Competency #9 -- Internet -- International Reading Association

I selected the webpage for the International Reading Association's Children's and Young Adult's Book Awards for this competency.

The IRA's Book Awards page can be accessed at http://www.reading.org/association/awards/childrens_ira.html.

This webpage includes a description of the book awards that the International Reading Association gives out for both children's and young adult books. It also includes a list of award winning titles and is quite comprehensive, listing awards from 1975 to 2007. The award-winning books for the past eighteen years include the age categories for which the books received the award, and many also include whether the book is fiction or non-fiction.

I chose to include this webpage because the International Reading Association is a reputable organization that promotes literacy and reading for all by getting involved with not only research and teaching strategies, but also with children's and young adult literature. The IRA's focus on this type of literature and the awards that they give related to this literature emphasizes the importance of school librarians staying up-to-date on current literature, so that they can best serve their library patrons.

I found this webpage using the meta-search engine http://www.dogpile.com/.

Competency #8-- Multimedia

I included the image above because it highlights Newbery award-winning books that have been included in the Online Computer Library Center's listing of the Top 1000 books owned by libraries that hold membership in the cooperative. I liked the fact that these twenty-four books are recognized not only by their award-winning status, but also by their ranking by the OCLC. This image is a good reminder for school librarians to consider multiple sources and rankings when considering books to recommend or purchase. It also highlights the staying power of award-winning literature for children and young adults, as many of these titles seem to continue to receive high circulation numbers well after they receive a book award.

This image was retreived from http://1stedition.net/blog/2007/03/newbery_medal_oclc_top_1000.html.

The website includes a disclaimer stating "The information offered on the website and blog is offered free of charge. If you find the information useful, then kindly link or share the post with a parent, teacher, librarian, bookseller, or collector. Thank You."

I included this video interview of David Wiesner, winner of the Caldecott medal for the book "Flotsam." This video is important because Wiesner gives background for his interest in drawing, relating it to visual storytelling, which has an obvious connection to the Caldecott medal and the artistry seen in the books that receive this award. Furthermore, he speaks to his own exploration and interest in picture books, as well as the success he has had in the industry, sharing the joy he has felt in receiving so much feedback from school librarians, teachers, and even young adults who explore his books.

This video was retreived from http://blip.tv/file/310666 and was found using the Creative Commons Search (http://search.creativecommons.org/).

Competency #7 -- Social Networking -- MySpace

I chose to explore the social networking site, MySpace, as it offered a wealth of different types of social networking sites, reflecting both individual authors and organizations whose focus is on young adults and young adult library services.

Nikki Grimes' MySpace page
http://www.myspace.com/n_grimes

Nikki Grimes is an author who has accomplished much success in the world of young adult literature, having received Coretta Scott King Author Award for her novel Bronx Masquerade and numerous other accolades for her works such as the Coretta Scott King honor book and ALA Notable book. I chose to include this MySpace page because it aligns well with the focus of my blog, as it allows readers of all ages to get a glimpse at an author who writes for young adults and whose work portrays the quality of award-winning literature for the young adult genre.

Young Adult Library Services Association MySpace page
http://www.myspace.com/yalsa

This MySpace page offers numerous links for young adults interested in books and in library services. I chose to include this MySpace page because the YALSA MySpace page has links to the Michael L. Printz Award and the Margaret A. Edwards Award, which the association selects and awards each year. These awards tie in directly with my focus on award-winning children's and young adult literature. In addition to these links, there are links to podcasts, Flickr photos, and the YALSA blog, to name just a few. With all of these links and opportunities to see other people who are interested in the same things, the YALSA MySpace page is a good example of how school libraries can encourage students to stay connected to the library through social networking sites.

Competency #6 -- Database Searches -- Building Block Search with DIALOG

The Building Block search incorporates several facets related to my search query, which are then joined by the boolean operator "AND." To complete the Building Block search, I used DIALOG web, and more specifically, the Readers' Guide Abstracts Database, as it seemed to have articles that would be more relevant to my search query related to children's and young adult literature.

My first search facet was "award winner OR book award OR medal," which I typed as my first search command into DIALOG.



My second search facet was "adolescent OR children OR young people."

My third search facet was "school OR librar??? OR media center." Within this facet, I incorporated truncation so that the search might include the terms 'libraries' or 'librarian.'




To complete the building block search with all three facets, I entered the DIALOG search command "ss s4 AND s8 AND s12" which produced results based on the combination of all three of the individual facets searches incorporated into DIALOG.



The Building Block search produced 26 results.



