Editorial
School Library Media Activities Monthly/Volume XXV, Number 10/June 2009
Summertime Balance
By Deborah Detenbeck Levitov
Everyone should have plans for the summer that will allow for relaxation, entertainment, revitalization, as well some mental stimulation. Here are a few ideas that might provide a balanced summer.
A good read for summer is Dewey by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter (Grand Central, 2008)—a book, of course, about a library cat. To complement the book, take a tour of Curious Expeditions (http://curiousexpeditions.org/?p=78) and feast on the beautiful libraries pictured on the site.
To prepare for fall, become familiar with the new American Association of School Librarian (AASL) program guidelines, Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs (AASL, 2009). Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in Action would also be good to peruse.
If you like to take photographs or just enjoy looking at photographs, get inspired by Susan Welchman's daily selections posted on the National Geographic Web site—Your Shot (http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/your-shot). Also, see Greg Byerly's column in this issue for more summer Web site destinations (pages 39-41).
Perhaps you would like to take on an exercise challenge for the summer. How about walking 10,000 steps a day? Check out The Walking Site (http://www.thewalkingsite.com/10000steps.html) and make a plan. Load up a good book on your iPod and enjoy.
I just received a preview book entitled New World Kids: The Parents' Guide to Creative Thinking (Foundry Media, 2008). It claims to "reveal how to equip children with 21st century thinking skills" and offers "a new approach to childhood education… that encourages creative thinking processes… with reliance on imagination." The authors also point out the continued shortcomings of schools today, stressing that it is up to parents to demand and provide change for their children. I will put it on my reading list for summer. If any one else reads it, perhaps we can add a discussion strand to our blog (http://blog.schoollibrarymedia.com).
If you would like to learn more and stay current with the latest online technologies, take advantage of WebTools4U2Use (http://webtools4u2use.wikispaces.com/). It is an appealing "wiki for school library media specialists to learn about cool new web tools, see how they can be used in school library media programs, and share ideas and success stories."
SLMAM's 25th anniversary celebration is drawing to a close with the publication of this issue. We hope you have enjoyed the new look of the magazine and found the content helpful and inspiring. If you joined the SLMAM blog, we hope you will keep returning; if not, we hope to hear from you. Perhaps a goal this summer could be to write an article to submit to SLMAM. Or, you could format a lesson plan for submission. In these ways, you can contribute to the development of the next volume of SLMAM and help continue the long standing tradition of the magazine as we move into the 26th year.