February 2004

Georgia Calculates Ways to Up Math IQ

Elementary school students will see concepts such as making change and multiplication earlier. Middle-schoolers will cover more new material and do less review. And high school math classes that cover a single subject, such as geometry, are going the way of the chalkboard. Instead, high school students would take Math 1-4 and cover the different branches of mathematics each year — much as the subject is taught in Japan.

In this article, middle school teachers complain they spend too much time reviewing concepts students should know. As a former third grade teacher, it is very hard to fit two social studies curricula (state history and US history), math, reading (with spelling, writing, etc.), health, science, and special area into one day. As a librarian, I try to pull the math teachers in and purchase materials that will help them and their students. How can librarians impact math classes?

Read the entire article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

February 28, 2004 by rudimyers Libraries School Libraries

Tell Tale Weekly: Cheap, DRM Free, Audio Books

Telltale Weekly is a spiffy site offering DRM-free audiobooks for under a dollar.
New unabridged audiobooks are released every Friday in MP3 and Ogg Vorbis formats. The site uses the Bitpass micropayment solution to offer recordings for as little as 25 cents.

Many of the current and future recordings offered by Telltale Weekly are of performances of texts in the public domain

[Via Mefi]

February 28, 2004 by Blake Books

Driving Privileges

Ritchie talked with a group of Carver Junior High School ninth-graders about his recently proposed legislation to tie school work to kids’ right to drive.
The bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Glenn Reese, D-Boiling Springs, would take away the driver’s licenses of students under 18 who miss 10 or more days of school without a proper excuse. Students who fail courses that count toward a diploma would also lose the right to drive.

You need to register to see the whole article, but registration is free. This was reported in the Spartanburg Herald Journal on February 24th. Driving Privileges

February 28, 2004 by rudimyers School Libraries

A filter worth the wait

conservator writes “An
editorial in yesterday’s Fort Wayne Journal Gazette expressed satisfaction at improvements in filtering technology. The library board for the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, IN voted unanimously to install filters on library public workstations three weeks after a child molester was arrested for accessing child pornography on library public computer.”

February 28, 2004 by Blake Libraries Web Filters

Librarians check it out: New chapter in an action figure’s success story

Since opening Wednesday night, the bookstore set up for the conference at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center has sold as many Nancy Pearl librarian action figures as it has posters of actor Orlando Bloom, looking hunky above the word “READ.” The store’s staff expects to sell out of its 180 dolls by tonight.

The Seattle Times looks at Nancy Pearl, her Action Figure, and the PLA.

A Different Article looks at The PLA.

February 27, 2004 by Blake Librarians Libraries

Wooden shoes banned, but guns OK

The Grand Rapids Press reports that Library board members in Holland MI voted allow patrons to carry concealed weapons (and a permit) while at the same time reaffirming its policy to have patrons “remove their wooden shoes when entering the library because the shoes snag the rugs and leave wooden slivers.”

February 27, 2004 by Senny Libraries

Librarians coming to aid of juvenile home

Search Engine Optimization guy writes ”
Here’s One from North Liberty, Iowa, on some area librarians who are joining forces to help upgrade the Iowa Juvenile Home in Toledo.

The juvenile home is a state training school for delinquent girls and houses boys and girls who have been removed from their home by court order
and has been without a librarian for six years and has little technology because of state budget cuts. But thanks to a Roy J. Carver Grant of about $14,000, staff will be able to renovate the school library, said Bob Eppler, superintendent of the training school. The change will provide a stable environment for about 90 students, he said.
“

February 27, 2004 by Blake Librarians Libraries School Libraries

Behind the rise in Google lies the rise in internet credibility

The New York Times (free registration required) offers us another article about Google, this time reflecting on how Google’s evolution is tied to our evolving views of the Internet as a legitimate and useful source of information.

February 27, 2004 by Samantha Google Internet

Library levy campaign looking for ‘Net’ gain

Bob Cox writes points us to The Dayton, OH, Daily News and a story on
This eBay Item
What started out as a joke that got a few laughs during a library staff meeting has become one of the more innovative fund-raising attempts tried in the state.

Library Director Timothy Kambitsch has posted on eBay an offer for the last of 4,000 Dayton Metro Library yard signs. He set the opening bid price at $25,000. With 197 hits but no bids by late Wednesday, he lowered the minimum bid to $100 and extended the deadline to 5:42 p.m. Monday.

Current bid is $112.

February 27, 2004 by Blake Librarians Libraries

WORKSHOP: The Beginners Guide to Weblogs and RSS

hope writes “Steven Cohen will be teaching an online workshop about Weblogs and RSS.

Workshop Description:
This hands-on training will explore a few of the numerous software tools that are currently being used to both publish to weblogs as well as read content via RSS. During this online workshop, the attendees will have the opportunity to post/publish to a weblog, explore the features available with the software, as well as examine content via a news aggregator. A introductory discussion of weblogs and RSS will be undertaken before participants dive into the training. If you have ever thought about creating your own weblog or utilizing an aggregator to read news but have been a bit skeptical then this training session is for you. This workshop will be a hands-on exploration of the use of weblogs and RSS primarily for professional goals. While, anyone is welcome to attend, the workshop will be taught in the context of how this can benefit the information professional and librarian. Please come with your enthusiasm, ideas, and questions. Because the workshop is online, participants can work for any Internet ready computer.

To learn more about the workshop:
learningtimes.net“

That’s Steven M. Cohen.

February 27, 2004 by Blake Internet Libraries