In her role as honorary chair of National Library Week, author, editor, library and literacy advocate Caroline Kennedy visited with students at Sanislo Elementary School library in Seattle on April 8 to discuss the power of poetry and libraries. The visit was timed in conjunction with April’s School Library Month.

Kennedy met with Sanislo Elementary librarian and AASL member Craig Seasholes (pictured above) and first through third grade students in Sanislo’s poetry club. She also shared from her recent book, “Poems to Learn by Heart,” published by Disney-Hyperion, an imprint of Disney Publishing Worldwide. Students also shared some their favorite poems, including Janet Wong’s “Liberty.”

When Kennedy asked the students what they love about the library, one boy responded, “Reading makes me happy, and makes my brain work better.”

“You are showing everyone that kids like poems, they like to read and they like to share with friends,” Kennedy told the students.

Photos are courtesy of Seattle Public Schools. More great photos of Caroline Kennedy visiting with students are available on the @ your library Facebook page.

Kennedy is also making an appearance at Horace Mann Elementary library in California’s Beverly Hills Unified District.

In addition to her school library visits, Kennedy appears in two TV public service announcements that are running on the Disney Channel. Approximately 1.4 million viewers see the PSAs every time they air. Kennedy appears in the PSA with the star of Disney Channel’s “Austin and Ally,” Laura Marano. They discuss the value and opportunities available at libraries.

Librarians can watch the PSAs by visiting the National Library Week website and link to the PSAs or embed them on their own websites, blogs or Facebook pages.

Free customizable print and digital PSAs featuring Kennedy are also available on the National Library Week website. Print PSAs are available for librarians to download and feature National Library Week theme, Communities matter @ your library, for use in local newspapers, library newsletters, websites and blogs. ALA offers customization of the print PSA; a library’s logo can be added at no cost.

The PSAs complement National Library Week products offered by ALA Graphics. In addition to a poster and bookmark, a mini poster and downloadable graphics are available.

Other promotional tools for National Library Week include a sample proclamation, press release and letter to the editor, as well as scripts for use in radio PSAs. Two other radio PSAs in mp3 format are also download-ready.

National Library Week and School Library Month are initiatives of the American Library Association (ALA) and are celebrated by libraries across the country each April.  It is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation’s libraries and librarians and to promote library use.

The American Library Association’s Campaign for America’s Libraries is a public awareness campaign that promotes the value of libraries and librarians. Thousands of libraries of all types – across the country and around the globe – participate. The Campaign is made possible by ALA’s Library Champions.

For additional information, please contact Jennifer Habley, Manager of Web Communications for the American Association for School Librarians (AASL), a division of ALA, at jhabley@ala.org, or Megan McFarlane Campaign Coordinator for the Campaign for America’s Libraries, at mmcfarlane@ala.org.

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New televised public service announcements (PSA) of National Library Week Honorary Chair Caroline Kennedy are currently appearing on the Disney channel. Approximately 1.4 million viewers see the PSA every time it is aired.

Kennedy appears in the PSA with the star of Disney’s “Austin and Ally,” Laura Marano, discussing the value and opportunities available at libraries.

Librarians can access the PSAs from the National Library Week website or the atyourlibrary.org YouTube channel, where the videos can be downloaded or embedded for use on their websites, blogs or Facebook pages.

In addition to the video PSAs, free customizable print and digital public service announcements (PSAs) featuring Caroline Kennedy are also available on the National Library Week website.  Print PSAs are available for librarians to download and feature National Library Week theme, Communities matter @ your library, for use in local newspapers, library newsletters, websites and blogs. ALA offers customization of the print PSA; a library’s logo can be added at no cost.

More information is on the National Library Week webpage.

The PSAs complement National Library Week products offered by ALA Graphics. In addition to a poster and bookmark, a mini poster and downloadable graphics are available.

Other promotional tools for National Library Week include a sample proclamation, press release and letter to the editor, as well as scripts for use in radio PSAs. Two other radio PSAs in mp3 format are also download-ready.

An advocate for reading, literacy and libraries, Kennedy has written or edited 10 bestselling books on American history, politics and poetry. Her latest book, “Poems to Learn by Heart” from Disney-Hyperion, an imprint of Disney Publishing Worldwide, with original illustrations by award-winning artist Jon J Muth—is a companion to her New York Times No. 1 bestselling collection “A Family of Poems.”

National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. It is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation’s libraries and librarians and to promote library use.

The American Library Association’s Campaign for America’s Libraries (www.ala.org/@yourlibrary) is a public awareness campaign that promotes the value of libraries and librarians. Thousands of libraries of all types – across the country and around the globe – participate. The Campaign is made possible by ALA’s Library Champions.

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Throughout the summer of 2012, the Obama and Romney campaigns issued numerous public statements that were picked up by the national news media.

But were those statements accurate?

That was the job for a group of students from Decorah, Iowa to determine.

It was part of the News Know-how project, sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and supported by the Open Society Foundations to involve high school students in news literacy education.

Using public libraries as their “newsroom,” students learn to distinguish facts from opinions; how to check the source and validity of news and information and how to identify propaganda and misinformation.

The Decorah students – Rebecka Green and Michael Foster, worked with Lorraine Borowski of the Decorah Public Library. They attended News Know-how training in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In the process, they learned Camtasia video editing software.

“It appealed to me, because of some of the controversial subjects that were going on,” as well as the challenge of verifying whether the information provided on those subjects on the Internet or on television was factual, said Borowski, who heard of the program through the State Library of Iowa.

The students, who are now sophomores, were found by consulting a government teacher at the high school, she said.

