Register Now for OLA Conference 2017

Early-Bird Registration for the Oregon Library Association 2017 Conference is Live!

Join us for “Thriving Together” at the Salem Convention Center in Salem, Oregon. It begins with a pre-conference on Wednesday, April 19; regular conference sessions run Thursday, April 20 through Saturday, April 22. Yes, you read that right!

We are excited to include Saturday programming to make it easier for people who work in school libraries to attend. Welcome school library colleagues!

Early-Bird Registration ends March 20, 2017. Register today and take advantage of early discounts.

Also new this year, there will be a special Friday night author event with Maggie Stiefvater at the Salem Public Library. Tickets are available for purchase through the Conference Registration Form or via the Conference Meals & Special Events Only Registration Form.

Heads-up! Memberclicks, OLA’s content management vendor, has a new event management system that necessitates two main changes in the registration process:

• In order to register, conference attendees need to establish a profile within Memberclicks.
  • OLA Members already have an established profile within Memberclicks and can easily log into the system using their general Username and Password.
  • Non-members will need to establish a profile in the system in order to register.
  • Whether you are an OLA Member or Non-member, don’t worry! This process is straight-forward, takes only a minute, and is similar to those encountered on many commercial websites.
• If you are registering on behalf of another attendee or need to register a group of attendees, please note that an individual profile with username and password is needed for each registration.
  • One solution? Have each person register as an individual and then submit the individual invoice to the institution for payment.
  • Another possible solution? Use your institution’s credit card when registering.

Early-Bird Registration ends March 20, 2017. Register now to take advantage of early discounts.

Staying in Salem? Visit the official conference website for information about staying at the fabulous Salem Grand Hotel at the reduced conference rate!

Tell Your Story. OLA Conference Proposals due Sept. 30th

OLA CONFERENCE
PROPOSALS DUE SEPTEMBER 30

Tell Your Story

The Oregon Library Association Conference Committee invites you to submit program and pre-conference proposals for the 2016 Conference, April 20-22 at the Riverhouse Hotel in Bend.

Our theme this year is Tell Your Story.

One of my favorite storytime books is Wait! I Want to Tell You a Story. It’s about a wombat that tells a story to a tiger to avoid being eaten. I like it because it’s really about the power of story. Stories can make you forget that you’re hungry or tired. They console us when we’re sad. Our stories are what make us who we are, as individuals, as institutions and as a society in general. It’s what connects us to each other. They’re how we learn. Basic and powerful.

– Jane Corry, OLA President 2015-2016

At this point the program does not have to be fully organized; you can give us a general idea of the program and speakers (if known), and fill in the other details on the proposal form. This year we are encouraging you to submit your ideas directly — no OLA Unit sponsorship is required. We also welcome proposals from OLA units. Sessions may be presentations, panels, or workshops. If your session idea does have any associated costs, it will still need a sponsoring unit.
Proposals are due by September 30.

Program Proposal Form – https://ola.memberclicks.net/index.php?option=com_mc&view=mc&mcid=form_202698

Preconference Proposal Form – https://ola.memberclicks.net/index.php?option=com_mc&view=mc&mcid=form_202697

Poster Proposal information and forms will be announced in November and due in January.

Questions? Please contact Michele Burke, Conference Program Committee Chair, by email at michele.burke@chemeketa.edu or by phone at 503.365-4711.

Many thanks from the program committee!

We’re changing library systems and it will mean a change in searching. Not too early to schedule Winter 2015 instruction!

The Chemeketa Community College Library is migrating to a new search system. We are joining our Orbis Cascade Alliance partners in one shared system. These are the college and university libraries that we currently work with using the Summit Catalog. Our new library system will change the way that we search for all kinds of information, not just books.

​As we work to join this new system with our academic partners, our CCRLS public library partners are also migrating to a new system. Many changes! We’ll keep you posted.

Our “Go Live” date is January 5, 2015. We will send out info and updates to keep everyone in the loop. In the meantime, it isn’t too early to schedule library instruction for your winter 2015 classes. Email reference@chemeketa.edu or contact me directly at michele.burke@chemeketa.edu.

News Release: Research Supports School Librarians’ Impact on Student Learning

Research Supports School Librarians’ Impact on Student Learning
June 5, 2014

Changes in Oregon law and other trends point to the necessity of licensed school librarians and their positive impact on student learning. The passage of the Strong School Libraries Act, or Oregon House Bill 2586, means that school districts are required to account for “strong school library programs” in the continuous improvement plans (CIP) that they must submit to the Oregon Department of Education (ODE). A school district must show in its plan that it provides all students and staff in each school equitable access to:

A comprehensive library program which provides instruction in information literacy and research proficiencies, promotes integration of digital learning resources, advances reading engagement, and creates collaborative learning opportunities with teachers.

