From the Vermont State Librarian

This past weekend I attended the Justin Morrill Symposium, sponsored by the Friends of the Morrill Homestead in Strafford. The Symposium was held to mark the 150^th anniversary of Morrill's Land-Grant College Act and to discuss the legacy of that Act in terms of history, agriculture and higher education. The Morrill Act
,signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln, provided funds to states to purchase land and build colleges and universities across the nation. The University of Vermont became a land-grant institution in 1865. Morrill's Act prompted the creation of new programs of study in agriculture and "the mechanical arts" with the intent of making college education accessible to more Americans. Morrill had a bold vision, was a champion of equal opportunity (though education for women and African-Americans came later) and understood that access to knowledge is a necessary ingredient in building a healthy democracy. Morrill's vision - and his understanding of the importance of libraries as keepers of that knowledge - is certainly something to celebrate 150 years later.

The Symposium included an outstanding roster of speakers, including John Merrow, an NPR and PBS education correspondent, and author of The Influence of Teachers: Reflections on Teaching and Leadership, who spoke passionately about the need in 2012 for a leader like Morrill to bring a bold new vision to our system of higher education (take a look at his 2005 documentary Declining by Degrees at:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rplvn3h75rI), and Paul Ferguson, President of the University of Maine, who spoke about 21^st century adaptations of Morrill's Land-Grant Act at his own university.

I was especially interested to hear from James Billington, historian and Librarian of Congress, who spoke about Morrill's life (son of a blacksmith who never himself attended college), his "mind-expanding" practice of reading, his work in Congress, and his role in the building of the magnificent Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress. Perhaps you have seen the bronze plaque inside the Library's main entrance which Billington unveiled in 1997: "As a member of Congress for 43 years, a member of the Senate Committee on Buildings and Grounds, a member of the Joint Select Committee on Additional Accommodations for the Library, and a champion of education, [Justin S. Morrill] played a vital role in obtaining this library building for the American people."

I left the symposium feeling a good dose of pessimism (the high cost of education which makes the dream of education impossible for so many; the impact of big agro-business on American agricultural policy) as well as some optimism (new programs at the Community College of Vermont which reach out to the most vulnerable Vermonters). But perhaps most of all I came away with an appreciation for the remarkable life and vision of Justin Morrill. His belief that knowledge is the key to democracy, personal enrichment and economic vitality - and that education must be open and available to all segments of American society, are also hallmarks of libraries and librarians. In an age when public funding for education is disappearing and information and sound bites are often touted as knowledge, I agree with Merrow that we need leaders and thinkers who can give us a modern-day bold vision for education - and, I would add, the future of libraries.

Regards,

Martha Reid

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Digital Wish Engages Students in Learning

For the past three years, Digital Wish, a partner in the e-Vermont Community Broadband Project, has been studying the process of implementing one-computer-per-child (1:1) programs in rural schools in Vermont. Digital Wish is an educational non-profit on a mission to bring technology to American classrooms in order to prepare students to thrive in the global economy. As part of this federally-funded e-Vermont project, they delivered computers, held weekly educator trainings, offered a complete IT curriculum and provided training and support to 28 schools.  Their trainers modeled the entire process of technology adoption and progressively reduced the initiative planning time from 18 months to just 6 weeks, saving schools tremendous amounts of time and money. Both teachers and students are reporting a wide range of gains including increased engagement in learning, technological proficiency, and dramatic improvements in the understanding of internet safety issues.  

In July Digital Wish released the results of a survey given to over 400 teachers and students who participated in the School Modernization Initiative. Survey respondents collectively reported dramatic improvements in their 21st century technology skills, and teachers reported that student engagement in learning was their biggest benefit. The importance of these survey results is two-fold: (1) the data can help schools secure funding for technology, and (2) raising student engagement in learning opens new doors and new opportunities.  Project Director Heather Chirtea encourages school librarians to read and use the study for planning and "modernization" efforts, and to use the data in reports and grant applications. The Survey results are available at: http://www.digitalwish.com/dw/digitalwish/news?id=173

Vermonters Taking on Universal Class

Tanya Marshall Begins Work as State Archivist

Tanya Marshall became the State Archivist for the State of Vermont on August 1 following the retirement of Gregory Sanford, who served as state archivist for the past 30 years. In assuming this role, Marshall now directs the Vermont State Archives and Records Administration (VSARA), a division within the Office of Secretary of State.

