Encyclopedia" that just happens to have the word in its title).
Have you any idea how hard it can be to find information about the
Golden Lion Tamarin when any circulating information is gone and the
student can't use the "Encyclopedia of Mammals"? In the past we could
sneak past this by using a source that didn't have the dreaded E-word in
the title; but this latest use-anything-but-a-reference-book has
eliminated that option. I sometimes wonder: did these teachers somehow
make it through college without ever making use of a reference book
themselves?
Yes, we use form letters explaining why the students can't complete their
assignments. And yes, we encourage teachers to talk to us about what
they want the students to gain through completing the work. We encourage
them to bring students in on library visits so we can show students and
teachers alike all of the wonderful sources there are at the library, and
how reference books can make it easier to complete homework. But it still
keeps happening. Does anybody out there have a really good solution for
the I-can't-use-it-if-I-can't-check-it-out dilemma?
Melissa Karnosh
Head of Youth Services
Broward County South Regional/B.C.C. Library
Broward County, FL
emmelisa@bc.seflin.org
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesome
returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact."--Twain
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
emmelisa@bc.seflin.org
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From owner-pubyac@nysernet.org Sun Nov 2 13:22:22 1997
From: StoryPage@aol.com
Subject: Re: Toddler time
In a message dated 97-11-01 09:34:01 EST, you write:
<< I too did a toddler time for the first time this year. I recieved lots
of
helpful advice from other librarians. One word of caution. I have seen
several suggestions on using puppets, and my group had a couple of children
that were terribly afraid of them and would only come back if there parents
checked ahead to see if there would be puppets that day. >>
This is pretty typical for the very young. I have learned to start with very
small, cute puppets, such as the baby bunny from Folkmanis, and introduce
them quietly and slowly. Move it slowly and have it whisper to you as you
interpret. As they get used to the puppets after a number of programs, you
can slowly do more and with larger puppets. Their main fear here is of the
unknown.
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From owner-pubyac@nysernet.org Sun Nov 2 13:22:21 1997
From: mchelton@cadvantage.com (marykchelton)
ubject: Re: Mass Assignments/Impossible Questions
Jane's post raises another issue I've been thinking about ever since I
completed my dissertation on Adult-Adolescent Service Encounters, which is
that we have an embedded assumption that all people can or want (or should
want) to learn to use libraries and be self-sufficient (aka "information
literate"). I think this is false for adults and kids. Instead of assuming
we either teach them or we don't, I think we need to sort users initially
by asking if they'd like to learn how to do it themselves or not. A great
many people do not approach staff expecting a lesson on how best to help
themselves in self-service emporium. We really have a spectrum of users,
regardless of age, who fall into 1) leave-me-alone-browsers, 2)
I'll-do-it-myself-searchers, 3) forever clueless, and 4) learned helpless.
When this sort appears among kids, especially the last two categories, we
tend either to scapegoat those others who SHOULD HAVE instructed them, or
blame the victim. Our response is often based on the fact that we are
chronically understaffed and faced with a relentless que of people, some of
whom better become self-sufficient, or we're going to die of exhaustion,
but the problem rests with institutional assumptions, not users.
I would be interested in others' thoughts on all this. I'm not trying to
annoy people exasperated already even further, but rather trying to make us
reconceptualize the problem. As Michael Lipsky, author of STREET-LEVEL
BUREAUCRACY, points out, when you can't control the clients you get, you
create the ones you want. We have a mythical "good client" against
which
all others are measured, with "mythical" being the most important word
here.
Mary K.
>Thank you Mary K. for bringing us back to a reality check. In my
>library we would be inundated with assignment alerts from teachers, run
>around and do lots of work, and very possibly have no students come in
>to make use of what was prepared.
>
>I would also like to throw out a question about library skills in
>relation to some of these impossible questions. Whose responsiblity is
>it to equip children which the skills necessary to attempt some of these
>questions? Is it the teachers? The Librarians (when the teacher hasn't
>notified us of the assignment?) Or is it the public librarian's job to
>simply provide the materials that should or might have the answer?
