Q. What role do you see librarians play in the adoption of the Common Core State Standards? How can teachers work with librarians as they begin to address the issues the CCSS raise?

Lynn Rutan: A school librarian’s job description is what the CCSS are all about! This is what we do and have done and I am really excited that the educational pendulum has swung back to an inquiry and process model. It’s a wonderful opportunity for school librarians to step up and do what we do best: collaborate with teachers on units of study, co-teach, provide expertise on materials and resources, assist and instruct students on research skills, and support the learning process.

p: boltron via photopin cc

One of the things that concerns me is that as school librarians have been marginalized in so many districts, teachers either won’t have a building librarian or won’t have had any experience with the help they can provide. In our district, for example, elementary librarians now spend most of their day teaching technology skills and the secondary librarians each serve two enormous buildings. In many districts, there are no professional librarians at all.

I think there is a real danger that administrators who want a quick solution to CCSS implementation will jump to purchased programs instead of supporting the actual intent of the CCSS with training, time for collaborative planning, and resources.

I think these collaborative efforts are the real key to success with CCSS implementation and I hope librarians and teachers will be given the opportunity to put their joint expertise to work for students.

Lynn Rutan is a former middle school librarian and current book reviewer and blogger from Holland, Michigan. You can read more of her reviews over at Bookends: A Booklist Blog, which she co-writes with her longtime pal and fellow librarian Cindy Dobrez.

Stephanie Squicciarini: Speaking as a public librarian, I would say our role is to be aware of the Common Core Standards and educate ourselves on what they mean for students. And communicate with our partner school librarians as the shift continues. While I don’t think we can be expected to become experts on the standards, we need to work with our colleagues to ensure that resources are provided to students.

For me, it has meant purchasing not just more quality nonfiction, but also multiple copies of titles that seem to fit well with the topics being studied. The YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction, the finalists, winner, and nominee list, will prove invaluable for this.

School librarians will hopefully communicate with their partner public librarians on shifting topics and titles they find that work well for students and teachers. Public libraries will more than likely not be able to provide all the titles for school curricula as that is not our primary mission, but we should be able to supplement and complement the resources the school libraries provide.

Communication, I think, will be critical in these early stages of the shift.

Stephanie Squicciarini is the teen services librarian for the Fairport (NY) Public Library, as well as the founder of the wildly popular TBF Live! teen book festival.

We want to know: What do YOU think? What role do you see librarians playing in the implementation of the CCSS?



Ask the Librarians: What Books Are You Most Thankful For This Year?

Achieve Author Visits on a Budget

John Schumacher

It is common to ask the following questions:

• “What’s your favorite song/color/movie/animal?”
• “Which book did you read over and over as a child?”
• “What’s your favorite book published this year?”

The last question usually trips me up and fills me with dread. I read far and wide. How can I possibly narrow it down to one book? Just ONE BOOK? Really?

However, in 2012, I want everyone to ask me the last question. I want to climb to the top of the Chrysler Building and shout at the top of my lungs “Dear World: I am thankful for Katherine Applegate’s THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN. If I were a rich man, I would give away ten million copies.” I want to plaster stickers all over my body that read, “Please visit your local independent bookshop to purchase a copy THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN. It will touch your heart.” I want to hoist a billboard above Broadway that advertises Katherine Applegate’s masterpiece.

Above all else, I want every elementary school teacher to share this distinguished and highly satisfying novel. I want Ivan’s story to live on and inspire young readers to be thoughtful citizens and change makers.

John Schumacher is a K-5 School Library Director in Oak Brook, Illinois. Read his popular blogs, MrSchuReads.com and TwoLibrariesOneVoice.com for even more book suggestions.

Cindy Dobrez

I am thankful for books that make my middle schoolers wonder. And this year that is a book by the same title: WONDER by R. J. Palacio.

August Pullman, 10, is facing his first experience with school as he leaves the safety of homeschooling for a private NYC middle school. Augie has facial deformities that shock and disturb those who look at him. In one of the many strengths of the book, Palacio does not describe in detail what Augie looks like. We are given hints about some of Augie’s features, but mostly it is left to our imagination and that makes the portrayal stronger. And, I was disappointed in myself as I wondered just what he looked like…and then kicked myself for caring. The whole point is that we should not care what someone looks like. Palacio’s strategy did its job.

Middle school can be a brutal place, especially for those who are different, whether or not they are as different as Augie. But Palacio shows us a path through, a path for beyond middle school too. One of Augie’s teachers, Mr. Browne, starts each month of school with a class precept. He defines this for the kids as “rules about really important things.” The year starts off with this one:

“When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind.”

The precepts could come off as didactic. But they didn’t feel that way. The book has a raw honesty about it that raises it above the norm of this type of book. And each of the characters learns something about themselves as they learn about Augie. Ultimately, the message becomes one of degree. Don’t just be kind. As Palacio writes, “It's not enough to be kind. One should be kinder than needed.”

There’s something to think about as we digest our turkey and tryptophan. Something to wonder about….am I kinder than necessary?

Cindy Dobrez
Middle School Librarian
West Ottawa Public Schools
Holland, MI
Bookends Blog

Lynn Rutan

With the Common Core Standards on everyone’s mind this year, I’ve been thinking a lot about literary nonfiction. What is it, how is it defined, how can we use it with students and what titles fit which curriculum? I’ve been a nonfiction reader all my life, but I know that many of my librarian and teacher colleagues prefer fiction and are uneasy about these new requirements.

So this year I’m especially thankful for BOMB: THE RACE TO BUILD—AND STEAL—THE WORLD’S MOST DANGEROUS WEAPON (Roaring Brook, 2012) by Steve Sheinkin. This is one of my favorite books of the year for pure reading enjoyment AND it is a book that not only fits the definition of literary nonfiction but will also win over many doubters to the pleasures and of reading nonfiction.

