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California’s Annual School Library Evaluation now open
Happy New Year! The California Department of Education (CDE) online school library evaluation is open and ready to collect information about school libraries for the 2022–23 school year (not the current year) to assess the type and extent of library services provided by schools as mandated by California Education Code Section 18122.
Improvements of note:
- We have made it possible to advance through the questions if you do not know an answer.
- The Fresno County Office of Education has created informational videos on key areas.
- When you successfully submit an evaluation, you will receive an automatic email notification.
The evaluation is divided into five sections, based on the California Model School Library Standards. You do not need to complete the whole evaluation at one time. Each section is saved automatically as you advance to the next section.
All questions focus on a single-site-level library program. If you are answering for multiple sites, complete the questions for each site as the program applies to the site.
Begin at the evaluation home page.
- The password to access the evaluation (case-sensitive, typed just as it appears here) is: @YourLibrary.
- Print a copy of the evaluation to use as a worksheet to gather answers before transferring to online survey.
- The survey will be open until August 31, 2024.
- If you are uncertain about what a question means, browse Tips to Complete the Survey by Section.
- At the completion of the survey, your contact information is requested, and you may print a copy of your responses.
Schools that have submitted evaluation information appear immediately at Participation and Responses.
The CDE relies on your assistance to complete the evaluation for your school or schools and to encourage other schools to complete the evaluation even if you or they do not have a library. Your answers are invaluable to us as we develop a picture of library programs across the state, and you will now have much more detailed data to look closely at your school library program. Please take this opportunity to complete the evaluation and assist the CDE in gathering information about individual school libraries as they were at the end of the 2022–23 school year.
You will also find attached an announcement from the California State Library highlighting the addition of PebbleGo-Science to the K-12 Online Content Project resources. Special thanks to the State Library for adding these resources for our youngest students.
If you have any questions or would like to schedule a virtual training, please contact Renée Ousley-Swank, School Library Technology Consultant, Curriculum Frameworks and Instructional Resources Division, by phone at 916-319-0449 or by email at rousleyswank@cde.ca.gov.
Thank you so much for your aid with this important annual project!
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Provided by Renée Ousley-Swank at California Department of Education.
Golden Libraries received information today on the second cohort of Catalyst, the library leadership program in California. Applications open on July 8. For more information, see below.
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Dear California Library Community,
Applications for the second year of Catalyst, California’s statewide library leadership program, will open on Monday, July 8 at 9:00 AM. Catalyst is designed to equip and support California library workers with development opportunities that allow them to lead from anywhere.
If you are currently working in a California library, we invite you to apply for the 2024-2025 Catalyst cohort. Whether you are already in a leadership position, a front-line library worker, or someone who works behind-the-scenes, this program is open to you. Leadership potential exists in individuals from all roles within the library, and an MLIS degree is not required. We encourage you to consider applying or recommending potential candidates who have an interest in leadership, regardless of their current role. The goal is to create a strong learning cohort of 25 individuals, bringing together library workers with diverse perspectives, strengths, roles, locations, and lived experiences.
The program is projected to last for a total of 18 months. During the first 12 months, participants will be part of a cohort that meets both online and in-person to learn, reflect, and work on projects that apply their new skills and ideas. After the first year (and grant funds permitting), the cohort will continue to meet on a monthly basis for an additional six months to deepen their learning, network, and reflect on their experiences.
Catalyst participants will be required to attend two in-person sessions: Tuesday, Nov. 12– Friday, Nov. 15, 2024 at the Asilomar conference center near Monterey and Monday-Wednesday, March 3-5, 2025 in Southern California. Travel costs for these in-person events will be covered by the project.
Two Information Sessions will be held via Zoom for those interested in learning more about the Catalyst leadership development opportunity. Click the links below to register for a session.
Thursday, July 11 at 12:00 PM
Tuesday, July 16 at 11:00 AM
Office Hours will also be available July 8 to August 7 for those interested to ask questions and receive one-on-one application support from a friendly Catalyst team member.
Sign up for office hours
The Catalyst application will be available on the CALL website on Monday, July 8, 2024. Applications will be due by Wednesday, August 7 at 11:59 PM.
This program is brought at no cost to you by California Libraries Learn (CALL), which is a joint project of the California Library Association and California State Library.
For more information, please contact Maddy Walton-Hadlock at mwaltonhadlock@cla-net.org or Akiliah Manuel at amanuel@cla-net.org.
Warm Regards,
The Catalyst Team
Madeline Walton-Hadlock (she/her)
Catalyst Leadership Development Team
An initiative of California Libraries Learn (CALL)
mwaltonhadlock@cla-net.org
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From the American Library Association in an email:
ALA’s next President-Elect, Dr. Raymond Pun, will not assume the role for health reasons. He was to take office after ALA Annual Conference adjourns, and he would have been president in 2025-26.
The 2024-25 Executive Board will fill the vacancy within 30 days, subject to a confirmation vote by ALA’s Council. The process to fill the vacant position of president-elect is spelled out in the ALA Bylaws, Article IV. Officers. Section 3.
A majority of members voted for Pun in the spring election, with the results announced on April 8. He is an academic and research librarian at the Alder Graduate School of Education in California.
“We are devastated that Ray will be unable to serve as ALA’s member-elected president in 2025-26,” ALA President Emily Drabinski said. “The most important thing right now is that he takes care of himself and that we respect his privacy. We are grateful for his service to ALA and the entire profession.”
Drabinski has convened a working group, which includes incoming and outgoing board members, to select and vet candidates for recommendation to the 2024-25 ALA Executive Board. Once a candidate is selected, the decision will go before the 2024-2025 ALA Council for final approval this July.
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California Library & Reading Calendar was updated on May 28, 2024. If you have an event occurring in California or that might be of interest to California librarians and reading teachers, please send information to info(at)GoldenLibraries.com.
June 2024
| Date | Event | Location | Sponsor |
| 6/2024 | Rainbow Book Month | Local Libraries | American Library Association (Join ALA Here) |
| 6/3/2024 | Reading League California Board of Directors Annual Meeting | Virtual | Reading League California (Join TRLC Here) |
| 6/4/2024 | Bookelicious Middle Grade Book Club: Jennifer LaGarde, Lisa Fipps (“And Then Boom“) | Webinar | Bookelicious Register Here |
| 6/12/2024 | AASL Virtual Membership Meeting | Sign Up Here | AASL (Join AASL Here) |
| 6/27 – 7/2/2024 | ALA Annual Conference | San Diego, CA | American Library Association |
| Date | Event | Location | Sponsor |
| 7/25/2024 | SLJ Picture Book Palooza | Virtual | School Library Journal (Subscribe Here) |
September 2024
| Date | Event | Location | Sponsor |
| 9/2024 | Library Card Sign-Up Month | Local Libraries | ALA |
| 9/22 – 9/28 | Banned Books Week | Local Districts/Libraries | ALA |
October 2024
| Date | Event | Location | Sponsor |
| 10/2024 | TeenTober | Local Districts/Libraries | ALA |
| 10/4 – 10/5/2024 | California Reading Association Conference | Virtual | CRA (Join CRA Here) |
| 10/17 – 10/19/2024 | California Library Association Conference | Pasadena, CA | CLA |
| 10/20 – 10/26 | National Friends of Libraries Week | Local Libraries | ALA |
January 2025
| Date | Event | Location | Sponsor |
| 1/30 – 2/2/2025 | CSLA Conference | San Jose, CA | CSLA |
| 1/24 – 1/27/2025 | LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience | Phoenix, AZ | ALA |
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