A professionally-developed and well-managed school library collection of current and diverse print and electronic resources that supports teaching and learning, college and career readiness, and reading engagement.

Licensed school librarians, sometimes referred to as library media specialists or teacher librarians, positively impact student reading, writing, and information literacy skills in K-12 education. Yet, their numbers have dropped at an alarming rate.

Data collected by the Oregon State Library in Salem show that the number of licensed school librarians in Oregon has dropped from 818 full-time equivalent in 1980 to only 144 in 2013. That is an 82% decrease. Conversely, the number of students per librarian has increased significantly. In 1980 there was one librarian per 547 students compared with almost 4,000 students per librarian in 2013. As a result, some students may never come in contact with a licensed school librarian during their K-12 years.

The sizeable drop in numbers runs counter to the impact of school librarians on learning. Numerous impact studies point to increased reading and writing test scores when a full-time licensed librarian is employed in schools. A 2012 report entitled Creating 21st Century Learners: A Report on Pennsylvania’s Schools found that both reading and writing test scores increase significantly when a full-time licensed librarian is employed at a school. Furthermore, students at a school with a full-time licensed librarian are nearly three times as likely to score an advanced score on the state’s standardized writing test. An Oregon study, Good Schools Have School Librarians, found that if staffing, collections, and funding of library media programs grow, reading scores rise.

As school districts recover from lean budget years, they will need to respond to the Strong School Libraries Act by strengthening their school library programs. In response to the need for more instructional support with the new Common Core Standards, some districts in Oregon are currently bringing back school librarian positions. Medford School District in southern Oregon recently posted three job openings for licensed school librarians. More positive changes like this one are needed in all areas of our state.

Ultimately, this issue has to be addressed locally. Community members and parents can play a role in this trend by working with school districts to raise awareness of the importance of strong school libraries. Specifically, they can ask questions about the staffing and programming in their child’s school library. For example, are the students in your neighborhood school served by a licensed school librarian? What information literacy and research instruction is your child receiving? Ask to review your school district’s response to the CIP. Does the library section match the program you know exists?
For more information about how you can get involved, contact Nancy Sullivan, Oregon Association of School Libraries President, at president@oasl.olaweb.org or Penny Hummel, Oregon Library Association President, at phummel.ola@gmail.com, or consult the OASL webpage on this topic (http://bit.ly/1hbxpOm).

2014 IL Summit Presentation Proposals being accepted

The 8th annual ILAGO Information Literacy Summit will be held May 10, 2014 at Linn Benton Community College campus in Albany, OR. The theme for this year’s IL Summit is “IL for Everyone.”

The Summit typically has 60-80 attendees who come from many areas of practice (higher ed, public, K-12) and are eager to hear new ideas and ways to approach information literacy. We invite you to submit proposals for panels, presentations, discussions on best practices, and other programs.

We are particularly interested in presentations that focus on collaboration on information literacy between and within different types of libraries and groups, such as:

· Partnerships between public libraries and K-20 schools

· Collaboration between library and non-library faculty in academic and school libraries

· Information literacy initiatives or programs to meet workforce needs

· Ways to cross-fertilize to expand critical thinking and information literacies across K-20

· Teaching IL with new tools, shared ILS/SUMMIT catalog

Programs should be designed to run for a total of 45 minutes including Q&A.

Program proposals will be accepted until Monday, March 3, 2014.

Please submit your proposals here: IL Summit Proposal Form

We look forward to seeing everyone, details on the schedule will follow soon.

Cheers,
Andrea Bullock
Reference & Instruction Librarian
Clark College
abullock@clark.edu
360-992-2

OLA Mentors Needed

Here’s a message from Meredith I’m reposting from the libs-or listserv.
Please consider being a mentor!

Meredith wrote: OLA plans to open up the mentee application next week and, while we will accept mentor volunteers throughout the year, it would be great to have a good-sized pool for this initial pilot as demand for mentors will almost certainly exceed supply. We need your help. Thanks for considering! Meredith

Dear colleagues,

Mentoring is one of the most rewarding activities you can undertake in your professional life. Through mentoring, you capitalize on your hard-earned experience and knowledge in order to support the development and success of an early-career librarian. Mentoring does not have to be time-consuming (the OLA program recommends five meetings over the course of a year) or require travel (you can communicate via phone, email, or web conferencing in addition to in-person), but the small amount of time you give to another librarian can mean the world to his or her success and the success of his or her library.

