End-of-the-Year Roundup
May 23, 2008
The year is coming to a close, and there are still so many books to read to our students, so many skills to teach. But we have accomplished quite a bit. We had an unbelievable Book Fair, a so-so book swap and a terrific fourth-fifth grade book club. We are looking ahead towards a major “return-your-books to the library” drive at the end of May and early June and linked to that, a big inventory in early June. We are hoping to begin a major weeding project during the summer that will carry on in into the fall of 2008. Thanks are due to all of you and your children for participating in these activities and making the library a place where everyone wants to be.
Bring Back Your Books!
Speaking of returning library books, here are some ways to help your students check for missing books. Ask them to remember the last place they had the book. What did the book look like? What was on the cover? And the next question: where could it be? Have students looked in the car--in the trunk of the car -- in the other car, behind the washing machine? Have they searched behind the piano? Or behind the sofa cushions? Try behind the refrigerator. How about looking on the bookshelf in the bedroom, on the desk, under the bed, and in the closet? This is just the beginning of a list of suggestions that could go on forever. Hopefully one of these ideas will work for you. All library books are due May 30. The students in classes that return all their books will receive popsicles during the last week of school. Best of luck in your search!
Book Club Holds Its Last Meetings
The fourth and fifth grade book club that met every Tuesday during lunch in the library has finished reading The View from the Cherry Tree, by Willo Davis Roberts. Students were really caught up in the mystery of who pushed old Mrs. Calloway out of her living room window. Even once the answer became clear, there was the tension of the pursuit as young Rob, who saw the murder, had to find a way to avoid the clutches of the villain. After we finished the book we held a brief debate on which is better, reading a book before seeing the movie or seeing the movie first. Some of us felt strongly on this issue and, when we took a vote, we may have unduly influenced other voters. But perhaps the majority really did feel that books come first.
April Thoughts
April 25, 2008
Copyright issues
Copyright is the exclusive right to copy, license or otherwise exploit a literary, artistic or musical work. In other words, the creator of a work, when filing for copyright, gains the exclusive right to his product. Now the question is: where does the school librarian fit into this process? Does she have the right to make copies of a poem for classroom use or should we be purchasing books for each student? If there is a newspaper article a student needs, do we send the student out to purchase another paper, or xerox a copy? As we know, in the music world, the entire issue of copying is completely out of control. Do I have an answer—no! Do I even have an opinion? I’m really just puzzled. I know the artists and writers need protection. But so do we.
Motivating Readers
One of the librarians who participates in the LM_NET library listserv advises that when we try to motivate young readers, we need to provide students with ready access to books and specific time slots to read them. Adults who read for pleasure serve as wonderful role models. She also reminds us that young people should have the chance to decide what to read. “Research is very clear about that last item: the more choice kids have, the more likely that they’ll enjoy reading and get better at it.”
Fourth Grade Book Reviews
As you all know, Mary Ann Scheuer has been teaching fourth grade in the library this year. Mary Ann came up with the terrific idea that the students should think about and select their two or three favorite books, describe them, and create bookmarks available to the entire student body. This project has been completed, and if you come by the library, you will find a bulletin board dedicated to the bookmarks, with great suggestions for our nine - 12-year-old students. For an extra treat, go to our RDS web site and access some of these bookmarks online!
News
March 28, 2008
If you saw the 3/16 issue of the New York Times’ “Week in Review” you probably noticed an article that announced the imminent demise of the print encyclopedia. The essay described how easy it has become to get information on any subject you’re interested in—on the Internet. Over a decade ago, well-known encyclopedia publishers realized that the future was on-line and they began to scale down their staff of writers and salesmen and began to seek their audiences on home computers. Perhaps it’s time for all of us to begin to recognize and use the wealth of encyclopedia knowledge on-line, whether it’s the Britannica or Wikipedia (remember to check the facts on this one).
That Time of Year
March 28, 2008
RDS Students: have you read all the books you purchased at our 2007 Book Fair? Are you tired of the titles you received during the winter holidays? Do you need more books? That is why we are scheduling our annual RDS book swap for the week of April 14th. Begin to browse your book shelves right now, select the titles you are willing to give away, and bring them to the Library. We will collect books for the next couple of weeks and then invite the individuals who have contributed books to the library to come choose a couple of new titles (“new” meaning new to the chooser) for their very own. Please bring us books that are appropriate for your grade, that are in good condition, and that you are willing to give away. If you need more information, come by the library.
Fourth and Fifth Grade Book Club
Thirteen of our students have chosen to spend their Tuesday lunch and recess time in the RDS library reading and discussing a book. This year these 4th and 5th graders are reading The View from the Cherry Tree, by Willo Davis Roberts. In this book an average middle-class family is preparing for the oldest daughter’s wedding, and as a result, the house is in an uproar. The younger brother, Rob, cannot stand the craziness and disorder so he spends a lot of time in the cherry tree outside his window, surveying the neighborhood. And in the process, he sees something he should not see
Around Town
February 29, 2008
On January 25th I was fortunate to attend a performance of Little Women (from the book by Louisa May Alcott) at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts. The production was created by the Active Art Theatre for Young Audiences and it was a real treat. I think I was nine years old when I first read this book and for the next five years, Jo March was my role model and any time I heard the name Beth, my eyes began to tear up. By the time you read this, the play will have completed its run, but keep your eyes on the Julia Morgan Center. There will be more theater for youngsters in the near future. They’ll be doing The Emperor’s New Clothes in the spring.
And while we’re talking about theatre, Stagebridge will be doing a World Premiere Musical of Patricia Polacco’s book Chicken Sunday on the weekend of March 15th and 16th, and our own Middle School play takes place April 29th and May 1st.
