Smart Librarians: March 2014

Thursday, March 27, 2014

March 27, 2014

SPRING BREAK ISSUE!

Every Other Thursday, you’ll get this short, fun, relevant newsletter. It will contain a quote or smile about the library and those who love it, an idea you can use to promote your library or reading in general, a Common Core implementation idea and a shameless plug for the programs I offer. Enjoy!

If you are new to EOT or have missed any previous issues, you can read them all at www.smartlibrarians.com. And please tell your friends about it!

In this issue:

Library Quotes

Promote Reading – Raise test scores

Common Core – Professional Journals

Shameless Plug

Library Quote/Smile

“What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die.”

Anne Lamott, author

“A book, too, can be a star, a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe.”

Madeleine L’Engle, author

"When you absolutely positively have to know, ask a librarian."

American Library Association (ALA)

Promote (From the “Themes/Events” Section of 45 Ideas in 45 Minutes)

According to anecdotal research, the top five things that principals want are:

1. Increased test scores

2. Improved test scores

3. Better test scores

4. Test scores that are superior to the last ones

5. Enhanced test scores

REAL research has shown that getting kids to read for at least 20 minutes every day can and will increase test scores in all subject areas. Give your principals what they want by instituting programs that get kids reading every day! Find ways to incentivize reading and you can help your students achieve more! Show the research to your administrators and share your vision for encouraging every child to read every night.

Common Core Help

(This tip is for GA media specialists only. There may be a statewide database in Alabama or Florida that does some of the same things. If so, I’d LOVE to hear from you!)

I attended a media specialist training session in January and Karen Minton (not the WSB meteorologist, but the GALILEO expert) shared some of the hidden treasures you can find in Georgia’s statewide education database, GALILEO. GALILEO stands for GeorgiA LIbrary LEarning Online, an initiative of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. GALILEO is an online library portal to authoritative, subscription-only information that isn’t available through free search engines or Web directories. Participating institutions may access over 100 databases indexing thousands of periodicals and scholarly journals. Over 10,000 journal titles are provided in full-text. Other resources include encyclopedias, business directories, and government publications.

Get your professional journals online and save on paper subscriptions! Log in to Galileo and go to http://www.galileo.usg.edu/high-school/. On the red bar, click Magazines A-Z. Search for the journal you want and there it is! You can read full texts of articles, search by subjects or topics, go to back issues and more! You can even access electronic copies of periodicals like ZooBooks and get them on your tablet or e-reader.

And remember to check out www.CurriculumDivas.org for lots of resources for your school!

Shameless Plug

It’s not too early to be thinking about rewarding your readers for their great work this year or doing something to encourage summer reading. There are several shows at www.tommyjohnspresents.com/programs.htm that will help you celebrate the end of the year! Give me a call or email me and let’s book something for your students. As a matter of fact, if you call before April 10 (when the next EOT comes out) and mention EOT, I’ll take 10% off the price of any booking!

Let me know how I can help! See you in two weeks!

Encouraging kids to read, I am
Tommy Johns
Educational Entertainment Specialist

PS – Don’t forget to share this newsletter and blog with your colleagues!

www.TommyJohnsPresents.com
tommy@tommyjohnspresents.com
Call (770) 640-6509 or Toll Free at (866) 490-READ
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Your peers appreciate your advice about quality programs. Please tell them about your experience working with us. Our best sales people are our many loyal clients.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

March 13, 2014

This issue is a week late, because LAST week was Read Across America Week, and I was wonderfully busy, doing shows all over Alabama and Georgia! I started the week with a show at the elementary school I attended in 5^th and 6^th grade, where I met the girl who would become my wife. The school hasn’t changed a lot, except that you can’t buy chocolate milk for 5 cents from the machine in the hall any more and they have LOTS of computers now. Such a fun week!

If you are new to EOT or have missed any previous issues, you can read them all at www.smartlibrarians.com. And please tell your friends about it!

In this issue:

Library Quotes
Promote Reading – Money!
More Common Core help from Galileo!
Shameless Plug

Library Quote/Smile

“Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.”

Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler)

“We read to know that we are not alone.”

C.S. Lewis

“It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.”

Oscar Wilde

Promote (From the “Money” Section of 45 Ideas in 45 Minutes)

24. Money is tight and getting harder to come by. Collect Box Tops for Education and Labels for Education and use funds for media center needs. Have a couple of label drives each year and reward classes that collect the most. My wife’s school collects over $1,000 each year in BTFE for reading incentives and programs and got equipment for the school using LFE. Get a volunteer to collect, sort, tally and turn in the labels. You do NOT have to do this yourself. What would YOU do with $1,000?

Common Core Help

(This tip is for GA media specialists only. There may be a statewide database in Alabama or Florida that does some of the same things. If so, I’d LOVE to hear from you!)

There are hundreds of unlimited access DK informational full color e-books that are tablet formatted and ready for use by your students and teachers!

Once in GALILEO, scroll to the bottom, and click on GALILEO Kids.
At the top of the page, click on For Educators.
Click on Elementary Educator Resources.
Go to SIRS Discoverer, Educator Resources.
Login and look for Database Feature, Nonfiction Books.

This should give you access to full color DK resources for research and leisure reading for students and teachers! Enjoy!

BONUS! – On the Educator Resources for Elementary page there are some VERY handy Common Core Curriculum Standard tools. Check them out!

Next time – Get your professional journals online and save on paper subscriptions!

And don’t forget to check out www.CurriculumDivas.org for lots of resources for your school!

Shameless Plug

Got a STEM event coming up? I have two science shows that promote reading as well as teaching about the science that is all around us! I’ll let a recent happy client tell you more in this unsolicited letter she sent to her colleagues in Paulding County. I did “Go Wild!” for her students.

“Just wanted to share some info with you... Some of you have probably had him perform at your school already, but we had Tommy Johns at our STEM (aka Science) Fest on Friday and he was GREAT! He had two sessions and was enjoyed by ALL grade levels--which can sometimes be a feat to appeal to all ages. I felt that his fee was reasonable, too; we were helped by the fact that another school in our area booked him so we were able to split the cost of a full day.

His wife is a media specialist, and all of his programs tie reading and the library into whatever the theme is. (Ours was about the Scientific Method.) I'm hoping to have him next year for our Festival of the Arts (aka Language Arts Fest) for his writing program.

If you want more info his website is www.tommyjohnspresents.com.

Dee Tackett, Media Specialist, C.A. Roberts Elementary, Dallas, GA 30157

Let me know how I can help! See you in two weeks!

Encouraging kids to read, I am
Tommy Johns
Educational Entertainment Specialist

PS – Don’t forget to call about your end of the year reading reward show!