Our library has a name!

After much debate and voting our new Colac joint use library has a name.
It is the:
Colac Community Library and Learning Centre

That must be a CCLALC (clalc)

Probably better than a CCACLL (cackle) or a CLLACC (clack)!!

Where has June gone?

The challenge has evaded me!
I could not get the 30 posts in 30 days.
How can a month go so fast?
I am far more impressed by all the new Web 2.0 tools that are being used on the blogs...
I must knuckle down and work through the obstacles.

So much exciting information in the reference section!

We all marched across to the SMB library on the weekend and found ourselves immersed in dictionaries, thesauruses & encyclopedias on all manner of interesting topics.
It was really difficult to get the class to leave!
You really need to know what is in your library......

I realized I had not had a good look at the Reference section in my library.
I did find The SBS World Guide but it was 6 years old so really needs updating.
There were many other great reference books that I will remember to use now!
You could get lost in the Veterinary Dictionary and dictionaries of surnames, first names and any other name.

Remember to post or the challenge will evade me!

Sailing solo around the world!

I know we were obligated to rescue the girl.
She was in danger in Australian waters, but should we (Australians) have to pay for the charter of a Qantas airbus and the many other bills associated with this rescue?

I know there are kids out there who want to be adventurers & test their limits whether it be climbing mountains, sailing through 10m swells, fighting bulls or treking through jungles.

But should we have to bear the cost every time something unfortunate happens?
If they fund their own personal expedition should they also be able to fund their rescue if required?

They choose to set off on these adventures often with a long list of sponsors.
Perhaps the sponsors should also contribute to a rescue?

A great comment article in todays Age called 'Kids not only ones going to extremes'.
"Kids can't generally get into these situations without help, so perhaps we are dealing with extreme parents"!

I think I am a tired busy mum who feels she is constantly fundraising for schools & kinders, and would just like to see a bit more funding come our way.
Instead I see $$$ spent on ........
Shouldn't there be enough funds to buy tape to repair books in the school library, and to keep a kinder going without pumping out another slice, chocolate, SPC, lipstick, pie drive????

Off on a treasure hunt

It was a great weekend for adventures!

We spent Sunday chasing treasure on the modern day treasure hunt of geocaching??
It's a fun way to get the whole family fossicking around by the beach, in national parks and just about anywhere a treasure can be hidden.
We explored a wetland, a koala sanctuary, a reservoir, the beach, and a cliff top walk on the Mornington Peninsula.

Off course we also enjoyed pizza, ice-cream and other sweet treats!
Now I must get back to reality & start thinking information literacy......

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/