Communication Coordinators - School Library System Council Meeting- April 13, 2018: SLS Council Meeting Minutes

Auburn Enlarged City School District

Marcella Didio​
Anne Mlod

Cato-Meridian Central School District

Susan Cutri
​Diana Hildreth

​Jordan-Elbridge Central School District

Kelly Gensler
Jennifer Martin

Moravia Central School District

Jenifer Westover

Port Byron Central School District

Melissa Beyel

​Skaneateles Central School District

Debra Covell​

Kelly Gunderson

Southern Cayuga Central School District

Dawn Sedorus

​Union Springs Central School District

Stephanie Berry
Lori Willey

Weedsport Central School District

Aja Hahn

12:45 - 3:00 SLS Council meeting

Makerspaces

• Catie Cahill presented information about the ideas of Makerspaces, Makers, Maker Education, and Constructivism. She shared with us a roadmap for setting up a makerspace program and the importance of highlighting one's talents. She also talked about the idea behind the BOCES makerspace and the resources that would be available to teachers and students. Her presentation can be found online.
• This lead to a subsequent discussion among Council members about how individuals are managing their spaces and the process for borrowing makerspace resources from BOCES.

Library Community Updates

• Jill Hand shared monthly newsletters from the Seymour Public Library with the SLS. These were distributed via email.
• The South Central Regional Library Council sent posters and bookmarks about their Primary Partners Program. This program provides access for teachers to standards-aligned lesson plans and embedded primary sources for grades 4, 7, 8, and 11. It is part of their History Unbound initiative. These posters and bookmarks were distributed to the Council members.

Professional Development

• Council Meetings
  • Our next Council meeting will be Friday, May 18. More information available soon.
  • The School Library System (SLS) Coordinator asked about our first meeting of 2018-2019, would we want to meet in mid or late September at the start of the school year or October? The advantages and disadvantages of both were discussed and it was recommended that SLS survey all school library media specialists (SLMS).
• Conferences and Workshops
  • Recent Events
    • Kathleen Odean- Best Books for Elementary School Students
    • Kathleen Odean- Best Books for Middle and High School Students
  • Upcoming Events
    • "Inquire, Inspire, Involve, Innovate" NYLA-SSL on Long Island (May 3-5)
    • "School Librarians Transform Learning: Teaching With the New AASL Standards" NYLA-SSL Leadership Institute (August 5-6 in Syracuse). More information available soon.
  • Save the Date for Fall Events
    • Sept. 28- John Schumacher (AKA Mr. Schu). More information soon.
    • October 9- Greater Central New York School Library Systems Conference. More information soon.

Library Catalogs

• OPALS
  • SLMS were excited about the many new features and other recent developments in OPALS.
  • SLS indicated that OPALS can now integrate with SchoolTool to automatically keep the student patron records up-to-date. This is a brand new feature. SLS will evaluate this feature, and if it is successful, will set this up for all of the OPALS catalogs.
• Follett Destiny
  • SLMS that migrated over to Destiny during the Summer of 2017 discussed their experiences, what they liked about it, and the challenges they faced. An experienced Destiny user indicated that the newer users will have increased satisfaction as they continue using it.
  • SLS indicated that everyone involved knew that there would be a lot of learning and unlearning as they set their catalogs up to meet the needs of their students. SLS plans to bring Follett in for a Destiny user group meeting. 

SCOOLS Catalog

• Over the years, duplicate and poor MARC records have crept into the SCOOLS Catalog. This makes it difficult to search for items that can be requested through interlibrary loan (ILL). 
• South Central Organization Of (school) Library Systems (SCOOLS), which includes Cayuga-Onondaga SLS, plans to do a "record scrubbing" of our local collections and to rebuild the SCOOLS catalog. This will clean it up and make easier for everyone to use.
• This will also result in a set of regional minimal requirements of MARC records for SLMS and vendors.

Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

• Last day to borrow materials through SCOOLS is May 25, 2018
• All materials will be due back on June 15, 2018.

Database Orders for 2018-2019

• This is the first year that SLMS used the Library Resource Management (LRM) to compile their database orders. SLMS have indicated that the LRM has made this process easier. SLS anticipates that the LRM will make it easier to order these resources over the summer.
• Many school districts have returned their approved orders and the others are expected soon.

Library Resource Management (LRM) Updates

• Access information for resources provided by others (SLS, SCRLC, NOVEL-NY, etc.) will be added to the LRM over the summer. 
• Administrative access information will be added to LRM when it is available. Many resource providers do not automatically provide this information. Contact SLS if you need specific access information that is not listed.
• SLS is sometimes contacted by school leaders to order items through the Library Media Resources CoSer. These items will listed in the LRM and SLS will put notes to indicate who ordered them.

Bibliographic and Streaming Media Resources Provided by School Library System and Instructional Support Services (ISS)

• SLS and ISS provide school districts with access to many bibliographic and streaming media resources for use in student instruction.
  • These resources are for K-12, although some are more appropriate for Elementary Schools and others for Middle and High Schools.
  • In addition to content, many of these resources also provide instructional materials for teachers.
  • There are also specific tools available to support the use of streaming media resources (e.g.: Snap Media, Ensemble).
• Based upon usage, it is unclear:
  • if teachers are aware of these resources;
  • if these resources still meet teachers' instructional needs; or
  • if there are other factors that prevent teachers from using these resources.
• ​SLS, in conjunction with SLMS, will be exploring ways to promote and support the use of these resources. This will be an ongoing initiative. Initial activities include the creation of webpage information that SLMS can include on their web pages, and the SLS newsletter sent to school administrators, technology directors, and SLMS.
• SLS will engage the SLS Council, individual SLMS, and others to identify additional ways to promote and utilize these resources. 

Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES

Andrew Dutcher, School Library System Coordinator

Tony Abbatiello, Director of Instructional Support Services

Catie Cahill, Instructional Technology Specialist

Renee Lawrence, Instructional Technology Specialist