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SLS News and Announcements

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NEW DATES News-O-Matic and Kids Discover Webinars

11/06/2025
Kerrie Burch
No Subjects

Please share with your teachers. These resources are provided to your school for free by the SLS.

 

News-O-Matic Introduction

 

In this virtual session for all educators in the WSWHE BOCES region, dive into the world of News-O-Matic and discover how to bring real-world news and literacy into your classroom with ease. This hands-on session will guide teachers through the platform's key features, including interactive articles, multimedia resources, polls, and customizable assignments. Learn practical strategies to integrate News-O-Matic into daily lessons, differentiate for diverse learners, and engage students with current events in meaningful ways. Walk away with ready-to-use ideas, tips for implementation, and confidence to make News-O-Matic a seamless part of your teaching toolkit.

December 10, 2025 at 10:00 am

OR

December 10, 2025 at 2:00 pm

 

Kids Discover Online Helps Nonfiction Come to Life

 

In this webinar designed for all educators, explore how Kids Discover Online helps teachers spark curiosity in Science and Social Studies. In this session we will showcase how our K1/48 digital library makes complex concepts accessible through vivid visuals, interactive features, and reading materials that support standards-aligned instruction.

December 17, 2025 at 12:00 pm

No Subjects
flyer for pd

Strengthening Our Core

11/19/2025
profile-icon Kerrie Burch

Strengthening Our Core: School Library Values in Practice

  • Learn directly from ALA President Sam Helmick and keynote speaker K C Boyd who will spark new energy for your practice.
  • Explore each ALA Core Value through short, powerful presentations with immediate table time to apply ideas.
  • Gain practical strategies for access, equity, intellectual freedom, public good, and sustainability from expert presenters across New York.
  • Leave with actionable short term and long term goals that strengthen your program and support your school community.

Register: https://www.mylearningplan.com/WebReg/ActivityProfile.asp?D=18589&I=5210552

 

No Subjects

Middle School Poster Contest

11/12/2025

Please share widely. 

DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton and the New York Water Environment Association (NYWEA) have announced the theme for the annual water conservation poster contest for middle school students: "Water Connects Us All.” The 2026 poster theme challenges middle school students to learn about their role in the watershed where they live and the positive actions they can take to conserve, protect, and celebrate our water resources.

Fourteen winners will have the honor of having their artwork in a 2027 calendar distributed across New York State. The deadline for submitting posters is January 2, 2026. Find more information on DEC's Water Connects Us All Poster Contest webpage.

No Subjects

Easy-to-read spreadsheet of offerings in NY Reads and PLConnect

11/07/2025
profile-icon Karin Howansky

Hi everyone! Karin created a 3-tab spreadsheet of our Sora add-on collections. This makes it easier for educators to see what's in NY Reads and PLConnect, as well as to see format and quantity levels. Feel free to share this link widely. You can also download your own copy to sort it any way you like, and share it with teachers and administrators in your school. 

Each title has an icon next to it to indicate if it's an ebook or an audiobook, so it's easy to tell at a glance. I also highlighted rows as green if they are available for large groups, or purple if they tend to be one copy/one user. 

  • Tab 1: Main NY Reads collection, sorted alphabetically. These titles are all “simultaneous access”, which means they're perfect for large groups. These are available all the time, with no worries about holds or waiting times.
  • Tab 2: NY Reads LOTE collection. This is a great place to look for titles in other languages. Some titles, like 1984, are available in multiple languages. These titles are not simultaneous access, so it's possible in some instances that a student would have to place a hold on a title not currently available.
  • Tab 3: PLConnect. This is a collection of professional materials. Karin sorted these so that the titles with the most copies are listed first.

Questions about NY Reads or PLConnect? Email libraryservices@wswheboces.org. 

 

No Subjects

Communities of Practice Monthly Meetings

10/31/2025

This is an offering to all librarians in the four regional BOCES.


