Six-foot distancing to be maintained at start of school-year

Six-feet of distancing will be maintained for at least the first month of back-to-school. That's according to a joint update issued this past week from the Sonoma County Office of Education and the Sonoma County Department of Health Services.

ALA Virtual 2020 : An Appreciation

ALA Virtual 2020 : Community Through Connection was my first ALA Conference. With this video, I thank numerous individuals and supporters who made this event possible.

Book-Talk : ‘Class Act’ by Jerry Craft

In my latest ‘Book-Talk’ video: Jerry Craft, author of the Newbery Medal-winning New Kid, will release a companion graphic novel this fall. Class Act will be published Oct. 6, 2020, by HarperCollins Publishers.

Video: Setting up user profile in school library catalog

My latest video on YouTube is about creating a user profile in the library catalog for Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts. I know that with physical-site closures since March and school-year now at an end, many students were not able to return books that they had out from the library. Through setting up their profile, they can look up, and renew, any books that they have out from our library. Hopefully that will give them one less thing to worry about during the summer months. This video is intended to be first in a series about using the school library catalog.

Narwhal statue at SRCSA

Check out this Narwhal statue, created for Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts by Patrick Amiot and Brigitte Laurent of Patrick Amiot Junk Art. Made from repurposed materials, the statue depicts a Narwhal (the school mascot) juggling various objects related to education and the arts. The title of the book being juggled by the narwhal, All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold, was the winner among several nominated titles that were put to a vote.

First Partner issues a ‘Summer Reading Challenge’

First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom has issued a five-week Summer Reading Challenge to encourage California families to “check-out” their community libraries. SRCSA families, your first task is to sign up for summer reading through Sonoma County Library. Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel if you are enjoying my videos.

Rick Riordan Presents, two upcoming titles

Here is an early look at two upcoming books under the Rick Riordan Presents imprint: Paola Santiago and the River of Tears by Tehlor Kay Mejia (August 4, 2020), and City of the Plague God by Sarwat Chadda (January 2021).

Read-aloud videos: Publishers extend permission

Good news for members of our SRCSA community if you’ve been enjoying my read-alouds: Some publishers have extended their permissions, which means that I can keep sharing those videos.

CDE releases guidebook for reopening of schools

Uncertainty has been the biggest challenge during this time of social distancing in response to COVID-19. A document released this week by the California Department of Education helps to address this uncertainty. It’s called “Stronger Together: A Guidebook for the Safer Opening of California’s Public Schools.”

Diversity in publishing : WNDB scholarships address barriers to entry

An effort by authors, readers, librarians, educators, and others to diversify publishing is a major issue affecting Library and Information Science. In its June 1 issue, Publishers Weekly reported that authors are taking matters “into their own hands” to address the lack of diversity in publishing (Maher 2020).

‘Don’t Stand So Close to Me,’ young readers’ book about COVID-19

Book-Talk video: Don’t Stand So Close to Me, by award-winning author Eric Walters, is a novel for young readers, ages 9 to 12, about the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently available in digital formats, it will be released in print this September. Additional resources at http://orcabook.com/orcabigreveal/

Free grab-and-go meals from Santa Rosa City Schools

Santa Rosa City Schools is offering free grab-and-go meals for children ages 0 to 18, June 1 through Aug. 7, during Summer 2020.