Marshall has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History from the State University of New York at Geneseo and a Master in Library Science degree, with a concentration in archives, records and information management, from the University of Maryland, College Park. She has also completed coursework for a Ph.D. in Information Science, also at the University of Maryland.

While pursuing her M.L.S. degree, Marshall held assistantships with the National Archives and Records Administration and the Smithsonian Institution and coordinated the Maryland-Chinese Local Archives Exchange Program and organized workshops, training, study tours, and conferences for visiting Chinese archivists. She was also employed as a cataloger of rare books, archives, and special collections by the Technical Services Department of the University of Maryland University Libraries System. Later, Marshall was a teaching assistant for the Archives, Records and Information Management Program within the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park and worked part-time as a reference librarian for the Prince George's County (Md.) Memorial Library System.

Marshall began her career in Vermont as a project archivist in 2003 and was promoted to Assistant State Archivist in 2005. She chaired the Vermont Municipal Land Records Commission and served on the Vermont Web Portal Board. Between 2004 and 2005, she was also employed by the Vermont Court Administrator's Office as a records management consultant and coordinated the Vermont Judicial Records Program. In May 2008, she was recognized as an "outstanding state employee for her commitment, talent and leadership in public service" by the State of Vermont.

In July 2008, Marshall assumed the titles of Senior Records Analyst and Deputy State Archivist after authority and oversight of the State's records management program was transferred from the Department of Buildings and General Services to VSARA. She most recently supervised the Records Analysis and Policy Unit, which is responsible for the appraisal and scheduling of public records. Marshall serves on the Vermont SharePoint Governance Board and the Advisory Committee on the Rules to Public Access to Court Records.

In July 2012, she was elected by her peers as vice president the National Association of Government Archives & Records Administrators (NAGARA). Her fellow state archivists also elected her to the Council of State Archivists' (CoSA) Board of Directors. In addition to NAGARA and CoSA, Marshall serves on the ARMA International Standards Development Program's RIM Review Group and San Jos� State University's Master's in Archives and Records Administration (MARA) Program Advisory Committee.

Now Only One Materials Review Session

Discussion Sets from DOL: GMBA, DCF and More

The Department of Libraries has many book sets to lend to libraries and schools that need multiple copies of books for classes or discussion groups. There are currently 188 titles in multiple copy ranging from titles for children such as Castle in the Attic (Elizabeth Winthrop) and 11 Birthdays (Wendy Mass) to YA offerings such as Ellen Hopkins' Crank to the adult Life of Pi (Yann Martel) and Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi).

Each year the Department of libraries buys 15 copies of each of the books nominated for the Green Mountain Book Award (GMBA) as well as the Dorothy Canfield Fisher (DCF) nominees currently in paperback. The ones on this year's DCF list that we now have are:  

Bauer    Close to Famous

Davies   The Lemonade Crime

Giff       R My Name is Rachel

Howe    Addie on the Inside

Pyron    A dog's Way Home

Smith    Storm Runners

Van Draanen The Running Dream

By the end of September, four more DCF titles will come out in paperback (City of Orphans, Waiting for the Magic, The Flint Heart and The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman), so they will be added to the collection.

Libraries must request the books on the CURRENT GMBA and DCF lists directly from Linda Willis-Pendo at  [email protected]. They go out for a 45 day loan period and may be reserved ahead.