The result was a presentation called “Campaign News Bias,” which they delivered at the Decorah Public Library, the Decorah Rotary Club and eight classes at the Decorah High School.

The students received class credit for the project, which involved approximately 80 hours of work.

As Foster explained in the dual presentation, which is available on video, the methodology involved finding the controversy in the campaigns, locating the bias, analyzing the information they uncovered and reaching a conclusion.

The duo tackled some tough issues, such as the Affordable Care Act and gun rights, learning valuable lessons about the importance of checking their facts in evaluating the information they were given.

Splitting up their tasks, Green handled such topics as the controversy surrounding President Obama’s birth certificate, while Foster delved into such issues as the labor and investment practices of Romney’s investment firm Bain Capital.

In researching the birth certificate issue, Green was able to debunk the claims made by dentist/lawyer Orly Taitz and Donald Trump, finding that the birth certificate was released on April 27, 2011, with Hawaii officials witnessing the copying of the original certificate and certifying its authenticity. She also looked into a chain email that claimed Obama was a Muslim. The email included claims that the president had attended a madrassa in Indonesia and had been sworn in as president on the Koran. The truth, she found was that the president had attended elementary school for a time in Indonesia, but at a secular school. CNN, she said, had interviewed the headmaster, who confirmed the information. She also found that reports about Obama swearing on the Koran had mixed him up with Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison.

In digging into the history of Bain Capital, Foster examined the content of ads by the Obama campaign claiming Romney destroyed companies and made a fortune from them. Those ads spotlighted one company in particular, GSIndustries. Looking into articles by the Kansas City Star and Reuters, he found that certain aspects of the ads regarding GS Industries were accurate. He also examined claims by the Romney campaign that Romney had left the firm after the GS Industries bankruptcy occurred, finding that recently released documents indicated Romney exerted influence over Bain longer than previously indicated.

Borowski praised the materials provided through the News Know-how program.

“The materials that they had were excellent, and they also gave listings of different websites to go to,” such as Real Clear Politics, as well as other fact checking websites and links.

“It was a great experience,” Borowski said of the News Know how project. “I was amazed at how well (the students) grabbed onto the concepts.

The maturity of their presentation reflected the seriousness with which they pursued their project. In the end, they summed up their experience at the conclusion of their presentation, declaring in unison, “We approve this message.”

Learn more about the News Know-how initiative and view all student presentations from 2012 at Newsknowhow.org.

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The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom responded on Friday to the decision by the Chicago Public Schools to remove Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel “Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood” from its 7th-grade classrooms. A press conference was held at ALA headquarters in Chicago, attended by members of the Chicago media. Later, a protest against the decision was held at Chicago’s Lane Tech High School.

Barbara Jones faces the media to address “Persepolis” controversy.

The issue was covered in an article in American Libraries magazine.

Following a statement by Barbara Jones, executive director of the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom and the Freedom to Read Foundation, Jones and Deputy Director Deborah Caldwell-Stone, fielded questions from the media.

Here is Part 1 of the question-and-answer session.

And here is Part 2.

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On Friday, a press conference was held at the American Library Association headquarters in Chicago, during which Barbara Jones, executive director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom and the Freedom to Read Foundation spoke out against the Chicago Public Schools removing Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel “Persepolis” from its 7th grade curriculum.

According to a local television station, “Chicago Public Schools officials denied rumors Friday that they had banned the graphic novel Perseopolis from its schools, explaining they only determined it was inappropriate for use in 7th grade curriculum, but appropriate for juniors and seniors in high school, and students in Advanced Placement courses.”

The station said some teachers had reported receiving an email from district staff ordering them to remove the book from their schools and libraries.

This was denied by CPS Chief Executive Officer Barbara Byrd-Bennett, who said it was appropriate for juniors and seniors, and students in AP classes, but not for younger students.

She denied that the novel was being banned from school libraries.

In the following video taken at the press conference, Jones provided members of the local media with a statement.

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Libraries in suburban Chicago were recently spotlighted in the Daily Herald, a suburban newspaper.

The article shows how libraries can use local media to focus attention on the central role of libraries in their communities.

In this article, reporter Matt Arado, wrote, “Playing video games on the Xbox. Learning how to make crepes. Applying for a U.S. passport.

Katie LaMantia, teen librarian, and IT Department Technician Terry Nolan hook up computers in the teen center at the Schaumburg Township District Library. Photo by Mark Welsh, courtesy of the Daily Herald

“Different activities, yes, but with one thing in common: All can take place in a suburban public library.”

Arado also focused on the role of libraries in transforming their communities.

He wrote, “But library administrators say that, in fact, use of libraries has never been more robust. They say libraries have changed with the times, transforming themselves into vital community centers that provide access not just to books, but also new technology and recreational programs.”

A number of libraries are featured, including the Ela Area Public Library, located in an unincorporated area near Lake Zurich, Ill.

“Our basic role is the same as it always has been — we’re a conduit between the public and the world of information that exists out there,” said Matt Womack, executive director of the Ela Area Public Library. “What’s changed is how we fill that role.”

In addition, American Library Association (ALA) President Maureen Sullivan was quoted in the article, talking about how the popularity of libraries can be traced in part to libraries’ early readiness to “bridge the digital divide.”

She said, “Libraries did a fantastic job early on realizing that not everyone in their communities would have personal access to the Internet,” Sullivan said. “Providing that was a vital service to so many people.”

Arado also noted, “More recently, she said, the economic downturn drove people to their libraries, where they could look for jobs online, work on resumes and, in many cases, receive job-hunting assistance from staff members.”

Beneath the article on the Daily Herald website are several positive comments.

In addition, there is a video of Arado talking about the article on one of the Chicago television stations, ABC Channel 7.

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