Connect!

Same 7 letter word - connect!! The school year "ends" in May or June, but teacher librarians have a year round role to stay connected, especially this year! Being reinstated in the Code of Iowa is an opportunity but we have work to do. As leaders in our schools, we can use the summer to recharge, but also to keep connected!

Important Steps

1) Fill out an End of Year Report and if possible, have a discussion with your principal. What are your goals for next year? What will you work on this summer that you would like your administration to think about? Does he/she have suggestions on areas where the library program can grow? What did he/she see as a positive this year? Is it possible to have 5 minutes next year on a monthly basis to share one new resource or tech tip with the faculty? Can it be built into the planning the principal will do this summer?

2) Have you turned in your State Library Survey? Deadline is June 30.
http://www.statelibraryofiowa.org/ld/statistics/schools/fy2006-school

June 1st - deadline for nominating a candidate for Teacher Librarians or Advocates for IASL Awards!

3) Don't forget to read your E-mail. There will be correspondence about this professional organization, IASL. Joel Shoemaker will be attending the ALA Conference in New Orleans, June 22 - 28 and the next Board meeting is June 30. Watch for your Professional Portfolio artifact, your IASL Membership Certificate, in your E-mail.

4) Take classes / workshop - lots of professional development opportunities listed on the IASL website! In June alone, I am going to see Harvey Daniels, listen to Carol Kuhlthau, and hope to get to AEA 9 for a Technology workshop. http://www.iasl-ia.org/professional.php

5) Are you involved in the local public library summer reading program? Have you shared a reading list with your students or faculty? Have your students created a list of things they would like to read this summer and posted them in the library for others to consider? Is the library going to be open at all this summer? Do you advertise public library hours for students to use in the summer?

6) Time to try out the Membership Discussion Board. We will update it in June and you will no longer have to use a username/password. http://proj1.aea15.k12.ia.us/phpBB2/

7) Are you reading for the IASL Award book committees?
http://www.iasl-ia.org/awards.php

8) Plan for one more connection next year with a classroom teacher. Develop some starting ideas and share it with them first day back, if not sooner.

Find a balance but stay connected!

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Year Round Planning

As a member of ILA and the subdivision of IASL, we thought you might like to take a look at how the ILA Fall Conference Schedules are developed. It's really a year round process and the time to share proposals for October 2007 is right now!! Here's the calendar. Months in Red are focused on 2007, Black focus on 2006 and Blue - 2008!

First, A note of explanation on ILA Conferences:

• Subdivisions usually can offer up to four or five sessions. IASL has made a commitment to offer two sessions each year for the IASL Awards - ICCA, ITA and IHSBA. So when you propose in June, we have two or at most, three, spots open.
• The ILA Conference has five concurrent slots for any group, three keynotes and usually four or five sessions for the Pre-Conference.
  • This coming year we are sharing a Pre-Conference with the subdivision, YSS or Youth Supports Services Subdivision. The session is provided by DeDe Coffman, M.Ed., CSC, School Counselor, Prosper Elementary Prosper, TX. She will discuss bibliotheraphy through bilingual "Book of the Month" clubs that help children personally grow and develop through stories.
    " Walk a day with “Wemberly Worried”, find out the importance of giving with the “Giving Tree”, but be careful not to get caught up with “Attila the Angry”."
• 2006 will be the first Post-Conference and IASL will offer two sessions on technology including setting up school library websites, using digital cameras, video conferencing and online databases.

 

Month	Planning
June (2006)	Share with members of the IASL Executive Board your ideas for the Fall Conference in 2007, Coralville. Karen Lampe, IASL Professional Development Chair and our representative on the ILA Fall Conference Planning Committee.
July (2006)	2006 Keynote speakers / preconference speakers promoted in "Catalyst", ILA publication. Conference program for 2006 printed in "Catalyst".
Aug (2006)
Sept (2006)	Rest of speakers for 2006 promoted in "Catalyst".
Oct (2006)	Conference in Council Bluffs, October 11-13, 2006.
Nov (2006)	ILA President announces Theme of Conference for 2007 at the Planning Meeting Subdivision chairs (IASL Kristin Steingreaber) submit recommendations for Annual Conference Program on planning sheets. (Input from your suggestions in June of 2006 as well as IASL Professional Development Committee, Karen Lampe, Chair, and the Executive Board.)
Dec (2006)
Jan (2007)	The work of the ILA Conference Committee follows in the months described below. Karen Lampe is the current IASL rep to this committee. Discuss how conference planning works, timelines, etc. Meet at the convention site (2007 - Coralville) in order to tour site. Liaisons get their assignments (assigned by ILA President) of the subdivisions with which they will be working. Speaker suggestions/recommendations from the November planning meeting are reviewed. ILA Conference Planning Committee discusses recommendations received from the November planning meeting. Discuss pre-conference proposals. Decide which speakers the liaisons are to contact for availability, etc. New IASL President takes over at January IASL Meeting.
Feb (2007)	ILA Planning Committee continues: Report on speaker requests, availability, etc. Decide on Pre-conference sessions for Conference 2007 Hear what keynote speakers the President wants to invite
Mar (2007)	First draft of program appears with time slots Review progress on speakers, etc. Report on progress of keynote speakers
April (2007)	Keynote speakers decided for 2007. Review progress on speakers, etc. Second draft of program with changes made if necessary Contracts can start to be sent out once times are established
May (2007)	Ideally, final draft of program determined for 2007. Review progress on speakers, etc. All speaker contracts due to Laurie by May 31 All program descriptions due to Laurie by May 31 (with photos)
June (2007)	Start over again with proposal ideas for 2008! Please share them with your IASL Executive Board prior to their summer meeting.

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