What's New

I could have called this post "Why I'm the Luckiest Librarian in Elmira." The picture on the left is the new library circulation desk which was installed on 10/27. It's a beautiful piece of furniture with lots of storage space. We were very excited to "move in" to all of the drawers and cabinets! Thanks to Mr. Krantz and Southern Tier Contracting for making it happen!

I Know You Like a Book

One of my favorites quotes about readings is from Alice Hoffman: "Books may well be the only true magic." This quote is painted on the wall outside our library.

Here are some other quotes about reading. What's your favorite?

Quotes about Reading

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Books with Beat

The theme for Teen Read Week 2010 is "Books with Beat."
Here are some books about teens and music:



This video was created using a very cool online tool called Animoto. Want to learn how? Ask your librarian.

Teens' Top 10

1. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

2. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

3. Heist Society by Ally Carter

4. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

5. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

6. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

7. Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

8. If I Stay by Gayle Forman

9. Fire by Kristen Cashore

10. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Resources of the Week

Print Resource
Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing without Organizations by Clay Shirky
Blogs, wikis and other Web 2.0 accoutrements are revolutionizing the social order, a development that's cause for more excitement than alarm, argues interactive telecommunications professor Shirky. He contextualizes the digital networking age with philosophical, sociological, economic and statistical theories and points to its major successes and failures.

Technology Resource
Voicethread
https://email.elmiracityschools.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://voicethread.com/%23home
A VoiceThread is a collaborative, multimedia slide show that holds images, documents, and videos and allows people to navigate pages and leave comments in 5 ways - using voice (with a mic or telephone), text, audio file, or video (via a webcam). Share a VoiceThread with friends, students, and colleagues for them to record comments too.
Here is a VoiceThread about VoiceThread:
https://email.elmiracityschools.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://voicethread.com/%23q.b409.i848804
Here are some ideas for using VoiceThread with students (possibly as an alternative to PowerPoint):
https://email.elmiracityschools.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://voicethread.com/library/
And, finally, "17 Interesting Ways to Use VoiceThread in the Classroom"
https://email.elmiracityschools.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://clifmims.com/blog/archives/2628

If you are interested in using VoiceThread in your classroom, I can help you get started. The library has microphones and a webcam for your use as well.

Spotlight

Print Resource:
Technology in the Secondary Science Classroom, edited by Randy L. Bell, Julie Gess-Newsome, and Julie Luft.
The featured technologies range from the easy to master (such as digital cameras) to the more complex (such as Probeware and geographic information systems). Each chapter includes a summary of current research on the technology's effectiveness in the classroom; best-practice guidelines drawn from the research and practitioner literature; and innovative ideas for teaching with the particular technology. (Source: http://www.amazon.com/Technology-Secondary-Science-Classroom-Randy/dp/1933531274/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1254507852&sr=8-1)

Technology Resource:
Google Books - Great for research papers!
https://email.elmiracityschools.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://books.google.com/
Search the full text of Books. Find the perfect book for your purposes and discover new ones that interest you.

SearchBook Search works just like web search. Try a search on Google Books or on Google.com. When we find a book with content that contains a match for your search terms, we'll link to it in your search results.
Browse books onlineIf the book is out of copyright, or the publisher has given us permission, you'll be able to see a preview of the book, and in some cases the entire text. If it's in the public domain, you're free to download a PDF copy. Learn more about the different views.
Learn more -- fast We've created reference pages for every book so you can quickly find all kinds of relevant information: book reviews, web references, maps and more. See an example.
Buy the book ... or borrow it from the libraryIf you find a book you like, click on the "Buy this book" and "Borrow this book" links to see where you can buy or borrow it.

Source: http://books.google.com/intl/en/googlebooks/about.html

Spotlight

Technology Resource of the Week
http://bmsactivinspire.pbworks.com/
This is a wiki that Jill Eagen put together for ActivInspire users in her building. (ActivStudio will no longer be used in the district.) Her wiki is full of information and tutorials on switching over to ActivInspire

Book of the Week
Poems for Teaching in the Content Areas: 75 Powerful Poems to Enhance Your History, Geography, Science and Math Lessons
What happens when you pair one of the most vibrant, versatile children's poets with one of the best educators? 60 poems perfectly pitched to the needs of teachers, along with simple unique ideas for maximizing their teaching power before, during, and after learning. Topics include: Metamorphosis, simple machines, hurricanes; The Civil War, D-Day, The Vietnam War, immigration; The Nile, Fallingwater, The Great Sphinx; fractions, algebra, and much, much more! (Source: Amazon.com product description)