In Circulation - BCTLA

Day of Pink Book Displays (February 29)

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Daly) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 04:49:00 +0000

"Dear Teacher-Librarians,

The Day of Pink 2012 is rapidly approaching. The BCTF’s Committee for Action on Social Justice (CASJ) seeks your support to recognize and celebrate this important day in schools.

The Day of Pink was started by two students in 2007 in Nova Scotia who reacted to a boy who was being bullied for wearing a pink shirt. The boy was threatened because he was perceived to be gay. Two of his classmates responded by urging the students in their school to show up the next day wearing pink as a sign of solidarity. Since then, the Day of Pink has grown and spread across the country as a way for students to stand up against homophobia and transphobia in schools. It is not a generic antibullying day as some mistakenly believe.

We know that some schools are still not safe spaces for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. In fact, LGBTQ students are often some of the most vulnerable students in our schools. Sometimes their homes are not even places where their identities are valued and celebrated. We admire the fact that teacher-librarians are so dedicated to providing students with access to timely and age-appropriate information on a wide variety of issues. We appreciate your willingness to oppose censorship and make schools more inclusive places which celebrate LGBTQ student identities and family realities.

In celebration of this year’s Day of Pink, we ask that you showcase, exhibit, and display some LGBTQ-inclusive books in your libraries during Freedom to Read Week, February 26−March 3. Perhaps you might take some time to read a few stories about gender stereotypes to classes. Books such as “A Fire Engine for Ruthie” by Leslea Newman or “The Sissy Duckling” by Harvey Fierstein help to dispel myths about gender stereotypes.

For more information on the Day of Pink, go to
bctf.ca/SocialJustice.aspx?id=17998.

For Day of Pink and other LGBTQ posters and resources:
bctf.ca/SocialJustice.aspx?id=17992.

For BCTF-recommended LGBTQ resources, go to
bctf.ca/SocialJustice.aspx?id=17990.

You might also e-mail any one of the members of the LGBTQ action group of the BCTF’s Committee for Action on Social Justice:

David Butler, dbutler@bctf.ca (VESTA)
Myriam Dumont, medumont@bctf.ca (VESTA)
Shannon Lanaway, slanaway@bctf.ca (Nelson)
Vanessa Liston, vliston@bctf.ca (Haida Gwaii)

Thank you for your ongoing support in making our schools safe and accepting of everyone.

Sincerely,

James Chamberlain
Assistant Director
Professional and Social Issues
BC Teachers' Federation
#100-550 West 6th Ave.
Vancouver, BC V5Z 4P2
jchamberlain@bctf.ca
604-871-1842"

Love Your School Library Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Daly) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 07:25:00 +0000

On Family Literacy Day, Teacher-Librarians Lament a Decade of Cuts

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Daly) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:18:00 +0000

On this Family Literacy Day—as on every day of the past decade—the BC Teacher-Librarians’ Association wonders if the Ministry of Education is serious about improving literacy rates in the province and increasing 21st-Century learning opportunities for our students.

Over 30% of teacher-librarian staffing has been eliminated in the past decade, part of the total loss of more than 3,500 teacher positions since 2002.

January 27 is Family Literacy Day in BC, a day to celebrate the love of reading together. January 28, however, marks the 10th anniversary of the introduction of Bill 27 and 28, which significantly contributed to the loss of over 275 teacher-librarian positions across BC.

Heather Daly, president of the BC Teacher-Librarians’ Association, noted that ensuring BC students develop a life-long love of reading is just one aspect of the critical role of teacher-librarians. “Our role is also to ensure that students become fluent in the use of information regardless of the format,” she said. “Proficiency in research strategies is just one of the competencies that students need in order to be successful 21st-Century learners, and teacher-librarians excel at teaching those skills.”

The remaining members of the BC Teacher-Librarians’ Association grieve for the lack of service to BC students in schools throughout the province.

“Given that our students need to learn to love to read and to become proficient users of information and content creators in their own right, it seems unbelievable that teacher-librarian losses continue throughout the province because of underfunding to public education,” said Daly. “The Ministry of Education’s BC Education Plan purports to focus on 21st-Century learning, yet government consistently misses the mark in terms of the vital role teacher-librarians play as information specialists in contemporary schooling.”

– 30 –

For more information, go to the BC Teacher-Librarians’ Association website at http://bctf.ca/BCTLA or contact Heather Daly at 604-937-6380.

BCTLA in Coquitlam 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Daly) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 06:04:00 +0000

The British Columbia Teacher-Librarians’ Association is hosting “We’re IN: Inquire, Inspire, Innovate”, a provincial PSA conference, in Coquitlam on October 18 and 19, 2012. We are excited about this opportunity to celebrate and share our current successes and visions for the future.

