SSL Member Update
February 2024
You’ll soon be hearing a lot about the upcoming elections! No, not that election, the NYLA elections. We have entered election season at NYLA, and will be following new election procedures this year. This year SSL Ballot will include candidates for President-Elect, Vice President of Communications, Secretary, and Coordinators for Regions 2, 4, 6, & 8. The slate of candidates will be presented at the SSL Conference Membership Meeting on Saturday May 18, and more information on the candidates will follow. In addition to these SSL board positions, members will also cast their ballot for NYLA President-Elect and NYLA Councilors. SSL member Ginger Tebo is running unopposed for the President-Elect position. You can find out more information about all the NYLA candidates on the NYLA Election page.
2024 marks the first year that we will be following new election guidelines. This new process allows every member the opportunity to cast their vote for the candidates of every NYLA unit they are eligible to vote in. Additionally, this is a similar process to the one used by our national organizations, ALA and AASL. You can find more information on this new process in the NYLA Election Handbook.
The ballot will open June 1st and run through June 15th. To participate in the election, you must be an active member AND have enrolled in the new NYLA database. You can enroll HERE to ensure that your membership is active. Enrolling in the new database will renew your membership through May 31, 2025. If your renewal date in the previous database was after May 31, 2024, NYLA can prorate your membership dues for the upcoming member year. Members who require a proration/discounting of their join form total should use the "Note to NYLA Office" field available in the join form to include any information the office should be aware of. If you have any questions on this, please email Lauren Hoyt at membership@nyla.org.
Finally, I want to celebrate the news that the NOVELny resources will continue for the 2024-25 school year. Thank you to everyone who advocated to preserve these resources for all New York students. This is an advocacy success story and demonstrates how NYLA and NYLA/SSL advocate for the advancement of the New York school library community.
Maureen Squier
Director, Questar III School Library System
518-479-6976
SSL Conference 2026: Deadline: Wednesday 5/1/24
Fill out our SSL Conference Sponsoring Affiliate Proposal Application to submit a proposal to host our annual conference!
Eligible Affiliates should respond by May 1st.
3 Apples Book Award - VOTING NOW OPEN!
Give your students a voice in our state-wide, student choice for top books of the year!
The 3 Apples Book Award, a distinguished recognition in the realm of children's literature, has officially opened its voting process, inviting participation from students across New York State. This unique award stands out as it is entirely decided by the young readers it aims to engage, empowering students with the opportunity to voice their preferences and play a significant role in the literary world. The deadline for casting votes is set for April 30, providing ample time to ensure all votes are counted fairly and the winners can be announced before the end of the school year.
New Voting Process for SSL Positions
Voting for our current SSL Board will open June 1 and run through June 30. You must be a NYLA/SSL member to vote.
Enroll HERE to ensure that your membership is active.
Be on the lookout for official ballot information coming to your email and social media platforms very soon.
NOVELny Renewed!
The New York State Library has recently announced the exciting renewal of the NOVELny (New York Online Virtual Electronic Library) program for the 2024-2025 period.
This state-funded initiative continues to provide free access to a wide array of electronic resources and databases for all residents of New York State, supporting learners, researchers, and readers of all ages.
The extension of NOVELny for the 2024-2025 period reaffirms New York State's commitment to education, literacy, and public access to information. Libraries, schools, and individuals across the state will continue to benefit from this invaluable resource, ensuring that all New Yorkers, regardless of their location or economic status, have access to high-quality information resources.
NYLA/SSL 2024 Conference
May 16-18, 2024
Lake Placid, NY
Pre-registration ends Sunday, May 5!
The moment you have been waiting for...the 2024 SSL Schedule at a Glance is now live! Check out all the amazing presentations we have planned.
Our room block has been filled. Please use the following link to view other options in the area. If you have any questions about this please reach out to the conference email nylassl2024@gmail.com.
Pre-Registration closes on Sunday, May 5. Be sure you're registered! After May 5 only walk-in registration will be available (at a higher cost).
Coming to the conference? Download the web badge and tell everyone you'll be there!
Are you interested in donating a basket for our annual Knickerbocker Basket Raffle? Then take a moment and fill out this brief Google Form.
Proceeds from the Knickerbocker Basket Raffle go towards scholarships for the SSL Conference.
Costume party!
Join us Thursday, May 16 from 5-8pm to celebrate SSL's 80th birthday.
Dress up as your favorite book character and you could win an ARC of All The Way To Go by Jessie Janowitz.
Region 1 SSL Representative: Amy Jo Southworth
Suffolk School Library Media Association (SSLMA) to be renamed as Long Island School Library Association (LISLA)
Two years ago, after LISMA dissolved, the Suffolk School Library Media Association (SSLMA) offered full membership to both Suffolk and Nassau County school librarians. We felt it would be beneficial to all school librarians across Long Island to have a mutual organization in which to collaborate, network, and be a source of support and advocacy. We wanted to take the next step in the effort to be inclusive of both Nassau and Suffolk County school librarians, and after a vote of approval from both our membership and executive board, Suffolk School Library Media Association (SSLMA) will be renamed as the Long Island School Library Association (LISLA), effective as of the 2024-2025 school year.
