Banned Books Week Web Resource List

It's here! Banned Books Week for 2009, September 26 through October 3.

The American Library Association's website states:

Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read

Banned Books Week (BBW) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. Held during the last week of September, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States.

Intellectual freedom—the freedom to access information and express ideas, even if the information and ideas might be considered unorthodox or unpopular—provides the foundation for Banned Books Week. BBW stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints for all who wish to read and access them.

The books featured during Banned Books Week have been targets of attempted bannings. Fortunately, while some books were banned or restricted, in a majority of cases the books were not banned, all thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, booksellers, and members of the community to retain the books in the library collections. Imagine how many more books might be challenged—and possibly banned or restricted—if librarians, teachers, and booksellers across the country did not use Banned Books Week each year to teach the importance of our First Amendment rights and the power of literature, and to draw attention to the danger that exists when restraints are imposed on the availability of information in a free society.

Banned Books Week is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association; American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression; the American Library Association; American Society of Journalists and Authors; Association of American Publishers; and the National Association of College Stores. It is endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.

For more information on getting involved with Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read, please see Calendar of Events and Ideas and Resources. You can also contact the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom at 1-800-545-2433, ext. 4220, or bbw@ala.org.

Resources and a delightfully entertaining puppet show are also linked on ALA's site, on: http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/index.cfm

Resource Shelf, a blog for information professionals, educators and journalists, offers more information about this important week. See the "Banned Books Week for September 26, 2009" posting.

Celebrate the week with awareness and advocacy!

Back to School! These resources may be helpful for the whole year

With the approaching end of August comes the daily march back to school! To help prepare, Maryland AskUsNow! has come up with some resources that touch upon three big “Back to School” topics:

1. Dealing with the anxiety of the first day of school (new school, new teacher)--
2. Tips for finding those typical supplies (on a budget)
3. Some resources for homework help that include:

a. Atlases and Maps
b. Grammar
c. Math
d. Science
e. General Homework Help Resources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

1. Getting ready for that first day “butterflies in the tummy” feeling: Here are some sites to help you and/or your child with mental and emotional preparation for the new school year.

The National Mental Health of America offers a “Back to School Factsheet” with tips about helping reduce anxiety for that first day. Once you are on the home page, just type in "back to school anxiety" in the search box (and press enter).

KidsHealth/TeensHealth is another site that gives supportive advice.

Back to school preparation is a good opportunity to get organized, to start the year off with a homework plan of action (which also helps to reduce stress!). KidsHealth/TeensHealth’s page on “How to Make Homework Less Work.”

2. Having your school supplies ready without breaking your budget are other ways to get organized for the new school year:

The site “Great Schools” is for parents, and it offers a “back to school” section that includes a common supply list (which checkboxes) online at:

http://www.greatschools.net/back-to-school/supplies/supply-list-to-get-you-started.gs?content=109

“Organized Home” focuses upon getting those supplies on a budget:

http://organizedhome.com/time-money/back-school-save-money-school-supplies

3. Homework Help resources are like your favorite tools in your toolbox! The following feature the most common topics needed:

a. Atlases and Maps

i. National Geographic offers printable atlases at:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/

ii. A list of maps and other geography tools are found on Kids' Turn Central, at:

http://www.kidsturncentral.com/links/geoglinks.htm

iii. Thinkfinity includes additional links to maps and atlases:

http://www.thinkfinity.org/Homeworkhelp.aspx

iv. To calculate distances and to find latitude/longitudes, InfoPlease offers an easy way on their Homework Center area at:

http://www.infoplease.com/homework/

b. Grammar

i. FunBrain organizes grammar help by “Beginner” and “Advanced.” It’s part of the Family Education Network’s area called “Grammar Gorillas.” See:

http://www.funbrain.com/grammar/index.html

ii. Simple explanations of parts of speech and other grammar help is found through Scholastic’s site:

http://www.scholastic.com/kids/homework/grammar.htm

iii. InfoPlease organizes grammar help through levels, beginner to advanced:

http://www.infoplease.com/homework/english-grammar-spelling.html

iv. The Capital Community College Foundation provides an online “Guide to Grammar and Punctuation” with help for writing research and essay papers, too:

