All posts by Susan

GPO’s New Preservation Page on FDLP.gov

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Reposted from the Federal Depository Library Program

While GPO has a long-standing commitment to preserving U.S. Government information, the work of GPO’s preservation program has not had a single home on the web until now. GPO is pleased to announce its new preservation page, where you can find:

  • Information about preservation.
  • Preservation plans and public policy statements.
  • Guidance documents and best practices for preserving information.
  • Consultation and collaboration with GPO Preservation.
  • Preservation partnerships.
  • Training and presentations.
  • Developing Preservation Steward support services.

Access the page via the new purple Preservation tab at the top of every FDLP.gov web page. It will be frequently updated as new services and guidance documentation are developed. Contact our preservation team with questions and comments.

One Last Look Back at Summer Reading

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With summer officially behind us on this, the first day of Autumn, we take one last look back at Summer Reading. Although we don’t have 2017 numbers yet, last year more than 27,000 children and 6,000 adults participated across all 23 Wyoming public libraries. in 2016. Here’s the highlights from a great program held at Johnson County Library—one of many storytelling events across the state that added joy to the written word.

Priscilla Queen came to the Johnson County Library on June 22 for their summer reading program. Her three programs for preschool, grades K-3, and grades 4-5 drew a total of 155 participants. She also did a program at the Kaycee Branch Library on June 20.

“We had such a great time,” said Mary Rhoads, JCL Children’s Librarian. ” Priscilla did a great job and was so fun to have.” Priscilla is from Franktown, Colorado, and has appeared at the Rocky Mountain Storytelling Festival in Monument, Colorado.

Ready for Banned Books Week?

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Banned Books Week is September 24-30. Check out this American Library Association video for the Top Ten challenged books of 2016.

The Wyoming State Library would love to hear about your Banned Books Week activities. Send news and photos to Susan Mark, WSL Publications Specialist, at susan.mark@wyo.gov.

Wyoming K-12 Well-Connected to Broadband

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EducationSuperHighway has just released its annual report on the state of K-12 broadband connectivity, “2017 State of the States: Fulfilling Our Promise to America’s Students.”

They report that in Wyoming, 100% of school districts representing all of the state’s 92,642 students not only meet the minimum connectivity goal of 100 kbps per student, but beat it by a factor of 2, with every student receiving at least 200 kbps per student. What’s more—Wyoming provides the 200 kbps per student to all districts at absolutely no cost to any district. In 2017, Wyoming leveraged $6.1 million of federal E-rate funds

See the state snapshot report.

Wyoming Governor Matt Mead is quoted on the website:

Wyoming’s primary goal in this effort is to assure every student in our state has access to a first class education. As a result, we have deployed the best possible broadband to every school district in Wyoming. We are among the best in the nation because we have the highest aspirations for our students and we will continue to invest in the infrastructure necessary to be sure our districts have what they need in order to deliver connectivity in every classroom.

EducationSuperHighway is a nonprofit focused on upgrading the Internet access in every public school classroom in America. They believe that digital learning has the potential to provide all students with equal access to educational opportunity and that every school requires high-speed broadband to make that opportunity a reality.

September 2017 Outrider Now Available

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Find a wrap-up of the latest in Wyoming library news in the September 2017 Outrider newsletter from the Wyoming State Library. Subscribe today, and we’ll send the Outrider straight to your email inbox each month.

Have news you’d like included? Contact Susan Mark, WSL publications specialist, at susan.mark@wyo.gov or (307) 777-5915. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter, too.

WSL Webinar Tomorrow: Tech Savvy in the School Library

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Join Paige Bredenkamp, School Library Consultant at Wyoming State Library, for “Tech Savvy in the School Library,” a free webinar tomorrow, September 21, from 10:30-11:30 a.m. MDT. She’ll explore a list of software, apps, and hardware useful in the school library.

Register here.

Questions about this webinar, or about other school library topics? Paige is on hand to help. Contact her at paige.bredenkamp@wyo.gov or (307) 777-6331.

First Peek at Resources for New AASL Standards

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The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) has released early materials addressing elements of the new “National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries” that will launch in November.

