KSSreads

Giller Prize 2009- announced tonight

Linden MacIntyre has won the Scotiabank Giller Prize for "The Bishop's Man."

The novel tells the story of a Roman Catholic priest who is tasked with keeping his colleagues in line and stamping out sex abuse scandals before they go public.

 MacIntyre, who is best known for his work with the CBC's "The Fifth Estate," beat out Kim Echlin, Annabel Lyon, Colin McAdam and Anne Michaels to take home the $50,000 prize.

Read more...http://scotiabankgillerprize.ca

Google Wave...moving beyond email

Google Wave initiative...all I can say is let's not worry about monopolies or Class Action if they continue to inspire such tools! 

( Google )

 Google Wave is a new online communications tool that enables groups of people to edit and discuss documents simultaneously on the web. The Google Wave team says Wave is "what email would look like if it were invented today." ^[1] However, because Wave is mostly a document collaboration tool, the oversimplified email metaphor can mislead new users. The initial Wave experience can feel chaotic and confusing, but use cases for Wave abound. Come on in and meet Wave....

Dangerously Irrelevant -10 questions

Scott McLeod at the Dangerously Irrelevant blog posts a list of hard questions about books, libraries and librarians in "10 questions about books, librarians, and schools."

"...I think that the shifts we are now beginning to experience are going to be much more disruptive than we expect. I don’t think that we can take for granted that any current information-oriented profession is going to be around in the new paradigm. I think it’s a safer bet to assume that most of us in information-oriented jobs either are going to be replaced by something new or will see our professions so radically transformed that we may need to give them new labels." ( Scott McLeod)

"...Whether we’re librarians, teachers, administrators, or professors – or newspaper journalists, television producers, radio broadcasters, or magazine publishers – or travel agents, stockbrokers, medical professionals, or postal service workers, I think we need to be more uneasy. We need to be less complacent, less certain. We need to be more proactive and forward-thinking rather than self-congratulatory and self-satisfied...."(Scott McLeod)

Apologies for cross-posting...

Random questions

1. http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/LeaderTalk/2009/11/10_questions_about_books_libra.html When books become electronic and thus become searchable, hyperlinkable, more accessible to readers with disabilities, and able to embed audio, video, and interactive maps and graphics, at what point do they stop becoming “books” and start becoming something else?
2. The Amazon Kindle e-reader currently allows you to annotate an electronic book passage with highlights and your own personal notes. Those annotations are even available to you on the Web, not just on the Kindle device itself. As Seth Godin notes, there hopefully will be a day when you will be able to share those notes with others. You’ll also be able to push a button on your e-reader and see everyone else’s notes and highlights on the same passage. What kind of new learning capabilities will that enable for us?
3. If students and teachers now can be active content creators and producers, not just passive information recipients, doesn’t that redefine our entire notion of what it means to be information literate and media fluent? Are our librarians and classroom teachers doing enough to help students master these new literacies (for example, by focusing on student content creation, not just information consumption and/or interpretation)?
4. The Cushing Academy boarding school in Massachusetts may be the first school in the country to have its library go completely electronic. In addition to using library computers, students now check out Kindles loaded with books. How tough would it be for other schools to move to this model (and what would they gain or lose as a result)?
5. When books, magazines, newspapers, reference materials, music, movies, and other traditional library content all go electronic and online - deliverable on demand - what does that mean for the future of the physical spaces known as “libraries?” Mike Eisenberg said to me that we already should be taking yellow caution tape and blocking off the entire non-fiction and reference sections of our libraries. As content becomes digital and no longer needs to be stored on a shelf, with what do we replace that now-unused floor space: couches, tables, and cozy chairs? computer stations? meeting space? And if we head in these directions, what will distinguish libraries from other institutions such as coffee shops, community centers, and Internet cafes?
6. Our information landscape is more complex than ever before. We still need people who know how to effectively navigate these intricate electronic environments and who can teach others to do so. But does that mean we still need “librarians” who work in “libraries?” Or will their jobs morph into something else?
7. How much of a librarian’s current job could be done by someone in a different location (for example, someone in India who answers questions via telephone or synchronous chat) or by computer software and/or an electronic kiosk? I don’t know the answer to this question - and I suspect that it will vary by librarian - but I do know that many individuals in other industries have been quite dismayed to find that large portions of their supposedly-indispensable jobs can be outsourced or replaced by software (which, of course, means that fewer people are needed locally to do whatever work requires the face-to-face presence of a live human being).
8. Can a librarian recommend books better than online user communities and/or database-driven book recommendation engines? For example, can a librarian’s ability to recommend reading of interest surpass that of a database like Amazon’s that aggregates purchasing behavior or a dedicated user community that is passionate about (and maybe rates/reviews) science fiction books, and then do so for romance, political history, manga, self-help, and every other possible niche of literature too?
9. If school librarians aren’t actively and explicitly modeling powerful uses of digital technologies and social media themselves and also supporting students to do the same, should they get to keep their jobs? And if they are doing so individually (which is what we want), what’s their responsibility to police the profession (and lean on those librarians who aren’t)?
10. There is no conceivable future in which the primacy of printed text is not superceded by electronic text and media. If that future is not too far away (and may already be here), are administrators doing enough to transition their schools, libraries, and librarians / media specialists into a new paradigm?
    ( Leader Talk )