Library Statistics
February 29, 2008
In the fall of 2002 the technology department, led by Dan Johnston, installed the online public access catalog and an automated circulation system in the RDS Library. Since then, it has been easier for users to access records of our holdings, for library staff to access patron records and for us to access statistics about library use. How do library numbers from 2002 compare to 2008 numbers? In February 2002, the circulation for the school year was 3117 volumes, the monthly circulation was 396 volumes, and the collection consisted of 9,485 items. By the end of January 2008, we had circulated 5,123 volumes for the academic year, 1,107 items had been checked out for the month, and the size of the collection is up to 13,925 volumes. This increased circulation reflects the growth of the entire school, and we can confidently say that students, staff and parents love the system and the beautiful space, and it gets used extensively and intensively.
Controversy in Children’s Literature
January 18, 2008
The following is a partial summary of an article that Debbie Reese, a frequent evaluator of what is happening in Native American children’s literature, discussed on my library list serve this past December. Reese looked at the top selling children’s books on the New York Times best sellers list and found two titles that had Native American subject matter, one by Sherman Alexei, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, and one other, Jan Brett’s The Three Snow Bears. Reese suggests these books represent what is positive and what is negative in materials written about Native Americans.
Debbie Reese writes, “Alexei is Spokane. He grew up on his reservation. His book is largely autobiographical. It is HIS story, his LIVED story, that he gives us in largely autobiographical form. He doesn’t retell a traditional story. He gives us a story of a modern-day Native boy, living life in these times, not in some far-off exotic place…His story is not cute or charming. It is gritty.” What Jan Brett has done in her book is to retell a well known fairy tale, transforming the characters into Inuit Indians. There is no information about their culture or their values. Rather, the book is “a decoration, but Inuit Indians are not trinkets or decorations.” Reese has not written to point out the racism implicit in Brett’s book. She recognizes Brett’s talents and admires her beautiful picture book but she thinks it important to point out that The Three Snow Bears and others like it reveal that their authors are misinformed and perhaps not sufficiently educated in the subject.
The New Year
It’s 2008 and we want to wish the entire RDS community a happy and healthy New Year! To kick off the year I am starting a new 4th—5th grade book club. I wish to invite all interested 4th or 5th grade students to come to the library during lunch on Tuesday, January 22nd. I will be asking students to suggest book titles, and from among these suggestions we’ll select the book or books we are going to read during the next few months. Please encourage your students to come.
Book Fair Now!
November 09, 2007
By the time you receive this Sound Off, the annual RDS Book Fair will be under way. You are all cordially invited to come and celebrate books with your children at this joyous event. Because of the report-writing day on Monday, November 12, the Book Fair will begin at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 13, and continue until noon on Friday, November 16. You are invited to attend the author and illustrator presentations on Tuesday, where Ray Marshall will be describing his work to grades K-2 at 8:45 a.m. and grades 3-4 at 10:15 a.m. in the multipurpose room. Liza Gleason will talk about her experiences writing her first book to grades 7-8 at 11:25 a.m. in the MPR and to grades 5-6 at 1:00 p.m., also in the MPR. Please come and participate in this funfest for books.
Controversy in the Private Schools
November 09, 2007
The October 2007 San Francisco Magazine carried an article: “Is Money Ruining Private Schools?” Many controversial points were made in the article about the competition among private schools in promoting special classes, athletic programs and building construction, but I want to focus on the last paragraph of the article. David Fleishhacker, former head of Burke School, teacher at Town School and Marin Country Day, and one of the founders of University High School in San Francisco, is quoted as saying that the private school universe revolves around money: “…the fundamental building blocks of an enlightened education are being buried in all the new construction sites…If you want to waste money, build a library. If you want to teach your kids, teach them to use a public library. These are all rich kids…they own computers. They have these books. Does building a big new library add anything to their education?” (San Francisco Magazine, p. 186)
A librarian cannot help but be disturbed at the idea that building a library for a school is a waste of a school’s money. This is particularly not true here at RDS where our new library has become the focal point for research, for curriculum support and for providing good literature. It also seems from Mr. Fleishhacker’s perspective that some administrators are not aware of the function of a library. Here at RDS, we are fortunate to have an administration who knows and supports the library’s mission. As another librarian from a Hillsborough private school wrote, “we do more than provide ready reference and leisure reading.” The more current a library’s resources and equipment, this teacher points out, the more prepared for competitive college experiences and intense job situations our students will be.
October, 2007
October 07, 2007
Bagged Books
If you’ve been by the RDS library recently, you’ve probably noticed that our display shelves have been filled with books covered by brown paper bags. Perhaps you wondered why. The American Library Association has proclaimed the last week in September (this year Sept 29—Oct 5) “Banned Book Week” to call attention to the number of books that are kept off library shelves because some school boards and some parents do not want their children exposed to wizardry, bad language, death and many other unpleasant topics. Though all of us must exercise censorship in one way or another, librarians generally feel that it’s better to have books on the shelves and have students read about certain subjects than to make students feel that various topics are taboo. The bagged books were meant to attract the attention of students—and they did.
Book Fair 2007-- The annual RDS Book Fair is on its way. From November 13th to November 16th we will be holding this event for which we are preparing in many ways. We have invited authors Ray Marhsall (parent of Zoe and Gemma Marshall) and Liza Gleason (former 3rd grade teacher) to talk about their respective books to our student body. And we have announced the book fair poster contest. We have asked students to take up the theme, “Blizzard of Books—Chill out with a Good Book” and create posters for publicity. One winner from each of the following grade groupings will be chosen: grades K-2, grades 3-4, grades 5-6 and grades 7-8. The winners’ posters will be turned into postcards that will go out to the entire RDS community. They will also receive a $10 Scholastic gift certificate for use at the Book Fair.
Book Bug Boogie--On November 8 from 6—8 p.m. the annual Book Bug Boogie will take place in the RDS gym. All middle school students are invited to have dinner, preview the books and have an early opportunity to buy them. We also want to encourage students to participate in the entertainment by putting together an act (juggling, dancing, gymnastics, singing) or preparing a book review. Come and be part of the action and part of the audience!
