Eleven-year-old Elizabeth Ann Bishop is a library MVP. Bishop earned a trip to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, winning the 2009 Step Up to the Plate @ your library contest by demonstrating her information literacy skills.

In early October, Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith (seen below) drew Bishop’s name as the grand-prize winner. She was randomly selected from eligible contestants across the country and Puerto Rico who correctly answered a series of baseball trivia questions.

As the 2009 winner of Step Up to the Plate @ your library Bishop, a frequent library user from Chambersburg, Pa., traveled with her family to Cooperstown, N.Y. for the Hall of Fame’s 13th Annual World Series Gala on Saturday, Oct. 31. The Gala featured a live broadcast of Game 3 of the 105th World Series, between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies in the Hall of Fame’s Grandstand Theater.

“The best part was watching the game at the Hall of Fame with other fans,” said Bishop, who sported Phillies player Ryan Howard’s jersey for the occasion. “It was like being there.”

Bishop also received a tour of the Baseball Hall of Fame and library.

Each year librarians at the Baseball Hall of Fame work to generate a series of questions for Step Up to the Plate that test library users’ information literacy skills.

Read more about the Bishops’visit in the Chambersburg Public Opinion, Chambersburg’s local newspaper.

Contributed by Megan McFarlane, Coordinator, Campaign for America’s Libraries

Photo courtesy of the Chambersburg Public Opinion

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CHICAGO - Hundreds of libraries of all types across the country and abroad will participate in ALA’s second annual National Gaming Day @ your library this Saturday.

More than 900 libraries have registered for National Gaming Day 2009. Here are a few examples of National Gaming Day activities:

The Pima County (Ariz.) Public Library is inviting teens to show off their Wii skills on National Gaming Day. The Beatles RockBand game is expected to be a huge hit with the entire family. Kids and adults will be belting out their favorite fab four tunes.

The Black River Falls (Wis.) Public Library will celebrate National Gaming Day with special gaming programs for the entire family. Families will be encouraged to play all kinds of board, card and video games.

Anderson (Ind.) Public Library will devote the entire day to gaming activities. In recognition of National Gaming Day, the library will host a nationwide public library Rock Band 2 Tournament (on the Xbox 360) and a Dungeons and Dragons workshop.

Libraries interested in promoting National Gaming Day @ your library 2009 are encouraged to visit the National Gaming Day Web site, at http://ngd.ala.org/. Tools to promote National Gaming Day including press releases, tips and a National Gaming Day toolkit are available on the Web site.

Already participating? Share your library’s story with us, by sending it to atyourlibrary@ala.org.

ALA’s National Gaming Day focuses on the social and recreational side of gaming. Gaming at the library encourages patrons of all ages to interact with diverse peers, share their expertise and develop new strategies for gaming and learning. At the library, kids can socialize with their friends and play board and video games while surrounded by books, librarians and a real world of knowledge.

The popularity of gaming in libraries was shown by the turnout at the second-annual Open Gaming Night, held at this year’s ALA Annual Conference in Chicago. Here is a video with highlights from that event.

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Tom McNamee, editorial page editor of the Chicago Sun-Times, delivers some valuable advice on how to write op-eds in this excerpt from this year’s PR Forum at ALA’s Annual Conference in Chicago.

McNamee in particular emphasizes the importance of telling stories.

An op-ed written by then-ALA President Jim Rettig and Chicago Public Library Commissioner Mary Dempsey appeared in the Sun-Times prior to the Annual Conference.

Contributed by Steve Zalusky, manager of communications, ALA Public Information Office

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The Nov. 6, deadline is approaching for the Scholastic Library Publishing National Library Week grant, but there is still time for you to apply.

U.S. libraries of all types are invited to apply for a $3,000 grant that will be awarded to the best public awareness campaign that promotes the theme “Communities thrive @ your library” during National Library Week (April 11-17, 2010). The 2010 grant application is an electronic form, which can be accessed from the Scholastic Library Publishing National Library Week Web site at www.ala.org/nlwgrant. Guidelines are also available on the Web site.

Also, check out past winners to get ideas:

-2009: Moline Public Library

-2008: The Public Library of Charlotte-Mecklenburg County

-2007: Minoa Elementary School Library

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A group of librarians in Franklin County, Ohio, are reaching out to their communities to address the tough economy.

In September 2009, representatives of the Worthington Public Libraries worked in collaboration with five Franklin County area libraries (Columbus Metropolitan Library, Grandview Heights Public Library, Upper Arlington Public Library (in photo above), Westerville Public Library and Worthington Libraries) to create “Job Help Day @ your library.”

In addition to “Job Help Day @ your library,” each of the five participating libraries have purchased resume writing software and other job search tools, which are available daily in each of the libraries’ job help centers.

On “Job Help Day @ your library,” held on Sept. 24, 2009, all five systems offered a series of job-related workshops. The free programs included one-on-one meetings with resume writing consultants and classes on interview techniques.

“We created programs that worked best for the communities we serve,” said Kristin Shelley, deputy director of the Old Worthington Library.

Over the course of the day libraries helped more than 900 hundred people, with more than 270 visiting the Worthington system. Governmental and non-profit agencies donating their services to the libraries included Central Ohio Workforce Investment Corporation (COWIC), Jewish Family Services and Ohio State University’s Career Exploration Office.

Each library promoted its programs in such local newspapers as the Columbus Dispatch and on area television stations.

Feedback from the public was extremely positive. Many library users asked when the libraries will be offering the program again. The five original libraries, along with two new ones, are currently planning on hosting another “Job Help Day” in February.

Here is an article by by Ruth McNeil, community relations manager – Upper Arlington Public Library, on Job Help Day @ your library.

The Campaign for America’s Libraries, ALA’s public awareness campaign that promotes the value of libraries and librarians. Thousands of libraries of all types – across the country and around the globe - use the Campaign’s @ your library® brand. The Campaign is made possible by ALA’s Library Champions, corporations and foundations that advocate the importance of the library in American society.

Libraries looking to promote their services during the economic downturn are encouraged to check out American Library Association’s (ALA) Tough Economy toolkit. The toolkit is available through ALA’s Office for Library Advocacy.

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CHICAGO - More than 4,000 libraries across the United States celebrated Teen Read Week, Oct. 18-24, with teens crowding libraries for author visits, movie marathons, craft programs and book discussions. In addition, leaders from the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) took to the nation’s airwaves and appeared in newspapers, discussing the importance of teen literacy and teen library usage.

The American Library Association’s Public Information Office (PIO) worked closely with YALSA to support this year’s Teen Read Week publicity efforts. Media outreach resulted in hundreds of placements with, among others, WCBS-FM, Vocalo.org, Los Angeles Times, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Tacoma News Tribune, Auburn Citizen and the Mankato Free Press.

Highlights included YALSA announcing the 2009 Teens’ Top Ten, a booklist chosen entirely by and for teens, in which teens nominate and choose their favorite books of the previous year. John Green’s “Paper Towns”came in atop the list, ahead of many other favorites. World Wrestling Entertainment Divas Brie Bella and Nikki Bella announced the winners, with a special appearance from Green, in a Webcast that can be viewed at www.ala.org/teenstopten.

Since its inception in 1998, Teen Read Week (www.ala.org/teenread), sponsored by YALSA, a division of the American Library Association (ALA) has encouraged teens to visit their public and school libraries to select their own reading material and read for the fun of it.

For more information on Teen Read Week, please visit www.ala.org/teenread or contact Jennifer Petersen at (312) 280-5043, jpetersen@ala.org.

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