Early materials available on the AASL Standards web portal include:

  • “On the Horizon: New Standards to Dawn at AASL 2017”
    Featuring AASL’s updated Common Beliefs for the profession, this article from the Sept./Oct. “Knowledge Quest,” describes AASL’s process for researching and remodeling the standards.
  • Shared Foundation Infographics
    This collection of six Shared Foundation infographics summarize Competencies for learners and suggest starting points for school librarians implementing the “National School Library Standards.” These infographics will be central to a Twitter chat you can join hosted by AASL on Monday, September 18, at 5:00 p.m. MDT at #AASLstandards.
  • Standards Explainer Video – Evolved and Familiar
    Learn how the AASL Standards have evolved to reflect current learning environments while still honoring and carrying forward beloved elements from previous Standards.

The AASL Standards web portal will be the hub for “National School Library Standards” resources. Many downloadable support resources, including materials customized for various types of school librarians and stakeholders, are planned for the fall launch and beyond to help school librarians understand and communicate the new standards structure in their collaborations and communities.

 

Wyoming Innovations in Learning Conference

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Here’s a gathering for those in the Wyoming library community who are interested in teaching, learning, and connecting. Registration is open through October 15 for the inaugural  Wyoming Innovations in Learning Conference. The event will be held November 2-3 at the University of Wyoming Conference Center in Laramie. Registration fee is $25.

Administrators, curriculum directors, homeschooling parents, librarians, superintendents, teachers, and tech directors are all welcome. Educators will find opportunities to explore teaching and learning practices they can apply to classrooms and distance learning environments from kindergarten through higher education.

Keynote speaker will be Travis Allen, president and founder of iSchool Initiative. The iSchool Initiative is focused on building a foundation with your administrators, teachers, students, and community to embrace new ways of teaching and learning. The broad conference tracks include open education resources, innovations in teaching, digital learning, student learning assessment, online and blended learning, educational technology tools, using a Learning Management System (LMS), and Future Ready Schools.

This conference is being developed through a partnership with the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE), postsecondary institutions, and the Wyoming State Library. The Wyoming Distance Education Consortium (WyDEC) and UW have put on their own conferences in the past. Moving forward these two events have been joined with WDE efforts to provide digital education learning opportunities in a combined conference for a K-20 audience.

Learn more and register.

Two From WSL Presenting at Wyoming Afterschool Alliance

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Paige Bredenkamp, Wyoming State Library School Library Consultant, and Chris Van Burgh, WSL Database Instruction Librarian, will be at the 9th Annual Wyoming Afterschool Alliance (WYAA) Conference at Little America in Cheyenne Oct. 4-5.

This conference is designed for school- and community-based programs taking place outside of formal school time. It is also set up to meet the needs of professionals and attorneys in the field of juvenile justice.

Paige and Chris will present “Tour Wyoming — Homegrown Resources for your Projects and Activities,” a trip through the Wyoming-focused research gems created by the Wyoming State Library and available freely. They will delve into digital databases that connect to Wyoming history, places, legislation, and inventors. In addition they will share history sources available to Wyoming residents found in GoWYLD.net.

Their session is one of many informative ones at the WYAA conference. Late registration is still available.

 

New Books at the WSL

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The latest additions to our professional library science collection are available to you through WYLDCAT. Questions, comments, or suggestions for purchase may be directed to Library Development Manager Brian Greene at brian.greene@wyo.gov or (307) 777-6339.

40+ new revenue sources for libraries and nonprofits
Edmund A. Rossman III.
Chicago : ALA Editions, an imprint of the American Library Association, 2016.

Developing librarian competencies for the digital age
edited by Jeffrey G. Coghill, Roger G. Russell
Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, [2017]

Innovative LibGuides applications : real-world examples
edited by Ryan L. Sittler, Aaron W. Dobbs
Lanham [Maryland] : Rowman & Littlefield, [2016]

Leading for school librarians : there is no other option
Hilda K. Weisburg ; foreword by Susan D. Ballard.
Chicago : Neal-Schuman, an imprint of the American Library Association, 2017.

Protecting patron privacy : a LITA guide
edited by Bobbi Newman, Bonnie Tijerina
Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, [2017]

Integrating LibGuides into library websites
edited by Aaron W. Dobbs, Ryan L. Sittler
Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, [2016]