Our Planning and Program Committee is committed to providing a range of sessions that will interest teacher-librarians and educators from all levels, and anyone interested in improving their teaching skills in literacy (e.g. visual, critical, etc.), research, and technology.

We are looking for presenters, particularly in the area of information and communications technology and how it can encourage strategies and skills that promote critical thinking. If you feel you have a topic that may benefit our conference, please submit a proposal.

Please include with your proposal:

Session title/topic
Brief abstract of your topic
Target audience
Summary of experience with topic
Any details concerning possible expenses for out of area presenters

Our compensation for expenses includes:

Conference registration

Deadline for proposals: February 29, 2012

Please contact Joanne Howey at the email address below or if you have further questions: jhowey@sd43.bc.ca.

BCTLA Winter Webinar Series

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Daly) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 03:51:00 +0000

Critical Thinking and Inquiry in a Digital Environment
January 17, February 21 and April 17- 4:00-5:00 PM (PST)
Cost - $25.00

In collaboration with The Critical Thinking Consortium, BCTLA is sponsoring a three-part online series focussing on critical thinking and inquiry in a digital environment. The series will be hosted by Garfield Gini-Newman, a Senior Lecturer at OISE/University of Toronto and a senior national consultant with The Critical Thinking Consortium, and offered online via Blackboard Collaborate (formerly Elluminate). Blackboard Collaborate is an online, interactive platform. Upon registration, participants will be given instructions and support in using the platform.

To register, go here on the BCTLA website.

Please contact Arlene Anderson at arander@shaw.ca if you have questions about the series or the Blackboard Collaborate platform.

Session Details:

Session 1: C3 (Critical, Creative and Collaborative)
Inquiry for the 21st Century Part One: Establishing a Framework
January 17, 2012 – 4:00 – 5:00 PM (PST)

For schools to remain relevant in an information age, the focus for learning must shift from the mere acquisition of knowledge to the use of knowledge to solve meaningful problems. Placing inquiry at the heart of teaching helps to ensure relevance and rigor for all learners. Specifically designed for teacher-librarians at all levels, this workshop will engage participants in an exploration of a powerful critical thinking framework that includes a variety of ready to use strategies that will:

Deepen understanding through critical thinking and literacy
Encourage exploration, investigation and reflection
Construct knowledge through connections and wonder
Emphasize critical inquiry in digital learning environments
The workshop will build learning around inquiry and offer ways that teacher-librarians can support classroom teachers achieve success through “tweaking” and fortifying the work they already do.

Session 2: C3 (Critical, Creative and Collaborative)
Inquiry for the 21st Century Part Two: Exploring the Opportunities
February 21, 2012 – 4:00 – 5:00 PM (PST)

In this session, teacher-librarians will consider practical applications of the critical thinking framework for grounding meaningful learning in critical inquiry. Together, participants will explore six ways to invite critical inquiry and identify entry points for infusing critical thinking in their teaching, particularly through inquiry-based reading and learning. Discussion will also include the use of TC2’s intellectual tools for quality thinking and their relevance in a digital learning environment. In their work and in their support role for classroom teachers, teacher-librarians have the opportunity to invite critical inquiry, increasing students’ abilities to think critically about information, its sources and how they may construct thoughtful questions and meaningful responses. This session supports teacher-librarians in applying this critical thinking framework to support all phases of inquiry, deepen student engagement, and build literacy and understanding of core curricular concepts.

Session 3
Critical Inquiry in a Digital Environment
April 17, 2012 – 4:00 – 5:00 PM (PST)

How can teachers adapt to the changing demands of a global and digital society as well as meet the needs of a diverse population of learners growing up in a digital world? Simply adding new technologies to classrooms and libraries does not ensure transformative learning, and may in fact merely contribute to reinforcing traditional practices. This workshop will explore how teacher-librarians can develop and support learning experiences that engage all learners and prepare them for success in a rapidly changing and increasingly complex world by:

Considering how we can make invitations to think and solve meaningful problems the driver for learning rather than the culmination of learning
Understanding the place of the TC2 framework in the TPACK (Technological, Pedagogical, Content Knowledge) approach
Examining the place of intellectual tools to support students in critical inquiry
Deepening student engagement through appropriate use of technology

Working and Learning Conditions Survey

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Daly) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 04:52:00 +0000

For 30 years, BCTLA has been surveying the working and learning conditions in BC public school libraries.

Between October 24 and November 30, 2011, BCTLA invites BC public school teacher-librarians and/or school staff representatives to submit a survey response.

