Mr. Kipp will be donating the kits to the school's Project Lead The Way (PLTW) program for use in teaching STEM and pre-engineering concepts.
Congratulations to Tappan Middle School's Library Media Specialist, Kyle Kipp, for winning the Meemic Foundation grant award of a littleBits Electronic Music Kit and a Space Rover Inventor Kit (thanks to the local Meemic Foundation Advocate, Kidman Agency LLC, for their support of local schools and promoting these opportunities). Mr. Kipp will be donating the kits to the school's Project Lead The Way (PLTW) program for use in teaching STEM and pre-engineering concepts.
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Next week is Banned and Challenged Books Week (Sept 26-Oct 2); here is what you need to know!9/22/2021 Next week is Banned and Challenged Books Week (Sept 26-Oct 2) and the AAPS librarians wanted to share a brief presentation/activity that describes the history and importance of this nationally recognized awareness event. (more info at: https://bannedbooksweek.org/ and https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks) The presentation covers currently challenged works of literature and how the censoring of literature affects us all, as well as a keynote speech by popular author Jason Reynolds, this year's Banned Books Ambassador, as he carries the message of "books unite us, censorship divides us." Here is the presentation: Banned Books Week 2021 - follow THIS LINK As always, if you have any questions or would like me to assist, feel free to let me know. Middle and high school teachers, registration is open for the 2021 Teen Press Conference on November 10! A free virtual event hosted by @kwamealexander with the Finalists for the #NBAwards for Young People’s Literature. To learn more and register, visit: https://www.nationalbook.org/programs/teen-press-conference/ By Kristen Arnett March 21, 2018 Growing up, I liked to imagine what it would be like to work in a library. What little I knew about them was what I’d gleaned from movies and TV because my conservative parents never took us to any and only let me read books they purchased from the Bible Book Store. I didn’t know any librarians in real life—outside of the elderly woman who ran our tiny school media center—but I understood librarians were smart and savvy. Cool and collected. They were everything my rowdy, boundary-busting, literature-hating family was not. I envisioned a sweet future for myself sitting behind an elaborately carved wooden desk, surrounded by towering stacks of leather-bound books. I’d read for hours in total silence, vanilla and almond perfuming the air. Pages wafting in a gentle breeze. Nobody around to bother me. With librarianship, I’d finally have solitude. Peace. I cling to these happy memories whenever somebody breaks the copy machine for the fourth time that day by jamming a ballpoint pen inside the feed tray. Or spills their kale smoothie down the side of the circulation desk. Or when a person decides to eat an extra large pizza while vaping in the women’s bathroom. I think: remember why you chose this job? The elegance? And I laugh. The reality of being a librarian is that it’s hardly ever about sitting down and it has absolutely nothing to do with peace and quiet. It’s about assisting others. It’s about community service. Librarianship asks you to do 12 things at once and then when you’re in the middle of those projects wonders if you’ve got any tax forms left or an eclipse viewer. It’s endless questions. It’s “my two dollar fine pays your salary.” It’s a grubby little hand at storytime grabbing your leg and smearing glitter glue down the side of pants you’ve already worn twice that week. It’s finding the right answer to a question and reveling in that small joy for a bare moment before another patron comes up to ask you something even weirder. It’s library work, and it’s exhausting. A certain type of person gravitates toward this field. It’s generally people with a thirst for research, those who love books, and individuals who understand they’ll never pay back their student loans. Every job in a library depends on someone else’s to function. Libraries are buzzing hives filled with extremely busy, frazzled, overworked people. Staff and Librarians work together to make sure that everything runs as smoothly as possible, which it NEVER, EVER DOES. Lots of different types of library work happens everywhere—new jobs crop up daily, thanks to evolving tech and shifting community needs—but there are some standard positions that remain eternal. “The reality of being a librarian is that it’s hardly ever about sitting down and it has absolutely nothing to do with peace and quiet. It’s about assisting others.” First of all, there’s the backbone of the library: technical services. These thankless individuals work in stuffy back rooms cataloging your books and movies, maintaining a plethora of exciting, information-rich databases so that students can continue to only use JSTOR for their assignments. They understand systems that have operating manuals that read like misprinted IKEA furniture assembly instructions. Technical services staff are expected to deliver items that aren’t yet available because they haven’t been published, find books that are absolutely out of print, and expected to work a “couple extra hours over the holiday break” because someone in the Art History department wants access to Interlibrary Loan they won’t even pick up until after New Years. Okay, yes, I’m talking about me here.
