February 1st NewsFlash!

Did You Know…?

February is  “I Love to Read Month!”    - Talk to your district liaison, if you haven’t heard about this.  Each district was given a few hundred bookmarks for Overdrive.  This is our digital reading initiative.

February 6th is Digital Learning Day! – If you have nothing planned, pull out those bookmarks for February 6th! – Let me know if you need more.   If someone asks you what your plan is, say we are promoting Overdrive that day and give them a bookmark J

The POST STAR  and the SARATOGIAN – both have agreed to print articles on Overdrive and our I LOVE TO READ  initiative!    The Post Star reporter called this morning.  I asked her to apprise me of when the article will run.  A few librarians were interviewed for the article.  So, if you see it, let everyone know.  She said it would be a “secondary” story  (that means not front page…).

Study the diagram below.  It is from PARCC (parent assessment organization of the CCSS).  The importance of this picture is it is a visual representation of what they EXPECT  instruction to look like which is aligned with the CCSS.  So, if you are not seeing teachers come into the library for research projects, there is a disconnect.   This is not coming from me.  You can find this fully explained at this link: http://www.parcconline.org/parcc-model-content-frameworks     It is entitled, “Model Content Frameworks.”      (They have a diagram like this for every level.)   We still have some of the little postcards available, if you like – ‘Information Investigation Invitation’

We have about a dozen people attending SSL in Rochester, in April.   It is our intention to share the knowledge and tips on the listserv with everyone!

News from Overdrive: Dear School Partner, I am pleased to report that your school’s OverDrive-powered website will be updated with a few new features as part of OverDrive’s Next Generation School Library platform on Tuesday, February 5. These new features will simplify the user experience for your students, staff members, administrators, and community. Please review the following important information prior to launch. 1.     OverDrive Read: We are extending your eBooks to new devices with the introduction of OverDrive Read. In addition to all of the current apps, eReaders, and other options your students will continue to enjoy, this new browser-based reading option allows users to read many eBooks immediately without installing any apps or Adobe activation. Students will be given the option of reading in their browser, when available, with the simple click of a button after checking out a title. More information. Please note: Users of Internet Explorer 7, 8, or 9 will be prompted one time to install a Google Chrome Frame Plugin. The plugin is free and only takes a few seconds to install. 2.     One-Step Checkout With “One-Step Checkout,” students will simply click on a title and choose to add to their Locker, where they can immediately begin enjoying the title. 3.     Updated Help page: An updated Help page will be implemented to assist users with the new process. 4.     Accessibility improvements We are confident that your school and users will greatly appreciate the ease of use of these updates. Thanks, Karen Jakubczak, Account Specialist