 

Purpose: To establish a community of learning librarians who are committed to improving their teaching practices by providing a forum to share successful, standards-aligned lessons, projects, and units. Work will be grounded in the Empire State Information Fluency Continuum, as well as the NYS Portrait of a Graduate and other relevant standards as appropriate. Participants will share practical, real-world lessons, projects, and experiences in a safe, responsive, and collaborative environment. All materials will be organized and shared in a way that benefits the participants. A secondary purpose is to share strategies for advocacy for the school library program through effective and engaging teaching and communication.

 

Audience: School Librarians at any stage of their career, and teachers assigned to the library are welcome. We encourage both new and experienced school librarians to participate in order to promote a depth of knowledge and build on experience. Elementary and secondary school librarians are welcome. We will adapt our meetings and material organization as necessary to meet the needs of participants.


Meetings: To start, meetings will be held monthly after school. We can adjust the timing as necessary, and as interested participants allow.


Time: 3:00 - 4:30

Dates: 11/03, 12/01, 1/12, 2/9, 3/9, 4/20, 5/18, 6/8 (celebration!)

Register: https://www.mylearningplan.com/WebReg/ActivityProfile.asp?I=5180799&D=13606

No Subjects

News-O-Matic and Kids Discover Webinars

10/29/2025
profile-icon Kerrie Burch

Please share widely.

 

News-O-Matic Introduction

 

In this virtual session for all educators in the WSWHE BOCES region, dive into the world of News-O-Matic and discover how to bring real-world news and literacy into your classroom with ease. This hands-on session will guide teachers through the platform's key features, including interactive articles, multimedia resources, polls, and customizable assignments. Learn practical strategies to integrate News-O-Matic into daily lessons, differentiate for diverse learners, and engage students with current events in meaningful ways. Walk away with ready-to-use ideas, tips for implementation, and confidence to make News-O-Matic a seamless part of your teaching toolkit.

November 12th at 10:00 am

OR

November 13th at 2:00 pm

 

Kids Discover: November 18, 2025 at 12:00 pm

Registration information will be added once it is ready.

No Subjects
organizing email image

Organizing Email: Clear the Clutter, Stay in Control

10/24/2025
profile-icon Kerrie Burch

Organizing Email: Clear the Clutter, Stay in Control

Tired of inbox overload? In this webinar, you’ll learn quick, practical strategies to organize email, set up filters, reduce clutter, and find messages fast. These tips will help you cut through the noise, boost productivity, and keep your inbox working for you.

Date: November 5th

Time: 3:00 pm

Register

**This is a webinar offered through Tech Talk which is provided by CDLC.  It is available to school librarians in the WSWHE BOCES region only.**  

No Subjects

Employment Opportunity - Corinth CSD

10/21/2025
profile-icon Kerrie Burch
Job Description:

Corinth Central School District is seeking a District-Wide Library Media Specialist to provide leadership and support for our school library programs across all grade levels (UPK-12). The successful candidate will oversee district-wide library operations, collaborate with teachers to integrate information literacy and technology into the curriculum, and promote a culture of reading and lifelong learning. 

 

Responsibilities

  • Resource Management: Oversee the selection, acquisition, organization, and maintenance of a diverse and current collection of print and digital materials for all district schools. 

  • Collaboration: Work with building-level staff and administrators to promote library programs and provide support for student and staff needs. 

  • Instruction:  Prepare and deliver engaging and relevant lessons to students at a variety of levels.

  • Reading Promotion: Implement and support district-wide reading incentive programs and promote a love of reading for pleasure and information. 

    Qualifications

  • Licensure: Valid state teaching license with an endorsement for Library Media Specialist and the appropriate grade levels. 