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/

c. Math

i. A+ Math gives basic arithmetic/math help. It also lets you enter your problem to double check the result:

http://www.aplusmath.com/Homework_Helper/index.html

ii. Math.com organizes help from basic math to advanced topics (see left navigation area):

http://www.math.com/

iii. InfoPlease offers math help, but also information about the history of mathematics and a biography of mathematicians:

http://www.infoplease.com/homework/hwmath.html

iv. Webmath gives help from elementary to college level math, and shows how the result is obtained (very useful for double checking):

http://www.webmath.com/

v. A site devoted to algebra, called “Algebra Homework Help,” from People’s Math:

http://www.algebra.com/

vi. Purple Math (especially for Algebra):

http://www.purplemath.com/

d. Science

i. Chemical Elements, an interactive site featuring the Periodic Table of the Elements, is found at:

http://www.chemicalelements.com/

ii. Need to know about the human body? Homework Spot offers information at:

http://homeworkspot.com/theme/humanbody.htm

iii. Homework Spot also provides science resources for elementary, middle, and high school grade levels. See the left side navigation for grade levels, then click on “Science” to see choose the type of science you need help on:

http://homeworkspot.com/

iv. FactMonster’s science area is found on their Homework Help area, and offers science information for school-aged children at:

http://www.factmonster.com/homework/hwscience.html

v. AP Biology (high school level) help from MIT’s open source area:

http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/hs/biology/biology/

vi. Rader’s site offers various science help –

1. Chem4Kids is found at:

http://www.chem4kids.com/

2. Biology4Kids, at:

http://www.biology4kids.com/

3. Geography4Kids, online at:

http://www.geography4kids.com/

vii. The Physics Classroom offers an online tutorial as a way to learn this fascinating subject:

http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/Class/BBoard.html

e. General Homework Help Resources (Ready Reference, such as dictionaries, online calculators, encyclopedias)

i. Many libraries list homework help resources on their teens’ and kids’ pages. The Baltimore County Public Library offers links to freely available online resources at:

http://www.bcpl.info/kidspage/homework.html

Databases are another important resource for homework help; ask your librarian for more information about how to access and use these.

ii. Maryland Public Library’s Sailor has a list of homework help resources online at:

http://www.sailor.lib.md.us/MD_topics/kid/_hom.html

iii. Homework Spot organizes help by grade level, and then by subject. See the left navigation area:

http://www.homeworkspot.com/

iv. FactMonster provides a Back to School resource area:

http://www.factmonster.com/spot/01school1.html

v. InfoPlease gives general homework help resources, including chemistry conversion help, math flashcards, and an easy to use “what happened on this day” history tool, at:

http://www.infoplease.com/homework/

vi. MIT offers Open Course Ware, for learners who would like to brush up or continue their education (no degree offered, but this is freely available). Parents can learn along with their children!

http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/home/home/index.htm

vii. And of course! Maryland AskUsNow! is an important resource when you need help finding information or library materials We’re here 24/7!

We hope you find these resources helpful! And welcome back to school - It's going to be a good year!

Submitted by: Cathay Crosby
August 13, 2009
Maryland AskUsNow!

Satisfaction is up!: survey data for FY09

It's that time again for running reports and submitting MFR's and soon, final grant reports.

I just finished running the (uber tedious*) survey report for all our institutions and the verdict is in! You're even more awesome than last year!

of our surveyed customers:

88.75% are satisfied!

86.27% say our librarians are excellent!

Check out the full report and see how your insitution compares.

--------

* This report is one of the last ones in QP that I have to run manually for what we need out of it. I have to run the report on a specific time frame 38 times to get the data for all our partner institutions. Then, i have to manually enter it (as cut and paste formats things in a useless manner) into xls. Then i get to have xls do math (that's the easy part).

As a point of interest, i downloaded a keystroke counter app before i did this report and found out that it took me 4,444 keystrokes, 630 left mouse clicks, 84 double mouse clicks, and 1114 spins of the mouse scroll wheel).

June 2009 in review: monthly report

We're hitting a lot of milestones this month! In both stats, comments, and projects we're working on! Check it out...

BY THE NUMBERS

• customers asked 2562 questions in June.
  This is the second highest usage for a June since our inception in 2003!

• Maryland librarians handled 1862 questions from across the state and country this month.
  The most questions handled in a June since 2003!

• an additional 1295 questions were answered via email by Maryland librarians this month.
  The most in a June since 2003!

CUSTOMER LOVE

• I am very impressed with the Anne Arundel library system. The employees have always been friendly, knowledgeable, professional and extremely helpful. This system is an asset to the community. Thank you.

• I think this is a wonderful service, that has made it possible for me to find answers to questions from my home, rather than having to come to the library to ask a librarian directly. It's extremely helpful. Thank you for providing it.

• I was very pleased with this process..and it's available 24/7...who knew?!