VELI: Preschoolers and Math 

The Vermont Early Literacy Initiative (VELI) is adding an exciting new component to their programs which began with trainings on early literacy skills and concepts for babies and toddlers. In October librarians from twenty Vermont public libraries (selected from the original 30) will be trained in preschool literacy and mathematics skills, concepts and knowledge in a program called Ready for School. As with the original program for babies and toddlers, this research-based initiative will have a three pronged approach: storytimes for the children; programs for families to teach them how to do simple math and literacy activities at home with their kids; and training for local childcare providers. The program will also incorporate the Vermont Early Learning Standards and new Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts and Mathematics and emphasize their importance when it comes to appropriate programming for children ages three to five. The Vermont Center for the Book is a leader in the field of math and science programming for preschoolers, having recently completed a highly successful four year national project with public librarians nationwide, funded by the National Science Foundation.

VELI, a joint project of the Department of Libraries  and the Vermont Center for the Book, is based on research on how babies, toddlers and preschoolers learn. The project is made possible by a generous donation by Dr. Burnett Rawson from the Winnie Belle Learned Fund of the Vermont Public Library Foundation, and through a grant obtained by VCB from the Henderson Foundation.

Libraries Dream Big This Summer

Vermont libraries celebrated night and its wonders all summer long with the slogans of "Dream Big. Read" for children and "Own the Night" for teens. They held programs, invited stuffed animals to spend the night, encouraged children to read, and supported learning and investigation in many ways.

Here is a small sampling of activities across the state:

Fletcher Free in Burlington had a record-breaking summer with 1,375 kids participating. All together they read over 21,312 hours! How did they do all this? In addition to their fabulous staff, they had 44 volunteers and 27 contributors, a true community effort.

In Springfield, brave children who dream of becoming naturalists came face to face with a snapping turtle at the Springfield Town Library thanks to a program entitled "Turtles of Vermont" presented by Michael Clough of the Southern Vermont Natural History Museum in July.  They also cheered on a race between a painted turtle and a box turtle.  The box turtle was the clear winner as the painted turtle hid in his shell. 

Librarian Debbie Landauer in Fairfax had programs on astronomy, music, turtles (apparently a rising trend), origami and pottery-something for everyone.

Craftsbury had an all night readathon which was a highlight of the summer for many of their teen/tween patrons.

In Colchester, teens had fun learning how to paint henna designs, "artifying" (as one teen called it) paper lanterns and then stringing them with mini-LED lights in their choice of colors. Their annual YA Foodie competition was called "Midnight Snack" this year and produced some delicious flavor combinations for the staff and student judges to taste-test.  Contestants could make a sweet, salty or wild card snack with basic library-furnished food ingredients and up to three of their own.  The winner did a pretzel-chocolate-honey combo.  And they had another successful teen LockIn with 18 teens, four adults, too much food, a lot of glitter, howling, flashlights, and a memorable dance scene.

Norwich had a "Come to the Library in your Pajamas Day." They had milk and cookies and photographed everyone either in a little bed or in front of a headboard. They also had a basket on hand filled with pjs, robes and nightgowns. It was a fun day, and one they would do again. The staff especially enjoyed spending the day in their pajamas.

A couple of stories to round out the fun:

From Rutland: From a 12-year-old girl who was astounded by the glow-in-the-dark drinks. (Put a glow stick bracelet in bottom of large cup, cover with smaller clear plastic cup, pour in water or clear soda, drink in the dark.)--"Wow, I never knew libraries could be so much fun. I'm definitely coming back."

From a 10-year-old boy as he checked out a tall stack of books, "This is the best day of my life."

And, finally, from Kellogg Hubbard, Montpelier:

When Senator Leahy was at the library promoting the movie Dark Knight, they had Batman there as well.  They repeatedly called Senator Leahy "Our" favorite superhero.  One of the story time kids apparently took that to heart.  When his mother took him to the store to get brand new "superhero" underwear now that he's using the potty, she asked him which superhero he wanted.  His response was "Senator Leahy underwear" because he's a real live superhero, not the kind in books.