Volume 44 Issue 2 - Arkansas Association of Instructional Media

Volume 44 Issue 2

Collumns 

1 President’s Message 

Jil’Lana Heard 

16 Around Arkansas 

Rachel Shankles 

Articles 

2 Books, Technology, and Authors! Oh My! 

Beth Fullerton 

4 Vampires, Werewolves, and Angels! 

Ree Routon 

Contents 

5 Follow the Road to Storytelling and Dress for 

the Ride 

Ann Ayres 

6 Stress and Coping for the 21st Century Librarian 

Dr. Wendy Rickman 

10 Carla Killough McClafferty: The Many Faces of 

George Washington 

Melisa Rutherford 

12 AAIM Awards 2011 

Cathy Toney 

14 From Dairy Queen to Pie: A Visit with Sara Weeks 

Michele Caroll 

15 Susan Gilley: Tech Programs 

David Eckert 

19 Arkansas Association of School Librarians 

Conference 

Tracy McAllister 

20 Why Twitter? 

Jana Dixon 

22 New YA Lit 

Jana Dixon 

Book Reviews 

9 The Arkansas Diamond Book Award Reading List 

Connie Zimmer 

Staff 

Editor - Lori Bush 

lori.bush@lh.k12.ar.us 

Publications Chair – Barbie James 

barbie.james@fcsd.grsc.k12.ar.us 

Copy Editor – David Eckert 

david@libraryinjonesboro.org 

Copy Editor - Jana Dixon 

janad@cms.dsc.k12.ar.us 

The AAIM Journal is published biannually 

by the Arkansas Association 

of Instructional Media. All rights are 

reserved. Submissions for articles 

should be emailed to the editor or 

the publications chair at the above 

addresses. 

Photos and Thanks 

Cover photo by Brooke Peterson, 

student at Kansas City Art Institute and 

former LHHS student. 

Special thanks to Ted Smith, Lake 

Hamilton High School art teacher. 

Special thanks to Judy Pearson for 

all our wonderful conference photos! 

What a superb photographer! 

Thank you to all our article 

contributors! 

Arkansas Association of Instructional Media Journal

President’s Address 

Jil’Lana Heard, Lake Hamilton School District 

Welcome 

back to a brand new 

school year!! I hope 

everyone had a restful summer and has returned 

to school with renewed energy. After reflecting 

on last spring’s conference and waking up my 

creative juices, I am so 

excited to be back 

at school planning 

a whole new year 

of programs and 

activities to promote 

literacy as well as 

tie to the Common 

Core Standards. I 

hope you also feel 

renewed and are 

planning to “blaze 

some new trails” in 

your school media 

center as well. Your 

trails may include 

collaborating with a 

new staff member, starting a book club, taking 

your programs to the next level or even being 

there for your teachers as they blaze a new trail 

down the “Common Core” highway. Whatever 

your trail … be encouraged and willing to share. 

We are so fortunate to be able to have a listserv 

where we can ask questions and share our 

experiences. Another great opportunity to share 

is at our annual conference. It is never too early 

to start thinking about an idea, concept, program 

or piece of technology that you could share with 

your colleagues at the AAIM Above the Rest 

Spring Conference to be held in April 2012 at the 

Embassy Suites and Conference Center in Rogers, 

AR. It truly is our membership that makes us 

who we are. I hope you have a great school year 

blazing your new trails. 

Jil’Lana 

Heard 

Volume 44 Issue 2 1

Note: Beth Fullerton completed her practical field 

experience in the UCA LIBM Program during the 

spring semester. Her professional project was 

to submit a report on her first time experience 

at the AAIM Conference. Kay Bland, her UCA 

Field Experience Coordinator, has submitted 

the report for inclusion in the AAIM JOURNAL. 

Having 

never attended the 

Arkansas Association of 

Instructional Media (AAIM) Conference before, I 

was unsure of what to do first. I approached the 

registration desk and was greeted with a warm 

smile, given my goodie bag, and pointed in the 

correct direction for the New Member’s session. 

Barbie James and Karen Richardson spoke with 

the new members and explained all about the 

conference. They told us where all the venders 

would be, how to find the session rooms, how 

to get our professional development credit, and 

most of all, were so friendly, approachable, and 

2 

Books, Technology, 

and Authors! Oh My! 

Beth Fullerton, Morrilton School District 

welcoming that I felt as if I were at a family 

reunion. We were told how we could get involved 

with AAIM, given dates that were very important 

to remember, and given a list of the AAIM board 

of directors. The presenters also described the 

different committees which are a part of AAIM. 

These committees always need volunteers. 