September 14, 2007
September 14, 2007
We’re Back!Once again I find it hard to believe that the summer is over and it’s September. But all evidence makes that hard to deny. It was a busy summer. We have a new Harry Potter movie and a new Harry Potter book, the last of the series. Laura Bush and her daughter, Jenna, are about to publish a children’s book about a young boy who is a behavior problem in school but who learns to love books. And here at RDS there is a change in the library: yours truly will be working only four days a week (Monday through Thursday) and on Friday the library will be managed and classes will be taught by our own Mary Ann Scheuer. Mary Ann has worked as an English teacher in Lafayette, where she taught 7th and 8th grade English. She has volunteered in our library for three years and has two children at our school: Katie, in 3rd grade and Molly, in lst grade. We feel fortunate and delighted to have someone so well-qualified and enthusiastic join our staff.
New Parents
I have one piece of information for you. Parents may check out 5 books for his/her child for a period of two weeks. So come in and use the library.
The Library Committee, led by Siggi Duesberg, is made up of parents ready to work in the library on a regular basis and is once again seeking volunteers. Parents who are interested in reading to classes, helping with book check-out and shelving are invited to come to a meeting on Monday, September 17th, in the library at 8:30 a.m. This is a wonderful opportunity to work with your child’s class, and we know you’ll love the experience. The Book Fair Committee, chaired by Carolyn Call and Jill Nesbitt, is also gearing up for another event. This year the book fair will take place November 13-16 (Tuesday through Friday) and we need lots of parents to sell books, promote books, manage the Book Bug Boogie, and much more. This is one of the most exciting events on the school calendar and it brings pleasure and excitement to everyone. Sign up for the committee and be part of the extravaganza.
Library News
May 18, 2007
Liza Gleason, one of our most beloved and admired teachers, who left RDS last year to become an author, came to RDS Tuesday, May 8th, to read chapters to our students from her book-in-progress. The book, which does not yet have a title, was very well received by the 4th and 5th graders and the rest of us who attended the presentation. Ms. Gleason was looking for some constructive criticism from her former students and received some, but much of what she heard was praise and enthusiastic approval. When the book is published we hope to have the author return to tell us about her writing experience and give us the opportunity to purchase the book.
It seems just yesterday that we announced the beginning of the 2006-07 school year, and now the year is ending and we are calling for all library books to be returned and. Books should be back in the library by Tuesday, May 29th. If you have misplaced a book, now is the time to start searching, under the bed or in the trunk of the car. If you have lost the book, please come to the library to find out how much it will cost to replace it. Thank you all for being so responsible.
The Oakland Public Library will once again sponsor a summer reading program. Entitled “Get a Clue,” the program will take place June 9 -August 11 and participants who read for eight hours will win a free book. There will be other prizes as well. We will be sending home a flier announcing the event, including information about other events happening in Oakland libraries.
Librarians in the News
April 20, 2007
Are librarians becoming obsolete? This was a major issue bandied about on my List Serve over the past weeks. The discussion seems to center on the relationship between librarians and technology. Often major expenditures are made to technology which seem to direct students to computers rather than to materials in the library, and hence, interaction with the librarians who can make their research experiences more rewarding is declining. The general consensus, however, is that we need not become extinct if:
- we provide a physically comfortable place for students;
- we offer expertise that students need in their research. Students doing papers on fossil fuels or energy conservation often need us because we can find the precise search terms for online work and we can introduce appropriate books and journals to assist in the search;
- we offer students face-to-face encounters and interactions giving them a chance to bounce their ideas off someone who is familiar with their projects and can help them have research success.
Conclusion—our library need not become obsolete.
Book Club Continues
April 20, 2007
We have chosen a new book for our 4th-5th grade book club. Several fifth graders recommended Letters from Wolfie, by Patti Sherlock, so we are reading it. Eden Cypher (our only fourth grader), Sarah Denison-Johnston, Lucia Riera, Aviva Schmitz, Trinidad Thomas and I are totally enthralled with the story. The book takes place during the Vietnam War. The main character, Mark, has an older brother who is in Vietnam and Mark discovers that the Army is looking for dogs that can help with scout and patrol work. Mark decides to send his pet Wolfie.Librarians in the News
March 15, 2007
This year’s Newbery Award winner (as we noted last month) is The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron. The main character in this book, Lucky, is a 10-year-old girl whose mother has died and whose father is too busy to care for her, so he asks his first wife, a French woman, to fly to a small California town and tend to her. Meanwhile, Lucky is trying to figure out her life. What can she do? What does the future hold? This book has an endearing heroine and a beautiful setting in a desert town—and it is causing a major stir on the front page of the New York Times, in its editorial pages, and everywhere librarians gather. On the first page Lucky hears someone say that he saw a snake bite his dog on the “scrotum,” a passage that has provoked much discussion and controversy. Should this book be on K-8 library shelves? While the New York Times article described librarians as soldiers in the campaign to censor the book, perhaps the real issue has to do with book selection policy. Surely the issue is not whether one word will keep a book off of library shelves, but rather what criteria we use to measure our library acquisitions. This is a question of the book’s overall quality, not the appearance of a certain word. And yes, The Higher Power of Lucky is on the RDS library shelves.
Book Drive Update
March 15, 2007
On Friday, March 9, the library activity group consisting of Adriana Abrams-Wolffsohn, Olivia Duncan, Alex Stuetz, Helen Woodbury and Pinkie Young, accompanied by parent Jill Nesbitt, faculty Becky Denison, Constance Moore and me, took over 750 books to the students of Fruitvale Elementary School. (Morgan O’Sullivan, a major organizer and worker on this project, was unable to come due to illness.) It was a great experience as students from RDS helped students from Fruitvale carry cartons to classrooms. Everyone was pleased with the gifts. Thanks to all of you who made this event happen.