>
>> Instead of the inevitable scapegoating of teachers/librarians this
issue
>> evokes, I would like to see some discussion of how librarians keep kids
>> from being caught in the middle of the two institutional
non-communicators.
>> The real problem is not that this is a recurrent annoyance, but that
kids
>> get punished this way. They don't learn nor do they find the materials
they
>> want, nor do they get generous help from the adults they should expect
it
>> from. Who's working on that problem?
>>
>> I also think that "mass assignments," like the poor, will
always be with
>> us. If every teacher told you in advance about every possible
assignment,
>> what would you do, since that seems to be the communal fantasy among
public
>> library youth services people?
>>
>> Mary K.
>>
>> Mary K. Chelton, MLS, PhD
>> Assistant Professor
>> School of Library and Information Management
>> Emporia State University
>> 1200 Commercial
>> Emporia, KS 66801
>> phone: (316) 341-5071 work
>> (316)342-9277 home
>> fax: (316) 342-6391 home
>> e-mail: mchelton@cadvantage.com
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>Jane M. Whiteside
>Head of Children's Services
>Fountaindale Public Library District
>Bolingbrook, IL
>jmwhiteside@starbase1.htls.lib.il.us
Mary K. Chelton, MLS, PhD
Assistant Professor
School of Library and Information Management
Emporia State University
1200 Commercial
Emporia, KS 66801
phone: (316) 341-5071 work
(316)342-9277 home
fax: (316) 342-6391 home
e-mail: mchelton@cadvantage.com
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From owner-pubyac@nysernet.org Sun Nov 2 13:22:27 1997
From: Marijo Kist <mkist@lib.ci.phoenix.az.us>
Subject: Re: Toddlers & Puppets
I know the dilema about puppets and little ones. But I think that their
familarity with Lamb Chop, Mr Rogers and other such media puppets has
helped some. I usually start the year (or session "semester") with a
small dog or cat. I use the same one for several weeks and they all have
names. The dog is Sam, the cat is Homer, the red hen is Irene, the bunny
is Skippy etc. I come out of the story area with the puppet on my hand and
encourage all the kids to come pet him (or her). I address the puppet by
name to each child. Some do hang back but when
they see the others are okay with this thing, they come forward slowly.
Then after four or five sessions, I come out with *no* puppet. They miss
it so much. But I have the puppet hidden somewhere in the storyroom. And
we all go in calling for Homer, or Sam or whoever we started with. That
silly puppet, he fell asleep and almost missed the kids! The kids love
that. I was at one library, when I was young and foolish, where after a
puppet had been "introduced" it got to stay in the children's area.
One
day two older kids, 5th 6th grade, were running in circles, each with a
puppet. I had asked them several times to hold it down, not run etc. I
was finally so exasperated, I said that if those puppets got dizzy I was
*not* cleaning up any puppet puke. They were stunned, then got the giggles
and decided I was allright, for a library lady.
Marijo Kist mkist@lib.ci.phoenix.az.us
Acacia Branch Library
(602) 262-6224
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From owner-pubyac@nysernet.org Sun Nov 2 13:23:00 1997
From: Wally Bubelis <wallyb@halcyon.com>
Subject: Re: STUMPER: Cinderella
To answer the question who wrote this down first, we may do some hunting
and come up with a name. However, if we are asking who told this first,
the answer is that this story has been told in various countries for
centuries. I've heard variations from China, Vietnam, Russia, and
elsewhere. There is a great children's book called "The rough-face
girl"
from the Algonquin Indians. Also, a book from 1893 called
"Cinderella;three hundred and forty-five variants of Cinderella...."
by
Marian Emily Roalfe Cox. Last, a recent book (1982) called "Cinderella, a
folklore casebook" edited by Alan Dundes.
happy hunting,
wally bubelis
On Sat, 1 Nov 1997, LWilli0316 wrote:
> Hi Pubyackers,
>
> While reviewing my folklore collection the other day, I pulled out 3 copies
> of Cinderella. One attributed it to Charles Perrault, one to the Grimm
> brothers, and one (Galdone's, I think) just gave it "Folklore --
France." The
> story also appeared in a collection of Grimm's tales.
