ESU hosts school librarians at Summer Institute

School librarians from Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and La Paz, Bolivia turned out June 11 - 12 for the annual Kansas Summer Institute for School Librarians held at Emporia State University’s Jones Institute for Educational Excellence, Visser Hall.

Research conducted in the U.S. and Canada during the past five years demonstrates that reading enjoyment is strongly and positively linked to student achievement. The school library, long regarded as the cornerstone of school community, is critical to the learning experience and student academic achievement. Research reveals a positive relationship between professionally staffed school libraries and student achievement.

Toni Buzzeo, guest instructor for the Kansas Summer Institute for School Librarians.

Special guest instructor, Toni Buzzeo, an author and school librarian from Buxton, Maine and winner of the 2000 Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Award for her book, “The Sea Chest,” insisted that literacy is center stage in American schools, American media, and American homes.

“Collaboration and information literacy have remained central to the instructional work of school librarianship,” Buzzeo said, presenting standards-based reading, writing, social studies, and science connections to her children’s books.

Jane Kurtz, author of 25 books for young readers, grew up in Maji, Ethiopia. Kurtz’s book “Saba: Under the Hyena’s Foot,” won The 2004 Children’s African Book Award. Another book by Kurtz, “River Friendly, River Wild,” received the 2001 Golden Kite Award in the picture book text category.

Kurtz’s presentation on the second day of the Institute unlocked the mystery of how authors come up with interesting ideas, hunt for vivid details, use words with sparkle and pizzazz, craft sentences and paragraphs that have pleasing rhythms, organize in clear and compelling ways, find their writing personality and revise for big and little changes.

Integrating technology into instruction was also taught by Kansas school librarians Linda Culver, Prairie Trail Middle School, Olathe; Lori Franklin, Olathe East High School; Jessica Karns, Holton Elementary School; and Abby Neiburger, Blue Valley North High School, Overland Park. Carmaine Ternes, School Librarian, Emporia High School, hosted an evening session, “Electronic Gaming and Information Literacy Skills.”

“The attendees were there to learn,” said Mirah Dow, Institute coordinator and assistant professor in ESU’s School of Library and Information Management. “Kansas is one of a few states with tough licensure requirements that mandate a teaching license, classroom teaching experience, and a master’s degree for school librarians. In addition, Kansas school library media specialists complete a two-year, supervised post-graduate internship in which they provide evidence that they meet state standards for school librarians. Why? Because we want to ensure that potential school librarians are equipped with specific knowledge, skills, and dispositions — not just a transcript with a list of required courses.”  

The Summer Institute for School Library Media Specialists is an annual event sponsored by the Kansas State Department of Education, School of Library and Information Management, State Library of Kansas, and the Kansas Association of School Librarians. The purpose of the institute is to provide current, best practice information related to school libraries, resources and information literacy instruction.

For more information about the Summer Institute and library education in Kansas, visit http://slim.emporia.edu.

Last Updated June 27, 2008>