The second article, "Greenwillow, Hyperion Win Newbery, Caldecott" found in Publishers Weekly, was highly relevant as the discussion focuses solely on award-winning literature. The author discusses two authors in particular, both of whom won book awards in 2005. With the discussion of other book award winners, this article would be very useful to school librarians who are seeking to include current award-winning books in their displays or in their libraries in general.



I liked the Building Block search strategy because it allowed for inclusion of related terms and synonyms within the same search, all joined together with the Boolean connector ‘AND.’ Thus, my search covered multiple angles, which allowed me to initially see a wide range of results produced. Additionally, I really liked using the DIALOG Web because of how it allowed me to see the number of results produced with each facet as I built up my search query. The search results were highly relevant, which made for a more engaging search experience, too.

Competency #6 -- Database Searches -- Specific Facet First Search with LibLit

The Specific Facet First search strategy required that I search using the most specific facet from my broader search query.

I searched for "award-winning children* literature" using LibLit, as this search term specifies what type of literature [award-winning] and what genre of literature [children's] should be included in the documents brought forth by the search.




This search resulted in 15 records.




The first hit was an interview with author Jeanne Birdsall. In the document entitled "Seems Like Old Times," Birdsall discusses her books, including the one that won the National Book Award for young people's literature.



This hit was highly relevant as it provides discussion and information related to book(s) by Jeanne Birdsall that are not only award-winning, but are also engaging for children and young adults. Furthermore, as this document is an article from School Library Journal, its relevancy to school librarians is well-established. This hit provides recent and informative news related to award-winning literature, making it a good resource for school librarians.




I like the Specific Facet First search strategy because of how it allows me to really hone in on a specific part of my search query. I think it is sometimes useful to see how narrow a search can be so that you can then broaden it, if necessary. I was pleased with the results of this search and the database, as LibLit's focus is on libraries and issues related to them.

Competency #6 -- Database Searches -- Citation Pearl Growing Search with ERIC

The Citation Pearl Growing search strategy required that I incorporate keywords and terms from previous searches and documents to "grow" a new, more relevant search query.

Thus, I did an initial search using the ERIC database and the terms "award-winning" AND "children and young adult" AND "literature."

This initial search using the ERIC advanced keyword search resulted in 14 documents.

To build my citation pearl growing search, I used the first hit -- "The Newbery/Printz Companion: Booktalk and Related Materials for Award Winners and Honor Books" -- to glean additional and more specific search terms and keywords.



I grew my second search using the keywords "adolescent literature" and "book* N3 award*" from the document retrieved from the initial search. I incorporated the words found in Descriptor part of the document information. Furthermore, I incorporated truncation with the words "book" and "award," so that the search would include the plural forms of these terms, too. I also used the proximity function so that the words 'book' and 'award' would be found within three words of one another.



The second search resulted in 21 documents.



There were many relevant hits from this search. I looked more closely at the fifth document, "Selecting and Promoting Young Adult and Children's Award-Winning Books: What This Means for Publishers, Authors, Teachers, Librarians, and the Consumer." This document was highly relevant as it provides a great deal of information on young adult and children's books, specifically award-winning books, while also meshing information and ideas related to how school librarians can incorporate these titles into their libraries.



I enjoyed composing the Citation Pearl Growing search strategy because it allowed me to combine my own natural language with key terms provided by the database. I appreciate how this search “built” upon a previous search, thereby becoming more specific and relevant almost immediately. I liked being able to adjust my search and search terms by using results that had previously been retrieved from another search.

Competency #6 -- Database Searches -- Successive Fractions with Project MUSE

The Successive Fraction search strategy required that I limit the search through different techniques so that my results would be narrowed from the broad initial search.

My inital search used terms "literature book award*" to get the broadest search possible without limiting it to children's or young adult literature at first. I incorporated truncation of the word "award" in order to accommodate search results for "award" or "awards." The boolean operator "AND" was automatically incorporated into the search due to the search features of the Project MUSE database.


The initial, broad search produced 4785 results.



I then limited the search further by using the database's "Search Within Results" search box feature and using the terms "adolescent and children*." I used the truncation symbol for children again, so that the search might include both "children" and "children's" literature.



The narrowing down of the search with these terms resulted in 257 documents -- many fewer than the initial 4785.



The first hit of this narrower search was a document entitled Messages in a Bottle: The 2007 Lion and the Unicorn Award for Excellence in North American Poetry. This was a very relevant hit, as it focuses on an award given out for exceptional children's poetry books. It would be a great resource for school librarians who strive to incorporate award-winning literature in all genres, including poetry.



Successive Fractions searching intrigued me because the use of multiple limiters during this search did help narrow down the results, with some results being quite relevant to the search query. This approach allowed me to get a feel for how the database was “weeding out” choices and documents based upon the search limits that I subsequently included. Additionally, the results from my search were quite interesting, especially in light of the scholarly and varied nature of the database Project MUSE.