KSS Drops Everything and Reads today- BC Legislature Hansford

Hundreds of students at Kelowna Secondary School dropped their typical academic riguors to celebrate the value of a strong school library by simply reading.  In the typically hectic school day, students are always reading.  They read from textbooks, teacher handouts, powerpoint presentations, internet web pages, email messages and teacher blogs. We all take the task for granted and forget the core value of the skills these reading episodes provide our youth. Studies over and over again prove that reading is the primary skill youth need to succeed in life- especially our modern information age.  

 Just because our fortunate canadian children ahieve world class results in reading evaluation, the demand for strong reading skills still impact achievement and quality of life. Reading for knowledge and skill and reading for pleasure is a gift.  School libraries play a huge role in this process.  From K-12, school libraries experiences support and enrich reading- and this includes new digital reading.  Ensure our children continue to develop strong reading skills and habits by supporting your school library and your school teacher-librarians who cherish and invest in the development of literacy for canadian children.

BC Legislature-Hansford trnascripts below: OCtober 26, 2009

TEACHER-LIBRARIANS AND
PROMOTION OF READING

R. Cantelon: Yes, today is Drop Everything and Read a book, and that's good advice to everybody in this House and in our communities. We have today with us some teacher-librarians who are facilitators in helping students find the magic of books and learn from it. They will develop, among other things, critical thinking — something that we could all use more of, and I'm sure you're very well aware of that concern here in the House.  [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]

Yes, the Internet is fine, but teacher-librarians today are facilitators in helping to answer the questions, encourage the questions and encourage students to seek the answers in books. The Internet is very well and fine, but to give a whole context to proper thought is to pick up a book and read it. A lot of that is happening. It's very, very helpful to the students. It's very important, personally, in my family. My son is married to a teacher-librarian and carrying what will be, I hope in January, a grandchild to our family. So I'm informed very directly and personally about the importance of teacher-librarians. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]

There's new forms of it, new forms that we're taking reading to the students in the schools. The WOW Bus, Words on Wheels, is working. It will be in Pouce Coupe, in Dawson Creek, and it's a very prominent feature in my own riding as well. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]

Early learning is extremely important. So we have a simple message today: drop everything and read. Take a book home with you. Read, it will make you think. It will make you a better person, and we think this is a message we would like to take to children, parents, government, communities. So let's celebrate and support our valuable teacher-librarians and all the work in getting that message out today.  [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]

DROP EVERYTHING AND READ DAY

D. Thorne: As my colleague just told us, October 26 is National School Library Day and the third anniversary of the B.C. Drop Everything and Read Challenge. The Drop Everything Challenge has grown by leaps and bounds since 2007. It's a simple yet powerful idea that promotes the importance of literacy in our society.  [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]

I was lucky today to be able to participate in the challenge. I read aloud to about 100 students at James Bay Community School under the supervision of teacher-librarian Stephen Marta. It was a great experience. It brought back many memories to me of reading aloud to my own children when they were young, definitely one of my favourite memories. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]

All over B.C. today, parents, politicians and local celebrities converged on their local schools to point out the pleasures of reading and the importance of school libraries. For many years studies have proven that next to socioeconomic factors, the single greatest influence on student achievement is a healthy school library program. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]

