ERS Library Curbside Services - convenient drop off/pick up, without ever leaving your vehicle!

 

In an effort to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the following ERS Library curbside services are available until further notice. 

CURBSIDE HOURS:

Monday - Friday     9:00am – 4:00pm

CURBSIDE SERVICES:

• Pickup/return of ERS Library materials – as reserved through Follett Destiny on the ERS Portal. Use "Reserve for specific date" and set the start date as the day you intend to pick up the item(s). Note: The ERS Library Staff are delivering & picking up library materials at contracting sites that have given approval. If reserving materials for delivery, please start/end your reservation on your site’s assigned day.
• Poster orders – send PDFs and instructions to library@ersconnect.org. The Library staff will process your order and inform you when the order is available via curbside pickup. Payment options: school PO, credit/debit card (via phone).
• Lamination – drop off materials to be laminated at curbside pickup. After a 72 hour (3 day) quarantine your order will be processed. Call (559) 651-3031 to make arrangements with the Library staff. 
• Teacher Resource Center (TRC) services – for the availability of all other TRC services (copies, binding, die-cuts, etc.), please email library@ersconnect.org.  

Reserved materials and TRC orders will be available for curbside pickup at a mutually agreed upon time between the hours of 9:00am-4:00pm, Monday-Friday. To make an appointment for curbside pickup or drop off, email library@ersconnect.org or call (559) 651-3031.

When you arrive at 7000 W Doe Avenue, park in one of the “Reserved for Curbside Pickup” parking spaces facing the main building and call (559) 651-3031. The ERS Library staff will bring materials to your vehicle and place in the trunk, or retrieve materials from the vehicle trunk, for contactless service.

Upcoming Holidays & Observances with Teaching Resources - August 2020

Arts in Education Week is coming up next month, September 13-19, 2020.  Whether you are a student, educator, or parent there are many ways to celebrate the arts in education. The arts are an essential part of every student’s education. Young people of all ages benefit from artistic learning, innovative thinking, and creativity. The ERS Library and Teacher/Student Portals have a variety of digital resources for you to use for your next art lesson. Click the links below to find grade level appropriate videos from Discovery Education. In addition to digital resources, the ERS Library print collection contains beautiful books that highlight the value and importance of art; search our extensive collection at erslibrary.org today! You can reserve art books to be delivered to your school site or arrange to pick them up via curbside service at the ERS Library.

Arts Books in the ERS Library circulating collection:

Arts Resources on the ERS Portal:

To access digital resources, log into the ERS Portal, click on Discovery Education, then return to this post to click the links.

Grades K-2nd            Grades 3rd-5th

Grades 6th-8th          Grades 9th-12th

Technology Tips: Google Jamboard

Google Jamboard

While the 55-inch cloud-powered Google Jamboard (whiteboard) costs around $5,000 USD, Google's Jamboard mobile apps are completely free! With the Jamboard apps you have a virtual whiteboard wherever you are. The apps are available on mobile devices and on the web.

Educators can engage all students in the learning process, whether working together in a traditional classroom, a group setting, or through distance learning. Jamboard makes learning visible and accessible to collaborators on the jam session. Plus, it is easy to present your jams in real time through Google Meet, allowing for easy sharing or making real-world connections. Jamboards use “frames” as the workspace(s). The frames are where collaborators draw, write, add images and more.  

The tools change depending on the app you are using. Mobile devices have more functionality than the web app. The toolbar will also adjust to the tool you are currently using.

The Jamboard app is not on by default so you will want to talk with your school’s Google Administrator and request that JamBoard be enabled.

Find the apps in your favorite app store and try them out today!

