District Dispatch » House re-introduces SKILLs Act emphasizing role of school librarians

District Dispatch » House re-introduces SKILLs Act emphasizing role of school librarians

Note from Peyton: This is critical legislation because it can assure that students have the support and expertise of qualified librarians in school libraries.

House re-introduces SKILLs Act emphasizing role of school librarians
October 30th, 2009 | Category: OGR, School Libraries

The Strengthening Kids’ Interest in Learning and Libraries Act, or the SKILLs Act, was re-introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives this week with support from both sides of the aisle. This legislation is intended to ensure that all students will have the support and resources they need for a quality education by establishing a goal that all public school libraries employ no less than one highly qualified school library media specialist.

H.R. 3928 was introduced by Representatives Raul Grijalva (D-AZ-7) and Vernon Ehlers (R-MI-3) and was referred to the House Education and Labor Committee.

In 2007 the SKILLs Act was introduced in the 110th Congress by both Reps. Grijalva and Ehlers and received 30 cosponsors. This SKILLs Act was also introduced in the U.S. Senate in the 110th Congress by Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and received bi-partisan sponsorship from Senators Thad Cochran (R-MS), John Kerry (D-MA), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). There is no Senate legislation yet in the 111th Congress. In the 110th Congress, the SKILLs Act failed to be reported out of committee.

Jeff Kratz
Assistant Director, OGR

ALA | Public Library Funding and Technology Access Study

ALA | Public Library Funding and Technology Access Study:

Now published: Libraries Connect Communities: Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study 2008-2009
About the Study

Today’s public libraries are vital community technology hubs that millions of Americans rely on for their first and often only choice for Internet access. Despite increased demand for library computers, however, libraries typically have not seen a corresponding increase in budgets and many are challenged to provide enough computers or fast-enough connection speeds to meet demand.

The Public Library Funding and Technology Access Study is a multi-year project that builds on the longest-running and largest study of Internet connectivity in public libraries. The study assesses public access to computers, the Internet and Internet-related services in U.S. public libraries, as well as the impact of library funding changes on connectivity, technology deployment and sustainability in FY2007-2009.

Built on the longest-running and largest study of Internet connectivity in public libraries, begun in 1994 by John Carlo Bertot and Charles R. McClure, this study provides information that can help library directors and library IT staff benchmark and advocate for technology resources in communities across the nation. The data are also of importance for policymakers at local, state, and federal levels, manufacturers of information and communication technologies, and the communities served.

The project is made possible by a generous donation from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the American Library Association."

Federated Search Across Multiple Book Sources Including Major Online Stores with Q-Sensei

I was looking for a way to search multiple online book retailers, when I found the Q-Sensei plug-in for Firefox. It worked perfectly, and I have added a Q-Sensei search box to this blog because I like it so well.

If you are a librarian, a  book lover or someone who often needs to locate books that are difficult to find, I highly recommend that you try Q-Sensei. Better yet, if you use Firefox as your browser, install the plug-in so you can do a federated search of multiple sources with a single click from the ISBN.

Real-Time Global (and local) Twitter Topic Trends on http://trendsmap.com

This is so cool that I have reset my homepage in Firefox to it so I can look at it whenever I launch my browser. Trendsmap is a world map showing current Twitter trends with a tag field. You can zoom in to your local area, but I like looking at the whole world and seeing the big picture of what twits are into at the moment. Ten minutes ago, it was the Yankees. Right now, it's Obama signing the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. (Remember 1998 when some redneck Texans tied a black man to the back of their pickup and dragged him to death? About the same time, some Montanans beat up a gay man, tied him to a barbed wire fence, and left him to die.) Maybe tomorrow, the twits will be more cheerful.

Anyway, my point is that Trendsmap gives you an immediate global (or local) view of what is in the public mind. Whether you are a librarian on the front lines of reference desk work or a publisher marketing expert working in the quiet of your office, this is invaluable information.

If you missed an event (and who doesn't?) Trendsmap even has a few historical videos so you can see

Globalis - an interactive world map

Globalis - an interactive world map

Have you ever tried to figure out the relative land mass of Greenland and Australia? Or have you wondered about global warming trends, or population density trends? Here is a UN project that produces maps showing these and other factors as they impact life on planet earth. Well worth bookmarking and exploring!

Company - Emergence of new business models

Company - Emergence of new business models

This is an article published in the Frankfurt Book Fair newsletter about the variety of e-book pricing models under consideration. It includes figures from a poll conducted by the fair, buchreport magazine and Publishers Weekly.

Boy Lifts Book; Librarian Changes Boy's Life : NPR

Boy Lifts Book; Librarian Changes Boy's Life : NPR


We may be living in the future, now, but this story shows how wonderfully effective librarians have been at making life better for a long time.