Student achievement is up to 20 percent higher in schools where the library has a robust collection of resources which have been selected by a fully trained teacher-librarian who has adequate staffing time to teach both students and teachers. Public education aims to provide a level playing field for children, and the school library program is at the very heart of that equity. Sporty or clumsy, brainy or arty, introverted or out there, there is a place for every student, teacher or administrator in the library. [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]

So let's all take up this challenge from our school librarians: when we get back to our offices today, every single one of us, drop everything and read. Let's do it now.  [DRAFT TRANSCRIPT ONLY]

KSS teachers making history

http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/stories.php?id=216538

History teachers make history Daily Courier Staff 2009-10-09 At first, Lindsay Gibson was reluctant to enter the 2009 Governor General‘s awards for excellence in teaching Canadian history. The Central Okanagan secondary teacher has been talked into entering the competition for Canada‘s top history teaching prize from the National History Society before, but he hates blowing his own horn. In spite of that, Gibson and fellow teacher Graeme Stacey entered their names for their unit plan on the benchmarks of historical thinking. They were rewarded this week when they were among the 25 national finalists. A panel will now select six recipients who will receive $2,500, a gold medal and a trip to the awards ceremony in Ottawa on Nov. 20. Their respective schools will also receive $1,000.  ( DailyCourier) History teachers Graeme Stacey, left, and Lindsay Gibson are two of 25 teachers from across Canada nominated for the Governor General award for excellence in teaching Canadian history. GARY NYLANDER/The Daily Courier

KSS hosts BC Student Leadership Conference

15th Annual Student Leadership Conference

Find Your Inner Hero - Be A Super Leader
Oct 22nd to 25th, 2009

Kelowna Secondary School, Kelowna, BC

"Heroes are just ordinary people doing extraordinary things."

The focus of this conference is about brining more of ourselves out for the world to enjoy and experience. Deep within each of us, lies our inner hero just waiting to be unleashed. We alone control how much we reveal and this conference is focused on building the confidence of each delegate to find and bring out their inner hero for the betterment of our world. Being a super leader is not about doing extraordinary thinigs. Instead, it is about bringing out more of our unlikely, ordinary selves in extraordinary ways in our world. Come join us and be a super leader!

WHO ... Students and Advisors from ACROSS BC (BCASAA member schools only)

WHAT ... B.C.S.L.C. 2009, hosted by School District #23 (Central Okanagan) in partnership with BC Association of Student Activity Advisors (BCASAA)

WHERE ... Kelowna, B. C.

WHEN ... October 22-25, 2009

WHY ... to be part of the never ending battle for truth and justice, the 19-year BCSLC tradition, to find your inner hero and be a super leader of British Columbia's future.

We are a Metis Nation- John Ralston Saul

A must listen program tonight...CBC Ideas- John Ralston Saul
Originally aired in April
Embargo until July

New Arrival in September

This lecture 'We are a Metis Nation' at UBC this year was perhaps the most articulate interpretation of Canada's relationship with arboriginal people. Incredible!

In this startlingly original vision of Canada, thinker John Ralston Saul unveils 3 founding myths. Saul argues that the famous "peace, order, and good government" that supposedly defines Canada is a distortion of the country's true nature. Every single document before the BNA Act, he points out, used the phrase "peace, welfare, and good government," demonstrating that the well-being of its citizenry was paramount. He also argues that Canada is a Métis nation, heavily influenced and shaped by aboriginal ideas: egalitarianism, a proper balance between individual and group, and a penchant for negotiation over violence are all aboriginal values that Canada absorbed. Another obstacle to progress, Saul argues, is that Canada has an increasingly ineffective elite, a colonial non-intellectual business elite that doesn't believe in Canada. It is critical that we recognize these aspects of the country in order to rethink its future.(Mosaicbooks.ca)
KSS Catalogue
Study more at Novelist>login 'ksslibrary' 'owls'

BORIGINALS AND NEW CANADIANS: THE MISSING CONVERSATION CD
The words, "We are a Metis nation" John Ralston Saul's recent book, A Fair Country.
In the 2009 UBC-Laurier Institution Multiculturalism Lecture, he argues that aboriginal values have fundamentally shaped the character of Canadian society.

