Bullying Prevention
October is National Bullying Prevention Month and Scenario Learning is offering free resources to every school in October and November. Among the available tools is a 20-minute SafeSchools Training course for school staff that explains how students use technology to bully others, the criteria that constitute bullying, the legalities of schools disciplining cyberbullies, and how to handle a cyberbullying situation. For students, there’s a brief, informational SafeSchools Alert public service announcement video that explains what bullying is and what students should do if they are bullied.
“Every child deserves to go to school free of fear. By helping train staff on how to deal with and prevent bullying, we hope to make a significant difference in the lives of students,” noted Brian Taylor, president and CEO of Scenario Learning. The company develops safety and compliance solutions that help create safer schools and workplaces.
Programming Award
Tween program at the Moore Memorial Public Library
Nominations are open for the American Library Association Excellence in Library Programming Award. Sponsored by the ALA Cultural Communities Fund, the award acknowledges a “library that demonstrates excellence in library programming by creating a cultural/thematic program type or program series, presented during the preceding year (September 1, 2012–August 31, 2013) that engages the community in planning sponsorship and/or active participation, addresses an identified community need, and has a measurable impact.” Public, school, academic, and special libraries are eligible to enter, but the program must have been for a public audience.
The winner will receive $5,000 and a citation of achievement that will be presented during ALA Annual Conference in June. Be sure to check out the guidelines and submit your application by December 1, 2013.
YA Lit Symposium
The Young Adult Library Services Association’s (YALSA) 2014 Young Adult Literature Symposium, “Keeping It Real: Finding the True Teen Experience in YA Literature,” will be held in Austin, Texas, October 31–November 2, 2014. YALSA is now accepting program proposals and paper presentations for the Symposium. If you have an idea for a 90-minute program related to the theme or a paper presentation that offers new, unpublished research, complete an application online (click “Propose a Paper/Program”). All proposals must be received by November 1, 2013 and applicants will be notified about their proposal status the week of January 12, 2014.
Wanted: New Coretta Scott King Book Award Committee Members
The Coretta Scott King (CSK) Book Awards Committee is looking for new members to participate in various capacities, such as public relations/marketing, publications, archives and history, the Coretta Scott King breakfast, membership, and more. Participants must be a member ($15) of the American Library Association’s EMIERT (Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table). If you want to help out, contact Jonda McNair, CSK Book Award chair.
The Coretta Scott King Book Award was founded in 1969 by Mabel McKissick and Glyndon Greer at the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference. The Coretta Scott King Book Awards are given annually to outstanding African American authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults “that demonstrate an appreciation of African American culture and universal human values. The award commemorates the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and honors his wife, Coretta Scott King, for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace and world brotherhood.” The first award was given to Lillie Patterson in 1970 for her biography, Martin Luther King, Jr.: Man of Peace (Garrard).