December+2,+2008

NYCSLS Library Advisory Council Council Meeting #2 Date: December 2, 2008 Time: 12:00 - 3:00pm Place: John Philip Sousa, M.S. 142

__**Members in attendance**__: Kathy Steves, Christine Hatami, Bernadine Lowery-Crute, Maureen Hurley, Sally Young, Andrea Vaughn

__**Office staff in attendance**__: Barbara Stripling, Esther McRae, Lynne Kresta Smith, Judith Schaffner, Melissa Jacobs-Isreal

__**Documents at meeting:**__ NYSED School Library Media Program Evaluation Rubric

__**Agenda:**__ 12:00 - 12:30 Eat, meet, greet, introductions - Kathy Steves, NYCSLS Council Chairperson 12:30 - 1:00 Fall Conference, Spring Conference, NYLA Conference Reports - Staff, School Library Services 1:00 - 1:30 Budget Cut Ramifications - Barbara Stripling, NYCSLS Director 1:30 - 1:45 NY State Library Rubric Overview Barbara Stripling 1:45 - 2:30 Work time and report back - Council members 2:30 - 3:00 Announcements, new business, members concerns

//Melissa Jacobs-Isreal reports:// Fall Conference The Fall Conference was well-attended with over 800 participants. The theme was Media Literacy with keynote speaker and 60+ concurrent sessions. The new handbook was distributed along with other materials, including several donations, graphic novels, Oprah Winfrey's geneology book, etc. There were 65 vendors, brown bag sessions, author book signings, a book seller (first time) and several publishers. Diamond Publishing had arranged for Art Spiegelman to speak during the afternoon session, which was terrific. The overall feedback was positive. Discussion of the pros and cons followed Melissa's report, including the management of this very large event, problems with Internet access, and the relatively low attendance at the PM sessions. Ideas on how to keep participants in the PM included possibly scheduling a big name presenter at the end of the conference.

//Judith Schaffner reports:// Spring Conference SLS is currently brainstorming the theme and location of the spring conference. Summer Reading will be the same presentation as in previous years. Past conferences have always been the same in all five boroughs. This year we may offer different topics at different locations with different guest speakers. This format would allow for more in-depth, focused sessions on one topic, however, not all participants would receive the same information. Planning on this will continue.

//Lynne Kresta Smith reports//: SLMS Conference The 2009 SLMS conference will be held at the Saratoga Hotel from April 30th - May 2nd, hosted by School Library Systems Associates (SLSA), of which SLS is a member. There will be 6 literacy workshops, 5 professional workshops, 1 advocacy workshop and 4 workshops presented by NYC school librarians. There will also be authors and vendors on site.

//Barbara Stripling reports:// Budget cuts ramifications We have been informed of the following cuts to our budget: In response to these projections, we are considering alternatives to professional development opportunities including webinars, online training, professional development posted on our website, etc. Melissa stated that we need grant monies for continued tablet support, to name just one ongoing service. Barbara reported that the BEDS surveys have revealed that we have just over 500 certified librarians and that only 75% of NYC schools have a library media center. Many libraries are staffed by paras, clerks or teachers, creating an increasing need for professional development. A discussion followed regarding the issue of campus schools, libraries closed for renovations and secondary schools without librarians or library programs. //Barbara Stripling reports:// NY State Library Evaluation Rubric Our task today is to review the NY State Library Evaluation Rubric, provide evidence of the positive effect of library media centers, and the best way to collect such evidence, either at the building or system level. The Council split up into 3 groups and reviewed the indicators of Reading, Social Learning, Social Responsibility, Climate, Instructional Leadership and Intellectual Freedom. In summary, the Council reported the following findings:
 * all programming funds will be cut
 * CCD funding will be cut by half
 * 8 Million Reasons to Read grant will be cut by half
 * no funds will be available for the spring conference venue or for food, materials, handouts
 * 24% of the total budget for fiscal year 2009
 * no additional cuts for 2010
 * most activities are school-based
 * an administrative response should be added to all pertinent evidence
 * the report stays within the building
 * collect data within the system
 * we must be assertive and inject the role of the library into all long range plans and goals
 * librarians should consider documenting the amount of time spent on support staff work
 * there is a need for a webinar on the training of library volunteers
 * collect statistics on the use of library space for different activities throughout the year
 * keep track of growth related to professional development
 * collect data and relate it to the goals

Upcoming meetings: Wednesday March 4, 2009 Thursday May 14, 2009 Locations TBA

The meeting was adjourned at 2:45 pm Minutes submitted by Christine Hatami, Secretary