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GBE Workshop Report

On Thursday, August 22nd, close to 70 SCASL members participated in a first-of-its-kind GBE workshop to help take the “scary” out of writing an annual professional goal. Even for seasoned librarians, creating a GBE can often cause more stress than necessary when trying to create a viable goal or turning an idea into something actionable. This stress is often compounded for our librarians who work in very small school districts, those who are brand new to the profession, or those without a strong local library support system. There were tons of great ideas presented and questions asked, and I thoroughly enjoyed the camaraderie and brainstorming of all the participants from around the state. I think one of the most important take-aways from the workshop is something Christy James shared - beyond making sure your goal is a SMART goal that ties to student achievement - be sure your goal is something you feel passionately about because you are going to have to sit with it, revisit it, and work on it all year. Hopefully for participants, the workshop served as another way for people to see the value of being part of our state organization - a reminder that we are all in the same boat; we know what you’re going through; and collectively, our ideas, advice, and experience can serve as a benefit to ourselves and others. For SCASL members, look for some successful past GBE’s as well as links to other helpful GBE resources under the “Professional Development” tab on the SCASL website. If you’d like to contribute an idea (or two) to our growing “database”, we’d love to have them!

Please submit your ideas here.

Meet the new SCASL Board 2024-2025

On July 10, 2024, the new SCASL Board met for our annual Summer Retreat. This is a time for the board to meet each other and make plans for the upcoming school year. 

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SCDE ADEPT Information from #SCASL21

SCDE presented information at #SCASL21 about the updated ADEPT model that is being piloted in 20-21 and will be fully implemented in 21-22.  Please see this recording of the presentation.

IMLS Grant for Guided Inquiry Design

Dr. Lucy Santos Green at USC's iSchool has a great opportunity for SC school librarians to learn more about Guided Inquiry Design and be part of an exciting ILMS grant!   
Inquiry-based collaborations between school librarians and classroom teachers have gained momentum in K-12 education. But what type of time and support do teachers need? And how critical are librarians to their success? The Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded Dr. Green a $376,000 grant to explore these questions. Her findings could boost support for librarians to work side-by-side with classroom teachers and potentially prevent school librarian jobs from being cut.
See the link for more details about the grant and how you can be involved! 

COVID 19 Resources

Please see our new section with information about COVID 19 Resources for libraries. This is found in the Quick Links on the right side of the SCASL homepage. Please let Christy James ([email protected]) know if you have suggestions for additional resources to add.

SCASL Statement of Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

Please see the attached official statement about SCASL's commitment to diversity and inclusion on 6/14/20/. This statement has also been released on the SCASL listserv and on social media. #WeAreSCASL

 

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Donations for North Central High School Library in Kershaw County

Please help support the efforts to provide books and materials for the North Central High School library that was destroyed when a tornado hit Kershaw County this past weekend.  Julie Putnam, Media Services Coordinator for Kershaw County School District communicated the following to our SCASL President, Pam Williams, "We now have a plan in place.  We would greatly appreciate financial donations at this time.  Bambi Ferrer, the librarian, has developed a creative "mobile" library solution.  We anticipate that the NCHS library will be in a small space for the next 18 months in a facility with 3 separate buildings, so she is working on a solution that combines eBooks and rolling carts with newly purchased books for her collection."

Financial donations for North Central High School can be mailed or dropped off at the District Office as follows:
 
Kershaw County School District
Attn: Julie Putnam, Media Services Coordinator
2029 West DeKalb Street
Camden, SC 29020
 
Memo: For North Central High School Library

SCASL President Response to Media Literacy Legislation Proposal

Please see the response from SCASL President Pam Williams about the proposed Media Literacy Legislation.  Read the full letter here: SCASL President Response.pdf

School Librarian Advocacy Tool Kit

Check out the new School Library Advocacy Tool Kit on the SCASL website.  It can be found under the Advocacy tab and in the Quick Links section on the homepage.  This is a living resource that will continue to grow.  Click on the names or images of resources and be instantly connected to information that will help you advocate for your library and profession.  If you have suggestions for additional resources, please let Tamara Cox know.

See the Tool Kit here.   

2020 Regional Workshop Dates Announced

Please see the dates for our 2020 SCASL Regional Workshops

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Speak Up SCASL

This school year is an important year for advocacy because 2020 is an election year. Let's make sure our legislators and community stakeholders know about the work we do and how important we are to our school. Join us this year for the Speak Up SCASL monthly social media campaign. Thank you, Tamara Cox and the Legislative Committee for this framework to share what we do! 

SCASL Awards Presented

On March 8, 2019, SCASL honored several Professional Awards to noteworthy candidates including the Librarian of the Year, Outstanding Program of the Year and two collegiate scholarships. Click here to learn more about the recipients and general information about the SCASL awards & scholarships. 

