Letter to the Editor!!

Today's newspaper had a letter to the editor that I found slightly offensive....

Well, really I found it terribly offensive....

The letter starts out with the writer stating his children are home schooled. Then, he proceeds to blast the school district where he resides. He comments on the "useless" coaches that only are there to collect a salary, the math "coach" and the literacy "coach" and THEN he blasts the MEDIA SPECIALIST, and I quote "whatever that is, it must be a fancy name for a librarian." This man also lists the salaries these people are paid and continues to state how worthless their jobs are.

I am thinking about writing a response letter, and I know I won't be the only one. I am a little surprised the newspaper printed it, since there really was no redeeming quality to it - only a gripe about a school district that he chooses not to send his children to.

I am continually amazed that people don't respect educators. I would like to see them do these jobs!

A Favorite Website

Resources for School Librarians!


Check out this website: http://www.sldirectory.com/



It has all kinds of resources for school librarians. It is updated frequently and maintained by a retired school librarian in Philadelphia.

List of School Library Blogs

http://www.blogwithoutalibrary.net/links/index.php?title=School_libraries

Check out this website. It has lots of library blogs and you can even add your own blog to the list.

Library of Congress - World Digital Library

I was browsing on the Library of Congress site and found the World Digital Library. It is a cooperative project of LOC, UNESCO and other institutions around the world. It puts rare and unique documents on one database for students, teachers and scholars. It has maps, recordings, books, films, journals and photographs and other interesting things.

Here is the link: http://www.loc.gov/wdl/

It has around 1200 items and it is really fun to see how this website is put together. You can browse by place, time, topic, institution or type of item. Just click on the continent and slide the bar at the bottom for the time period and it shows what there is to look at.

I am just geeky enough to think this is fun!

Hot Springs Technology Institute

I went by the HSTI yesterday, and I was very impressed! There were over 1300 people attending and at least 50 exhibitors. The HSTI is being held at the Hot Springs High School and this is the 16th year. If you are in or near Hot Springs today, go by and check out the free exhibitors. All of the major library software companies are there and they all have free stuff to hand out. I stopped by the Butler/CALS booth and had a nice chat with Dr. Bland about practicum next fall! I also stopped by and talked to AAIM, AETN, Dell, Follett and visited with my school's technology lab teacher who was presenting yesterday afternoon.

If you can't come by this year, start checking the Hot Springs School District website in early March for information. The mini-break out sessions are great ways to get tech hours.

I am taking the rest of the week off, I am taking my 79 year old mother shopping today! Enjoy your week...

First Day of Classs....

It was nice to meet new classmates. I love that this is going to be a practical class - and I love doing a lot of hands on work! I am impressed with all the hard work some of my classmates are doing this summer. I am getting ready to read our article, but there is no discussion board yet to post on.

Hope to see all of you next Tuesday.

What's New?

I am currently a Library Media Specialist at a k-4 school. We are in the process of moving to a brand new school, so I will have a brand new library and 580 additional students! Our small school is going to be sharing a building with a 5-6 intermediate school. I will be the librarian for the K-4 school and there will be a part-time librarian for the 5-6 school. I never knew moving could be so stressful! My new library, however, is beautiful and I am excited about getting in there this August and getting things in place.