Ro McKernan

The message I seem to be getting from the universe lately has been  “So it goes” and “Take life one day at a time,” which is hard for me because I tend to think ahead and run through possible scenarios more then I need too.  ;-)

I lurch toward too much anxiety when I think about the economic climate in our state at the moment and what it means for academic library funding. Waiting for the “it’s OK to exhale” email, thinking it might be awhile coming yet.

 

WLA Connect is pleased to present WLA member profiles, starting with relatively recent members. Our very first entry features Ro McKernan. Her interview responses speak for themselves! Meet Ro:

Q. How do you like your job as Instructional/Collection Development Librarian at the Whatcom Community College Library?

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Teens and second graders reading together in the library? Come on, that’s not going to work. But Dawn Rutherford, Teen Services Coordinator at Sno-Isle Libraries, knew better. In 2006, when Dawn was a Teen Librarian at King County Library System, she helped develop a successful summer tutoring program called Book Buddies.

Inspired by the SMART reading program, Dawn recruited teens to tutor first- and second-grade children in reading. “Lots of kids just haven’t had the right reading experience to make them want to read,” Dawn said. Book Buddies aims to help young children acquire confidence with reading while also satisfying many of the Development Assets for both children and teens.

Dawn has been running Book Buddies at Mountlake Terrace Library since 2008 when she first came to Sno-Isle Libraries. Since then, many other libraries in the Sno-Isle system have started successful Book Buddies programs. “I would encourage anyone to try it.” Dawn said. “It’s good for the teens and for the children.”

New readers are drawn from local school district ESL, first and second grade classes. Teachers identify children who need extra help and provide them with applications to participate in the program. Teens are recruited from area high schools, especially those requiring volunteer community hours. Teens are required to attend a Book Buddies Volunteer Orientation during which expectations are discussed and guidelines and tips for effective tutoring are covered.
The seven-week program is carefully structured. Teens arrive 10 minutes before the class starts at 3pm to help set up. The program begins with children and teens sitting in a circle and answering an easy ice breaker question. Teens and children then pair up and read from 3:15pm to 4pm. Initially, the child reads one page and then the teen reads the next page. Over the course of the program, the child reads more of the book on their own. To reinforce that reading is fun, children play an educational game at the end.

For further information and paperwork to help you start your own Book Buddies program, please contact Dawn Rutherford at teens@sno-isle.org.

Please let us know if you have a best practices story to share! Contact Roxanna Garrison, Sno-Isle Libraries, at rgarrison@sno-isle.org.

Welcome to the Continuing Education (CE) and Training section of Connect, the new WLA eNewsletter. My name is Kelli Bragg and I work as support staff for Sno-Isle libraries. I’m also an MLIS student and I’m passionate about getting information out about various CE and Training possibilities to as many people as possible. Since WLA member surveys show time and time again that CE opportunities top the list of what they want, and the WLA Marketing and Communications committee was looking for someone to write about CE/Training, I believe I’ve found my niche!

My goal in the coming year is to showcase CE & Training with respect to a wide variety of  interest groups. It’s also to act in concert  with  the activities of the CE Committee, Kate Laughlin’s CE column in Alki (”The Learning Curve”), WAshington Library Trainers (WALT), and the Marketing and Communications Committee eNewsletter and blog.

In case you didn’t get a chance to see  Kate Laughlin’s article in the December 2010 edition of Alki, “How WLA is Continuing with Continuing Education”, I will provide a brief recap: About 1 1/2 years ago, the WLA hired a CE Coordinator,  Kate Laughlin, to act as a trailblazer whose goal was focus on educational program offerings and find ways to ”…strengthen, enrich, and grow WLA-supported CE events.” It then follows that informing the Washington library community about these enriched offerings via CE Web pages, no easy feat by far, is required, and becomes yet another area needing attention.

Once it was realized that more CE Coordinator’s  work was resulting in more and more CE activity, which was resulting in more CE information needing to get out in a well-ordered manner with correct information, the WLA appointed a CE Committee. This committee consists of people from various interest groups, various types of libraries, and various levels of  positions (from support staff to librarians to administrative specialists). Their goal is to seek out ways to “…enhance, support, and engage with the larger Pacific Northwest library CE community.” Because, let’s face it: if  you can’t easily find out about CE programs, it’s much less likely you’ll be engaged in them.

So what CE  Training opportunities are coming up in the near future? There are two very exciting offerings:

• The 2011 WLA Annual Conference  (April 6-8 in Yakima), has many PreConference and Conference offerings. The PreConference has 3 tracks and 11 selections, including, “The Value of Controversial Lit for Teens: How and Why to Defend It,” presented by Dr. Joni Richards Bodart. Especially of note at the PreConference is the re-instatement of training for library advocates (ex: ”Intellectual Freedom 101″).  The Conference has a wide variety of selections also, from “XML in Libraries” to “Indian Law Resources” to “Tracking the Elusive Library Job”.
• Another exciting opportunity in the near future will be training in how to use Elluminate, an online venue that can be used for training as well as meetings. Also, Elluminate Tech Support training will also be offered - so technophiles, watch for this and enhance your skills and your resume!

Each posting I make will hopefully end with these two questions (Just make a comment below!):

• What training would you like to promote?
• What training would you like to see? 

(Trying to figure out what to write for this first post was intimidating indeed, but people from the groups mentioned above were very generous with their time and information, so they all deserve a big thank you from me. Thanks to all of you!)

Looking for a way to give back to your community? The Rainier Volunteer Library, located in Rainier, WA, a town of about 1,500 people in Thurston County, needs people passionate about reading, literacy and their community to keep the library going strong. The library, which opened in November 2009, is run entirely by volunteers, and provides materials to community members through donated items and a partnership with Timberland Regional Library. Currently, the library is open four days a week (Wednesday through Saturday), and while they already have about 30 volunteers, they are always looking for more people to help them sort books, lead story times and put on workshops and programs.  Check out The Olympian’s article for more information.

If you are interested in volunteering, please visit the library’s Rainier Volunteer Library Web site.

Ellensburg Library

The Ellensburg Public Library will be hosting an Open House for travelers to the WLA Conference Tuesday and Wednesday, April 5th and 6th. Located at the crossroads of I-90 and Highway 82 in the heart of Washington, the library is a perfect spot to take a break. Grab a cup of coffee and a goodie bag while enjoying a backroom and underground tour or engaging in congenial conversation with your peers. Drive safe and we will see you soon in Ellensburg!

Directions:

From exit 106 on I-90, drive into town and turn right on Ruby Street. The library is on the right past the second stop sign. From exit 109, drive north and take a right on Third, library is on the right in the third block.

Mark your calendar now for the 2011 PNLA Annual Conference at the Doubletree Hotel Spokane City Center in Spokane, WA, August 3-5, 2011. This year’s theme is “Navigating the River of Change” and bestselling author, J.A. Jance, will be the keynote speaker on Thursday morning. Wylie & The Wild West, musician and entertainer extraordinaire will be performing at Thursday’s evening dinner. In addition, there will be unsurpassed programs and educational opportunities that will keep you on the edge of your seat with the latest research and information about libraries and their operations. Networking opportunities will abound throughout the conference providing a venue to build rapport with other professionals throughout the Pacific Northwest. Sign up today and get ready for the time of your life!