ALA Seeks Exemption for Children’s Books from Anti-Lead Law

American Libraries: 2009 January 15

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s interpretation of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which lowers the permissible level of lead in children’s products and imposes certification requirements, may require libraries to limit access to their children’s collections or have them tested for lead content. The new law becomes effective February 10.

In a notice to ALA’s Federal Library Legislative Action Network, Government Relations Specialist Kristin Murphy wrote, “As a result of these new regulations, publishers have tested the components of books and found that the levels of lead in children’s books were far below the future legal requirements. . . .However, the advisory opinion from the CPSC says that not only must the testing be done by one of their certified labs but that this legislation is also retroactive, and every book must be tested.”

Despite the advisory opinion from CPSC’s general counsel, ALA Washington Office Executive Director Emily Sheketoff told American Libraries, “We have spoken with congressional offices and they have said that it was not congressional intent to include books” in the law.

Sheketoff said the Washington Office has asked the commission for a formal opinion exempting libraries from the testing requirements. She has also contacted an attorney to explore the possibility of filing for an injunction against the commission, and is prepared to ask the Obama administration to intercede if necessary.

Until the commission makes an official ruling, however, “There’s really nothing anyone can do,” Sheketoff said. “We’re sort of stuck waiting for them.”

Even so, news of the law is trickling down to library patrons. Kate Pohjola, director of Lapeer (Mich.) District Library, told AL that she had received questions about the law’s potential impact, from both library-borrowing and home-schooling perspectives. “I think there’s a lot of fear right now, because people don’t know what’s going to happen,” she said.

The Washington Office will release updates as new information becomes available on its District Dispatch blog.

Online book club turns teens on to reading

High schoolers can post reviews, chat and win prizes on B.C.'s own TeenSRC

Times Colonist: 2009 January 18
Richard Watts

When Grade 9 student Christy Moser wants something to read, she heads for the library. But before that, Moser goes online.

Moser, a 14-year-old student at Esquimalt High, uses a website pioneered in B.C. called TeenSRC, a virtual book club that offers discussions, chats, reading lists, reviews and a chance to win prizes.

For Moser, TeenSRC provides an opportunity to check out lists of teen-friendly books, compiled into handy categories: science-fiction and fantasy, which she likes, and romance, which she definitely does not. And they're all reviewed by other teens.

"I can just look something up and see what other people have said," she said. "Or if it's a romance, I can just avoid them completely."

TeenSRC, now entering its second year, grew out of a program that began in 2004 to encourage teenagers to continue reading through the summer.

SRC actually stands for Summer Reading Club, but organizers haven't been able to think of a new name that won't lose the club's name recognition.

It now has more than 3,200 members across Canada, and a few in the U.S., who post notes, write reviews and take part in online discussions and chats. Christy herself is a committed book reviewer who has already posted about 15.

SRC operates like an online book club for teenagers, but it's more. Discussion groups, for example, are often on topics in the news as well as books.

Some of the discussions are even moderated by teenagers, with some oversight from participating librarians.

Anonymity is protected at all times and adult librarians monitor the discussions to make sure they stay within reasonable boundaries. (Christy keeps her online identity secret, despite the use of her name in this story.)

According to some of the participating librarians, teenagers themselves are the most adept at spotting adults trying to worm their way into the discussions and kick them out.

TeenSRC operates with $35,000 a year from a variety of sources, including the B.C. Library Association, the B.C. Ministry of Education, and the Public Library Services Branch, local library branches, donations and volunteers.

Participating teens are eligible for prizes -- Christy won her IPod that way -- but they're limited to B.C. members, largely to protect teens' privacy. Prizes are mailed to a teenager's nearest public library for pickup, so no one has to reveal a home address. And so far, only B.C. libraries are widely participating.

Kirstin Andersen, teen services librarian with the Greater Victoria Public Library, said the website is all about outreach.

"It's delivering library service to where people are," said Andersen. "And where are all the teenagers these days? They are online."