> Hmmmmm. WHO is really responsible for this tale? Does anyone know?
"The universe is made of stories, not atoms." --Muriel Rukeyeser
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From owner-pubyac@nysernet.org Sun Nov 2 13:23:17 1997
From: Diana Tixier Herald <"dherald@wic.net"@wic.net>
Subject: Re: YA paperback preference
Paperback reviews are a persistant problem. VOYA reviews many and I
would recommend it to anyone with a YA collection or clientel. Ingram
Paperback Advance is a good source to know what it coming out but only
has blurbs not reviews. Keeping a list of great YA hardcovers and then
going into BIP or Amazon.com and looking them up a year later will turn
up the ones that have been published in pbk. One of the wonderful trends
that started a few years ago was the simultaneous publication of
hardcover and paperback but I can't remember which publisher(s) were
doing it.
Happy reading,
Diana Tixier Herald
dherald@wic.net http://www.mancon.com/genre
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From owner-pubyac@nysernet.org Sun Nov 2 13:23:46 1997
From: Ruth Lufkin <lufkin@gti.net>
Subject: Beverly Gray stumper - thanks!
Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou! What a raft of wonderful information about
the Beverly Gray series you sent, each seeming to contribute something
new. My sincere thanks to all of you.
I haven't had time to draw it all together, and am off to the ASIS
conference in Washington tomorrow (anyone else planning to be there?), but
as soon as I get back I'll be in touch with my patron, and will also try
and post a compilation for the list.
As in the past, PUBYAC is an essential resource!
Ruth L.
--------------------------------------------
( Ruth Lufkin ) [lufkin@gti.net]
Acting Children's Librarian
Bernards Township Library, Basking Ridge, NJ
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From owner-pubyac@nysernet.org Sun Nov 2 13:24:13 1997
From: mchelton@cadvantage.com (marykchelton)
ubject: Mass assignments/library school
In response to Cindi's query about what library schools are doing, my YA
class certainly has discussed this, especially since it is composed of a
lot of classroom teachers getting a secondary school library media
certificate. I can't speak for other library educators. (A lot of library
schools are not "library" schools anymore, either, unfortunately, nor
are
their professors librarians.) I am well aware that students need a heavy
dose of reality, but I also try to give them a way to think about it. All
our discussions on this topic revolve around how to reduce frustration for
kids. Patrick Jones has some wonderful discussion scenarios in his book,
Connecting Young Adults and Libraries, which is one of the class texts.
(Second edition due in December from Neal Schuman.)
Mary K.
Mary K. Chelton, MLS, PhD
Assistant Professor
School of Library and Information Management
Emporia State University
1200 Commercial
Emporia, KS 66801
phone: (316) 341-5071 work
(316)342-9277 home
fax: (316) 342-6391 home
e-mail: mchelton@cadvantage.com
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From owner-pubyac@nysernet.org Sun Nov 2 13:24:33 1997
From: "Vollrath, Elizabeth" <evollrat@uwsp.edu>
Subject: YA Programs
Some of our more successful YA programs have been:
"A Liar's Contest" I started out by telling Anansi's "The Liar's
Contest." (Can't remember which Anansi collection I found it in) Then
each participant told a story. A couple of boys did a skit that had
everyone in stitches. Some kids wore masks or costumes. It was a lot
of fun. We judged it based on a number of factors, including
believability, creativity, presentation, etc.
" Jewelry Making Workshop". I bought supplies at a discount store -
beads of all kinds, earring and pin backs, wire, etc. I also took apart
old retro jewelry of mine I no longer wanted - they didn't know the
difference and actually preferred those pieces. (Of course this only
attracted girls.)
I also hold a" Puppet making workshop" every summer. From this
group I get the 12-15 years olds who put on puppet shows during the
summer. We collect supplies throughout the year, load up the tables,
and let the kids go to it. They amaze me with their creations.