Submit your response here!

Thoughts on National School Library Day

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Daly) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 22:04:00 +0000

Thank you to the Burnaby Teacher-Librarians’ Association for all of their work toward organizing what was an amazing annual BCTLA conference this past Friday! A huge thank you also to the BCTLA Executive members for all of their work, as well as to the Chapter Councillors who met with the Executive on Saturday.

Here are some thoughts on the profession of librarianship and the role of librarians, from Dr. Dave Lankes, which I hope you will find affirming:

“In Egypt, when they saw tyranny and overcame it, when the Arab Spring spread throughout the Middle East, libraries were an important part of it. … Most of the protests in Egypt actually began in Alexandria and then moved to Cairo and Tahir Square.

And what’s interesting is as these protests in Alexandria got larger and larger and more and more people involved and then the security forces and the police starting having to manage the protest, looting broke out. People started breaking into businesses, people started breaking into institutions, people started acting in a lawless way.

The youth in Alexandria, when they saw this happening, joined hand-in-hand and surrounded the Library of Alexandria, to protect it. Not one rock was thrown at it, not one window was broken. They defended the library. They did it not, in my opinion, because it was a pretty building. They did it not because it was actually some sort of symbol of freedom; in fact, Mubarak’s wife was on the board of it.

They did it because to them it was an aspirational organization that represented what they thought was the best of their culture and the society. When they looked at the library, they saw the history, they saw knowledge, they saw learning, they saw openness. They saw a library. In the U.K. and in the United States as people have tried to close branch libraries and people have talked about ‘we don’t have the money for it’ they have stood up…they have stood up, and they have fought for their libraries. This did not happen when Blockbuster closed. When Borders closed, the only signs you saw were ‘30% off…and sorry you can’t use the bathroom’. Right? But they fight for libraries.

You’re not in the book business. You’re not in the media business. You’re in the aspirational business. Your kindred spirits are not people who sit there and sell books! They are people who fight for freedom.

…

The mission of librarians, the missions of you, whether you hold a Masters degree or not, whether this is a part-time job or full-time job, whether you’re doing this for extra time, I don’t care…I don’t care why you became a librarian, I don’t care if you did it because you loved books, I don’t care because you’re good at crossword puzzles, I don’t care because people said, ‘oh, you’re going to be a librarian…how did you know she loved to read as a youth’. I don’t care…you’re one now.

And this is your mission. Your mission is not to maintain the building. Your mission is not to shelve. Your mission isn’t even in having a building. Your mission is to improve society. How do we improve society? We do it by facilitating knowledge creation. We don’t do through circulation, we don’t do it through access. We do it by helping people learn. And sometimes that means talking to them, and sometimes that means doing things online, and sometimes that just means being an ear to listen to. We do it in an active way, to create knowledge in our communities.

…

Other people will say that these statements of improving society, this discussion…that I’m seeking to radicalize librarians…that I’m seeking to foment a revolution. Let me be very clear: they are absolutely right. I am seeking a revolution in librarianship. Not to take up arms, but to arm ourselves and our communities with knowledge. Not to overthrow the government, but to overthrow ignorance. To bring back big ideas, to talk about what we can be. … I don’t care if that victory that is small. I don’t care if the victory is that great. It is the struggle for that victory that defines our profession, that sets us apart from small ideas … that sets up apart from those who seek dollar signs instead of community improvement.

We are a profession that is here to serve. That is an activist profession. … It is profession of great complexity and caring. It is a profession that is unusual in the history of mankind. For 3,000 years librarians have been debating what makes the world better, have been experimenting, have been taking the chains off the stacks, have been spreading the word, and believing in knowledge. And that discussion, that conversation, that inheritance, is now yours.

That inheritance is now yours. What are you going to do with it? Are you going to simply continue what’s been done, because that’s not what this conversation is about. Melvil Dewey and the person who took off the chains did not sit there and go, ‘this is what we’ve always done’. Instead, they said, ‘this is what we need to do’. The conversation, the power of librarianship, is not in reifying tradition, it is in tearing it down, and coming up with something better. Not to dismiss it. To understand that what we’ve done in the past was important to get us here. But it may not take us into the future. That is the conversation that we must have, that is why we are a noble profession, and that is why we have every liberty, every right, and every obligation, to think big.” – Dave Lankes, http://quartz.syr.edu/rdlankes/blog/?p=1258.

To BC teacher-librarians, helping people learn; doing what “we need to do”. Happy National School Library Day!

