2013 NEWBERY AWARD

The 2013 Newbery Medal winner

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

Ivan’s transformative emergence from the “Ape at Exit 8” to “The One and Only Ivan, Mighty Silverback,” comes to life through the gorilla’s own distinct narrative voice, which is filled with wry humor, deep emotion and thought-provoking insights into the nature of friendship, hope and humanity.

The Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. Susannah Richards of Eastern Connecticut State University was a member of the 2013 Newbery Medal Committee.

Source: Assocation for Library Service to Children accessed January 29, 2013

2013 CALDECOTT MEDAL WINNER

The 2013 Caldecott Medal winner Announced January 28

This Is Not My Hat, written and illustrated by Jon Klassen

In this darkly humorous tale, a tiny fish knows it’s wrong to steal a hat. It fits him just right. But the big fish wants his hat back. Klassen’s controlled palette, opposing narratives and subtle cues compel readers to follow the fish and imagine the consequence.

The Caldecott Medal  is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.
Kiera Parrott of the Darien Library was a member of the 2013 Caldecott Medal Committee.

Source: Association for Library Service to Children accessed January 29, 2013.

Resource Highlight: CQ Researcher

CQ Researcher plus Archive


Goodwin students recommend this resource!

CQ Researcher Reports are published in print and online 44 times a year by CQ Press, an imprint of SAGE Publications. Each single-themed, 12,000-word report is researched and written by a seasoned journalist. Each report  provides researchers with an introductory overview, which includes three pro-con debates; a background and chronology on the topic; an assessment of the current situation; tables and maps; a pro/con debate by representatives of opposing positions; and bibliographies of key sources.

CQ Press began digitized CQ Researcher's archive of more than 3,000 Reports published between 1923 and 1990 in order to offer the entire Researcher collection online. Archive content adds a new historical dimension to the CQ Researcher site, extending its coverage beyond politics and current events to the fields of history, sociology, cultural studies, and other social sciences.

The CQ Researcher Plus Archive reports for January:

January 4   Plagiarusm and Cheating
January 11 Peace Corps Challenges
January 18 Future of Public Universities
January 25 Report topic: Social Media Explosion





















Each single-themed, 12,000-word report is researched and written by a seasoned journalist. The consistent, reader-friendly organization provides researchers with an introductory overview, which includes three pro-con debates; a background and chronology on the topic; an assessment of the current situation; tables and maps; a pro/con debate by representatives of opposing positions; and bibliographies of key sources.

Libraries and Inspiration Architecture

"A library is an act of inspiration architecture. It lifts us up, not only by enabling our search for the truth, but also by serving as a symbol of past accomplishment and future potential. It reminds us that the path to discovery isn't always, or even usually, a straight line. It invites us, in the interplay between physical and digital, to explore strange connections between intellect and emotion, wisdom and knowledge, mind and body.

A library, like a national park, teaches us that we all benefit when our most valuable treasures are held in common. In the wonderful and wacky intertwingularity of information and architecture, it inspires us to better ourselves. If only we'd put it all together, back then, when we had the chance."

Quoted from "Inspiration Architecture: Future of Libraries" by Peter Morville, an article adapted from a chapter he wrote for a book called Library 2020. The entire article is on the library blog today.

Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Legacy of Service

Constitution Hall Pass: 
"Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Legacy of Service" 

Webcast Air Date: January 17-21, 2013

Live Chat: January 17, 18, and 21, 7 a.m. - 6 p.m. EST

It's free to view and participate - all you need is an Internet connection. Click here to tune in! 

In this powerful episode of the hit webcast series, learn about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s legacy as we explore how his use of nonviolence was not just a political tool but a way to demonstrate service to others. Discover some of the activists who were influenced by Dr. King, and reflect on ways you can serve your community.

HFL Inter-System Initiative

The Hoffman Family Library (HFL) loans and borrows from libraries outside of Connecticut with the Inter-System Sharing Initiative.

Inter-System Sharing Initiative (shortened to ISSI and pronounced ‘izzy’) is an initiative from Auto-Graphics, the company that provides Connecticut with the software for the reQuest catalog. ISSI facilitates lending and borrowing of material between different statewide or consortial systems that use AGent Resource Sharing.

ISSI Participants:
ISSI is available to all libraries in Connecticut that use reQuest ILL and is offered at no extra charge. Libraries participating in ISSI  lend and borrow from more than 95 libraries in New Jersey, Wisconsin, and Kansas, as well as from a governmental library in Alberta, Canada.

The Hoffman Family Library is one of 19 libraries in Connecticut participate in ISSI.

Hearing Everyone's Voice: New Book for the Library

Hearing Everyone's Voice: Educating Young Children for Peace and Democratic Community


Children recognize conflict, injustice, and bias; but they need to be taught how to sort out their concerns and take action to bring about fairness for all. In Hearing Everyone's Voice, teachers and parents and children share stories of their struggles to build a democratic community by learning the many ways there are to hear each other given differences in age, ethnicity, gender, culture, and economic background. The is the perfect guidebook for integrating peace education, anti-bias perspective, and democratic practice into your curriculum.

Source: I found it on Childcare Exchange.

Reduced Glare in Library

During the semester break, a film was applied to all of the windows facing the Connecticut River that reduces the afternoon glare from the sun by 60% or more without damaging the view. Students and other users have commented on how very much they appreciate the change.

Major Changes in Remedial Education

National groups call for major changes in remedial education. Remedial courses meant to get underprepared students ready for college-level work are often not an on-ramp but a dead end, leaders of four national higher-education groups said on Wednesday, recommending sweeping changes in how such students are brought up to speed.


 Students required to take a sequence of remedial, or developmental, courses before they can sign up for credit-bearing ones often get discouraged and drop out, and many would be better off in gateway courses, with extra support built in, according to the groups' report, "Core Principles for Transforming Remedial Education: A Joint Statement."

The report—by Complete College America, the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin, the Education Commission of the States, and Jobs for the Future—is based on studies by the Community College Research Center at Columbia University's Teachers College and other organizations that have concluded that the nation's remedial-education system is broken.More developmental students should be placed directly into full-credit college courses, the report recommends, accompanied by services such as mandatory tutoring and facilitated computer labs.

Source: Start of article by Katherine Mangan in The Chronicle of Higher Education  December 21, 2012

Picture of the Week

2012 AUDUBON MAGAZINE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

Grand Prize Winner

This male northern flicker was the perfect subject for Alice Cahill, a docent at the state park where the bird took up residence. Sitting in front of the tree for hours, 64-year-old Cahill—who started photographing birds only this year—steadied her camera when she saw the male peek out. Putting it on rapid fire, she captured its salmon-colored wings mid-flight. “It was extremely exciting to observe these birds,” she says. I always have a northern flicker on my deck when we have heavy snowfalls and only then.