Ten wildly happy minutes reading aloud

Have been digging further into the great books I borrowed from the display at the SMB library.

I have been totally immersed in a fantastic book:
Delivering the best start: a guide to early years libraries by Carolynn Rankin & Avril Brock.

Information literacy has to start at the beginning with literacy and communication skills.
Children absorb like a sponge from experiencing stories, pictures & rhymes.
Rankin & Brock (2009) want librarians to reach the family audience so as to encourage literacy skills and help build sustainable communities.

In a major study of reading it concluded that reading for pleasure is more important to a child's educational achievement than its family's wealth or social class (Kirsch,2002)

I love taking storytime sessions and am inspired to start up a rhyme time and try some new ideas out on the pre-schoolers!

I feel enthused everytime I read Mem Fox's Ten Commandments for reading aloud techniques.
Here are just a few:

• Spend at least ten wildly happy minutes every single day reading aloud
• Read at least 3 stories every day
• Read aloud with animation - Hang loose and be loud, have fun and laugh a lot

So I read Mog and the Baby, our next book in the Premiers Reading Challenge on the couch tonight to the boys with great animation, laughter and enthusiasm!

They were all very happy boys.

Kirsch, I. (2002) Reading for Change: performance and engagement across countries. Results from PISA 2000 (Programmes for International Student Assessment - how well young adults are doing at end of compulsory schooling), OECD

Rankin, C. & Brock, A. (2009) Delivering the best start: a guide to early years libraries. London: Facet

Information Literacy Blogs - 4 480 000 results in Google

Last week I had looked at one blog from the beautiful Moonflowerdragon, and managed to head off on an adventure through the blogs she follows. You can end up on a very long adventure.....

The information passed on, and time that Moonflowerdragon and others must spend on their posts just amazes me.

So thinking about Information Literacy I typed into Google - "Information Literacy Blogs".
Wow, just exactly how do you deal with 4 480 00 results?

One of my sons has been studying ancient egypt so I thought I would do exactly what most of his class would do and type "egypt" into Google - 137 000 000 results. I was able to narrow it down to 6 100 000 by typing "ancient egypt" into my search!

How does an 8 year old deal with this and who is there to guide them and filter out the fact from fiction?

I found a fantastic quote on the Central Highlands Regional Library blog Explore, Discover, Connect.

Google can bring you back 100,000 answers,
a librarian can bring you back the right one.
Neil Gaimon

This brings about my first quandry in how do I reference this - a quote within a post on a blog of Central Highlands Regional Library Corporation?

Is the author of the post the library, or the author of the post who works in the library- clplates?
clplates??? (2010, May 27). The fact that we exist [Web log post]. Explore, Discover, Connect. Retrieved June 9 from http://chrlibrary.blogspot.com/2010/05/fact-that-we-exist.html

Back to my 4 480 000 results. Let's check out the first results, they must be accurate - isn't that what most students out there would do?

InfoLiteracy Network Blog was set up in late 2007 before a conference. West (2007) a librarian introduces herself in the December post and is looking forward to presenting at an upcoming conference on the information literacy issues she faces in rural Vermont. There are no further posts on the blog however there are 2063 comments which cover everything from porn, viagra and Paris Hilton, to cheap airfares. No one contributed to this blog again.

Information literacy meets Library 2.0 is a great blog and I have found lots of valuable information here. Godwin (2010) has posed the question - Is the internet making us dumber? If we are using Web 2.0 tools are we adding to this reliance of the internet? I must investigate further the Google Wonder wheel, using keywords to define what is being researched (Godwin, 2010).

The first two blogs on the first page of a search result, and very mixed results.
I think this is where it is important to define what information literacy really is.

The ability to recognize when information is needed
and have the ability to locate, evaluate and use effectively
the needed information (AMA, 1989)

We are surrounded by information as demonstrated by a simple Google search, however we must become more equipped to think about where our information originates.
Libraries provide a significant public access point to this information, so we play a key role in preparing people for the demands of this information society we live in.