Images from the 2011 BCTLA Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Daly) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 06:15:00 +0000

Thank you to the Burnaby Teacher-Librarians' Association for hosting an amazing conference! Presentations from the conference are available on the BCTLA website at http://bctf.ca/bctla/conference/2011.html.

BCTLA Treasurer Chris Evans and BCTLA Past President Pat Parungao
enjoying the Thursday evening social and vendors' display

Conference day Friday -- and Pat wore exactly the right thing!

BCTLA Presidents' Award recipient Al Smith (SD23), New BC Teacher-Librarian of the Year Nicola Kuhn (SD20), and BC Teacher-Librarian of the Year Sylvia Zubke (SD39)

The BCTLA Chapter Councillors and BCTLA Executive met on Saturday for the 2011 BCTLA Fall Council meeting with special guest Susan Lambert, BCTF President

Learning Commons in BC

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Daly) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 04:44:00 +0000

Interested in how technology is being integrated into BC school library programs and services? Or how both academic and school libraries are providing personalized experiences for students?

A new video, "Learning Commons in BC", features the Chapman Learning Commons at UBC, and learning commons at VSB's John Oliver and Gladstone Secondary Schools, and David Livingstone Elementary School.

Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/user/BCLibraries?feature=mhsn#p/u/0/LglFl1BYfFs

What do you think about the learning commons movement? Are you conducting inquiry into this area in your school library?

DEAR 2011 Press Release

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Daly) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 20:19:00 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2011

TO ALL MEDIA OUTLETS AND PUBLIC OFFICIALS

HEY BC! DROP EVERYTHING AND…READ!

VICTORIA--On Monday, October 24, 2011, the British Columbia Teacher-Librarians’ Association (BCTLA) hopes that you will join them to…DROP EVERYTHING AND READ!

Through its annual support of National School Library Day, the BCTLA wants all British Columbians to celebrate the joy of reading and the power of literacy by joining them to read for twenty minutes (officially from 11:00-11:20 a.m. but any time is a great time!). Last year, over 45 000 students and teachers joined several MLAs and local officials from around the province to drop what they were doing to spend time just…reading.

For many rural communities in British Columbia, the local school library is often the only library that their students have access to on a regular basis. Sadly, many of these rural (and several urban) school libraries offer limited access (i.e. one morning a week), are not staffed by a trained teacher-librarian, and/or possess an outdated and unattractive collection of materials for youth. While continuing its advocacy for BC school libraries, the BCTLA has formal requested that the government officially recognize the fourth Monday of every October as ‘BC School Library Day’ in order to bring a greater public awareness to the plight of the school library in the province.

This year, the Minister of Education, and several high-profile MLAs, including Carole James, will be participating in the DEAR Challenge on Monday, October 24th. We hope you’ll take a moment from your busy day and join us, too!

For more information about the DEAR challenge, you can visit our official website at http://dropeverythingandreadbc.ca, find us on Facebook (DROP Everything and READ), follow us on Twitter (@BCTLA_DEAR) or contact BCTLA VP (Advocacy), Jeff Yasinchuk (yasinchuk@hotmail.com).

British Columbia Teacher-Librarians’ Association, 2011

Bonnie McComb Receives the 2011 Alan Knight Memorial Award

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Daly) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 19:13:00 +0000

The BC Teacher-Librarians' Association and the Editorial Board of The Bookmark recognize the contribution to communication in teacher-librarianship made by the submission of outstanding articles to The Bookmark. Each year an award committee is formed in one of B.C.’s school districts. This committee selects the most outstanding article in The Bookmark for that year and the Alan Knight Memorial Award goes to the contributor(s).

For 2011, and for the second consecutive year in a row, the award recipient is Bonnie McComb, teacher-librarian at Parkland Secondary School in Saanich, B.C.

Bonnie has received the Alan Knight Memorial Award for the article "Creating a Culture of Reading in High School: Student Book Clubs Work". As with the first article in the Creating a Culture of Reading series, the article has already had a significant impact in terms of the contribution it represents to the professional growth of teacher-librarians in B.C., and beyond! It was presented at the Australian School Library Association XXI Biennial Conference in Perth, Australia on September 30, 2009 while Bonnie was in Australia on teacher exchange.

On behalf of the BCTLA, I would like to congratulate Bonnie McComb for her continually outstanding contributions to The Bookmark!

Arlene Anderson Receives 2010-11 Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Daly) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 23:34:00 +0000

Congratulations to Arlene Anderson on receiving a 2010-11 Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence / Certificate of Excellence!