Librarians are especially proud of some of the online discussion groups, which have included authors taking and answering questions.

Christy was disappointed to miss a discussion with Deborah Ellis, author of several books, including The Breadwinner. It's an account of an 11-year-old girl in wartorn Afghanistan who is forced to provide food for her family.

"I would like to have asked her if she had any personal experience of Afghanistan," said Christy.

Christy's parents, Colleen McKenna and Walter Moser, are both gratified to see their daughter using the web as a gateway to reading.

Moser believes too much online chatter has become inane because it's instantaneous. The discussions on TeenSRC, by contrast, have some permanence. A review is posted and remains up for others to see and comment on.

"It actually forces them to give [the reviews] some thought," said Moser. "Kids are reminded there is a community they are part of where there is slightly more thought at work."

McKenna appreciates the fact SRC grants Christy intellectual recognition.

"For her to be able to say, 'I like this book and here's why' -- that's a really neat thing," said McKenna. "It's like she can see, 'My opinion matters even though I'm a 14-year-old girl.'"

Go to teensrc.ca to check out the website.

BC Spends Another $5 Million On Literacy Programs

FUNDING FOR STUDENT LITERACY A PRIORITY
nanaimo-info-Blog: 2009 January 14


The Province is providing $5 million for the fifth consecutive year to support the efforts of school districts to improve their students’ literacy skills, bringing the five-year total to $25 million, Education Minister Shirley Bond announced today.


“We continue to be committed to student literacy and building on the significant progress districts have made over the past four years,” said Bond. “Even with the changing economic circumstances, we are working to make B.C. the best educated, most literate jurisdiction on the continent.”


The Literacy Innovation Grants support innovative literacy initiatives and practices in kindergarten to Grade 12. School districts will receive the same funding levels as last year and will continue to be given the flexibility to support innovative literacy practices in the K-12 system, or to support District Literacy Plan development.


The availability of these grants for a fifth year means districts can expand literacy initiatives. Last year, some districts developed summer reading and family literacy programs, while others focused their efforts on assessment and intervention projects for younger learners.


“We recognize that students have changing needs as they develop and learn, and this funding helps encourage creative ways to improve literacy skills as students move through their school years,” said Bond. “Our government is committed to ensuring that each and every student is successful, and has the tools they need to succeed.”


Peace River North school district discovered a dramatic improvement in the reading skills of a group of primary students whose teachers took part in a peer coaching program. This approach has helped raise the percentage of students meeting or exceeding reading expectations in five of the seven participating grades. The most dramatic improvement was noted with the Aboriginal student population, where the district’s year-end reading assessment shows grades 3 and 4 have achieved a 20 per cent increase in their reading level over two years.


“Over the last four years, we’ve seen significant progress from many students who were finding reading a challenge,” said Gordon Anderson, board chair of the Peace River North school district. “We are committed to this project, as we know that no skill is more crucial to a child’s future than literacy.”


Since 2001, Province has invested more than $150 million in new literacy initiatives, including pre-literacy and early learning programs, such as $12 million to operate the kindergarten readiness program Ready, Set, Learn and $2.7 million for the ActNow Literacy Education Activity and Play (LEAP BC) program that encourages literacy, physical activity and healthy eating in preschool-aged children.


Editor's Comment: Call me old fashioned but I thought all that money being spent on schoolin' was supposed to teach our youngun's how ta read and rite? So how come another $5 million to make sure that happens?

T.O. school board to review Atwood novel

Toronto school board reviewing Atwood novel after parent complains
Hamilton Spectator: 2009 January 13

Toronto’s public school board is reviewing Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, after a complaint from a parent whose child was studying the novel in a Grade 12 class.

While the board would not discuss the nature of the concern over the 1985 dystopian novel — described by some educators as a staple of its genre that is used nationwide — a source said it was believed to be over sexuality and criticism of religious fundamentalism.

According to board policy, it is obliged to investigate any complaint about a book that can’t be resolved at the school level.