Then you have your public services staff. They man the circulation and reference desks, helping patrons on the frontlines by answering continuous, nonsensical questions. These employees have to locate a book when all the patron knows is that the spine was possibly red with black writing and that there was maybe a dog in it. Public services jobs are for those lucky individuals who have “people skills,” but those skills are tested daily by someone breaking the copy machine (again), and then yelling about fines, the renewal policy, and the fact they can’t borrow some half-n-half from the staff fridge. Nobody wants to deal with a patron looking at porn again on the public computer. These are library employees who go home and drink a lot. All right, I’m also talking about myself here. What about youth services? It requires imagination to do this work. It takes patience. It means strained vocal chords from yelling over a room of screaming kids who’ve all eaten too many Publix sugar cookies at a summer reading event. To understand youth programming, you’ve gotta read aloud to a group of children who ask: “Ms Kristen, why you got that metal thing stuck to your tongue?” These individuals don’t bat an eye when a child pees on the storytime rug and then another kid sits directly in the spreading puddle. They somehow keep a smile plastered to their face when they accidentally tuck their skirt into their underwear in the bathroom and walk back into a full program because no one told them about it even though there were at least 3 other women standing in line for the sink. Again: me. And I’m still mad about this. What I’m saying about library “tropes” is that they apply to anyone who works in a library because you have to know how to do everyone else’s job. Librarianship is the understanding that maintaining a library is a shared responsibility. You’re on call to help catalog a book someone requested for a massive paper and then promptly forgot about. You’ll need to sit a stint at the circulation desk because someone else got the flu from working a storytime where half the kids showed up with runny noses and rubbed their hands all over the safety scissors. Libraries are community spaces for patrons as well as for library staff. You perform all the roles, all the time. You learn to love it. I understand now that the job I thought I’d have isn’t the one I wound up with, but guess what? I like it better that way. At the end of the day, librarianship is mostly about trying to understand the needs of people. It is still about knowing. And that’s something I like. Another thing I like: getting to tell all of you that my Tales of the Library will be a recurring bimonthly column for Lit Hub! Join me next time where we’ll discuss those burning reference desk questions, like “Can you help me set up an online dating profile?” Ann Arbor Public Schools, and the Tappan Library, are currently closed due to the COVID-19 shutdowns. To see the district's plan for continuing education through the shutdowns, please click THIS LINK EXPLAINING THE PLAN as well as this link full of resources related to the Continuity Plan. Click here for more information on that as well as how to spend your time wisely. Click here for a comprehensive list of free digital access to books, databases, and resources for students. BUT, in many ways, your school library is still "open". It still has lots of digital resources that you can access from any device with a web browser. Go to any of our pages on our website to access our resources. Only print items from our catalog are not available at this time. Please see the Tappan Library Blog for all kinds of information and links to resources for both students, staff, and families. Having technology difficulties at home? Contact the AAPS Tech Hotline for Families: 734-997-1222 M-F 7:30a-7:30p. Do you have a question? Or is there a resource you cannot find? Tappan Librarian, Mr. Kipp, can be reached via email during this time. See the contact/suggestions tab to do so. Mr. Kipp will respond right away during "office hours". Otherwise, you can expect a response within 24 hours, Monday-Friday. OFFICE HOURS: 11am-1pm, M-F Teachers: need help or support? Mr. Kipp is here for you. See this link for assistance. The library is still here to help you! To communicate with individual teachers during the shut-downs, please see this link for their classroom links. As we move forward and are all learning the new normal, I want to check in with staff about the following information. 1. AAPS Learning on Demand: "Ask an Expert" and "How to Guides". In collaboration with the tech department, all librarians are contributing to professional development through the "Ask an Expert" sessions as well as "How to Guides". If you need help on a specific topic please let me know and I can create a guide or a session as others probably have the same question. Also if you have already created screencasts as Wiens and Hochella have done, I may adapt those as well with your permission. 2. Tappan Library Website Blog and Resource Page I update this page daily for teachers to use as a go-to resource for teachers, with a focus on our remote learning objectives. Please take a look and let me know if there is anything I could add that would be helpful and I will gladly update. 