Arlene is the teacher-librarian at Rockridge Secondary in West Vancouver where she is an amazing "Techno-wiz teacher–librarian [who] inspires students and...reinvents [the] school library. If the school is an atom, the library is its nucleus where energy and enthusiasm fuel ideas". Arlene is also a member of the BCTLA Executive, as the BCTLA Professional Development Chairperson. In the 2010-11 school year, in addition to developing an amazing library program at Rockridge, she was instrumental in the development of the BC Teacher-Librarians' Ning. At the 2011 BCTLA Spring Council, Arlene led Chapter Councillors through the Ning and presented a workshop on ebooks. She was also responsible for the development of the 2011 BCTLA Summer Institute, held at Rockridge Secondary, which focused on the topics of media literacy and social networking. On October 21, Arlene will present on "Developing Your Social Network with NING and Twitter" at the annual BCTLA conference.

Congratulations, Arlene, on a well-deserved achievement, and thank you for also being a "techno-wiz teacher-librarian who inspires" her colleagues and fellow teacher-librarians!

October is Library Month

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Daly) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 16:53:00 +0000

October is Canadian Library Month and has been proclaimed Library Month in B.C. This year's theme is "Your Library: A Place Unbound". Many events will be held throughout the month celebrating all libraries and library workers. This will include the BCTLA conference on October 21 and National School Library Day and Drop Everything and Read! on October 24.

Book Week 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Daly) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 03:06:00 +0000

From the Canadian Children's Book Centre:

"TD Canadian Children’s Book Week will take place from May 5-12, 2012.

Applications to host a Book Week 2012 touring author, illustrator or storyteller are now open! Invite an author, illustrator or storyteller to your school, library or community centre today and share the magic of books and reading!

http://www.bookweek.ca/

TD Canadian Children's Book Week is the single most important national event celebrating Canadian children's books and the importance of reading.Twenty-nine English-speaking authors, illustrators and storytellers will be visiting schools, libraries, bookstores and community centres in every province and territory across the country. Over 35,000 children, teens and adults will take part in the readings and workshops that will be given by the Book Week touring authors, illustrators and storytellers.

Visit http://www.bookweek.ca/book-week/2012/whos-on-tour to learn more about the authors, illustrators and storytellers that will tour in your province or territory.

Visit http://www.bookweek.ca/application to apply today.

The deadline to apply is November 30, 2011".

Note to BCTLA from Sharon Scott

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Daly) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 19:42:00 +0000

A note to BCTLA from retired Vancouver teacher-librarian Sharon Scott, recipient of the 2010 Val Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award:

"As the recipient of the 2010 BCTLA Val Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award, I would like to express belated but sincere gratitude for this honour. It is especially meaningful because Val and I were on so many executives and committees together in Vancouver over the years and remain friends.

Being a part of the teacher-librarian community and member of both BCTLA and VTLA has been a pleasure and a privilege.

Helping organize and actively participating in the Information Literacy Project at UBC Faculty of Education and cooperatively planning with professors, instructors, volunteers and pre-service teachers over the eleven years since my retirement has been exceptionally enjoyable and fulfilling.

BCTLA has continued to support teacher-librarians and advocate for school libraries through challenging times and deserves to be commended.

Thank you again for the beautiful and much appreciated award.

Sincerely,
Sharon Scott"

Thank you, Sharon!

2011-12 BCTLA Program

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Daly) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 07:21:00 +0000

The specific goals and objectives of the BC Teacher-Librarians' Association for the school year 2011-12 are now available on the BCTLA website! Click on the image below for more:

VIWF Spreading the Word Schools Program

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Daly) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 19:05:00 +0000

"Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival
Spreading the Word Schools Program
October 18-21, 2011

Free Festival Author Visits to Schools-in-Need

The Festival is sponsoring eight Festival authors to visit inner-city, 'vulnerable', schools in-need, to speak with up to two classes about being a writer, read from their books, engage with students. This is meant to be an intimate experience, and IT IS FREE.

If your school meets this criteria, check out this year’s writers listed below. For author bios go to writersfest.bc.ca.

Select one and email Ilona Beiks, Education Coordinator: stonecircle@shaw.ca. Make sure to include the preferred date, time, grade level, # of students, school address and contact phone number. You will be notified if your class is selected.

If you have any questions, call 604-215-9726.

Thanks,
Ilona Beiks
Education Coordinator
Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival

FESTIVAL WRITERS AVAILABLE FOR FREE SCHOOL VISITS

Alan Cumyn
For Grade 7
Available: Tuesday, October 18, anytime; Wednesday, October 19, morning; Thursday, October 20, afternoon.

Tanya Davis
For Grades 8 - 9
Available: Wednesday, October 19, afternoon only; Thursday, October 20, morning.

