Happy School Library Month to all!

In honor of National Library Week, the University of Michigan Libraries and the Ann Arbor Public Library hosted events with ALA President Barbara Stripling which included signings of the Declaration for the Right to Libraries. I was able to represent MAME at these events and brought along the three infographics for school library advocacy (which are found on the MAME website). I had great conversations with attendees and hope that this helped raise awareness about the state of school libraries in Michigan.  During Barbara's town hall meeting at UofM, I was able to speak about the lack of support for Michigan's school libraries and the recent EDTrust Midwest report showing that Michigan is one of only six states with negative reading improvement in the last decade.  (See the Detroit Free Press editorial of April 13th.) 

April also marked the announcement of our new State Librarian. Congratulations to Randy Riley on his new role as State Librarian. MAME looks forward to a continued positive relationship with the Library of Michigan and working with Randy. On behalf of MAME, I would like to wish Nancy Robertson all our best as she retires. MAME members have enjoyed working with her and appreciate all of her support!

In addition, MACUL announced its new Executive Director Mark Smith. Ric Wiltse will retire as of July 30 and will now take on the role of Executive Director Emeritus. Ric has been a friend and supporter of MAME for many years. On behalf of MAME, I'd like to extend MAME's thanks and best wishes.

The dates for MAME's Summer Institute have been set. It should be a fun learning opportunity.  I hope to see you there.

The MAME Conference Committee is continuing to work hard towards a fantastic conference in Ann Arbor this fall! The call for programs is out. Please consider presenting at the conference and sharing some of your great work.  In addition, it is not too late to get involved to help with the conference.  If you are interested, contacted Gwenn Marchesano at gmarchesano@mimame.org.

Wishing everyone a wonderful Spring! 

Please contact me if you have ideas or questions.

All my best,

Kathy Lester, MAME President, 2014

kathyL@mimame.org

• Jennifer La Garde (aka Library Girl) wrote a great blog post last May about School Library Annual Reports. Click here for the blog post.
• Rather than reinvent the wheel, review the evidence of practice from your SL21 evaluation
• Refer to Shelley Lazarus's blog which served multiple purposes to showcase what her students were accomplishing in the library and also used for her performance evaluation. (This could be an ongoing project accumulated next year. By May of 2015,you'd have a robust site to share.)

• Connecting to the community and gaining their support
• Developing literacy
• Leading your school and district in implementing Common Core
• Integrating technology with curriculum
• and so much more...

 

• Attend the annual conference for FREE!
• Get rid of your "library/school" stuff at our auction at the conference
• Help support MAME
• Start each school year with a fantastic get-a-way

Many of you may have lost your library or become overwhelmed in your position, but knowing you have this wonderful group of friends is such a blessing. We also go into libraries to volunteer with special projects, if a request is made.