October+23,+2012

Council Meeting #1 Date: October 23, 2012 Time: 12:00 - 3:00pm Place: Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO) **__Members in attendance:__** Linda Cuff (Chair), Christine Hatami (Secretary), Robert Farrell, Lauren Soucy, Margaret Dennehy, Linda Cooper, Dr. Jody K. Howard, Sarah Hinkle, Sally Young, Tom Nielson, Jason Kucsma, Arlene Dominguez, Maureen Hurley, Julia Chang, Jennifer Thompson **__SLS Office Staff in__** **__attendance__** : Melissa Jacobs Israel, Elizabeth Naylor-Gutierrez, Lynne Kresta Smith, Leanne Ellis, Olga Nesi, Ric Hasenyager **__Documents at meeting:__** Library Council Members **__Agenda:__** 12:00 - 12:30 Greetings and Introductions 12:30 - 2:00 Announcements and Information 2:00 - 2:30 New Business 2:30 - 3:00 Projects of Council Members

//Greetings and Introductions// Linda Cuff called the meeting to order and members introduced themselves. We welcomed the new Director of School Library Services, Ric Hasenyager, who began on July 30th. He spoke briefly about his lifetime of service to public and school libraries, his vision statement and the key questions facing us. “With the Common Core, this is our time. The library process aligns closely with the Common Core. What comes after the keyword search? How do we reach students at different levels? How do we integrate technology into student work?” Jason spoke about METRO, who hosted the meeting, and is in the process of re-establishing connections with its 250+ members who include academic librarians, the three public library systems and SLS. METRO provides a hub for conversations between members through workshops, online training and special interest groups. A full-day conference with a higher education focus will be held on October 29th and SLS will present. (Please note that due to Hurricane Sandy this event has been rescheduled for January 15th.)

//Notes from the Chair// There are a number of officer positions on the Council that are open. Robert Nelson, Vice Chair, has resigned and Christine Hatami, Secretary, has retired. According to the by-laws, officers must serve on the committee for at least three years. There was a motion to eliminate the nominating process and ask for volunteers. Linda described the position of the Vice-Chair and Christine described the Secretary’s duties. Christine has volunteered to remain as Secretary. Linda asked for volunteers for the Vice Chair position to be offered by October 31st. Lynne will send out an email reminder.

//NYCSLS Updates// Lynne reported that the Plan of Service has been approved and the Annual Report submitted. Elizabeth discussed the upcoming Fall Conference which currently has 450 librarians registered. It will be held at a new venue, A. Phillip Randolph High School in Manhattan. There will be no keynote but Ric will speak along with a panel of librarians and their administrators. There will be over 40 vendors and numerous authors. Lynne called for volunteers as workshop facilitators. In addition to the conference, there will be two lesson planning sessions offering a series of 3 workshops, one full day and two after school, for librarians and content area teachers. Together they will learn how to build a lesson around content, deliver the lesson and report back to the workshop.They will then be able to make changes and come back again. The goal is to cultivate a group of teachers and librarians who can plan and implement collaborative lessons. The first session is already full with 24 total participants including 12 librarians and 12 teachers at all grade levels. The DOE will provide reimbursement for the classroom teachers. Olga said that the IFC gives us a lens to look at the Common Core. We will be targeting some projects with sample lesson plans to create a useful tool. The IFC will be updated and will be in electronic format. Elizabeth is looking for a new venue for the spring Exploratorium. Ric reported on the restructuring of the CCD. The state mandate intended that the funds be used for sharing materials. We need to look at e-content that is not specific to one school, such as a graphic novel e-collection. The funding will support multiple site usage, making it more equitable. An electronic device will not be needed to access the collection. We are looking at different vendors and a range of possible access models. Leanne reported on the MyLibrary BiblioCommons project. Last year was the pilot project. This year participating schools can use the interface to search all three library systems as well as the school library. Teachers can select 100 items which will be shipped to the school for 60 days. There are currently 292 schools participating. The public libraries are reaching out to schools and a workshop will be offered later in the year. The project is funded by a $5 million NYPL grant from Citicorp. In addition, thirty schools will be upgraded to Destiny. Lynne reported that PARCC, the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, will be developing college-ready assessments based on the Common Core.

//New Business// Melissa reported on the proposed adoption of the NYC IFC (renamed the Empire State IFC) for use as a statewide curriculum.The the new IFC will be distributed at the fall conference as a binder and on a thumb drive. Linda Cooper added that the IFC will be used at the college level. Olga clarified that the Common Core is the curriculum and the IFC provides the tools to plan lessons. Melissa said that there will be a presentation at NYLA on the IFC. Everyone is trying to figure out the Common Core and the IFC includes assessments and tools to teach those skills. A motion was made for the Council to endorse the NYC IFC as the Empire IFC. The ensuing vote in support of this was unanimous.

//Projects of Members// Jody reported that the Palmer School is working with the College of Education, Information and Technology (CEIT) on a new online Master's program titled, Corporate Learning and Development. Sarah reported that the Queens Library will be changing its hours and that there is an opening for the Assistant Coordinator of Teen programs. There will be a new focus on STEM programs and collections. Sally reported that Forest Hills High School had received a $750,000 grant to upgrade the library. Jennifer reported that Park Slope has finally re-opened. There will be a meeting October 25th on online safety for teens, including cyberbullying, sexting, and online threats. Other programs include a costume party on October 29th, Urban Word presentations on the first Monday of each month, free SAT practice testing and high school admissions. Brooklyn Public Library is also looking at STEM grants. Julia reported that NYPL has had many changes including another re-organization. They are looking to hire a new programming director and director of Teaching and Learning. Programs will be aligned with the Common Core to support the school curriculum and they will be happy to host the Spring Exploratorium. Arlene reported on the Library Reach grant which will provide up to $10,000 to upgrade 15 school libraries. The funding may be spent on furniture, books and automation. The deadline is October 31st. The Family Reading/Target grant deadline is November 23rd. This grant will funds 50 schools and will focus on reading for pleasure. In an effort to connect with school libraries, The Fund for Public Schools will donate a box of books to any school that collaborates with the public library. Linda Cooper reported that Queens College provides certification for teachers who want to become librarians and librarians who need education credits. Teacher certification is changing to include performance assessments, which will apply to librarians as well. SLS documents are used as texts in coursework and students write grants as part of their coursework. Two students received Reach grants as a result. Queens College students continue to need sites for internships and fieldwork. Sister Margaret reported that the Diocese has provided mini-grants of $1,500 - $3,000 through the Altman Foundation. These involve workshops and sharing days. Lauren reported that all students in grades 8-12 received iPads. The lower and middle schools are now looking at electronic content. Robert Farrell reported that CUNY and the DOE are working on the high school to college transition. He will present at the fall conference on promoting reading and writing skills through collaboration with teachers and librarians. CUNY is developing its own information literacy standards for graduates in the academic, workplace and everyday landscapes. The meeting was adjourned at 3PM.

Next meeting: Thursday, December 6th at the Brooklyn Public Library Respectfully submitted by Christine Hatami