Deborah Hodge
For Grades 1 - 2
Available: Tuesday, October 18, anytime; Thursday, October 20, anytime.

Christy Jordan-Fenton & Margaret Pokiak-Fenton
For Grades 3 - 5
Available: Tuesday, October 18, morning; Wednesday, October 19, afternoon.

Margriet Ruurs
For Grades 4
Available: Tuesday, October 18, anytime.

Janet Willen
For Grade 6
Available: Wednesday, October 19, afternoon; Thursday, October 20, morning.

Sheri-D Wilson
For Grades 11 - 12
Available: Wednesday, October 19, afternoon.

Moira Young
For Grade 10 - 11
Available: Wednesday, October 19, morning; Thursday, October 20, morning.

“Living and Learning in a Smartboard World”

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Daly) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 23:32:00 +0000

Written by teachers and researchers in the Livingstone Inquiry Group, the thirteen-chapter book outlines teachers’ innovations in teaching and learning including:

Designing digital curriculum units

Changes to student writing through digital media

Smartboards and students with special needs

The power of embedded video

Collaboration in a learning community

Sylvia Zubke, teacher-librarian at David Livingstone Elementary and member of the Livingstone Inquiry Group, was recently named as the 2011 BC Teacher-Librarian of the Year by the BCTLA.

The Points of Inquiry Posters

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Daly) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 23:07:00 +0000

All BC public schools should have received a copy of a poster featuring The Points of Inquiry model. The poster should have arrived in the school start-up mailing from the BCTF. The posters were provided via a special grant from the BCTF, for which we thank them!

To download addition copies (several sizes) of the English and/or French posters, go to http://bctf.ca/bctla/pub/index.html#points.

In addition to the posters, resources on the site include the full The Points of Inquiry: A Framework for Information Literacy and the 21st-Century Learner document, a technology integration screencast, subject integration and collaborative planning templates, a student inquiry-teacher inquiry crosswalk, and more!

New resources include the Langley Inquiry Questions wiki, developed by the Langley Teacher-Librarians' Association. The wiki features a bank of sample questions in every subject area that may encourage inquiry in the classroom and/or school library.

Drop Everything and Read Posters and T-Shirts

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Daly) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 04:00:00 +0000

We are excited to announce that information and resources for the 2011 Drop Everything and Read challenge are now available at http://dropeverythingandreadbc.ca/!

For 2011, resources include posters and t-shirts.

Drop Everything and Read...

WHEN: Monday, October 24, 2011 @ 11:00 a.m. - 11:20 a.m.

WHERE: Wherever you are!

HOW: Stop whatever it is that you are doing and...just read!

WHY: Because the love of reading is a beautiful, valuable, lifelong habit that everyone should enjoy, every day.

For more information, visit the Drop Everything and Read website at http://dropeverythingandreadbc.ca/, and/or follow @BCTLA_DEAR on Twitter!

Deadline Extended!: BCTLA Summer Institute (July 26)

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Daly) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 20:18:00 +0000

2011 BCTLA Summer Institute: Social Media, Media Literacy, and Youth Culture

Date: July 26, 2011
Time: 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Location: Rockridge Secondary School, 5350 Headland Street, West Vancouver
Cost: $50
Contact: Arlene Anderson, BCTLA Professional Development Chairperson, arander@sd45.bc.ca
Registration: contact Arlene as above and/or download registration form; deadline July 15

Join Wendy Chen, a doctoral candidate in Media, Culture, and Education at New York University, to learn how students are shaping the information landscape as writers and publishers as well as how you can help your students use digital content critically. Lunch will be provided. The cost is $50.00. Register via email with Arlene Anderson: arander@sd45.bc.ca. Registration deadline: July 15, 2011.

SOCIAL MEDIA, CIVIC ENGAGEMENT, AND GLOBAL YOUTH CULTURE
The proliferation of mobile technologies and the intensifying forces of globalization have significantly expanded the possibilities for communication, collaboration, and participation in media cultures. Join us as we explore some of the key developments – citizen journalism, online social justice campaigns, digital remixes and mashups – and their relevance for a new generation of 21st-Century learners. Provocative visual examples of user-generated content and discussion of key concepts will illuminate the power of social media and consequently, the changing notions of creativity and community.

NEW APPROACHES TO MEDIA EDUCATION
Outside school walls, in leisure time and other informal learning environments, young people develop a range of media expertise. These skills and competencies are rarely addressed in the classroom. Why is media education necessary, and how can it be approached in the service of critical thinking? How do we prepare young people to navigate their complex, mediated realities? This workshop employs hands-on activities and current media resources to explore the ways in which curriculum can be made relevant to students' everyday experiences in the media-saturated landscape.

