I spoke at CASL this fall about resources authors offer to librarians and teachers to help support their many and varied curriculum and planning objectives. I'm excited to share a curriculum guide (K-2) for my latest book, MIRABEL'S MISSING VALENTINES. Visit the book's page on my website for the free guide, as well as free downloadable MIRABEL Valentine's Day cards for students. Spread the love of learning!

www.JanetLawler.com…

It's time for CASL's 4th annual Share 2 Learn UnConference!

The unconference will take place on Saturday, May 6, 2076 at Scholastic in Danbury, CT.  Our featured speaker this year is author David Schwartz.  There will also be lots of great giveaways and raffle prizes!  Registration is now open and will be limited to the first 125 participants.  Check out the Share 2 Learn Smore!

Happening in Stores Nationwide

This June, hundreds of authors will appear at Barnes & Noble stores nationwide for B-Fest™, a three-day event celebrating the best books for teens. Join us for the biggest weekend of author events in B&N history, plus trivia, exciting sweepstakes, giveaways (while supplies last), and more. Be the first to sample upcoming teen novels, take part in…

It's time for CASL's 3rd annual Share 2 Learn UnConference!

The unconference will take place on Saturday, April 2, 2016 at Scholastic in Danbury, CT.  Our featured speaker this year is the one and only Mr. Schu (John Schumacker)!  There will also be lots of great giveaways and raffle prizes!  Registration is now open and will be limited to the first 100 participants.  Check out the…

Oregon School Libraries Act passed

This is a direct quote from the Oregon Library Association BLOG

"

A school district must show in its plan that it provides all students and staff in each school equitable access to:

•  A comprehensive library program which provides instruction in information literacy and research proficiencies, promotes integration…

Thanks to Randy Testa at Walden Media and Gerri Fegan of NESLA & MSLA, today I had the good fortune to watch a preview of The Giver which comes to theaters August 15, 2014. You will be happy to hear that the movie is true to the spirit of the Newbery award winning book written by Lois Lowry. Walden Media has put together some wonderful resources and a guide for educators. Check it out. There will definitely be a new demand for this book and the other three titles in the quartet.…

Congratulations to CASL vp intern Jane Martellino selected to be on the Connecticut Teach Dream Team http://bit.ly/1hPOGl1 !

Jane is creating…

Thank you to Barbara Johnson, teacher librarian at Colchester Elementary School, for advocating for school libraries on the CT CCTF. Their first meeting was on March 25, 2014; they will continue meeting bi-weekly until June 4, 2014.  You can watch the entire first meeting on the Connecticut Network and follow Barbara's…

The AASL annual conference in Hartford is almost upon us.  Where did the summer go? 

Even in retirement, managing your time well by doing what you want to do can be a challenge. Without focus, time can be wasted.

Peter Bregman’s book 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done, the one book/one conference read, is a big help.  I’ve been looking for a good time management book for years.  This book has…

I was at the Massachusetts School Library Association conference and the CASL/CLC mini conference last week.  They were great professional learning opportunities and a chance to network with fellow colleagues and administrators.

#MSLA13 notes:

Barbara Stripling, ALA president-elect, gave an inspiring talk "Whose Life Will You Change Today?"  

• change in a positive way not through taking something…

What is a book? What is reading?

The latest from Jamie McKenzie's site Questionion.org

http://questioning.org/feb2013/book.html

Hello,   We are rewriting our job description in our district.  It was last updated in 1991.  Do you have a sample job description that you can share so we have some good input to HR.    I do have a sample job description from AASL, but we would like to see  other districts examples.  Also,  have you been gathering articles, data or statistics over the years that document how LMS's have helped improve student performance.   Any articles, data or statistics that you are willing to share would…

Along with Jackie Galante, I am representing CASL at the ALA Mid-winter Conference and the AASL Affiliate Assembly.  Weather has been balmy compared to New England!  It's been 48 and cloudy with some rain and some sun!

Yesterday, we went to a workshop on Dewey or don't we?  This is a hot topic as to whether or not school libraries should shelve their books according to Dewey or according to genres.  AASL put together an interesting panel of six with all points of view  presented.…

Seth Godin's blog on January 12 is food for thought.

"The cost of neutral

We live in an exponentially changing world.  Has our mission changed?  Is it impossible to achieve?

No, I don’t think so.  Our mission continues to survive the times.  It has staying power.

The mission statement for the 2009 Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs is just as timely as it was in the 1998 Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning and the previous 1988 Information Power: Guidelines for School…

Celebrate and Discuss Privacy May 1 - 7, 2012

The April issue of Wired magazine has an interesting article for a discussion starter, "The NSA Is Building the Country's Biggest Spy Center (Watch What You Say)."

Check out ALA's Libraries, Privacy and Confidentiality website and…

Where are you and your district on the timeline of acknowledging and embracing these trends?

1. Cloud computing
2. collaborative environments
3. mobiles and apps
4. tablet computing
5. digital identity
6. game-based learning
7. learning analytics
8. personal learning environments
9. augmented reality
10. natural user interfaces
11. semantic applications
12. tools for assessing 21st century learning…

Contrary to the 22.5% quoted in this article in the Stamford Advocate "Ignoring the evidence on teacher evaluations,"  the ESEA waiver request meeting handouts recommend testing as 45-50% of a teacher's evaluation. 

In Principle 3: Supporting Effective Instruction and Leadership, of the No Child Left Behind (ESEA) Waiver Request,  PEAC (the…