You Belong @ Your School Library

In conjunction with School Library Month 2012 and it’s theme “You Belong @ your library,” AASL is proud to present the “You Belong @ Your School Library” Student Video Contest.

School libraries are no longer just places to go check out a book. They are the centers of the school where learning, research and collaboration happen, and technologies and information resources are available 24/7. Students are encouraged to submit videos via Schooltube.com focusing on the great reasons to visit their school library.  Each video should visually illustrate why the school library is (either physically or virtually) the place to be. Contestants might want to focus on one or more of the messages of the School Library Month “Ten Reasons” poster or they may prefer to come up with their own reasons.

Entries must be submitted to SchoolTube.com by March 29, 2012 by 11:59 P.M. CST to be eligible to win.  One student winner will be chosen from each grade level – elementary, middle, and high school – and the student will receive a $100 Amazon.com gift card.

For full contest rules and how to enter, visit www.ala.org/aasl/slmvideocontest.

#1000

Happy New Year!!

this is my 1000^th blog post! It took me a while to post because I wanted to come up with a way to make it special. Making it the first post of the New Year certainly makes it so. And no, I didn’t stay up all night trying to come up with a plan. I didn’t ply myself with alcohol, kiss a frog at midnight or dodge bullets in the streets, either. NYE is one of the biggest date nights of the year and a girl sans date has to come up with a Plan B. Well, my day of pampering and celebrating has become my Plan A and the frog, Plan B!

Whoever came up with the idea of New Year’s Resolutions probably did so when they were on Winter Break and they were relaxing, researching and reading new ideas, thoughts and methodologies. I see myself in the New Year streamlining my blog feeds, following people who are leaders rather than followers. I want to go more often to the source, curate better information for my readers and be more purposeful about improving the literacy of teens of color. I’m also looking into new ways to do that in real life. I’ll be blogging more about NGOs and foundations that support literacy so please feel free to send links about programs and people of which you’re aware and I’ll put together a post. And as always, I hope to get more books read!

Along those lines, I’m going to celebrate my 1000^th post with a different kind of giveaway. I’d like to donate three books to three different agencies, school libraries, NGOs or literacy programs who have a need for books which they loan or provide to people (preferably women or teens) in need. I’m asking my readers to recommend organizations they’d like to see receive a book in the comments below. On 15 January, I’ll close the posts and randomly select three agencies to which I’ll donate one book each.

2012. If you haven’t heard, that’s fairly significant on the Mayan Calendar. In the Chinese world, it will be the year of the dragon (I believe beginning in February). Whatever may happen to you and yours, may only be for the good!

giveaway: three books to three different literacy agencies or school libraries

how: suggest an agency in the comments

deadline: 15 January

Help Me Win Tech Tools!!

Pleaser vote for me at PepsiRefresh so that I can win a grant to purchase technology for my school. 

As they say in Chicago “Vote early and vote often.” You can vote once/day!!

click here

Tuesday Mailbag

Looking for another summer read? I’m giving away the following to the first person to request them. If you’re first, please email me your postal addy to crazyquilts at hotmail dot com.

Rikers High by Paul Voponi

Names will never hurt me by Jaime Adoff (signed!)

The world is mine by Lyah LeFlore (ARC)

8th Grade Superzero by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich (ARC)