Summer Issue of The Bookmark Released

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Daly) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 06:22:00 +0000

The Summer issue of The Bookmark, "Diversity and the Magic of Three", has been published online on the BCTLA website. Check out the Summer issue today!

Table of Contents: Summer 2011

President's Column by Heather Daly

From The Bookmark Editor by Angie MacRitchie

Meet Our Stars: Arlene Anderson

Diversity and the Magic of Three by Vi Hughes

Living Books Festival by Karen Lindsay

Helping Schools Enhance the Health Literacy... by Cindy Andrew

From Study Centre to Dedicated Library by Dr. Andrew K. Shenton

Practice What You Teach: Evidence-Based Practice by Nicola Kuhn

Michael Kusugak Interview by Margriet Ruurs

Invite and Author or Illustrator into Your School by Shar Levine, CWILL BC Society

Greetings from Shar Levine, Guest Columnist

New on the Net by John Goldsmith

Science Fiction Has Space Opera? by Stew Savard

DEAR Drop Everything and Read 2011 by Jeff Yasinchuk

Cruchley's Corner by Diana Cruchley

BCTLA Points of Inquiry Initiative

Elluminate Project Report by Jeff Yasinchuk and Janine Cornwallis-Bate

Storytelling by Cheriee Weichel

BCTLA Reviews

October 2011 Conference Registration Now Open!

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Daly) — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 05:58:00 +0000

Registration is now open for the fall BCTLA conference being held at Burnaby Mountain Secondary in October!

The conference will feature keynote Doug Johnson (Director of Media and Technology for the Mankato Area Public Schools, Minnesota), a Thursday night social event, vendor displays, and 50 sessions on inquiry, technology, media, library, authors, and more.

For more information, and to register, visit http://sites.google.com/site/btla2011.

Moira Ekdahl's Award Acceptance Speech

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Daly) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 19:11:00 +0000

The following speech was delivered on May 27 in Halifax, at the Canadian Association for School Librarians AGM and Awards Ceremony. Congratulations once again to Moira Ekdahl (Teacher-Librarian Mentor, Vancouver Board of Education) on receiving the 2011 CASL Angela Thacker Memorial Award!

Moira on the occasion of accepting her award:

"In thinking about how to say thank you for this award, it was necessary to do some serious research. Being something of an expert in inquiry, as TLs are, I sought advice from colleagues who had worked as TLs during Angela B. Thacker’s time in school libraries and was re-directed to the expert Liz Austrom, formerly the District Principal of Learning Services for Vancouver, now retired.

What were the qualities of Angela and her work that would lead to the creation of such an award? I asked. Liz was clearly a fan.

Formidable, she said, a very strong presence, a force to be reckoned with. She spoke her mind, spoke directly, but with such good manners that, should you disagree, you were always at a loss because she had said it so nicely.

She knew everything about school libraries, a shining light who got the excitement going.

When she was in charge of library services in West Vancouver, they were the best-funded in Canada. Her work in West Vancouver set a standard that generated respect for the work and thus enabled other districts to move ahead.

She was the President of the BCTLA and the CSLA; she was a founding member of the ATLC (now CASL).

Angela was always looking for ways to make things better and for better ways to keep TLs moving forward. As Angela moved forward, she pulled others in her wake. She just kept going and going and going.

Surely, I thought, working with this Angela B. Thacker must have been a little like tailing Haley’s Comet. Even as I compare some of what I bring to the field to the qualities exemplified by Angela -- maybe a certain obsessiveness and unrelenting focus, certainly a strong sense that we must move forward, and a tendency to use the words “school library” in every second sentence! – I am struck by the powerful message about the importance of relationships in what we do.

I am fortunate to work within the most supportive of professional learning communities, the teacher-librarians in Vancouver and in British Columbia. I have been well introduced to the field by truly excellent role models and lucky to have had fantastic opportunities to travel to hear and work with some of the biggest names in provincial, national, and international school library contexts. I always hope that the excitement about learning and moving ahead in school libraries, in partnership with others in our schools, as well as the drive to provide new and improved services and resources for teachers and students, have been shared. TLs are, like Angela, always so gracious, so appreciative of work done to support their work. I do believe that we have moved ahead, despite setbacks here in BC, that we are seeing glimpses of the light now and will soon be taking our rightful place in the provincial conversations about education reform grounded in collaboration and in meaningful teaching for the love of reading and the pursuit of inquiry, the integration of technology including new tools and resources, and learning to learn.