Before we returned to RDS, we had the opportunity to visit the African-American History Museum on display at the school. One of Fruitvale’s teachers has collected African-American memorabilia from the 1800s to the present. It’s well worth seeing and is open to everyone Monday–Friday during school hours until March 23rd. Don’t miss it.
Book Drive
January 12, 2007
The Library Activity group that brought you the Book Bug Boogie in November has taken on another big job. Helen Woodbury, Olivia Duncan, Pinkie Young, Adrianna Abrams-Wolffsohn, Alex Stuetz and Morgan O’Sullivan, guided by Constance Moore and yours truly, are in the process of conducting a book drive. We would like to collect enough books so that each student at Fruitvale Elementary School (preschool through 5th) can receive one free book. We are asking everyone—students, parents, and others who wish to participate — to search through their book shelves, find titles that are in good condition (because we do not want to give students worn books) and bring them to our school. We will collect and sort the titles and take them to Fruitvale Elementary in February or March (perhaps on Dr. Seuss’ birthday). Not only will this project bring pleasure to others, but it will help us clear our shelves so we can acquire more books.
Library Book Club
On January 5th at noon, seventeen 4th and 5th graders came to the library to attend the first meeting of the RDS book club. We spent the entire period making a list of books that we might read. Now we realize we must be more efficient in our use of time. Next week, on January 12, we will decide what book we will read first, then we’ll order the book and get started. If any of you out there would still like to join the group, you have another week to decide. All 4th and 5th graders are welcome.
Libraries in the news
On Tuesday, January 2nd, the New York Times ran a most depressing article entitled, “Lock the Library! Rowdy Students are Taking Over.” The story described a Middle School in Maplewood, New Jersey, where every day after school many students cross the street to the public library. While some students use their time well, others are disrespectful, trash the library, and interfere with patrons who wish to use the library for study, research and reading. To respond to the situation, the library has decided that it will close its doors on weekdays from 2:45 p.m. to 5 p.m. This situation is critical, but I agree with some of the residents in Maplewood who say “..[it’s] improper to close the library during hours when adults, older students and [middle school] students find it most convenient to use the library.” Certainly the library is most orderly when it is empty—but that’s not part of the mission statement of any library I know.
December 08, 2006
The RDS Book Fair was an unqualified success. From the teacher preview on November 9th, at which teachers created wish lists for their classes, to noon on November 15th, the school was filled with an almost electric excitement about authors, cookbooks, publication series (e.g. “The Ranger’s Apprentice”) and stunning picture books.
In between these two events, middle school students attended the Book Bug Boogie—which was the best yet. David Johnson, a seventh grader, did a fabulous job as master of ceremonies. He introduced his talented fellow students and their acts while at the same time advertising books with an elegance and flair that persuaded all of us to buy, buy, buy! The Book Bug Boogie activity-group students, consisting of Helen Woodbury, Olivia Duncan, Pinkie Young, Adrianna Abrams-Wolffsohn, Alex Stuetz and Morgan O’Sullivan, guided by Constance Moore and yours truly, were major players in planning the event, decorating the gym and providing entertainment.
On the second day of Book Fair week, Ryan Jones, RDS alumnus and illustrator of the book, Too Much Picnic, spoke to our students. He described how he became an illustrator (in addition to his day job) and also spoke of his work at George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic, which included work on Pirates Of The Caribbean and other well-known films.
RDS and I are deeply indebted to the event coordinators – Jill, Carolyn, Barbara, Ray, Liz, Tracey, Siggi and Sue—and to everyone else who helped make this event possible. And more thanks to all who supported us with their purchases. What a blissful job it is to sell books to people who love them!
Library Book Club!
I would like to invite all 4th and 5th graders to join our RDS Book Club which will begin in early January. Any 4th or 5th grader who likes books and enjoys talking about them should come to the library between now and January 3rd and sign up. We will have our first meeting in the library during lunch on Friday, January 5th to decide on the schedule and what we’ll read. Please bring your lunch to the library that day.
November 9, 2006
November 09, 2006
We’re on the brink of another spectacular RDS Book Fair. Chairpersons Carolyn Call and Jill Nesbitt, with the help of Tracey Borst, Liz Long, Ray Marshall and many others, are working hard to bring this event to you. The kick-off, a book preview for teachers, will take place on November 9th just after school. The Book Bug Boogie for Middle School students will be held that evening from 6:00- 8:00 p.m. in the gym. The Book Fair will open officially on Monday, November 13th in the Gallery. Hours are 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, and 8:00 a.m. to noon on Thursday.
We have already started to energize our student body with visits from local authors. Marcia A. Smith (mother to Nola and Kai Nelson) who wrote Black History: A Photobiography: Past And Present, spoke to Middle School students about her work at Gathering last Monday. She and her husband, Stanley Nelson, have also produced the documentary Jonestown, which has just opened at the Landmark Theater in Berkeley to rave reviews. Students were very interested in that bit of history and asked probing and provocative questions. On Wednesday of the same week, Marlene Shigekawa, alum parent, the author of Blue Jay In The Desert and Welcome Home Swallows, books on Japanese internment, spoke to our 3rd grade about the books and personal experiences of her family.
On November 14th, Ryan Jones, RDS alumnus and illustrator of Too Much Picnic, who works as a technical director at George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic, will speak to our students about his work. He will meet with K-2 at 9:15 a.m., grades 3-5 at 10:30 a.m. and with the Middle School at 1:00 p.m. Come join us for what promises to be an interesting program.
October 13, 2006
October 13, 2006
There is so much going on in the library right now that I hardly know where to begin. First of all, I have just had successful cataract surgery and I want to thank Barbara Bowman for managing the library during my absence, and all of you parents for your support. Next, we have a new drop-down movie screen in the library. Whenever we have a special program or want to share information with students, the screen and an LCD projector will make the presentation very easy to arrange.
