The book can be viewed free of charge (or DCL membership) on the DCL website:

http://catalog.douglascountylibraries.org/EcontentRecord/944288/Home#

I’d like to quote Jamie LaRue as to why this is significant—

• ·         This is an example of library as publisher, taking local content and making it freely available to the world.
• ·         It showcases the ability of the library to be a player in the digital world, highlighting unique information.
• ·         It shows a new opportunity for short form writing – something one might read during a commute, on a smartphone or tablet.

And apparently, this is just the beginning…there are 100 more interviews to publish!

Isn’t the future of libraries exciting?!

Feel  free to participate by suggesting any possible books for the 2014 awards! You can do so through November 15,2013 at www.clel.org/content/bell-awards-2014-nom-form). There will be five books chosen as the winners.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Denver, Colorado, May 17, 2013 – Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy (http://www.clel.org) an advisory group to the Colorado State Library, is excited to announce the inaugural year of the CLEL Bell Picture Book Awards, a new children’s literature award created to recognize picture books that provide excellent support of early literacy development in young children.

The first CLEL Bell Awards will be announced February 5, 2014, one title in each of five categories representing an early literacy practice: Read, Write, Sing, Talk, and Play. Research has shown that engaging children in these practices builds language skills and prepares children to become successful readers.

“I am thrilled to have these new awards!” says Carol Edwards, Co-Manager of Children and Family Services at Denver Public Library and a Bell Awards Selection Committee member. “Being aware of the new books coming out and paying attention to the ways they can extend conversation and interaction with children—beyond the act of reading—seems like strong support for our work in libraries with this age group.”

Suggestions for consideration for the 2014 awards are accepted through November 15, 2013 at the CLEL website (http://www.clel.org/content/bell-awards-2014-nom-form). Winning titles will demonstrate content or theme related to one of the early literacy practices, and encourage interaction between adults and children. The five award winners will be released with support materials that describe how each title supports early literacy development, and with suggestions for ways parents, caregivers, and librarians can extend the reading experience with children, through shared activities appropriate for home, childcare settings, and library storytime.

Fostering community discussion about the nominated titles is one of the goals of the Bell Awards, and conversation will be encouraged via regular posts on the CLEL blog (http://www.clel.org/blog) and through social media.

“Getting the conversation going about how books really can make a difference in encouraging parents and caregivers to increase their early literacy interactions seems like a win-win to me,” says Edwards. “It’s a win for the professionals who introduce new books and encourage best practices, and it’s a win for the child who benefits from more singing, talking, writing, reading, and playing.”

The Selection Committee is comprised of CLEL members from several Colorado public libraries: Shirley Anderson, High Plains Library District; Carol Edwards, Denver Public Library; Jaime Gotlieb, Douglas County Libraries; Rachel Hartman, Denver Public Library; Barbara Huff, Pikes Peak Library District; Sarah Johnson, Mamie Doud Eisenhower Public Library; Mary Kuehner, Jefferson County Public Library; Danica Midlil, Douglas County Libraries; Susan Oakes, Denver Public Library (retired); Carol Wagstaff, Douglas County Libraries; and is chaired by Melissa Depper, Arapahoe Library District.
For more information, visit the CLEL Bell Awards webpages (http://www.clel.org/content/bell-awards) or contact the Selection Committee at clelbellawards@gmail.com.

About CLEL

Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy is an advisory group to the Colorado State Library, created in 2008. CLEL members work to strengthen children’s literacy through library services and community advocacy.

“DART is a service of Library Research Service and the Colorado State Library that gives libraries tools for tracking and analyzing usage data for services such as reference and circulation.  It is currently used by over 30 libraries in Colorado.  Earlier this month, almost 4 years to the day that DART went live, staff at High Plains Library District submitted data for transaction #1,000,000.

Let’s face it:  data collection isn’t always a glamorous affair.  But by utilizing DART, libraries in Colorado are made stronger by collecting data that they can use to improve and evolve user services, increase staff efficiency, and fuel promotion and advocacy.  Library Research Service and the Colorado State Library are proud to offer this service, and we thank our dedicated DART libraries for helping make it a resounding success.

Interested in learning more about DART?  Point your favorite browser to http://dart.lrs.org/about/.  We also welcome you to contact us directly at LRS@LRS.org.”