In my library, the programs that work best are those where kids are
active participants. This also makes it easier on staff which is always
exceptionally busy in the summer.
For really easy things to do during the year I have "guess the
number" of the (candy corn for Halloween, candy hearts for Valentine's
Day, jelly beans for Easter, etc) in a jar. Kids love it. I always
hear them arguing over the number they are guessing.
If you haven't already done so, I recommend looking at YALSA's site
at www.ala.org/yalsa for program ideas.
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From owner-pubyac@nysernet.org Sun Nov 2 13:25:25 1997
From: "Vollrath, Elizabeth" <evollrat@uwsp.edu>
Subject: Beary Merry Holiday Program
I want to have a "Beary Merry Holiday" program in December featuring
bears. I need some fresh ideas! We usually get preschoolers through
age 8 and their parents at our family nights and from 25 to 150 people.
I like to do stories, participation games, rhymes, crafts, etc. (We
will be doing puppet shows at other times) It is hard to read a book
for a large group unless I can find the right Big Book. Can anyone help
me out with ideas for this program? I'll be happy to post results.
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From owner-pubyac@nysernet.org Sun Nov 2 13:26:26 1997
From: Carolyn Caywood <carolyn@infi.net>
Subject: Re: Handling school assignemnts
I like "imposed query." It got me to thinking about cognitive
development and how that affects assignments. Often I have found that
an assignment was not nearly as rigid as the student had interpreted
it. It's not just that the "query" is being passed through a third
person, but that that student in the middle may be running it through
a very "concrete operational" filter as well. I have had kids swear
they could not change their report topic when nothing was available
only to find they'd picked it themselves and it was fine with the
teacher if they changed it.
The other aspect of this triangle of teacher/student/librarian is that
the student often does not understand why the assignment has been
made. (One has to marvel at a process that puts the least informed
member in charge of communications) So, we have the librarian guessing
at the teacher's purpose -- is it process or is it content? The
student will assume content (answer), and the librarian process, that
being our expertise.
Where this leads me, obviously, is back to the teacher. Forms may
have their place, but for me they occur too late in the process. It
seems to me that the investment in person-to-person contact pays off
in cutting both wasted time and frustration.
Carolyn Caywood % Save the time of the Reader %
carolyn@infi.net % --Ranganathan's 4th Law %
http://www6.pilot.infi.net/~carolyn/ FAX:757-464-6741
936 Independence Blvd. Virginia Beach, VA 23455 757-460-7519
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From owner-pubyac@nysernet.org Sun Nov 2 13:27:01 1997
From: hunzigel@hhpl.on.ca (Lisa Hunziger)
ubject: Stumper - Typhoonagator
A friend is looking for a book about a party invitation that gets mailed but
is blown away by a typhoon. Another character in the book receives the
invitation, then it is blown away, and another friend then gets it, and it
is blown away. At the end everyone comes to the party, and the word
typhoonagator is in the story somewhere. Can anyone help? Thanks in
advance. Lisa Hunziger, hunzigel@haltonbe.on.ca
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From owner-pubyac@nysernet.org Sun Nov 2 13:27:07 1997
From: Nancy Cook <ncook@leo.vsla.edu>
Subject: job opening
Children's Librarian at the Central Library headquarters of the
Jefferson-Madison Regional Library system in Charlottesville, VA
Creative, service oriented professional children's librarian
needed to provide reference, programming, collection
development, community outreach, and to oversee operations of
the Central Library Children's Department.
Applicants must have a master's degree from an ALA accredited
library school. Experience with public library children's
services preferred.
Salary: Starting salary $2,195.17 per month.
To apply send resume including three references by Monday,
December 1 to:
DonnaLee Grossman, Administration
Jefferson-Madison Regional Library
201 E. Market St.
Charlottesville, VA 22902
--
Nancy Cook
ncook@leo.vsla.edu
Jefferson-Madison Regional Library
Charlottesville,VA
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