Media matters, Vol. 3, Issue 9 (Apr. 2005)

Media Matters

April 2005 Volume 3, Number 9

Inside this issue: Travis Tritt is the latest reader for Georgia Read More
YALSA, Notable books 2

Major League baseball 3 @your library

Book Challenges

3

GCIS Training Dates 4

10 Reasons

5

Review

6

Websites

7

April Calendar

8

Country music star Travis Tritt read Bubba the Cowboy Prince to a group of students at Hiram Elementary in Paulding County on March 22nd. Bubba was written by Helen Ketteman and both Travis and the book were a hit with the kids and the faculty.
Travis had the children laughing and engaged with the story by using various voices for the characters in Bubba. This program will be broadcast via the satellite to schools and aired over GPB. The dates for this particular broadcast have not yet been determined.
Travis joins Kathy Cox, John Smoltz, Mary Perdue, Jimmy Carter in our Georgia Read More project.

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Media Matters

April 2005

YALSA Best DVDs and Videos

YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) has announced its 2005 annual selected list of Best DVDs and Videos for Young Adults, which recognizes productions for technical merit, content and use with and interest to young adults ages 12-18. Selections are chosen for the list using a round table discussion followed by a simple majority vote.
The 2005 list can be found on the YALSA Web site at http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/selecteddvds/05v ideos.htm

2005 Notable Children's Books
http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/childrensnotable/notablecbooklist/currentnotable.htm
Did you know?
Georgia Media Specialist's ages range from 22 years old to 74. Our experience ranges from 0 to 47 years. Quite a gamut!
Both ends of the spectrum and in between have wisdom and suggestions to offer. What is your suggestion? Send it to: jserrite@doe.k12.ga.us

Media Matters April 2005

Page 3

MAJOR LEAGUES @ YOUR LIBRARY TO GO ONLINE IN APRIL
The Major Leagues @ your library is designed to help people of all ages build their 21st century information literacy skills. The centerpiece of the program is an online baseball trivia contest that challenges participants to utilize the resources available at the library to answer baseball trivia questions of increasing difficulty. Media Specialists are encouraged to plan their promotion of the program now.
Free downloadable promotional materials are now available to libraries that register on the Join the Major Leagues Web site. Tools include downloadable bookmarks, a poster and a toolkit, which includes programming ideas and customizable media relations materials.
For more information go to http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2005/februarya/jtml2005.htm
Book Challenges
The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) received a total of 547 book challenges last year. A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint, filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness. According to Judith F. Krug, director of OIF, the number of challenges reflects only incidents reported, and for each reported, four or five remain unreported.
Robert Cormier's The Chocolate War tops the list of most challenged books of 2004. The book drew complaints from parents and others concerned about the book's sexual content, offensive language, religious viewpoint, and violence. This year marks the first in five in which the Harry Potter series does not top or appear on the ALA's annual list.
Read the full story at : http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2005/februarya/2004mostchallengedbook.htm
For more information on book challenges and censorship go to http://www.ala.org/bbooks
Do you have a plan in place for challenges? Is your Media Committee active?

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Media Matters
Media Matters
April 2005

GCIS Spring 2005 Training Dates

DATE

LOCATION

3/10/2005

Hall County Library (Gainesville)

3/11/2005

Kennesaw State University ETTC

3/11/2005 Okefenokee RESA (Waycross)

3/16/2005

Lafayette Education Center (Fayette County)

3/17/2005 Griffin RESA

REGISTRATION
http://www.gcic.peachnet.edu/TrainingDates/ http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/ click on course catalog Call (912)285-6151
http://www.gcic.peachnet.edu/TrainingDates/
www.griffinresa.net/

3/17/2005 Griffin RESA

www.griffinresa.net/

3/22/2005 Valdosta State University-ETTC www.ettc.valdosta.edu

3/23/2005 Albany State University - ETTC Call (229)430-1838

3/23/2005

First District RESA (Brooklet/Statesboro)

Armstrong Atlantic State Uni3/24/2005 versity (Savannah) - ETTC -
located in University Hall

3/29/2005

Athens Technical College (Athens)Room 715, Bldg. 700

www.first-district http://www.gcic.peachnet.edu/TrainingDates/ http://www.gcic.peachnet.edu/TrainingDates/

4/12/2005 North Georgia RESA (Ellijay) Call (706)276-1111

4/13/2005

Floyd College - Heritage Hall ETTC (Rome)

4/19/2005

Fort Discovery - ETTC (Augusta)

4/21/2005

Heart of Georgia RESA (Eastman)

Call (706)802-5015 Call (706)821-0630 Call (478)374-2240 x 147

4/22/2005 Macon State College - ETTC

www.etcmcn.org/etc-macon

Media Matters April 2005

Page 5

How to Order the "10 Reasons" Poster
"10 Reasons Why the Internet is No Substitute for a Library" (American Libraries, April, 2001) has been turned into a 4-color, 22" x 36" poster and is available for $10 each (this includes shipping and handling). Bulk orders are available on request and begin at 21 or more orders for $8 each.
If interested, please respond to Mark Herring . Check or money order is acceptable and should be made out to "Winthrop University." (You may also send a purchase order or they will bill you.) Mail to Winthrop University, Dacus Library, Attn: M.Y . Herring, Rock Hill, SC, 29733

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Media Matters Media Matters April 2005