Robin Gard of CAL Legislative Committee is quoted as saying, “We are gratified that our legislators responded to the targeted message and campaign carried on by so many library advocates in Colorado.  We have made every effort to establish on-going relationships with state lawmakers through sharing the library’s role in helping Coloradans succeed.”

I also know, that our own assistant commissioner here at the State Library, Gene Hainer, was also very involved in making this campaign a reality.

CAL will be recognized for their awesomeness this summer at the ALA conference in Chicago. The award also comes with $1000.

Thank you to all of you who advocated for us!!

The summer reading program this year is Dig Into Reading. Apparently “dig” is meant quite literally and the program will explore books about the ground and what is hiding underneath it. Events and activities geared towards this topic will also encouraged.

For keeping those math facts fresh over summer, there is the Summer Math Challenge, geared towards the 3^rd-6^th graders.  It is an online resource–http://www.quantiles.com/content/summer-math-challenge/

For more information, the link to the flyer is below:

http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdelib/SummerReading/Downloads/pdf/FABflyerParents.pdf

I personally love reading in the warm summer sun and it all started as a kid and my weekly visits to the county library.

In this first quarter of 2013 alone, our consultants have been busy! There were 26 workshops  with almost 1200 participants. About a tenth of the participants completed the evaluations (thank you!).

A very large percentage of these participants felt our workshop goals were clearly stated and useful, containing worthwhile content. Many would highly recommend participation in a workshop (I need to toot our own horn here, I personally think our consultants are knowledgeable , delightful, and committed people. However, I may be a wee bit biased). In fact, here are some comments:

“Great ideas! I hope to start a program series with these ideas.”

“The enthusiasm was greatly appreciated! Humor-fantastic!”

“I love the interactive/small  group component, nice break from all the ‘sit and listen’ approach.”

In addition to the workshops mentioned above, each month, the state library offers “CSL in Session” an online class.  In the first quarter of 2013, we have had 74 participants and approximately 40% of those completed an evaluation.

Many of these participants found the classes useful, interactive and engaging, coming away with a better understanding of the topic presented. And of course, there are comments to share:

“This was an extremely well-done session;  very interactive and engaging. It is one of the best online trainings I have attended. Thank you!”

“Very interesting. Presenters did a great job of acknowledging the many comments. And they presented the material very cleanly and concisely!”

The workshops are only as good as the people behind them and we have an awesome staff here! At least I think so and apparently so do some of you (again, thank you!). Please consider participating in one of our future workshops. We work hard to make them fun, interesting and beneficial.

We have a green light for Lynx renewal!  Pricing for individual libraries/schools has been established, and will increase just 3% for the 2013-2014 subscription year (July 2013 – June 2014). For individual libraries/schools, this STILL represents a significant savings — anywhere from a 40% to an 85% discount off retail pricing

The package of EBSCO databases will remain the same. For one low price you can subscribe/renew. You can choose ANY or ALL of the 21 databases and 8 interfaces available in the package. The listing of databases, along with descriptions still can be found on our web site. (http://www.librarylynx.org/ebscopackage/listing-of-databases/).

For more information and to subscribe go to www.librarylynx.org.

There were many honorees, however, since we’re all about libraries on this site,  I am highlighting the one and only Library nominee.

Congratulations to Pike Peak’s Community College’s , Library Technician, Linda Bolling!!  She has been working at PPCC for over 15 years and is strong advocate for the PPCC students and staff. Linda “is a diligent worker who is always dependable, kind and above all smiling”.

Recognition of any library staff and their hard work is always appreciated!

http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdelib/LSTA/index.htm

This year, the purpose of the grant must include the following guidelines and the maximum that can be requested is $20,000:

GOAL: All Colorado residents including people with disabilities, ethnic populations, institutional residents and those underserved by libraries will receive services from Colorado libraries that meet their individual needs.

LSTA purpose:

• Target library services to individuals of diverse geographic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds, to individuals with disabilities, and to individuals with limited functional literacy or information skills.

• Target library and information services to persons having difficulty using a library and to underserved urban and rural communities, including children (from birth through age 17) from families with incomes below the poverty line.

 Webinars are also available!! Two will be offered.

• Thursday, June 6th, 11:30am-12:30pm
• Tuesday, June 11th, 9:00-10:00am

Please consider applying!!

If you have any additional questions, contact

 Jean Heilig
Fiscal Officer & LSTA Coordinator
Colorado State Library
Phone: 303-866-6731

Email: heilig_j@cde.state.co.us