OLA is excited to support this new pilot statewide mentoring program, but the program will only be successful if mid-to-late career librarians choose to participate. If you have five years of professional experience and are an OLA member, please consider volunteering your time for one year (or nine months if preferred) to support an early-career librarian and strengthen the library in which he or she works. Click here to become an OLA Mentor.<http://ola.memberclicks.net/message/urlRedir?id=76979&recip=ad447319-1636-41c4-9ab9-7822a33e945e>

Additional links:

– Information about the mentoring program and its requirements<http://www.olaweb.org/mentor-program>

– Guidelines and best practices for being a mentor<http://www.olaweb.org/mentoring-guidelines>

Have questions? Contact us at mentor@olaweb.org Meredith Farkas, Portland State University Library Shirley Sullivan, Beaverton City Library Emily Papagni, Multnomah County Library

For the OLA Membership Committee
Meredith Gorran Farkas
Assistant Professor
Head of Instructional Services
Portland State University Library
mfarkas@pdx.edu
(503)725-4577
http://library.pdx.edu/

IL Summit in Bend this Saturday,  April 20th.
Here’s a few last minute reminders for those of you making the trip to Bend.

If you are driving on Friday night or Saturday morning, forecast for the passes looks good – no snow! (some rain, perhaps). Nevertheless, please drive carefully – we look forward to seeing ALL of you in Bend on Saturday. Weather forecast for Bend, by the way, is for a partly cloudy 57 degrees.

The Summit will take place in OSU Cascades Hall on the Central Oregon Community College campus. Map and directions may be found here. Free parking is available just across the street at the Barber Library parking lot. Registration begins at 8:30 with coffee and breakfast served.

If you are going to be in Bend Friday evening, you are welcome to join folks at McMenamin’s Old St.  Francis School. Festivities should be beginning around 4:30 and children are welcome.

We look forward to seeing you at the 2013 IL Summit!

Bryan Miyagishima, 2012-13 ILAGO Chair

Oregon Librarians needed as Heritage Mentors

Be an Oregon Heritage Mentor! Deadline to apply = January 15th. Mentors from the library community needed from all regions of Oregon. An application and information about the Oregon Heritage MentorCorps is available online at http://www.oregon.gov/oprd/HCD/OHC/Pages/mentorcorps.aspx

Oregon Heritage MentorCorps will train mentors to assist libraries, archives and museums with collections care and emergency preparedness issues. The mentors, who will be located in all regions of the state, will receive six days of free training to assist them in helping heritage organizations in their community. Applications to be a mentor are now available at the Oregon Heritage website.  “Every time we survey heritage organizations, the number one need besides money is training for volunteers and staff,” said Kyle Jansson, coordinator of the Oregon Heritage Commission. “This neighbor-helping-neighbor approach is designed to have expertise available locally where it is needed.” The MentorCorps is a creative solution based upon research by the Connecting to Collections statewide planning group. That group included members from the Northwest Archivists, the Oregon Historical Society, the Oregon Library Association, the Oregon Museums Association, the Oregon State Library, the Oregon State Archives, Tamástslikt Cultural Institute and Oregon Heritage. Their research found that staff and volunteers at the more than 200 museums, 300 public libraries and dozens of archives preferred local training, with collections care and management the most desired topics. After the mentors are trained, they will provide information and basic training in collections and emergency preparedness for libraries, museums and archives in their region. In addition to enabling cooperative efforts by libraries, archives and museums where they live, they will support the quality of life in their communities and sustaining important cultural resources.         The deadline to apply to be a mentor is Jan. 15. An application and information about the Oregon Heritage MentorCorps is available online at http://www.oregon.gov/oprd/HCD/OHC/Pages/mentorcorps.aspx               Additional information is available from Jansson at 503-986-0673 or kyle.jansson@state.or.us

Notes from guest presentation by Rudy Crew, Oregon Chief Education Officer

Dr. Rudy Crew spoke at the Chemeketa Community College fall kickoff on 9/10/12. These are the notes I took during his presentation.