• This was my first time using this service. I will spread the word to my other "not-so-internet-savvy" peers. I am a non traditional college student. (mature) This was a great help and it helped me become more comfortable using the internet. Thanks.

• Beverly was extremely patient and resourceful. She answered an impossible question; when I go to my library and hear the customers say, "I'm looking for a book, and it's red, and it's a about a guy . . ." the librarians cringe. That was my kind of question, but Beverly didn't even flinch! And she found the title with no trouble. Perfect reference work. Thank you!

• Alain was fantastic and help me out 100%...thanks for hiring great, proffesional people

• This is a terrific service. I have used it several times and always found the librarians very helpful. But then I think the world of our librarians in Maryland and think they are very special and terrific!

• The librarian pointed me to the Magazine and Newspaper Locator website--I wouldn't have found this without her help! She didn't just give me the answer; she gave me the tool I needed to find the answer. A great resource for those of us who have to work after others have called it a day. Thanks!

• [the librarian] is so good. Please retain his services for another fifty years.Thank You

• As a member of circulation services at HCPL, I am constantly explaining the benefits of being a library card holder. As part of the Welcome package we distribute at the time a new card is issued, I point out the "Ask Us Now" service. This was my first time ever using the site myself, and I appreciated the prompt and helpful response. Thank you for the information.

• I am grateful for the AA County Public Library system. It is a fantastic resource. I have been a patron for a long time. Through many transactions, many visits to Branches and many online sessions I have found the people very helpful, efficient and effective. They have performed at a high level and have been very consistent.
  
  The AACPL system is exceptional in every way. I have never been disappointed with the assistance I have received via the Internet or in person at a Branch. Very impressive.
  
  With the economy being in such a terrible state, I have heard more and more people talking about using the Library. Things like using the computers for job hunting and submitting resumes because they have lost Internet access at home. This is very beneficial and is a life-saver for many AA County residents. Thank you all for making our system what it is!

ADMIN

Cathay and Julie have been busy busy making big strides in the following projects:

• redesign new staff training

• design refresher training series (currently including "customer service" and "crisis" training)

• working on an AskUsNow! vision

• staff support website transformation: information architecture and Drupalization. Thanks go to the Transformation Team for their help! The team is: Betty Morganstern (AACPL), Jessica Nhem (Caroline County), Jessica Chaiken (NARIC), Sarah Smith (BCPL), Tina Pickens (BCPL), Cindy Bowen (NAL), Cathay and Julie.

• finishing up the 2008-2009 grant

• selecting, ordering, and distributing marketing materials including highlighters, memo pads, rulers, and bags

• Can AskUsNow! accept donations?

• redoing the schedule to make sure our Maryland customers are being helped by Maryland librarians whenever possible

Resources for your Independence Weekend Celebration

Fourth of July, 2009

All over the United States people celebrate our Independence Day with bar-b-ques and fireworks. Here are some resources to enhance your holiday weekend:

1. Fun Facts
Table conversation won’t be boring with the U.S. Census Bureau’s list of fun facts about our Independence Day. Learn about where the traditional Fourth of July meals come from to how many U.S. places are called “America.” Online at:

http://tinyurl.com/fourthofjuly2009FunFacts

2. History
   One of our country’s national libraries, the Library of Congress, offers an extensive history of our Independence Day, online:

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jul04.html

Also from the Library of Congress is a list of patriotic songs; their words and histories:

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/patriotic/patriotic-home.html

3. Celebrations in and around Maryland
   USA.gov offers a list of resources that include places to celebrate, from National Parks to our Nation’s White House.
   
   http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Independence_Day.shtml
   
   

You can find more about events in the Maryland/Washington D.C. region on About.com, too:

http://dc.about.com/od/specialevents/a/4thofJuly.htm

Events specific to Maryland, see:

http://dc.about.com/od/specialevents/a/4thofJuly_2.htm

4. Family-style celebrations and food
USA.gov offers a list of recipes from famous Americans, child-friendly cooking ideas, healthy eating recipes, and even creative ideas for working with watermelons!

http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Health/Recipes.shtml

5. Crafts and Family Picnics
   Many ideas can be found on Kaboose, at:
   
   

http://holidays.kaboose.com/july-4/

6. Fireworks Laws
   Need to know the fireworks laws (what’s permitted and prohibited) in your state? A document (PDF) from the American Pyrotechnics Association is found at:
   
   http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Independence_Day.shtml
   
   
   
   

Have a safe and fun Fourth of July from all of us at Maryland AskUsNow!