Apply by November 3rd: https://olasjobs.org/job-details/CRNN0360663-7020 

No Subjects

Critical Data Storytelling for Libraries

10/21/2025
profile-icon Kerrie Burch

Critical Data Storytelling for Libraries

Wednesday, November 19, 2025 | 10:00 am - 11:00 am

How can libraries use data stories to build support and resilience? Drawing on her forthcoming book and the IMLS Data Storytelling Toolkit, Dr. Kate McDowell shares ethical, impactful approaches for crafting compelling narratives. Learn to reach diverse audiences, leverage powerful story structures, and build resilience in the face of funding cuts and censorship. This session supports library workers in any role in telling the stories of why libraries and other public information institutions matter.

Our Speaker...

Dr. Kate McDowell’s interdisciplinary work examines how storytelling plays a vital role in humanizing data analysis and communication. She focuses on storytelling as information research and how the history of library storytelling informs data storytelling. Her article “Storytelling Wisdom: Story, information, and DIKW” theorizes storytelling as a fundamental information form. She leads the Data Storytelling Toolkit for Librarians project to equip libraries with narrative tools for data-informed advocacy, which has been used by over 5,000 librarians in over 50 countries so far. As of 2024, she had delivered over a dozen keynotes on her work to nonprofit organizations nationally and internationally, and many more informal talks for state and regional organizations. She won the ASIS&T Outstanding Information Science Teacher Award in 2022, and her new book is Critical Data Storytelling for Libraries: Crafting Ethical Narratives for Advocacy and Impact.  

 

Register Now for Using Data for Building and Presenting Academic Library Value

Additional Information

Free for ESLN members. Registration is required. This webinar will be recorded.

 

This session is sponsored by the Empire State Library Network. If you have any questions, contact Kathleen Gundrum at kgundrum@cdlc.org

Register: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pWNs6Z3aRSKBeS7N0NaLpw#/registration

No Subjects

NYS Three Apples Book Award

10/15/2025
profile-icon Kerrie Burch

Dear School Librarians, 

The nomination window for the New York State 3 Apples Book Award is open now through October 31st, and we need your help encouraging students to participate!

The 3 Apples Book Award celebrates books chosen by students, for students. This is a wonderful opportunity for your young readers to:

  • Have their voices heard in selecting quality literature
  • Engage with books that resonate with their peers
  • Participate in a statewide reading community

How You Can Help:

  • Promote the award during library classes and visits
  • Display eligible titles prominently in your library
  • Share information about the nomination process with teachers
  • Encourage students to read and nominate their favorite eligible books
  • Post reminders about the October 31st deadline

Quick Tip for Gathering Nominations: Many librarians have found great success using this simple strategy: Print a list of your library's top 10 most circulated eligible titles and distribute it to students. Have them circle their favorite book as their nomination, or write in a different title at the bottom if their favorite isn't listed. This low-barrier approach makes it easy for students to participate and typically generates strong nomination numbers!

Time is running short! With less than three weeks until the deadline, now is the perfect time to generate excitement and ensure your students' voices are included.

For more information about eligible titles, nomination procedures, and promotional materials, please visit the 3 Apples Book Award webpage

Thank you for empowering your students to be active participants in celebrating great literature. Their nominations truly matter!

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Important Update About ILLs

10/09/2025
profile-icon Karin Howansky
Hi folks! We're noticing some trends in how the ILL system is behaving when requesting multiple copies, and we're coming up with solutions of how best to navigate them. Please read the info in this document and print it for safekeeping, because it directly affects how you request your ILLs. 
 
And yes, we're working with TLC to continue improving ILLs. Remember, TLC created this just for us, and it's still a work in progress. Most of us don't remember or don't know how our previous system went through growing pains as it evolved over time, too.
 
Oh, and by the way, if you don't already keep some kind of log of your ILLs, please start one. (I do!) Trust me, it will help you save your sanity. And we do periodically ask for stat counts to report to the state.
Template for keeping track of ILLs (make a copy and use this however you wish)
 
Good news: There are aspects of the ILL system that work more closely to our previous union catalog, than we previously realized. 
Bad news: We are learning that requesting multiple copies requires changing a couple of things in our workflow to make it more successful.
Good news: TLC wants to continue to make it better. They really, truly listen to us and work with us to grow and learn. 
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