Teaching with Text Sets

Cappiello, Mary Ann, and Erika Thulin-Dawes. Teaching with Text Sets. Huntington Beach, CA: Shell Education, 2012.
ISBN: 978-1425806880

Publisher's Description

Looking for a way to increase engagement, differentiate instruction, and incorporate more informational text and student writing into your curriculum? Teaching with Text Sets is your answer! This must-have resource walks you through the steps to create and use multi-genre, multimodal text sets for content area and language arts study. It provides detailed information support you as you choose topics, locate and evaluate texts, organize texts for instruction, and assess student learning. The guide is an excellent resource to help you meet the Common Core and other state Standards.  

What is a Text Set? Can I See an Example?

Ms. Cappiello, one of the book's authors, defines a text set and offers two models in a posting on the blog called The Classroom Bookshelf. 

Note: While the focus of this book is text sets for elementary and middle school, the concept can be applied to high school as well.

UContent: The Information Professional's Guide to User-Generated Content

UContent: The Information Professional's Guide to User-Generated Content by Nicholas G. Tomaiuolo. Medford, New Jersey : Information Today, Inc, 2012.

From the publisher:

Have you ever reviewed a book at Amazon.com? Uploaded a photo to Flickr? Commented on a blog posting? Used tags to describe or access information? If you have, you've contributed user-generated content to the web. But while many librarians and information professionals have accepted their roles as creators and managers of user-generated content (UContent), many have not.

This comprehensive text considers the reasons behind UContent's wild popularity and makes strong arguments for cultivating it. While describing his own UContent experiences, the author has prepared a well researched book that serves as an overview, a status report, a primer, and a prognostication. The chapters are full of examples, insights, tips, and illustrations designed to help you process, administer, and enjoy the UContent phenomenon.

Implementing Technology Solutions in Libaries

Implementing Technology Solutions in Libraries :  techniques, tools, and tips from the trenches, by Karen C. Knox. Medford, New Jersey : Information Today, Inc., 2011.

From the publisher:

For anyone seeking a straightforward, hands-on approach to implementing technology solutions in libraries, this is your guide! Created for staff who want to ensure success with a technology project that may consume a significant part of the library's budget, author and IT manager Karen Knox deconstructs an entire project implementation, from planning to evaluation, carefully examining each step.

The author has implemented many technology projects over the years—some more successfully than others, as she is quick to admit. In Implementing Technology Solutions in Libraries she draws on her experience to help readers identify the most critical components of any project while modifying and scaling to meet their library's unique needs. The array of tips, tricks, techniques, and tools she shares here are designed to spell success in your next library technology implementation.

A complete table of contents is available here.

Go Get That Grant!

Go Get That Grant: A Practical Guide for Libraries and Nonprofit Organizations, by Gail M. Staines. Lanham, Maryland : Scarecrow Press, 2010. 

From the publisher: 
In these tough economic times, funding opportunities have decreased, while competition for monies has increased. Thus, this how-to guide is a must for anyone interested in writing, procuring, and implementing grants. Designed for libraries and nonprofit organizations, Go Get That Grant! includes information about types of grants available through government agencies and foundations, as well as how to locate funding opportunities.

From gathering basic information about an organization through accepting and implementing grants, Gail Staines provides step-by-step expert advice, numerous examples, and proven writing strategies. She also explains the processes of identifying fundable projects and selecting potential sources of funding.

This volume also contains several appendixes with samples of strategic plans, narratives, budgets, needs assessments, evaluations, and much more. As securing funds becomes increasingly difficult, this current and useful book will prove enormously effective.
Similar titles that may be of interest that available from the Oregon State Library: http://osl-lis.blogspot.com/search/label/grants

Growing Readers: Helping Your Child Get Ready to Read by McMinnville Public Library, Reading For All, and the Oregon Community Foundation.

Lectores en crecimiento: Ayudando a su hiji a prepararse para leer by Newberg Public Library's Latino Services, McMinnville Public Library, Reading For All, and the Oregon Community Foundation.

In an effort to inform parents of activities they can do with their children to help build strong pre-literacy skills, Yamhill County Reading for All, in partnership with The Oregon Community Foundation and McMinnville Public Library, produced this DVD titled 'Growing Readers: Helping Your Child Get Ready to Read'.  This DVD was made possible with the support of local families and community members who generously lent their time and expertise to help raise early literacy awareness. (video description)

This is an excellent video to show parents during early literacy education sessions. It is also available to view streaming online in English and Spanish.