3. Teacher Learning Networks: I have joined all the curriculum TLNs and some department Zoom meetings to stay current on ways I can help. However, if you want to reach out to me please feel free at any time via email or this form. 4. Tappan Library Research Resources page: If you are looking for high quality resources to direct your students to, we've got them on the Tappan Library webpage. I have already trained students to head to this page when they are looking for reliable places to find their information for school projects. High quality online encyclopedias, databases, ebooks, articles, and more can all be found here. If you need help learning how to use these, or integrate them into your lessons, just ask me. Most of these come with built in and ready to use teacher resources, curriculum, and activities that you can easily incorporate into your lessons. 5. Looking for free online access to books and literature? Just go here: https://mediacentertappan.weebly.com/tappan-library-blog/where-can-students-go-to-access-free-books-and-literature-online-since-libraries-and-bookstores-are-closed I am here to facilitate, please don't hesitate to reach out. Thank you! Mr. Kyle R. Kipp, MLIS Teacher / Librarian The first image many people have of school is a circle of small children, sitting cross-legged, paying attention (or not) to an adult reading a book aloud and showing pictures to the class. Indeed, presidents and sports stars choose exactly this photo op when visiting schools. And teachers across the country reenact the scene daily—or did until a few weeks ago. As schools, teachers and families face the shock of abruptly shifting to online education, one small question has been how to shift these read alouds to Zoom, Facebook, Google Hangouts and YouTube, the spaces where many classes continue to meet. A second question has been given almost equal importance: Is reading a book to students online even legal? The short answer is, well, yes. While many well-intentioned commentators have warned teachers against this practice, the fact is that copyright law—specifically fair use—permits many read-aloud activities online. As instructors and learners adapt to new educational environments, copyright concerns about reading aloud need not be among the challenges they face. What Is Fair Use?Fair use is a provision of copyright law that allows many reading aloud activities to be translated from the classroom to online learning. In short, fair use is a limit on copyright law that allows anyone to use a copyrighted work for a “transformative” purpose that doesn’t harm the core market for the original (meaning you can’t compete with the publishers’ efforts to sell books). This means that when teachers reading aloud online, using tools like school websites, learning management systems or live webcasts, fair use enables most of the same practices that take place in person. In the U.S., fair use law takes into consideration the purpose of the use, the nature of the underlying work, the amount used, and the effect on the market for the original work. Where reading aloud is concerned, these factors can be condensed into two questions:
To answer the second question, you have to ask whether the reading would interfere materially with the sale of physical or electronic copies. The same logic applies to chapter books, even if audiobooks are commercially available. In general, as Carrie Russell of the American Library Association has pointed out: “One is not displacing a sale or serving as a substitute to the work ... An audiobook is not the same as storytime.” In an emergency where student access to commercial learning materials is curtailed, educators’ freedom to read under fair use is enhanced. Temporary activities might include:
It’s important to understand why you’re reading aloud to understand if you can rely on fair use.Teachers read aloud in the classroom—and prompt their students to do so—for many reasons: to model fluency, to build comprehension and interpretive skills, and to support learning at different levels. Understanding why you’re reading to your students is an important first step in making your fair use analysis. Reading aloud, through digital tools and in person, is consistent with a vision of educational universal design. It puts students with different personal circumstances, including family situation, level of preparation, language competency, disability and health, on a better footing to enjoy equitable access to their education. Fair use is flexible—it’s not specific to certain types of content or online platforms.Since fair use looks more at why materials are being used than the types, both fiction and non-fiction texts are fair use-eligible, depending on the context. And the same rationale that justified reading the text aloud also applies to displaying the illustrations. With that said, fair use is not unlimited in scope. Extensive readings from textbooks and other commercial learning materials, for example, should be approached with more caution. Making readings permanently and generally available on public platforms should be avoided—though we recognize that this may be impossible under emergency conditions. In normal times, the “safest” choice may be a controlled Learning Management System, but this is not by any means a necessity. School-based or teacher-maintained websites are another option, as are dedicated streaming channels on YouTube or similar platforms. In the current emergency, some publishers and authors have announced that they will permit certain read-aloud activities. This is a generous act, but permission (or refusal to give permission) neither expands nor restricts the scope of fair use. Here are some cases where fair use enables reading online, and a few where it doesn’t.In these cases, teachers may want to read materials online, and could look to fair use for support.
