November+8,+2010

NYCSLS Council Council Meeting #2 Date: November 8, 2010 Time: 12:00 - 3:00pm Place: Brooklyn Public Library, Central Library


 * __Members in attendance __**: Kathy Steves, Christine Hatami, Beth St.John, Sally Young, Linda Cuff, Arlene Dominguez, Robert Nelson, Jody Howard, Sarah Hinkle, Beth Pollicino, Andrea Vaughn, Bernadine Lowry-Crute, Marion Stein


 * __Office staff in attendance __**: Melissa Jacobs Israel, Elizabeth Naylor-Gutierez, Lynne Kresta Smith, Barbara Stripling

//Teaching Youth to Think: 21st -Century Research Skills //
 * __Documents at meeting: __**

12:00 - 12:30 Eat and greet 12:30 - 12:45 Announcements and Information 12:45 - 1:00 Plan of Service Revision 1:00 - 2:00 High School - College Transition 2:00 - 2:30 ESL Materials <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">2:30 - 3:00 Projects of Council Members
 * __<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Agenda: __**

//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Announcements and Information // <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Kathy opened the meeting and members introduced themselves.

//<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Fall Conference // <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Melissa reported that the conference, now in its third year, was very successful. There were approximately 700-750 participants and included many non-public school librarians. There were 80+ presenters and over 70 vendors. Joyce Valenza presented an inspiring keynote address that has sparked a lively discussion on the listserv. The revised IFC binder was distributed including assessments and graphic organizers which can be customized for individual needs. All participants will receive a thumb drive with additional resources. Librarians who could not attend the conference will be able to get the binder and the thumb drive, as well. It is also available on the SLS website. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">There were three workshops offered at the conference on the new purchasing system, FLM. Additional training sessions will be available, including online tutorials. This will be for public and non-public school librarians. Once registered, librarians will be able to update specifications and create lists which can be given to the purchasing secretary. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Discussion ensued about the need for tech personnel as more technology is introduced. In many schools, the librarian is the tech person. //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Posting empty position // <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Judith retired as of last Friday but will remain on the payroll until January. The position will be posted in December with interviews in January. The start date will be February 1st. //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Non-Public Schools // <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Barbara reported that communication with non-public schools has always been difficult. She has recently met a person at the DOE who oversees non-public schools, Donna Marto. The large number of non-public participants at the conference can be attributed to the fact that she publicized it among her constituents. 61 non-public school librarians pre-registered and a number were walk-ins. //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Budget for System // <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Barbara reported that SLS has three budgets: <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">1. operating expenses of $1.2 million which is almost all salaries and benefits. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">2. automation expenses of $100,000+ and includes a planned union catalog. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">3. the supplemental budget of $178,000 which is program money not included in the mandate. It comes through family and community funding and is very tenuous at this point. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">SLS currently has 4 support staff. We are required to have a coordinator and support staff for every 200,000 students. 1.3 million students are on record, which means there should be 5.5 coordinators and 5.5 support staff. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">We have been able to use roll-over money from last year and have received the Macy's grant, which has allowed for funded programming. Next year we will have no roll-over funds. If the supplemental funds are cut, there will be no money for programming. //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Plan of Service Revision // <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Kathy stated that the big issues in the Plan of Service will be technology and constituent groups, due to continuing changes in those areas. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">The question before the Council is, should we postpone the Plan for a year until the budget is settled? In order to do so, we need to petition the State. The State has already agreed to accept requests for postponement based on budget concerns. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Discussion ensued about delaying the Plan of Service. Members agreed that it is broad enough to address any new activities, including the Common Core Standards. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">The vote to postpone was put to the Council and approved. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Kathy felt that we should begin work on the Plan in the spring. Barbara stated that the Plan of Service allows us the opportunity for "visioning" the library system; for asking the question, where do we want to be in five years? We need to think about the possibilities. Kathy said that the Plan allows us to "tweak" the details each year. //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">High School to College Transition // <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Barbara began the discussion by asking, what types of skills do our students need for college? There is a huge push from the DOE on college readiness but no discussion about what that is. The Council is planning to form a collaboration with CUNY librarians to build connections between colleges and schools. We will be working closely with Curtis Kendrick, the Director of Library Services at CUNY. We need to think about what outcomes we want. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">One skill our students lack is how to develop a line of argument. We referred to the hand-out, Teaching Youth to Think. This focus could touch on K - 12 skills. We can reach out to CUNY professors and chairs to create a list of skills that freshmen need. Sarah said that we should include the writing centers and the academic librarians. Linda added that our students do not know how to engage in deep reading. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Outcomes <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">1. What should we be emphasizing? Where are the gaps? <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">2. Collecting trends and specific skills needed <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">3. Identify best practices in DOE schools <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">4. Metacognitive skills <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">5. Curriculum timeline, mapping and assessments <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Bernadine stated that the IFC aligns with the Common Core Standards. Barbara added that the dispositions in the Common Core can be addressed by the library. //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">ESL Materials // <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Barbara noted that librarians struggle to find good materials in other languages. We need to collaborate with the public libraries to identify vendors that carry good translations. Andrea said that she would talk with the foreign language materials specialists at the public libraries. This information, once identified, will be posted on the SLS website. //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Projects of Council Members // <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Sarah reported that the Queens Library has purchased a new site that will be an addition to the main branch on Merrick Blvd. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Andrea reported on the YSS program "Libraries in Bloom". There will be stickers distributed to schools to put on report cards to promote the summer reading program. The public libraries would like to further collaboration with schools. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Arlene reported on the Library Reach grants. They have worked on creating partnerships between the public and school libraries through a collaboration package to help the librarians meet each other. 25 schools will participate in the K-3 program. Once the schools commit to the collaboration, they will receive a box of 100 books.