Take my advice...and buy this book
Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes I discovered this novel when preparing for my National Board exams and have since shared it with several of my high school English teachers in hopes they would include it during a poetry unit.
Poet Nikki Grimes writes about a high school English class of 18 very different students....an artist, a musician, an unwed mother, a girl abused by her boyfriend, a student with dyslexia, an athlete, a student whose mom just died, and more ....such a wide variety of interests and backgrounds that any student could identify with someone in this class. The format includes a biographical theme and a poem written by each class member. The story is actually told by a narrator and includes what happens to the entire school as a result of one teacher's love of poetry shared through a regular "open mike" event.
This young adult novel would make an interesting read-aloud over the course of a poetry unit and would be great as a part of the "25 books" component of the new state standards. The essays are short and quick to read and it would be especially meaningful to display each poem using an overhead projector. Students could write their own biographical essay and poem to share on "open mike" Friday. Another wonderful technique used by this innovative English teacher involved placing large empty picture mats on a blank wall. Students were invited to voluntarily place their original work inside these "frames" to share with the class art, poetry, photography, music, etc. What a great idea! At the end of the year, Mr. Ward made a class anthology of those pieces for everyone. Introduce your class to Mr. Ward's students from the Bronx and let the poetry work its own magic!
Novel study guides for Bronx Masquerade are available at http://www.nikkigrimes.com/teacher.html.

Awards received:
2003 Coretta Scott King Author Award Best Book for Young Adults Junior Library Guild Selection New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age Notable Books for a Global Society

Rebecca Amerson National Board Certified Library Teacher 2004
Woodstock High School

Georgia Department of Education
Judy Serritella Coordinator of Library Media Services 404-657-9800 jserrite@doe.k12.ga.us
We will lead the nation in improving student achievement.

Media Matters April 2005

Page 7

What is a Blog?
Have you ever wondered about blogs -- what they are -- how they work -- and what do they have to do with teenagers?
Find out in this Big6 article, Virtual Wisdom -Have You Blogged Lately? Many Teenagers Have a Blog or Know Someone Who Does!
http://www.big6.com/showenewsarticle.php?id=46 1
Dale Lyles, Media Specialist in Coweta County, has his own blog. Check out the Curriculum Liberation Front at: http://dalelyles.com/blog/

GPS Training On Line!
http://www.georgiastandards.org/training.asp
GAcollege 411
http://gacollege411.org/
GAcollege411 offers access to comprehensive information about colleges, universities, and technical colleges in Georgia. The site also enables students to apply for admission to each school listed. Note: Although the mentor site is free, students are responsible for whatever fees are charged by a college upon submitting an application for admission.

Check out NCknows
http://ncknows.org/why.htm
NCknows is a service that allows North Carolina citizens to get help from librarians and use their library resources from their computer. By typing messages back and forth, you can communicate with a librarian, browse WebPages together, receive articles from NC LIVE, and get answers to questions. It's free, helpful and easy.
NCknows is staffed by librarians from academic, public and specialty libraries. By coordinating with participating libraries across the state and other libraries across the country, we are able to offer help around the clock.
NCknows is a pilot project supported by a grant under the federally-funded Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). The project is administered by the State Library of North Carolina in Raleigh with help from a committee of librarians and directors from North Carolina's libraries.

April 2005

GaDOE Library Media Services

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

March SM TW T F S
12345 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Wednesday

Thursday

May SM TW T F S
1234567 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Friday
1

Saturday
2

April Fool's Day! Birthday ofHans Christian Andersen: 1805-1875

3
Washington Irving born: 1783-1859

4

5

6

Birthday ofMaya Angelou: 1928-

Birthday of

Robert Pery and

Booker T. Wash- Matthew

ington: 1856- Henson reach

1915

the North Pole:

1909

7

8

Donald Carrick Birthday of

born: 1929-

Barbara

William

Kingsolver:

Wordsworth

1955-

born: 1770-1850

9
Marian Anderson sings at Lincoln Memorial: 1939

10
Birthday of Joseph Pulitzer: 1847-1911

11
Jackie Robinson breaks the color barrier: 1947

12
Birthday of Beverly Cleary: 1916-

13 14

Birthday of

Lincoln shot by

Thomas Jeffer- John Wilkes

son, Eudora

Booth: 1865

Welty, Samuel

Beckett & Marg-

uerite Henry

15 16
Leonardo daVinci Wilbur Wright born: 1452-1519 born: 1867-1912

17 18 19 20 21 22 23

Thornton Wilder's Paul Revere made

birthday: 1897- his famous ride:

1975

1775

Oklahoma City Hitler born: 1889- Birthday of

Henry Fielding WilliamShake-

Federal Building 1945

BarbaraPark: born: 1707-1754 speare born:

bombing: 1995 Marie and Pierre

1947-

1564-1616

Curie isolate radio- Charlotte Bronte
active radium salts born: 1816-1854
from the m ine ral

pitc hblende :1902

24
Library of Congress established: 1800

25 26

Marconi's birthday: 18741937

Birthday ofI.M. Pei and Frederick Law Olmsted

27
Birthday of Coretta Scott King: 1927-

28
Lois Duncan born: 1934-

29 30
1st African Ameri- Element 101 can college char- discovered: 1955 tered: 1854

The bluebird car ries the sky on his bac k. Henr y Da vid Thor eau