In a recent post to his blog The Culture of Yes, West Vancouver Superintendent Chris Kennedy, an influential voice in the provincial conversations about change, wrote that, as we move forward, 'teacher librarians are more important than ever.' He said that his experience has been that, 'next to the principal, the teacher-librarian is often key in moving the learning agenda forward. In schools that are moving forward, it is very often the teacher-librarian, working side-by-side with teachers on staff, who find new ways of working with students. ... As we lament that little change has taken place, or how slow the change has been, many teacher-librarians have transformed what they do to stay relevant and ahead of the curve. [Many] are seeing their roles ... “as producer, concierge, connector, teacher and impresario.'

Couple Chris’s vision with the recent political development, the BCTF’s winning their years-long challenge under the Charter of Rights that had sought to reverse the 2001 Liberal government’s stripping of language and ratios that had, amongst other dreadful effects, undertaken a deliberate and intended outcome of reducing the numbers of TLs in BC schools. Add in that the judge expressly declared an expectation of remediation within a year, and you can see there is reason for hope for restoration of TLs and strong school library programs in BC schools. We have been working hard to make sure our TLs are ready.

On this hopeful note, I wish to end by thanking CASL for its important work in supporting the very different struggles to keep school libraries alive and strong across Canada and, in particular today, for honouring me with this Award which Judith Comfort is gratefully accepting for me. In speaking with Liz Austrom, I found myself incredulous and incredibly honoured to think that in some small way, by comparison, I have been enabled to follow the very significant and clearly hewn path laid down by the formidable Angela B. Thacker.

Thank you again."

Heather Daly's Award Acceptance Speech

noreply@blogger.com (Heather Daly) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 19:06:00 +0000

The following speech was delivered on May 27 in Halifax, at the Canadian Association for School Librarians AGM and Awards Ceremony. Heather on the occasion of accepting the Margaret B. Scott Award of Merit:

"Thank you so much for the honour of naming me the 2011 recipient of the Margaret B. Scott Award of Merit. It sincerely means so much to me.

My first experience with the Canadian Association for School Libraries was in 2004, at the CLA conference which was held that year in Victoria. I believe my first introduction—in person—to what was then called the Canadian School Library Association was actually at the awards ceremony at that conference, which took the form of a luncheon held in the Victoria Fairmont Empress hotel.

The amazing Lillian Carefoot from Nanaimo, BC, was the recipient of the Margaret B. Scott Award of Merit that year. Her acceptance speech, in which she talked about the role of the teacher-librarian, inspired and had a huge influence on me. Lillian also handed out stickers in the shape of turtles, in honour of the amazing Margaret B. Scott and her 'Turtle Club', which celebrated teacher-librarians who were not afraid to 'stick their necks out'.

One of the loveliest notes that I have received since it was announced that I had received the 2011 award was from BC legend Donald Hamilton, who received the Margaret B. Scott Award of Merit in 1988. He said, 'welcome to the Club', meaning the Margaret B. Scott Club and he also said that, 'the list of members in this august group reads like a history book on school librarianship in Canada. I am humbled when I consider all the people who helped me and who gave so much to an idea that seems to losing its flavour. I hope that you can stick your neck out'.

On that note, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize all of the teacher-librarians and library technicians who every day ARE doing just that, from coast to coast to coast. From Prince Edward Island to here in BC and everywhere north, south, and in between, we are PROVING that our role is critical and needed.

I hope that the recent BC Supreme Court challenge win that could ultimately restore the contractual teacher-librarian to student ratio in BC and therefore, restore teacher-librarians to every school in the province, and the very significant positive media coverage about the closure of school libraries in Windsor, Ontario, are signs that the tide is at long last, finally turning.

Following the 2004 awards ceremony at which Lillian gave the speech that meant so much to me, I attended the last AGM of the Canadian School Library Association at which the Canadian Association for School Libraries, CASL, was born. I am sorry that I can’t be with you today, for what I hope will NOT be the final AGM for an association that was launched with such promise just seven years ago.

CASL has played an integral role in building a national network between—in particular—the territorial and provincial teacher-librarian and school library associations. I know this networking will continue, no matter what happens, and I wish to thank the current members of the CASL Executive—Linda, Diana, Richard, Dianne, Wendy and Cindy—and all of the members of the CASL Publications Team, for everything that they have done to build and promote teacher-librarianship in Canada.

Finally, thank you to Judith Comfort, both for accepting this award on my behalf, and for exemplifying what a school library program can look like in the 21st-Century when it is being developed by a superb teacher-librarian. We are very lucky here in Coquitlam School District.

Thank you so much!"