 Dr. Crew’s task = education reform in Oregon

• Sees creating a reform package as a unique opportunity for Oregon (doesn’t see this happening in other states)
• The question “how do I make sense of my life as a student” needs to become a permanent part of the educational conversation
• Regarding the education of oneself…education is fundamentally about how you come to know yourself and understand yourself in the world (from his conversation with his son)

 Three areas that need to address education reform

1. Student’s personal responsibility (“Educate yourself!”)
   • Understand that you are entitled to have these experiences and do this work
   • Suspend your disbelief in yourself
   • What matters is that you put yourself into it and risk it
   • Entre into the feeling of being college eligible- and the importance of any experience that gives the student this feeling (e.g., Boys and Girls club on campus as an introduction to being comfortable on campus)

 2. Institutional responsibility

• Steps to matriculate
• Build and expand the number of “steps” or things we are doing to bring students along
• Go out and recruit the 6^th-10^th graders (uses the analogy of recruiting an athlete…we should be recruiting intellectuals)
• Institutions need to be able to answer the questions “what would you do with more money” and “what will happen as a result of what you do with the money” (specifically, how many more students will have access to college, will graduate, find employment…etc.)

 3. Parents responsibility

• Parents are consumers asking for access in response to dreams and aspirations
• Schools need to be  “dream solution institutions”
• Example of the mother who wants her child in the “BP program”…actually the “IB” program but she didn’t know the acronym…the point being that she has dreams and aspiration for her child, whether or not she has insider vocabulary or information  

Closing comments

• We need to teach civics and what it means to be a member of a community
• Education needs to help the student develop “a moral compass that enables one to use a degree and education to make the world a better place”
• Students need confidence to succeed and “confidence is an emotion and it has to do with how you take in information”…”so the successful person you see next to you, you need to be able to see yourself in those leaders”
• Students need to have and believe in the “picture of the possible”

 3 things (for higher ed to work on):

1. Student achievement
2. Access with completion
3. Opportunities to continue leading around student success

OEIB Community Forums

OREGON EDUCATION INVESTMENT BOARD
Share Your Expectations and Priorities for Education Funding

Seven community forums and a webinar scheduled in the month of October

 The Oregon Education Investment Board (OEIB) will hold seven community forums and a webinar at which stakeholders can provide input and feedback on education funding.  The OEIB will present its vision for building a seamless P-20 system and, most important, provide an opportunity for all Oregonians to engage in the conversation and share their own expectations and priorities.

 The forums will be held from October 15th through the 30th at 6-8:00 p.m., and will offer a family-friendly area for parents with children, as well as light snacks and refreshments.

 Anyone wishing to speak must sign in beginning at 5:30 p.m. Individuals will be heard on a first come basis. Each speaker will be given two minutes.  Public comments may also be emailed to: Education.Investment@state.or.us

 Community Forums:
 Monday, October 15 – Eastern Oregon
Hermiston High School, Commons Room
600 S. First Street, Hermiston, OR 97838
6-8:00 p.m.

 Wednesday, October 17 – Eugene
University of Oregon
Ford Alumni Center, Giustina Ballroom
1720 East 13th Avenue, Eugene, OR 97403
6-8:00 p.m.

 Thursday, October 18 – Portland
Marshall High School, Auditorium
3905 91st Avenue, Portland, OR 97266
6-8:00 p.m.

Tuesday, October 23 – Salem
McKay High School, Auditorium
2440 Lancaster Drive, Northeast  Salem, OR 97305
6-8:00 p.m.

Wednesday, October 24 – Medford
North Medford High School, Commons
1900 North Keene Way Drive, Medford, OR 97504
6-8:00 p.m.

 Thursday, October 25 – Coos Bay
Southwestern Oregon Community College, Performing Arts Center, Lakeview Room, 2nd Floor
1988 Newmark Avenue, Coos Bay, OR 97420
6-8:00 p.m.

Monday, October 29 – WEBINAR
Streams at:  http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=3310
3-5:00 p.m.

Tuesday, October 30 – Bend    
Pilot Butte Middle School, Cafeteria
1501 Northeast Neff Road, Bend, OR 97701
6-8:00 p.m.

Should you have questions or need more information about the Community Forums, please contact Seth Allen at seth.allen@state.or.us. 
All locations are accessible to individuals with disabilities. For other accommodations or language interpretation, please contact Seth Allen at the Oregon Education Investment Board via seth.allen@state.or.us or 503-378-8213 at least 48 hours prior to the meeting.

 775 Court Street NE, Salem, Oregon, 97301 • 503-373-0206 • education.oregon.gov • @ORLearns
Seth Allen, Board Administrator, Oregon Education Investment Board
Early Learning Council, 503-378-8213, @ORLearns