Watch TVO Video of another recent lecture JRS. or Listen to Audio

____________

Download and listen to podcast from KSS Library in July
Embargo CBC Podcast July 13 - Aboriginals and New Canadians: The Missing Conversation by John Ralston Saul

 Subscribe to CBC Ideas on iTunes

"Canada is the oldest continuous federation democracy in the world"-JRS

Obama commencement to Notre Dame grads

US President Obama speaks to Notre Dame grads..while pro-life protesters arrested. Abortion morality was central to the controversy that Notre Dame University invited Obama to speak and receive the obligatory Honorary Law Degree.  His deep messages were introduced with wit and college humour to an audience often still yet interjected by heckling. This type of event and range of issues is very reflective of a nation in conflict. His book title, Audacity of Hope, is indictative of his approach as leader of the United States at a critical time in history.  All educated citizens should be aware of this event and its impact around the world. Read more..."

..."fair minded words"...is indeed superior advice!

as pre-released: 

"...Thank you, Father Jenkins for that generous introduction. You are doing an outstanding job as president of this fine institution, and your continued and courageous commitment to honest, thoughtful dialogue is an inspiration to us all.

Good afternoon Father Hesburgh, Notre Dame trustees, faculty, family, friends, and the class of 2009. I am honored to be here today, and grateful to all of you for allowing me to be part of your graduation.

I want to thank you for this honorary degree. I know it has not been without controversy. I don't know if you're aware of this, but these honorary degrees are apparently pretty hard to come by. So far I'm only 1 for 2 as President. Father Hesburgh is 150 for 150. I guess that's better. Father Ted, after the ceremony, maybe you can give me some pointers on how to boost my average.

I also want to congratulate the class of 2009 for all your accomplishments. And since this is Notre Dame, I mean both in the classroom and in the competitive arena. We all know about this university's proud and storied football team, but I also hear that Notre Dame holds the largest outdoor 5-on-5 basketball tournament in the world - Bookstore Basketball...

Your request is beingEarlier, Obama accepted an honorary degree to hearty applause:

Full Test

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/17/obama-notre-dame-speech-f_n_204387.html

Video

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Funny money- teens

The recession may not be a laughing matter for most people. But Natasha Sweeney, CBC, meets a comic, James Cunningham, who's hoping his jokes will help high school students control their spending.(CBC.ca)

For more information:

James Cunningham and the Funny Money for High Schools Assembly Program
http://www.funnymoneyhighschools.com

I was so impressed with Mr. Cunningham's presentation and message- teens need to learn how to manage money.   His gift was to make hard clear messages to the teens while yet retaining integrity and believability.  Teens need to hear his harsh message and still retain dignity. The underlying point I heard was not about teens but rather about a generation of parents who choose money as a replacement for time and parenting.  It is the parents of pre-teens now who should really listen to his message.- Al Smith

__________________________

video:

Money may be tight, but Canadians still buying books:CBC

STAPLE NOT A LUXURY!

With the world a twitter with technology, people still love a good book. Some things are just design for perfection! The book medium is still pretty hard to beat. You can carry it anywhere.  You don't need the internet or a phone service.  You don't even need electricity- candle light works great too. You can carry in your stuff sack or cozy up under a blanket. The book is still a miracle to humanity! - Al Smith

Monday, April 6, 2009 CP.

http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2009/04/06/book-sales.html

Book sales in Canada rose nearly seven per cent in the first quarter, even higher than during the holiday shopping season.

This proves Canadians regard books as "a staple, not a luxury," according to a spokesman for industry organization BookNet Canada.

BookNet Canada, which tracks sales across the country, said the volume of books sold was up 6.7 per cent in the first quarter compared to last year.

The value of books sold jumped five per cent in the January-March period.

That compared to a six per cent increase in volume and two per cent increase year-over-year in the October-December period.

"This was when the other shoe was supposed to drop, after Christmas when gift sales were no longer a factor. But in the face of declining book sales in the U.S. and U.K., we are still seeing steady performance in English-language Canadian book sales in Q1," BookNet Canada CEO Michael Tamblyn said in a statement.

"For the time being, Canadians continue to view books as a staple, not a luxury."

The data is drawn from BookNet Canada's national book sales tracking system, BNC SalesData, using the year-over-year sales from a fixed panel of 665 retail locations from across the country.

BNC SalesData tracks approximately 75 per cent of the Canadian book market with data from more than 1,000 retail sources, including chains, independents, online, college/university stores, and non-traditional bookstores, such as specialty and discount stores.

Check out the great reads at your Library!

Browse the KSS Catalog.  New books news. Look for a great novel or non-fiction book at Novelist

Be a Feature Reader> share your reviews and titles