New Items in the ERS Library's Circulating Collection - August 2020

Click image above for TeachingBooks link	Click image above for TeachingBooks link	Click image above for TeachingBooks link
A young girl looks out her window, pondering the universe. A subsequent family trip to the planetarium gives her a lot to think about. Are humans the only beings who wonder if they are alone in the universe? Our sun is a star. In the night sky are all kinds of stars and orbiting those stars are planets like the ones in our own solar system. Are there other “Goldilocks planets” out there capable of sustaining life, planets that are “not too hot and not too cold, not too big and not too small, not too soft and not too hard” but “just right”? Could those planets have life like we do on Earth? Beginning with the insights of astronomers such as Lucretius and Giordano Bruno and continuing with the observations of a fictional young girl from the present day, this illuminating book examines the possibility of life on other planets.	Hank Hudson is in a bit of trouble. After an incident involving the boy’s bathroom and a terribly sad book his teacher is forcing them to read, Hank is left with a week’s suspension and a slightly charred hardcover—and the attention of new girl Maisie Huang. Maisie has been on the lookout for a kid with the meatballs to help her with a very important mission: Saving her neighbor’s dog, Booler. Booler has seizures, and his owner, Mr. Jorgensen, keeps him tied to a tree all day and night because of them. Hank has autism, and he knows what it’s like to be treated poorly because of something that makes you different. But different is not less. And Hank is willing to get into even more trouble to prove it. Booler might not be the only one who needs saving. And being a hero can look a lot like being a friend.	Ruth David was growing up in a small village in Germany when Adolf Hitler rose to power in the 1930s. Under the Nazi Party, Jewish families like Ruth's experienced rising anti-Semitic restrictions and attacks. Just going to school became dangerous. By November 1938, anti-Semitism erupted into Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, and unleashed a wave of violence and forced arrests. Days later, desperate volunteers sprang into action to organize the Kindertransport, a rescue effort to bring Jewish children to England. Young people like Ruth David had to say good-bye to their families, unsure if they'd ever be reunited. Through the moving and often heart-wrenching personal accounts of Kindertransport survivors, Hopkinson paints the timely and devastating story of how the rise of Hitler and the Nazis tore apart the lives of so many families and what they were forced to give up in order to save these children.
Interest Level: K-3rd Elementary	Interest Level: 3rd-6th Intermediate	Interest Level: 9th-12th High School

Resource: With Remote Learning Still the Norm, Publishers Extend Permissions for Read Alouds

From School Library Journal | August 5, 2020



With remote learning looking like the state of play this fall, publishers have extended permissions for read alouds of their titles.

To help educators and librarians engaged in online learning and storytimes held via Zoom and other virtual means, many publishers relaxed copyright restriction on their works at the start of the pandemic.

(Click here to read full article on slj.com)

Did You Know? - August 2020

Welcome back! The ERS Library staff returned to the office on Monday, August 3 after working from home since March. The library staff made a quick pivot in our support for schools, conducting virtual “Drop-In” Learning Sessions throughout April, May and well into June. Over 360 educators from across Tulare & Kings Counties attended our “Drop-In” Learning sessions. Each 50-minute session provided an opportunity to learn about our many standards-aligned digital resources in the ERS Portal including Discovery Education, ABC-CLIO, World Book Online, ProQuest, TeachingBooks, TumbleBooks, TeenBookCloud, Opposing Viewpoints and Peekapak! Many of you attended these sessions and we valued the opportunity to serve you in a new and unique way! 

For those who did not have the opportunity to attend, we will be scheduling new sessions starting this month. An informational email with a schedule of sessions will be emailed to educators at contracting school sites.   

In this complex information and digital world, we want to introduce you to new resources for both teaching and interacting with your classes, whether virtual or in the classroom. We’ve added two new resources this year – MackinVIA ebooks and Sora audiobooks – we are excited to share these with you.  

Just like you, we’re learning and growing as we meet new challenges daily. If you need assistance please do not hesitate to contact us at library@ersconnect.org. We are here to support you!

P.S. Beginning Tuesday, August 11 delivery and pick up of library materials will resume to schools open for delivery.

Giveaway - The Global Read Aloud

Enter for your chance to win a STAMPED: RACISM, ANTIRACISM, AND YOU classroom pack!

(click image to enter)

Includes: Buttons, Tote Bag, Educator Guide, Bookmarks

Promotion Start Date: August 1, 2020, at 8:00am EST

Promotion End Date: November 13, 2020 at 11:59pm EST

Prize: Three (3) prizes are available for three (3) winners. Each prize consists of one (1) copy of the official Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You educator guide, one (1) Little, Brown Books for Young Readers tote bag, twenty-five (25) "Be Antiracist" bookmarks, and twenty-five (25) "Be Antiracist" buttons. 

Please read the Official Rules before entering

Sponsor Coordinator: CM at 5-640

Good luck to all entrants!

ERS Library Curbside Services - Available Now!

In an effort to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the following ERS Library curbside services are available until further notice. 

Curbside Pickup/Return Hours:

Monday - Friday     9:00am – 4:00pm

Services:

• Curbside pickup of ERS Library materials – as reserved through Follett Destiny on the ERS Portal. Use "Reserve for specific date" and set the start date as the day you intend to pick up the item(s). Note: The ERS Library Staff are delivering & picking up library materials at contracting sites that have given approval. If reserving materials for delivery, please start/end your reservation on your site’s assigned day.
• Curbside return of ERS Library materials
• Poster orders – send PDFs and instructions to library@ersconnect.org. The Library staff will process your order and inform you when the order is available via curbside pickup. Payment options: school PO, credit/debit card (via phone).
• Lamination – drop off materials to be laminated at curbside pickup. After a 72 hour (3 day) quarantine your order will be processed. Call (559) 651-3031 to make arrangements with the Library staff. 