In some cases, the direct tie to the teaching and learning purpose is less clear, or the relationship to the original commercial market is too close. Here are a few activities schools and teachers should avoid activities without careful, specific guidance or permission:
from the EdSurge.com blog: By Kristina Ishmael, Meredith Jacob and Peter Jaszi Mar 30, 2020 https://www.edsurge.com/news/2020-03-30-can-teachers-read-books-out-loud-online-actually-yes?fbclid=IwAR1dvy5Xj7Lxr3cRg7VgR-Nv7R6bMn_OUbzyobAnT8A5GDG3mfLg1NFFw8s
Want to know what you have checked out from your school library? Watch this brief tutorial on how to access your Follett Destiny account, which lists all your items and when they are due.
As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact Mr. Kipp at [email protected] Note: The “Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2019” list is included in ALA’s “State of America’s Libraries 2020” Report. From the American Library Association: The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 377 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services in 2019. Overall, 566 books were targeted. Here are the “Top 10 Most Challenged Books in 2019,” along with the reasons cited for censoring the books: 1. “George,” by Alex Gino Reasons: to avoid controversy; for LGBTQIA+ content and a transgender character; because schools and libraries should not “put books in a child’s hand that require discussion”; for sexual references; and for conflicting with a religious viewpoint and “traditional family structure” 2. “Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out,” by Susan Kuklin Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, for “its effect on any young people who would read it,” and for concerns that it was sexually explicit and biased 3. “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Presents A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo,” by Jill Twiss, illustrated by EG Keller Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content and political viewpoints, for concerns that it is “designed to pollute the morals of its readers,” and for not including a content warning 4. “Sex is a Funny Word,” by Cory Silverberg, illustrated by Fiona Smyth Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content; for discussing gender identity and sex education; and for concerns that the title and illustrations were “inappropriate” 5. “Prince & Knight,” by Daniel Haack, illustrated by Stevie Lewis Reasons: featuring a gay marriage and LGBTQIA+ content; for being “a deliberate attempt to indoctrinate young children” with the potential to cause confusion, curiosity, and gender dysphoria; and for conflicting with a religious viewpoint. 6. “I Am Jazz,” by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings, illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content, for a transgender character, and for confronting a topic that is “sensitive, controversial, and politically charged” 7. “The Handmaid’s Tale,” by Margaret Atwood Reasons: profanity and for “vulgarity and sexual overtones” 8. “Drama,” written and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier Reasons: LGBTQIA+ content and for concerns that it goes against “family values/morals” 9. Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling Reasons: referring to magic and witchcraft, for containing actual curses and spells, and for characters that use “nefarious means” to attain goals 10. “And Tango Makes Three,” by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, illustrated by Henry Cole Reason: LGBTQIA+ content More info at: https://www.infodocket.com/2020/04/20/ala-releases-most-frequently-challenged-books-of-2019-list/ This virtual conference, put on by School Library Journal, covers the latest topics and books in middle level literature is free and easy to attend. If you can't make the date of the live conference, you can access the archive of all the information later on. There is even a virtual vendor hall. See this link for all the information and free registration: https://www.slj.com/?event=middle-grade-magic-2020 A Virtual Event Dedicated to Middle Grade Literature Join School Library