Twibbons for SCASL 19 Annual Conference

We are so excited to have Twibbons for all our supporters to add to their Twitter or Facebook profile pictures as we get closer to the SCASL Annual Conference.  Please see the quick screencast directions for adding the Twibbon to either (or both!) of your social media accounts.  
Twibbon link-- for both Twitter and Facebook- https://twibbon.com/support/2019-scasl-conference-- please share this! 

Proposed ByLaw Changes

During our 44th Annual Conference General Business Meeting for Membership, there are 5 ByLaw changes being proposed. Here are those bylaw proposed changes: 

2019 SCASL Annual Business Meeting
Proposed ByLaw Changes
March 8, 2019
 


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2018 State LMS Survey Results

The results of the 2017-2018 State LMS Survey have been compiled into this single report providing an overview of the state of our South Carolina school libraries.  These results can also be found on the main menu of the SCASL website. 

 

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The 2019-20 SC Book Award Committee Application is open!

The 2019-20 SC Book Award Committee Application is open!


https://goo.gl/forms/AZzp7TzwXeHFK87k1

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2019 Regional Workshops

Regional Workshops

Topics have now been announced!
Register  for your regional workshop today before they fill up!

 

Emerging Leaders

Emerging Leaders

The South Carolina Association of School Librarians (SCASL) is offering a special professional development opportunity for school librarians who have been in the field for five years or less. This year long program will begin with an introductory session at the 2019 SCASL conference and will conclude with the pre-conference held at the 2020 SCASL conference in March. You will have an opportunity to meet and collaborate with new and experienced librarians in South Carolina, SCASL Board members, and join networks in your area of the state affiliated with SCASL. You will learn more about being a leader in your school and district. You will also learn what SCASL is, what we do, and how you can be an active part of the organization.

Go to scasl.net/emerging-leaders for more information.

Announcing the 2019 SCASL Slate of Officers

The 2018-2019 SCASL Elections Committee proudly presents the Official 2019 SCASL Slate of Officers up for election at our #SCASL2019 Conference. The Elections Committee accepted nominations through October 29, 2018, and after careful consideration, these are the members who accepted their nomination to be considered for our election procedure at our annual conference. SCASL had many nominations this year for our open positions. A key component of a nomination process is the nominee accepting their nomination. The members of this year's Slate are excited to be a active members of our organization in various future capacities, from Executive Board positions (President-Elect, Secretary) to those charged with accepting and vetting nominations for the 2020 Slate of Officers (Members-at-Large.) Thank you to the many who nominated names. Each nominee who accepted their nominations was vetted and presented to the Board of Directors for approval. With that approval today, we are ready to share the 2019 SCASL Slate of Officers.  

The Elections Committee consisted of myself, Cathy Jo Nelson, Immediate Past President, SCASL Regional Network Director Beth Bryant, and our current SCASL Members-at-Large Team, Laura Jeffers, Tambra Pingle, and Brandy Rollins. We proudly present this Slate to be voted on during the 2019 SCASL Conference Annual Business Meeting scheduled for Friday, March 8, 2019. 
 
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President-Elect Candidate: Dr. Linda Waskow

Linda Waskow has a BS in Elementary Education from The King’s College in New York, a M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education from the University of South Carolina, an MLIS from the University of South Carolina and a Doctorate in Education in Child and Youth Studies and Instructional Technology from Nova Southeastern University in Florida. She s currently the school librarian at Beaufort Elementary School. Linda has served in a variety of roles throughout her 40 years in education from the classroom to professional development.  She will be the first to tell you that she has always wanted to be a school librarian and finally got around to it 10 years ago.  Linda’s experiences in the classroom, love for reading and technology have blended into the skills set for 21st century school librarians – future ready librarians. As SCASL President Elect, Linda’s goals include developing a mentor program for school librarians who are new to the profession and those new to South Carolina as both must undergo the ADEPT for Media Specialists evaluation, and facilitating the growth of future ready librarians in South Carolina.

 


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Coretta Scott King Titles & Innovative Lesson

Are you a school librarian who uses Coretta Scott King (CSK) winning titles in innovative lessons? Are you a public librarian using CSK winning titles for programs or storytimes? Do you have a connection to, a cool story about, or a unique artifact of a CSK award winner? If so, the CSK Technology Committee would like to hear from you. As we count down to our 50th-anniversary celebration in Washington D.C., we would like to feature the many ways our community uses and engages with CSK award-winning books in their libraries.  Our goal is to feature as many CSK Award-winning titles and Honor books on the CSK blog from now until our big celebration. If you would like to write your submission or be interviewed about your work by a member of the technology committee, please contact us at [email protected]. Be sure to include the CSK title that will be highlighted in the post. Additionally, if you have ideas on how we can feature older award-winners, we would love to hear about that, too.