Sheinkin is also the author of THE NOTORIOUS BENEDICT ARNOLD, which won the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults in 2011. In the stellar BOMB, Sheinkin’s versatility is truly on display as he deftly interweaves explanations of nuclear physics and the history of the early research effort, the history of WWII, a detailed description of the manufacturing processes and facilities required to produce the two bombs, and a lucid recounting of how Soviet espionage was organized and conducted in America. He then mixes in fascinating character studies of key individuals of the time and raises ethical questions which will generate wonderful discussions with teen readers.

Sheinkin does all this while creating a sense of breathless tension—even though we all know the outcome. My turkey drumstick is raised to this masterful and informative nonfiction that reads like a Ludlum spy thriller!

Lynn Rutan is a former middle school librarian and current book reviewer and blogger from Holland, Michigan. You can read more of her reviews over at Bookends: A Booklist Blog, which she co-writes with her longtime pal and fellow librarian Cindy Dobrez.

Stephanie Squicciarini

The two books from this year that I am most thankful for are THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green and LIFE HAPPENS NEXT by Terry Trueman. While they are vastly different books in terms of their plots and characters, they do each, for me, share some common themes. They both beautifully demonstrate the resiliency of the human spirit. That when you open yourself up to be truly known by another, when you admit that desire to be known not for what people think you should be or feel given your hand that life dealt you, but who you really are, that you might be able to find peace among the chaos.

Neither book sugar coats the sometimes harsh reality that life is, but both offer a sense of hope, as bittersweet as that hope can be. Both books also show that humor can be a powerful force in one’s life, allowing you to push through even the darkest of days.

And, to be honest, I am thankful that neither were dystopian, vampire, werewolf, or fallen angel in nature. Every so often we as readers need a good dose of realistic fiction…or at least I (and many teens who have left me comments in our feedback box!) do.

Stephanie Squicciarini
Teen Services Librarian
Fairport (NY) Public Library



5 Questions With... Steve Sheinkin (BOMB)

5 Questions With... R.J. Palacio (WONDER)

Q. With our budget being cut, we don’t have the funds we used to have for author visits. And some of my colleagues never had any funds for author visits! Any suggestions on how we can fund these types of visits?

Normally I would say ask your public library to help, but those budgets are getting slashed too! But together, and with some creativity, you can still make these happen. Here are a few ideas:

Check with “local” authors. Local can mean anywhere within driving distance, so look beyond your state, too. While gas prices are still rising, it could still be more economical than paying for airfare. And, if they live close enough, they may not require lodging.

YALSA has an “Authors by State” resource on their wiki. This is one place to start. You can also check with regional writers and illustrators groups.

Check author websites for their event schedules. If authors who normally are not within your regional driving area will be doing an event nearby, or are on a book tour in your area for a newly released book, they are now local! And you could share the travel and other expenses with their other hosting venues. If they are on an official book tour, there might not be any travel expenses to cover. A win-win for everyone!

Check with your local hotels, especially the larger chains. Some hotels will offer deeper discounts or even complimentary rooms. They would rather have rooms full than empty. You could, in exchange, list the hotel as a sponsor for the author visit on your internal and external publicity, and/or acknowledge them in any articles published about the visit.

Partner with other schools. If you can get several schools to pool resources, authors might be willing to negotiate their fee. This partnership could mean either half days at each of two schools or booking several different schools, all within driving distance of each other, in a given week. An author might be more willing to negotiate their fee if they know they will be visiting several schools in the same area. This will also depend on how many sessions you want them to present at each school. So, you want to balance this with not expecting an author to do as many sessions as they might ordinarily do for their full fee.

Ask your PTA/PTSA groups. While they may not be able to fund the entire visit, they might be able to help with part of it. Or they could cover the cost of your author hospitality (don’t forget you need to budget in meals!).

Conduct a fundraiser. You can work with your students and/or your PTA/PTSAs on this too. A very successful fundraiser we hold each year for The Greater Rochester Teen Book Festival is a Read-a-Thon.

Check with your local public library. They can be a partner in your fundraising efforts (your Read-a-Thon, for instance, could be held at the public library and then it also counts as a program for them!) and can also be another event host. Your guest author could visit the school during the day and your public library could hold an event in the evening and together you share the cost of any author honorarium and, if you cannot find a hotel to donate the room, any lodging costs. You will again need to balance this with your expected number of total presentations during the day. If an author normally will agree to, say, five presentations, the public library event will count as at least one presentation (depending on the length).

Arrange a book sale. You can work with a local book store (or chain) and ask them to donate back a percentage of any sales of the books, or work directly with the publisher. Most publishers will sell books to schools and libraries at a deep discount (usually 40%) for author events. Then you sell the books to students, faculty, and attendees at the cover price. While this may generate be a huge amount of money, it could help cover some of your costs.

Plan ahead! There are peak author visit times of the year: Teen Read Week and Children’s Book week, for instance. While those are great times to have author visits, authors’ time will be at a premium and, depending on your budget, may be out of reach. Think creatively when planning. For instance, if the author you’d like to invite lives in a colder climate, and you’re in an area that’s warm year-round, this could be an appealing detail!

Don’t give up even if your budget has been cut deeply! With some planning, partnering, and creativity, you can still have very successful author visits for your students and community!

Stephanie Squicciarini
Teen Services Librarian
Fairport (NY) Public Library



What Role Do Librarians Play When it Comes to the CCSS?

Ask the Librarians: What Books Are You Most Thankful For This Year?