The Book Fair is coming, and the theme is “Rainforest Reading: Wild About Books.” Students from all grades are creating jungle posters and animal scenes to submit to our annual post-card competition. Remember the dates of the Book Fair: November 13, 14, 15 and 16 (until noon on the 16th). The annual Book Bug Boogie for middle school students will take place on November 9th in the gym, 6:00-8:00 p.m.
One last announcement concerns the authors coming to the Book Fair. We are planning on having Marcia Smith, parent of Kai and Nola Nelson (grade 2), speak to the Middle School on October 30, at 2:35, about her book, Black America: A Photographic Journey: Past To Present. Ryan Jones, a 1995 RDS graduate, will be speaking to all our students on Tuesday, November 14, about how he came to illustrate Too Much Picnic, and about his work in graphic design. He will speak to grades K-2 at 9:15 a.m., grades 3-5 at 10:30 a.m., and grades 6-8 at 12:55 p.m. in the multi-purpose room.
Welcome Back
September 08, 2006
Summer is over and we hope everyone had a spectacular vacation.
We’re
jumping into the new school year immediately. The Library Committee
will meet to organize this year’s volunteer schedule on
Tuesday,
September 12th, at 8:30 a.m. in the library. All who signed up for this
committee last spring are invited, and we urge anyone who is attracted
to books and would enjoy reading to students to attend the event as
well. If you have any questions, call Siggi Duesberg at 510-594-8635 or
contact me at 534-0804, ext. 301.
We will also begin planning for our annual RDS Book Fair, scheduled for
November 13th -16th. Our chairpersons are Carolyn Call and Jill
Nesbitt. Volunteers are needed for set-up, the “Book Bug
Boogie,” the
teacher preview, marketing and sales and much more. Many of you have
already signed up for book fair duty and we’ll be calling you
soon, and
for those of you who want to participate and forgot to sign up,
there’s
still time. Please contact Carolyn at 510-597-9835 or Jill at
510-562-5432.
May 19, 2006
The end of the year is nigh. It’s hard to believe, probably because we did not move into our new space until mid-October and my heart interposed an involuntary 3-week vacation in January. We’ve had our book fair, our author visits, our annual book swap and we’ve celebrated National Poetry Month. Now it’s time to end the year. The last library classes will convene on May 31st and we hope to have students return all their books by that date. Once again we will be awarding popsicles to those classes that return all their books. Parents, if you have checked out library items, please bring them back by the end of May. (No popsicles for you—that’s the down-side of being a grownup.) Early morning care will continue in the library through June 8th.You might be interested in some of the statistics that describe library use for the 2005—2006 academic year. According to information from our Follette automation system, we now have over 12,000 titles in the library. We’ll be doing an inventory after June lst to discover what is actually on our shelves. As of April 30th, 5583 books have been checked out this year (we won’t have May statistics until the end of the month), 2994 books from the fiction section and 1598 nonfiction; the rest fall into the “picture” and “easy” categories. March was the month during which students checked out the most books, probably due to more assignments and the fact that there was no vacation during that month. December is the month during which students checked out the fewest books. (This is easy to explain as we’re closed for winter vacation for two weeks.)
As summer approaches, I want to urge all of you to sign your youngsters up for library cards at your local public library and use this resource. Oakland and Berkeley have terrific library systems and it’s a shame to fall out of the habit of reading. It’s conceivable that students will discover they have more or different choices at the Dimond or Montclair branches than they do at RDS, and what could be more wonderful than being pushed to the public library by your daughter or sons.
April 21, 2006
The library has been a very busy place this last month. From April 6—10, we celebrated National Library Week. With the help of Jill Nesbitt and Mary Anne Scheuer, we had our annual Redwood Day School Book Swap. We asked families to check their bookshelves and identify titles that they would be willing to give away. Kindergarten through fifth grades brought in many volumes from which students were able to select two books for their very own. Grade six had a more restricted book swap, but those who brought in books were able to find titles that they would enjoy. We want to thank all of you for your participation, generosity and support. The many surplus books you donated will be contributed to Fruitvale Elementary School next week.
Last month (March) was “Women’s History Month.” We created a bulletin board entitled “It’s a Woman’s World,” and asked fourth and fifth graders to write paragraphs about some most impressive women. We then put up the words “Equal Rights Amendment,” challenging students to do a word search with that phrase. (I am indebted to Jill Nesbitt for this terrific idea.) Those students who participated were incredible. All students who turned in a list will receive a book for their enthusiasm.
Reorganizing Fiction
What are librarians debating at this time? Some librarians have suggested that students find it difficult to find books in a specific genre when books are arranged by the author’s last name, so they are asking if the fiction collection should be organized by genre. All mystery books would be arranged together, all fantasy would be shelved together and so forth. When a class is sent to the library to find a fantasy book for the month, they would just move to the fantasy section rather than having to use the computer subject index to find titles on fantasy. This discussion has raised quite a row. For browsing, this kind of organization scheme has much to offer. But if someone is looking for a specific title by a specific author, this is not the most efficient arrangement. Students would have to go to the computer to look up the book, identify its genre and then go to that specific section. Some librarians have handled the situation by putting colored dots on their books that signify a specific genre. As you can see, there is no easy answer for the organization of knowledge.
March 06, 2006
Professor Leslie J. Laskey is a professor of architecture at Washington University in St. Louis. He was Megan Riera’s teacher and mentor and became a close friend of the family. Over the years, Professor Laskey has become an artist, doing collages, sculptures and the like. He has also become an avid collector of beautifully illustrated children’s literature. Because of his connection with the Riera family, the RDS Library has become the beneficiary of much of his collection. We have begun processing these volumes and are now displaying them in the library for your reading pleasure. Please stop by, browse or check out some delightful books.
We want to take this opportunity to congratulate the 8th graders for their wonderful work with the Wax Museum monologues. It was impossible to see and listen to all the students so I apologize for those I missed. I was truly impressed with everyone I heard, especially, Zaddy Benham’s presentation of Jarhead, Grant Barnard’s monologue on Fallen Angels, Dejanae Franklin’s work on Danger Zone and Hannah Sosebee’s portrayal of Jane Eyre.