Reserved materials and poster/lamination orders will be available for curbside pickup at a mutually agreed upon time between the hours of 9:00am-4:00pm, Monday-Friday. To make an appointment for curbside pickup or drop off, email library@ersconnect.org or call (559) 651-3031.

When you arrive at 7000 W Doe Avenue, park in one of the “Reserved for Curbside Pickup” parking spaces facing the main building and call (559) 651-3031. The ERS Library staff will bring materials to your vehicle and place in the trunk, or retrieve materials from the vehicle trunk, for contactless service.

From The Desk Of Debra Lockwood

On July 27, 2020, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) released its list of Best Digital Tools for Teaching & Learning. The recognition honors electronic resources that provide enhanced learning and curriculum development for school librarians and classroom teachers. ERS Library is excited to offer access to TeachingBooks; a wonderful resource that enhances student appreciation of authors and books.

Congratulations to the team at TeachingBooks for making the 2020 list!

These user friendly tools, listed to the right, were recognized for fostering the qualities of innovation, creativity, active participation, collaboration, exploration, and quality reference content.

The list of Best Digital Tools and a detailed description can be found at www.ala.org/aasl/best.

The 2020 list includes:

• codeSpark
• EmotionalABCs
• FabuLingua
• Facing History
• KidLit TV
• Masters of Tradition
• Parlay
• Talking Points
• TeachingBooks
• World 101
• Zoom

CheckThisOut! adds Digital Subscription Kits

Locating high quality, age appropriate, digital resources for your virtual classroom this fall just got easier! The ERS Library Staff is excited to offer a CheckThisOut! Digital Resource curation service. When you sign-up for only the *Digital Resources from the ERS Portal* option (see image at left), you will receive an email each month containing links to standards-aligned digital resources from Discovery Education Streaming Video, TeachingBooks, World Book & Britannica Encyclopedias, ProQuest’s Culture Grams, SIRS Discoverer and eLibrary, Opposing Viewpoints and others.  The ERS Library’s digital resources support learning in grades K-12. Interested? Follow this link to learn more and sign up today!

Resource: Future Ready Librarians - Reopening and Return to Learn Padlet

Shannon McClintock Miller, of the Library Voice blog and Future Ready Librarians (FRL) Spokesperson, shared the following Padlet as part of the July 29th FRL webinar "Creating Return to Learn Plans for Your Library". The included articles, templates and charts will be incredibly helpful as our Tulare and Kings County school sites prepare for the upcoming school year.

https://padlet.com/shannonmmiller/reopeningandreturntolearnplans

ERS Library FREE Tech Tools Sessions

The ERS Library's Tech Tools virtual sessions are provided FREE of charge to all staff at ERS Library Media Services contracting sites. Due to COVID-19 and the ongoing need for virtual & distance learning, these sessions are intended to temporarily replace our previous Tech Tools Voucher classes. Site staff are encouraged to sign up to attend as many sessions as they like. All sessions will be held via Zoom. Additional sessions will be added to the registration form throughout the school year, so be sure to bookmark the link and check back often.

Please use the following link to review the currently available sessions and register:

https://bit.ly/TechTools2020-21

If you are unable to attend a LIVE virtual session or would like a link for later reference, please register to receive a recording of the session(s).

eLibrary cards now available from the Tulare County Library

Educators, are you looking for a way to expand your teen students’ access to eBooks, audiobooks and information resources for schoolwork? 

The Tulare County Library is now allowing young adults, ages 13+, the option to apply for an elibrary card online!  Students with elibrary cards have access to a variety of digital resources including HelpNow an online tutoring service for English & Spanish speaking students. HelpNow provides feedback on assignments with a writing lab, test prep, tutorials and space for online study groups. Multiple Gale in Context resources are available for middle and high school students. Gale provides access to grade appropriate magazine, newspaper articles, videos and primary source documents. In addition students can utilize the test prep program to prepare for common high school tests including SAT, ACT & PSAT. There is so much for teens to explore under the list of Tulare County Library’s digital resources.

elibrary cards are valid for 6 months from date of issue. Prior to expiration of the elibrary card, students will need to visit a physical branch of the Tulare County Library system to verify their information. Once they have verified their information the card will be valid indefinitely. Share this information with your 13+ students and encourage them to apply here today!

Welcome to Bookmarked, the ERS Library Newsletter!

The ERS Library Team is excited to introduce you to Bookmarked, the ERS Library Newsletter. We recently made the decision to move our newsletter to a new platform, with the goal of providing you consistent and timely content related to all things ERS Library --- the ERS Portals, our circulating library collection, CheckThisOut! , and upcoming technology classes, to name a few. We hope this change will also make it easier for you to "follow" us using the email subscribe option or your favorite blog reader.

Thank you for joining us! Let us know what you think in the comments section.