Competency #5: Tagging

Using Librarything, I searched for books and tags related to children's and young adult literature, as well as literature awards for these genres.

I looked at a book entitled Children's Literature Awards and Winners: A Directory of Prizes, Authors, and Illustrators by Dolores Blythe Jones, which produced the following tag cloud:

12/2/06(1) artists(1) authors(1) Awards(1) books about books(1) Boston(1) Caldecott(2) children's books(1) children's literature(1) illustrator(1) ma(1) Massachusetts(1) Newbery(1) Newbery medal(1) professional collection(2) reference

http://www.librarything.com/work/2115915

I chose to look at this book because it appears to give a comprehensive listing of literature that represents a variety of awards given to children's books. Furthermore, it would be a good reference book when seeking additional titles of award-winning literature.

By following the link for Newbery medal, a larger tag cloud is created:

2007(594) 20th Century(594) Advance reading copy(594) adventure(594) Animals(594) award winner(594) Book(594) chapter book(594) children(594) children's(594) Children's fiction(594) children's literature(594) Classic(594) coming of age(594) death(594) dogs(594) dystopia(594) family(594) Fantasy(594) fiction(594) first edition(594) friendship(594) grade school(594) historical(594) Historical Fiction(594) JFic(594) juvenile(594) Juvenile Fiction(594) kosher(594) middle ages(594) Middle Grade(594) mystery(594) novel(594) own(594) poetry(594) read(594) Realistic Fiction(594) School(594) science fiction(594) series(594) survival(594) Time Travel(594) trade paperback(594) unread(594) wishlist(594) young adult(594)

http://www.librarything.com/tag/Newbery+medal

Competency #4: RSS Feed

I have included an RSS feed from School Library Journal. More specifically, this RSS feed relates to news about award-winning books and authors, which aligns with my focus on school librarianship and award-winning children's and young adult literature.

The link to current and updated School Library Journal stories through the RSS feed can be found at the bottom of my blog.

Competency #3: Podcasts -- Juan Felipe Herrera at the University of California

The podcast I am including is entitled "A Natural History of Chicano Literature: a Performance Lecture by Juan Felipe Herrera." This podcast is part of the University of California Television's site (http://www.uctv.tv/), which highlights podcasts such as documentaries, lectures, and other performances. A listing of other related podcasts available for download can be found at http://www.podcastblaster.com/directory/podcast-1175.html.

I found this podcast using the Yahoo! Podcast search engine at http://podcasts.yahoo.com/.

I selected this particular podcast because it highlights an author who has had much success writing for children and young adults. Specifically, Juan Felipe Herrera and his work have been recipients of the Ezra Jack Keats Award, the Americas Award, and the Pura Belpré honor award. As this podcast relates to children's and young adult literature from the perspective of an author with whom school librarians should be familiar, I felt it was an appropriate example of how podcasts can help present information on a variety of topics and from a variety of perspectives.

This podcast can be found at http://sherman.ucsd.edu/mp3/11119.mp3.

Competency #2: Blog Post -- The Newbery Project

The Blog I am including is called The Newbery Project. I found this blog using the Google Blog Search at http://blogsearch.google.com/.

The Newbery Project is a blog that invites participants to read and discuss books that have received the John Newbery Medal. The blog includes a complete list of all the winners of this award from 1922 to 2007. Within the list of winners are links to other members' blogs, where they post thoughts and discussions related to their reading of the book(s).

One quote from this blog that reminds me of the importance of sharing books with other readers occurs in an August 22, 2007, posting. The author writes "It seems that a lot of Newbery Medal winners are chosen because they illuminate various world or historic cultures." This opens up a world of discussion that can then be shared from people who are reading the different Newbery winners.

I chose to include this blog because of its focus on an important book award that highlights quality literature for children and young adults. I think it is worthwhile that the blog tries to get people to interact with others regarding their reading of Newbery award winners, as reading and discussion of literature can be rewarding for all involved. I believe it is important for school librarians and other people who work with young people to be familiar with the wealth of award-winning literature that will appeal to a variety of readers and library patrons. Thus, this blog aims to present information related to this goal by inviting readers to take a journey through the reading of Newbery award winners from past to present.

You can access this blog at http://newberryproject.blogspot.com/.

Competency #1: Creation and Purpose of this Blog

This blog is part of my graduate work towards my MLS and School Library certification. As I complete my work for LS 5013, Information Storage and Retrieval, this blog will be used to display information related to the competencies, with a focus on school libraries and award-winning children's and young adult literature.