February 17, 2006
First of all I would like to thank the entire Redwood Day School community - staff, faculty, parents, and especially students for all your warm wishes and lovely cards while I was ill. I cannot imagine having such support from any other group of people. I particularly wish to thank Barbara Bowman, Sue Vinella-Brusher and the Library Committee, Monica Rees, Thelma Lancaster, and Denise Breland for all their extra work. You are all incredible people and I am sincerely grateful.
It’s hard to believe that we are already half way through the school year. There are still so many things to do for the new library. We are in the process of creating a list of new materials to supplement our reference section. Sixth, seventh and eighth grades are coming to the library more frequently to find books for their new “DEAR” assignments. And lower grade students are caught up in books like Hunterman And The Crocodile, Bud Not Buddy, And The Other Side, all titles that help provide a better understanding of Black History Month. And last but not least, the library has just received a gift from Marcia A. Smith, the mother of lst graders Nola and Kai. She has donated a copy of the book, Black America, a beautiful book that assembles pictures of black Americans over the years. Ms. Smith is the author and compiler of this volume. Stop by and take a look.
January 12, 2006
The New Year
Happy New Year to everyone from the RDS Library. We hope you had a splendid holiday and are getting off to a terrific new year. We have something new to entice you to the library this winter. We are just beginning to create an audio book collection. If your children like to listen to books on tape, browse our shelves, which hold titles from Charlotte’s Web to The Autobiography Of Miss Jane Pittman.
Real Reading?
Since we are starting an audio book collection, you might be interested in the controversy that hovers around this format. My library listserve has been struggling with this question: do audio books constitute real reading? There are differing opinions on this issue. Some librarians feel that the skills used while reading print are quite different from those used when one listens; others differ. However, in either case, the ideas in the book are being processed, stored, compiled and compared with what has already been learned. Librarian Barbara Braxton, who strongly supports the use of audio books, writes that "audio, print, digital, and electronic texts all contribute in their own way to help students become literate. Surely that is our ultimate outcome, especially if being literate means being able to talk, listen, read and write effectively and efficiently.” Come by and check out some audio books and see how your experience with them influences your conception of reading.
Wikipedia—Not Everything You Read Is True
December 09, 2005
Sunday’s New York Times carried an article describing the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, and raised the issue of whether it could be believed. Evidently, an editor of a Tennessee newspaper (John Seigenthaler) found his biography on Wikipedia, in which he was described as possibly involved with the Kennedy assassinations. This was totally untrue, said Mr. Seigenthaler—but what could he do about it? More relevant to those of us who use online sources is the question of the value and reliability of online information. There is no easy solution to this problem. However, it is important for those of us who use these resources to know that while the internet has broadened our ”opportunities for world-wide communications and research,” it is up to us to look into the issue of authenticity. (NY Times, Sunday, 12/4/05, Week in Review section)
Library Thanks
December 09, 2005
From November 14th to the 17th we held the annual Redwood Day School Book Fair, and it was a terrific success. With the leadership of Liz Long and Tracey Borst (our Book Fair co-chairpersons) and help from Jill Nesbitt and Carolyn Call (next year’s Book Fair co-chairs), we celebrated books and the joy of reading books. We actually started the festivities on Thursday night (the 10th) when Middle School students and their families joined us for the 3rd annual Book Bug Boogie. Many thanks to the students who participated in the Rock Band, the Jazz Band, and several small ensembles and, most important, to those young people who helped us advertise books by giving book talks. Vincent Tolliver, Keith Ogden and Haroon Tahir helped with music and the sound system—Maddie Gold and Josh Raifman worked to organize and emcee the evening—and again Liz Long, Tracey Borst, Jill Nesbitt and Carolyn Call were indispensable in setting up for the event and getting the food. Thank you! When the official Book Fair began Monday morning, students and parents swamped us with their enthusiasm, support and purchasing. Alan Schroeder came and spoke enthusiastically of his writing career and how students could break into the field. His major message was whatever you really want to do—whether it’s writing or music or whatever—be prepared to keep working at it.
This Book Fair brought us profits in more ways than one. Children were eager for the chance to browse through hundreds of titles for days at a time. Parents were more than generous, purchasing more books for our new library than ever before, and giving to individual classrooms as well. And I think volunteers were thrilled seeing the pleasure books bring to everyone. To those of you who volunteered to help sell, to help with setup and take down, to help with postcards and the teacher wish lists, we couldn’t have done it without you.
November 04, 2005
On October 11th at about 5:00 p.m., the library shelves were bare and hundreds of boxes were stacked all over the space designated to become the new library. Parent volunteers led by Sue Vinella- Brusher spent the next three days opening boxes, determining where things belonged and filling the shelves. You are all amazing and I am fortunate to work with you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
On Saturday, October 15th, at the Parents’ Association annual picnic, parents, students, faculty and administration came out to dedicate this stunning new space. It has wonderful flat screen monitors for our computers, shelves for a collection of 16,000 (we currently have 10,000) volumes, a children’s corner, and a magnificent circulation desk. Everyone in the school can be proud of the library which is now centrally located, symbolizing our commitment to information, research and literature.
Book Fair
Next comes our spectacular Book Fair! This annual celebration of books starts on Monday, November 14th, and ends on November 17th at noon. We will be featuring several authors in connection with the event. On Wednesday, November 2nd, Marlene Shigekawa (mother of Quincy Godin, 8th gr.) spoke to third graders about her books, Welcome Home Swallows and Blue Jay in the Desert, and why she wrote them. On Monday, November 7th, Pamela Turner, award -winning author (mother of Connor Townsend), will speak to sixth and eighth grades about her most recent title, Gorilla Doctors, and she will be selling and signing books at the Middle School Book Bug Boogie. Parents are invited to attend her November 7th presentations, which will begin in the library at 1:50 p.m. On Tuesday, November 15th, Alan Schroeder will speak to various grades about his books, The Tale of Willie Monroe, Misty: A Story of Harriet Tubman, and others. He will meet with kindergarten, first and second grades at 11:00 a.m., grades three, four and five at 12:45 p.m., and the middle school at 1:50 p.m. in the multi-purpose room. Again, parents are invited to attend.