While our name and logo will be changing, our mission in supporting school librarians and school libraries remains the same. We are grateful for our membership, their involvement and willingness to share their successes and struggles with both new and seasoned school librarians. We look forward to continuing to grow as an organization and remaining a resource for librarians across Long Island. We can still be contacted at sslmagroup@gmail.com at this time.
Region 2 SSL Representative: Donna Gray
SSL Region Representative: Teri Richardson
SSL Region Representative: Debra Armbruster
SSL Region Representative: Kaitlin Patenaude
School Librarians of Northern New York
Jefferson-Lewis Library Association
Northern Adirondack Library Association
SSL Region Representative: Penny Feeney
Solvay Union Free School District - Janna Kozloski
2024 Solvay Book Award Bracket
Students in grades K-4 read and voted between 8 books to select the winner of the 2024 Solvay Book Award. The winning book was "Just One Flake" by Travis Jonker. Students then created their own medal design, inspired by other famous book medals such as the Caldecott Medal. The winning medal design was placed on the library's copy of "Just One Flake." Several students from each grade received honorable mention awards as well as the Creative Excellence Award and second/third place. Students were also thrilled to receive a special message from Travis Jonker accepting the award!
Cazenovia Central School District, Burton Street Elementary - Katie McGinnis
PARP: Pick a Reading Partner
This our first year implementing the PARP program! PARP is a program that asks a partner (parent, grandparent, babysitter, older sibling, cousin, friend, etc.) to read with a child for at least 20 minutes daily. Our 2024 PARP message is “Adventure is better together.” When students come to school the first day of PARP, the school will be transformed. Students will embark on their adventure through reading and become STORY EXPLORERS!
During PARP we will have guest speakers, a spirit week, a reading buddy program, and DEAR (drop everything and read), when all students and teachers will pause their day to read together. DEAR will happen RANDOMLY within the two week stretch 5 times.
Battle of the Books (grades 3&4) is during PARP, followed by a BOB party to celebrate
Westhill Central School District, Walberta Park Elementary - Aneisa Linton
Author Julie Berry visits Walberta Park School
In January Walberta Park School hosted author Julie Berry. In anticipation of her visit students had read Julie’s picture books, Happy Right Now, Cranky Right Now and The Night Frolic. Students enjoyed the stories and loved hearing about how Julie writes the stories and the process of making a picture book. Julie also talked about the different emotions kids feel during the day and ways they can help themselves feel better.
DeRuyter Central School District - Jennifer Jones
DeRuyter hosted author ohnathan. He is the author of The Great Dane Chronicles, a series of children's books focusing on social-emotional issues and featuring great danes. He is also an alum of DeRuyter CSD. He spoke to our 9th grade ELA classes, who have recently written their own children's books, as well as our PK-5 classes.
Amazing O2CM BOCES Regional Battle of the Books 2024
The Regional Battle of the Books competitions were a thrilling event. The program included more than 1,800 students from 25 districts across O2CM! This is a significant increase of more than 500 students compared to last year, showing our students' growing enthusiasm for reading and competition.
The top-ranking teams, securing 1st and 2nd place in their respective grade bands, now advance to the Super Regional Battle. Here, they will face off against formidable opponents from the Syracuse City School District and Monroe 2 BOCES teams. Excitement abounds as these talented teams prepare to compete
Chittenago School District Middle School -Jenna Baldwin, Fayetteville-Manlius Wellwood Middle School. Marcellus Central School District Driver Middle School - Kate Shanahan and Westhill Central School District Onondaga Hill Middle School - Penny Feeney
Jennifer Nielsen Visits Syracuse
A HUGE shout out to Jenna Baldwin who organized an author collaboration for New York Times best selling author Jennifer Nielsen. Jennifer spent the week in Syracuse visiting a different school each day. Every school was blown away by Jennifer's warm and caring demeanor resonated with both students and staff members alike, making the day truly memorable and inspiring for everyone involved.
Baldwinsville Central School District - Alison Earl
One Book, One School
In January and February, McNamara Elementary participated in a community read of "The Wild Robot" by Peter Brown. The school's PTA purchased a book for each student and classroom library and sponsored an indoor StoryWalk of "What Do You Do With A Chance?" by Kobi Yamada to tie into the theme of the book. Each day, families and classrooms read together and completed literacy challenges and answered daily trivia questions on the announcements. Students also had the opportunity to complete a BINGO board to earn prizes that included: bookmarks, STEM activities, and more books in "The Wild Robot" series. We were also so excited to see the movie trailer release of "The Wild Robot" at the end of our program!
SSL Region Representative: Alicia Sherman
School Librarians of the Southern Tier - East
School Librarians of the Southern Tier West
Contact SSL!
Email: nyla.sslibs@gmail.com
Website: www.nyla.org/ssl
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