The process involves a committee of roughly eight experts and a community member, and it is time-consuming.

The review committee meets Thursday at Lawrence Park Collegiate, where the complaint originated.

Atwood could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

“Any controversial novels that we use sometimes generate comment from the public and I think that’s quite normal,” said Melanie Parrack, the board’s executive superintendent of student success, who also co-chairs the committee.

The last time the Toronto District School Board faced a similar controversy was in 2006, when the Canadian Jewish Congress lobbied boards to restrict access to Three Wishes, by Deborah Ellis, complaining about its portrayal of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Parrack would not speculate on possible outcome for Atwood’s novel, but said if something is “extraordinarily offensive” it could be taken off the shelves.

The book is used in an English literature unit on social commentary, alongside Brave New World, and 1984.

The acclaimed novel — which won the Governor General’s Award in 1985 — is about a futuristic theocracy in which women are used as breeders.

Once the committee meets, it will make a recommendation to the board’s director of education, who makes the ultimate decision.

If the parent is still not satisfied, only then does the issue come before trustees for a vote, trustee Howard Goodman said.

The Handmaid’s Tale is listed as one of the 100 “most frequently challenged books” from 1990 to 1999 on the American Library Association’s website.

The Canadian Library Association says there is “no known instance of a challenge to this novel in Canada” but says the book was called anti-Christian and pornographic by parents after being placed on a reading list for secondary students in Texas in the 1990s.

Introducing Globe Books

Visit The Globe and Mail's new destination for book lovers

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/

Canadian Museum for Human Rights launches virtual exhibition

National Post: 2008 December 11

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights may not be set to open until 2012, but it launched its first virtual exhibition yesterday. To mark the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on Dec. 10, 1948, the museum premiered an exhibit at the University of Winnipeg that explores the life of John Peters Humphrey, right, the Canadian legal scholar and principal author of the Declaration. The document arose from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled. The exhibit, which used digitized artifacts from Library Archives Canada and McGill University Archives, can be viewed online at www.humanrightsmuseum.ca.

Free TC archives are 150th anniversary gift to readers

Times Colonist: 2008 December 11

It was exactly 150 years ago today — on Dec. 11, 1858 — that the British Colonist, the precursor of the newspaper you are now reading, made its debut.

The four-page edition, all 200 copies of it, was produced in a shack on Wharf Street under the guidance of founder Amor De Cosmos, who went on to become B.C.’s second premier.

Fast forward to 10 a.m. today, when the newspaper marks its anniversary with the launch of a website that will give the public free access to a searchable database that contains the first 50 years of Colonist newspapers.

The British Colonist Digitization Project is a joint effort by the Times Colonist, the University of Victoria, and a consortium of British Columbia libraries. The website — www.britishcolonist.ca — covers the period from Dec. 11, 1858, to June 30, 1910, and offers 100,544 pages.

Because the newspaper provides one of the best available records of B.C. during that time, “it’s going to be great for historians, genealogists or anyone who wants to know about the history of the province,” said Times Colonist editor in chief Lucinda Chodan.

She said the site is “a gift to the community that has helped us thrive,” and offers free access to material that has previously been available only on microfilm at libraries.

The two-year effort brought together the Times Colonist, the University of Victoria, the University of British Columbia’s Ike Barber Learning Centre, the Electronic Library Network of B.C., the B.C. Public Library Services Branch and the Greater Victoria Public Library.

UVic’s Chris Petter, who helped manage the website project, said some of the site’s content predates Canada’s nationhood (1867) and B.C.’s entry into Confederation (1871). The Colonist also covered the first decades of proceedings in the B.C. legislature — the only such documentation in existence.

“It was a recognition by the library community that this was not just a newspaper that was important, but the newspaper that was the most important for the province,” said Petter, the head of special collections at UVic’s McPherson Library.

He said the website is equipped for users to search chronologically or by key word, and that it will provide “a rich, full look at our history.”