Attention!
October 07, 2005
Please join us on October 15th when we dedicate our new library. Then on October 17th come immerse yourselves in our new space with its many new books.
Book Bug Boogie
This year the Library Activity Group and members of the Book Fair Committee are sponsoring our third annual “Book Bug Boogie,” a special middle school event to kick off the opening of our Book Fair. This year the event is scheduled for Thursday, November 1st, in the RDS gymnasium, from 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. We will have food, entertainment, and with a little luck, we will have music from the Jazz and Rock Bands. We will also have some tables loaded with middle school books for those who want to browse or purchase. So start to think about getting into the act literally—that is, come play the violin, sing or dance for us. And most important—don’t forget the date.
The Book Fair
Redwood Day School will hold its annual Book Fair from November 14th - 17th in the RDS Gallery. We will be exhibiting so many books we may have to spill into the back of the new RDS Library to get all the items displayed. The theme is “Enter the Kingdom of Books: Where Books Rule.” Students have been designing posters for our postcard contest for the past two weeks. We have invited author Alan Schroeder to speak to our students on Tuesday of that week, specific times to be announced. It’s going to be a terrific event, so be sure to set aside time to come and celebrate books with us.
Research in Print Sources
A librarian from Florida wrote to my library list serve recently about how students turn to computers for whatever information they are seeking. She decided to investigate the efficacy of computer searching. She prepared some trivia questions, gave students a limited time to find answers, and noted how long it took them to answer all questions. It turned out that most of the students who finished first used print encyclopedias and almanacs. This might offer a valuable lesson to our students. A computer search might not necessarily be the way to go when seeking information.
The New School Year
September 10, 2005
We’re back, in a manner of speaking. Last year’s September Sound Off announced that the new library would be ready when school opened in 2005. We must admit that the library is only almost ready. The workers are on the job, my new office is already visible, as are the future stacks and the circulation desk. We are hoping to open on the “Ides of October” (Oct. 15th) and we’ll be watching every step of the construction as we await the day. Meanwhile, Barbara Bowman and I will be hanging out in Toby Mickelson’s former office with our computers, odds and ends of office materials and many titles borrowed from the Oakland and Berkeley Public Libraries. We will be visiting individual classes to introduce library skills and read stories.
Though we are without a library, we are not about to miss our annual Library Committee meeting. We want to invite parents to help us move into the library once it’s ready and we plan to arrange the volunteer schedule for the rest of the year. With this in mind, we want to invite you all to an opening meeting on Monday, September 19th at 8:30 a.m. in the x-plus room. This will be a brief but productive meeting to organize ourselves and plan for the coming year. We will soon also be planning for the annual Book Fair. Many of you generous souls have signed up for service and we’ll be calling you soon. For those of you who wish to add your names to our Book Fair volunteer list, please call chair persons Liz Long (452-4139) or Tracey Borst (339-7004).
March 11, 2005
Book Swap
Over the past few years the library has held a Spring book swap, so that students who finished reading all the books they had purchased at the Book Fair could replenish their shelves. Grades 3, 4 and 5 were chosen to participate. However, this year we have decided to hold a bigger event. On Tuesday, March 22nd, the library will invite all our students to come to the library to select one or two books. In return we are asking that in the week prior to March 22nd, each student bring 2-4 books to the library as his/her contribution to the event. This will give students a chance to donate titles they no longer want, and at the same time acquire two new books. If everything goes as planned, we should have approximately 200 titles beyond those selected by our students, which we will contribute to Fruitvale School and/or East Bay Conservation Charter School. We ask that students bring titles appropriate to their grade and in good condition.
February 12, 2005
Do We Need Libraries?
In the article, “The Relationship Between School Libraries and Academic Achievement,” written by A. B. Credaro (2002), the question was posed: “Now that we can get on the Internet, do we still need libraries?” The answer was a resounding YES. Here are some of the reasons:
- Many articles and books are not available on line. In fact, only about 8% of journals and an even smaller percentage of books are available on the Internet.
- There is no way, yet, to evaluate the quality of the information
you get on line. - We all benefit from the fact that many periodicals are available
to us on line, but sometimes these articles are incomplete and lack
footnotes, graphs and tables. - The Internet offers materials published recently, at best within
the last 15 years, but sometimes we need sources written in the past.
So be sure to support your local public library and our school library
as well.
February 11, 2005
2005 Award Winning Books
January once again brought word of the 2005 Newbery, Caldecott, and Coretta Scott King awards. Cynthia Kokohata, author of Kira-Kira and Kevin Henkes, author of Kitten’s First Full Moon, received the Newbery and Caldecott awards respectively.
Kira-Kira tells the story of a Japanese-American family living in the South during the 1950s. It describes the social circumstances of poverty and oppression and how the main character, Katie, is able to face the challenges of her existence and mature in this tense atmosphere.
Kitten’s First Full Moon describes how a kitten behaves when it thinks the moon is a bowl of milk. The illustrations in white, black and gray somehow catch the dreamy mood of evening and how the world might appear to a cat.
Toni Morrison received the Coretta Scott King award for her book, Remember: the Journey to School Integration, and Kadir Nelson received the Coretta Scott King award for excellence in illustration for the book, Ellington Was Not a Street.