Journal for our second annual Middle Grade Magic virtual summit, a day-long celebration and exploration of one of the burgeoning and most important areas of publishing for young readers: literature for children ages eight through 12 and beyond! Attendees will get a behind-the-scenes glimpse at some of the most anticipated new titles for kids and tweens, from laugh-out-loud tales to eye-popping graphic novels to enveloping fantasy. Attendees will also have the opportunity to check out the virtual exhibit hall, chat directly with authors, download educational resources, and receive prizes and giveaways. Middle Grade Magic is a free, completely virtual conference – no traveling, no cost, AND you will be able to earn CE credits for all the webcast sessions you attend. Register now, and we look forward to ‘seeing’ you on April 8th. Can't make the live date? No problem! The entire environment will be archived and available for up to three months. Schedule of events: Join School Library Journal for our second annual Middle Grade Magic virtual event, a day-long celebration and exploration of one of the burgeoning and most important areas of publishing for young readers: literature for children ages eight through 12 – and beyond! Attendees will get a behind-the-scenes glimpse at some of the most anticipated new titles, hear from celebrated authors, and – for the first time this year – attend librarian-led sessions on services and programming for middle graders. Attendees will also have the opportunity to check out the virtual exhibit hall, chat directly with authors, download educational resources, and receive prizes and giveaways. Middle Grade Magic is a free, completely virtual conference – no traveling, no cost. Attendees will also earn CE credits for all the webcast sessions they attend. Can't make the live date? No problem! The entire environment and all of the sessions will be archived and available for three months. 10:00 AM | Booths Open 11:00–11:30 AM | Opening Keynote with Andrea Davis Pinkney, Loretta Little Looks Back: Three Voices Go Tell It (Little, Brown) 11:30 AM–12:15 PM | Panel 1: Family Ties Cyn Bermudez, The "Brothers" series (Rosen) Ally Carter, Winterbourne Home for Vengeance and Virtue (HMH) Leigh Dragoon, Little Witches: Magic in Concord (Oni) J.M.M Nuanez, Birdie and Me (Penguin) Amanda Strong, Four Faces of the Moon (Annick) Moderator: Ashleigh Williams, Middle Grade Editor, SLJ 12:15–1:00 PM | Panel 2: Funny Books Jessica Kim, Stand Up, Yumi Chung! (Penguin) Yehudi Mercado, Fun Fun Fun World (Oni) Jason Platt, Middle School Misadventures: Operation: Hat Heist! (Little, Brown) Chad Sell, Doodleville (Random) Moderator: Mahnaz Dar, Graphic Novel Editor, SLJ 1:00–1:30 PM | Lunch Keynote with Renée Watson, Ways to Make Sunshine (Bloomsbury) Moderator: Ashleigh Williams, Middle Grade Editor, SLJ 1:30–2:00 PM | Break 2:00–2:45 PM | Panel 3: Fantasy, Folklore, and Reimagined Stories Alane Adams, The Eye of Zeus (SparkPress) Rena Barron, Maya and the Rising Dark (HMH) Christina Soontornvat, A Wish in the Dark (Candlewick) J. Torres, Lola: A Ghost Story (Oni) Moderator: Anja Webb, Assistant Editor, SLJ 2:45–3:15 PM | Fast Learning Session: Awesome Programs for Middle Graders Speakers TBD 3:15–4:00 PM | Panel 4: Friends and Friendship Stories Kat Leyh, Snapdragon (Macmillan) Gina Loveless, The Friend Thief (Andrews McMeel) Zanib Mian, Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet (Penguin) Laura Shovan & Saadia Faruqi, A Place at the Table (HMH) Beth Vrabel, The Newspaper Club (Running Press) Moderator: Marybeth Kozikowski, Sachem Public Library, Holbrook, NY 4:00–4:30 PM | Closing Keynote with Linda Sue Park, Prairie Lotus (HMH) Moderator: Vanessa Willoughby, Associate Editor, Nonfiction, SLJ -- Mr. Kyle R. Kipp, MLIS Teacher / Librarian Tappan Middle School Ann Arbor, Michigan phone: 734-994-2012 x35428 http://mediacentertappan.weebly.com/ Read the blog at: https://mediacentertappan.weebly.com/tappan-media-center-blog |
Mr. Kipp, Tappan LibrarianI am the librarian faculty at Tappan Middle School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Archives
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