American Library Association. (1989). Presidential Committee on Information Literacy: Final Report. Retrieved June 9, 2010 from http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/publications/whitepapers/presidential.cfm

Godwin, P. (2010, June 7). Is the internet making us dumber? [Web log post]. Retrieved June 9, 2010 from http://infolitlib20.blogspot.com/2010/06/is-internet-making-us-dumber.html

Godwin, P. (2010, May 26). Tools for helping your students choose their topics [Web log post]. Retrieved June 9, 2010 from http://infolitlib20.blogspot.com/2010/05/tools-for-helping-your-students-choose.html

West, J. (2007, December 1). Hello from Vermont, USA [Web log post]. Retrieved June 9, 2010 from http://www.informationliteracynetwork.net/blog/2007/12/01/hello-from-vermont/

Porridge - too hot, too cold, just right!

I enjoy a bowl of porridge on a winters morning and was surprised when I read in yesterdays Epicure that porridge is now a fashionable staple at cafes everywhere (Costigan, 2010)!!
It appears that it is very black and white with porridge - you love it or hate it?

It was a great article and shows us just how porridge has evolved from a simple mix of oats,water and salt to a gastronomic delight made with full-cream milk, honey, treacle or brown sugar, and topped with fruits, fresh banana and dusted with cinnamon.

I like my porridge with brown sugar and banana - How do you like yours served?

My little fact I learnt from the day came from the article.
I have a very old, worn smooth stirring stick that came from my grandma.
Apparently it is called a "spurtle" and is used for making porridge.
We must be a family of porridge lovers!

Costigan, J. (2010, June 8). Like it or lump it. The Age Epicure, p.17.

Happy Borrowers

I spent 4 hours on the circulation desk today.
Reservations, shelving, computer problems, returning, issuing....
There is nothing quite like the satisfaction you feel, and the joy of the borrower when you are able to lay your hands on that "brand new" copy of "To Kill a Mockingbird" they had to have for an assignment this weekend.

I have been reading the next book I borrowed from the SMB library :
The Customer-Focused Library : Re-inventing the Public Library from the Outside-In
It is a great read and I really took note today of what our customers/borrowers/readers/clients/members/guests were using & doing in our library.
What do we all call the people who enter our library?
I really enjoyed the chapter on merchandising - how we display and also make our services more appealing to a broader segment of the community.

Just started on the info tech chapter and the library web site.
Made me really think when I read this little quote:
"The Internet is the ultimate customer-empowering experience - one click and you are out of there! One click!"

I'm off to the movies to support the kinder - those materialistic girls from New York!

The challenge is set by Moonflowerdragon!

30 posts in 30 days
This will keep us on our toes, or rather finger tips.
I thought some days I would just let it all pass by, but who doesn't like a challenge?

A couple of great articles in The Age today.
The inventor of Trivial Pursuit passed away. Have a read about how he developed the game with a friend over a game of scrabble.
Also a comment piece about whatever you put out there online contributes to your reputation.
Have a read at of this article by Leslie Cannold.

I hope this works - my first attempt at linking - something new I have learnt today!

Amazing libraries everywhere......

I thought just a quick look at a few library websites

A few hours later and I am feeling inspired by what is happening at libraries in Australia, let alone over the seas.

So you all feel inspired.....

"Libraries help hold a community together.
They are a wonderful place to go, just to sit and think.
They represent the best of our society - shared knowledge & enjoyment, people getting on with one another.
(Australian Library News, May 20th 2010)

And for my learning something new today....

Whilst practising the 7 times table with my Grade 3 boy, we talked about maths and I learnt the name of every 2D shape from 3 sides to 10 - could come in very handy at a trivia night!!

What exactly is a mashup?

Whilst the kids were having swimmming lessons I opened up one of the books I borrowed from the SMB library on Saturday about library mashups.

Well, I think I now know what a mashup is, and I think our library website could do with a mashup!! The boring static web site can come alive using mashups.

A mashup is a web application that can use content from many sources to create an amazing single new service (Fichter, 2009). What does that mean?
I could combine the address and photo of our library branch with a Google map to create a map mashup just for a start - now I know what it is you see them everywhere on websites
Mashups come in all shapes and sizes. They can mix and mash search results, newsfeeds & photos (Fichter, 2009).

I will keep reading and think about amazing ways to improve our website!!!

Have a look at Fichter, D (2009). What is a Mashup. In N.C. Engard (Ed.), Library mashups : exploring new ways to deliver library data (pp. 3-17.)Medford, NJ:Information Today.