January 14, 2005
Google and the Information Revolution
Google, the online search engine whose IPO just took off, has just announced a rather amazing project. As we know, Google has succeeded in making information available to web surfers in well-organized packages. Now they have announced plans to work with the libraries of Harvard, Stanford, the University of Michigan, Oxford University and the New York Public Library to digitally scan library books that are no longer subject to intellectual property restrictions, and make them available online. It is interesting to speculate what this will do for research. Youngsters doing a project in astronomy will have material at their disposal that they never dreamed existed. Primary sources held in the archives of major universities may become accessible for browsing and theorizing. For some, it will seem like too much—but for others it will present a remarkable opportunity to learn.
The Stories of Babar
The New York Review of Books recently carried a five-page article on the well-known series featuring Babar, the elephant, originally written by Jean de Brunhoff in the 1930s with more recent titles written by his son, Laurent de Brunhoff since the 1950s. If you read these books as a child, or if you read them to your children, you know that they are frequently criticized. They have been called anti-feminist; they have been accused of glorifying “capitalism and the ruling class;” and they have been labeled racist. It is likely that all these accusations hold true, depending on the book under discussion. But from an adult point of view it is most interesting to think about what the prominent prejudices were in the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s and how these permeated children’s picture books, even those considered of high quality. And it is equally instructive to see how Laurent de Brunhoff tried to overcome these prejudices in later titles and reprints, and in fact, has stopped publication of a title that he found too offensive to merit repair.
December 10, 2004
Book Fair 2004
The Redwood Day School annual Book Fair took place November 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th, and it was a great success. Co-chairpersons Tracey Borst and Liz Long worked diligently with many volunteer parents, transforming the gallery into our own private book store. Laurel Books provided titles for young adults and older readers and there was something for everyone. By Friday the tables were set up, the shelves beautifully arranged, the art work hung, and a special Book Fair preview was held for faculty and parents, to whet everyone’s appetite. When the Book Fair opened on Monday, students and parents jumped right in and began to buy. The library and classrooms received more book donations than ever before. Thank you all for coming, for working on the event, and for supporting the library. We hope it was as much fun for you as it was for us.
As part of the Book Fair, and to celebrate Children’s Book Week, we invited author Daniel San Souci to come speak to our students. Mr. San Souci, a Berkeley resident, is both an author and illustrator. He described how he became a writer and how his most recent book, The Dangerous Snake and Reptile Club, was a product of personal experiences he shared with his brothers. Listening to authors is always a pleasure, and Mr. San Souci offered us much food for thought.
Book Club
Every other Wednesday, fourth and fifth graders are invited to bring their lunches to the library and join the RDS book club. We read books and sometimes just chat about current literature. At our November 15th meeting, our group finished reading and discussed the book, No More Dead Dogs, by Gordon Korman. It appealed to all of us, and each student had his or her own favorite character. Now we will begin The Westing Game, a whodunnit by Ellen Raskin. If you are interested in some intense discussions, it’s not too late to join. Just drop by the library on December 15th at 11:45 a.m.
Book Fair 2004
November 05, 2004
The annual RDS Book Fair will take place November 15 th through the 18th in the RDS Gallery. Daniel San Souci will be our visiting author, and he will be talking to students in the auditorium on November 16th. He will meet with Lower School students from 9:00 to 9:45 and then with the Middle School from 10:10 to 10:50. If you would like to attend, please drop by.
By now you all will have received one of the Book Fair postcards designed by RDS students. Many of them created such wonderful postcard entries that the parent committee had a difficult time choosing the winners.
We will be sponsoring several events to get us into the Book Fair state of mind in the days before the event. On Thursday night, November 11th, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. we will be holding our annual “Book Bug Boogie” for Middle School students in the auditorium. There will be food, door prizes, music by the RDS Rock Band, and a talent show for everyone to enjoy. And most importantly, Middle School books will be on display for browsing—not for purchase. On Friday, the Book Fair committee will be hosting a faculty preview, from 3:00 to 6:00 in the Gallery. Books will not be sold at this time, but faculty will be wined and dined and encouraged to create wish lists for their classrooms. Parents are also invited to browse and to open student accounts. As you can see, it is going to be a very exciting affair, with something for everyone, so come and enjoy.
Author Visit
November 05, 2004
On October 24th, author Mark Williams visited RDS and spoke to grades 3 through 7 about his books, Ancient Fire and Eli Sands is Tangled in Time, both part of his “Danger Boy” series. Mr. Williams has written comics, authored the dialogue for several video games and worked as a journalist, and it was fascinating to hear how he came to be an author. In these novels he has used actual historical settings in combination with time travel to involve his readers in thrilling adventures.
Freedom to Read
October 02, 2004
The issue that is being argued on my L_M NET Listserve right now is—what books should students be allowed to take out of the library? Is the library a place where a student may check out any book he/she chooses, or should the librarian require that students take out books at or near their own reading level? This is not a theoretical question. Everyday at RDS youngsters in grades 1—2 want to take out books on World War II, the history of spying in the world and books on weapons, all of them written at the fifth to eighth grade reading level. I’m not going to answer this question (I have no fixed response and each interchange with a student is different), but I’d like to present some of the opinions expressed by librarians across the country.
One librarian recalls that when she grew up she was allowed to check out only books at her grade level in her school library. This was a problem as she was reading three or more grade levels above that but she was fortunate that she could pursue her literary interests at the local public library. Another media specialist in California thought students would be happier if they took home a book they could read and enjoy. Parents would be happier as well because they would not be called upon to read a history of flight or a study of the stars to a child who could not understand the language of the book. Still another librarian suggested that at least one book that goes home should be at the child’s reading level. The student could check out additional books according to interest,whether robots or outer space or presidents, without regard for reading level.
What do you think? Stop by and let me know.
Library Statistics
October 02, 2004
What would you like to know about process at the library?
Our computer system gives us some statistics that might interest you. The library has a collection that numbers 10,718 books. During September of this year 1,008 books were circulated, with more fiction books (296) being checked out than any other category, closely followed by picture and easy books (269), and then by nonfiction (218). The library is a busy place, as these numbers demonstrate, and that’s why we want to say thank you to all volunteers. We couldn’t do it without you.