Information about the AAIM website and AAIM 

wiki was also discussed. I had received a copy 

of the break-out sessions by email before the 

conference and had chosen the sessions I wanted 

to attend before I left home, so I was ready to go. 

One of the break-out sessions I attended on 

Sunday that I feel is worth mentioning by name 

was Arkansas Atlas: Blazing 

New Trails for Arkansas 

History. This session was 

presented by Dr. Kay Bland 

and Mrs. Kristy Bentley. Dr. 

Bland works at the Butler 

Center and Mrs. Bentley 

is the media specialist at 

Immaculate Conception 

School. We were shown 

the new book published 

by Butler Center Books, 

Arkansas: An Illustrated 

Atlas. This book would be 

a great addition for any 

collection. We were given 

resources for collaborative teaching ideas for 

teachers who teach Arkansas History. Mrs. Bentley 

has been working on lesson plans which correlate 

to the online Encyclopedia of Arkansas, and we 

were also given access to those lesson plans. Mrs. 

Bentley also shared some of her ideas with us. 

Another break-out session that was worth 

mentioning was Civil War Arkansas: Novels 

Bringing to Life the Plight of Soldier and Civilian 

with author Nancy Dane. Mrs. Dane was very 

informative and had a great presentation. Most 

of the historical accounts of the Civil War I have 

ever heard or read have been so boring that it only 

took about ten minutes for me to want to leave. 


Mrs. Dane had me so engrossed that when the 

session was over I was wishing that the session 

was longer. Her 

stories kept the 

p r e s e n t a t i o n 

very interesting, 

and she was a 

very engaging 

speaker. 

The general 

sessions each 

day were really 

great. The first 

one was with 

Sarah Weeks. 

She enlightened 

us with stories 

about where she gets the inspiration for 

her books, her writing process, and read the 

beginning of her latest book aloud. She was 

very funny, and I was so inspired by her that 

I almost want to write a book myself. I have 

to admit that I have no stories to tell that are 

inspirational, funny, and if it weren’t for spell 

check and grammar check, I’d really be in trouble. 

The general session on Monday with Anita 

Beaman and Amy Oberts was very good. It 

showed how traditional books and technology 

can work together in the media center to make 

our student’s literary development even better. 

These two ladies were so great! They engaged 

the entire audience and kept them engaged the 

entire session. They showed how technology can 

be used to promote reading without decreasing 

the value of having an actual book in your hand. 

The awards luncheon on Monday was really nice. 

The food was good, and we were able to visit 

with each other, discuss the sessions we had 

attended, and relax a bit. It was nice to see people 

being recognized for their accomplishments. 

As Donald Trump said, “Toot your own horn. If 

you don’t no one will!” There are so many of 

our members who are making noteworthy 

accomplishments that I, for once, agree with 

Mr. Trump, we should be tooting our own horns! 

Although I am a new member and first time 

attendee to the AAIM conference, everyone 

there made me feel like I had been there 

many times. I almost felt like the child who 

goes to Disney World for the first time. There 

was so much to do at the AAIM Conference 

and not enough time to attend each and every 

session. The organizers of the conference 

did a wonderful job organizing the sessions, 

meals, and vendor exhibits. Everyone deserves 

a huge pat on the back for a job well done! 


For 

several years now vampire books have 

turned teens onto reading, similar to 

the Harry Potter phenomenon several years ago. 

Although the demand for the Twilight series is 

4 

Vampires, Werewolves 

and Angels! 

Ree Routon, Wynne School District 

dying down, our teen readers are still clamoring 

for all types of paranormal literature. They are 

drawn to this literature because paranormal 

books feature outcasts that eventually shed 

their loneliness and use their powers for good. As 

teens yearn for independence, these books often 

feature characters that solve their own problems 

without adults coming to the rescue. They also 

offer an escape from family and school pressures. 

Jana Dixon shared her recent reads in a session 

entitled, “Fairies, Werewolves and Angels, Oh 

My!” Her booktalks covered new Young Adult 

books with fairies, werewolves, fallen angels, 

aliens, pixies, wizards, zombies and even 

mermaids as the main characters. Some of 

the titles were set at a boarding school such 

as Shadow Hills by Hopcus, while others were 

soon to be released sequels like The Power of 

Six, sequel to I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore, 

and Undercut, sequel to Siren by Tricia Rayburn. 

The book Matched by Ally Condie is predicted to 

be the next Hunger Games. The Seven Realms 

series by Cinda Williams Chima is a good choice 

for boys who liked the Eragon books. This 

series presently includes The Demon King and 

The Exiled Queen, but more are sure to follow. 

Readers wishing to delve into the story behind the 

mirror in the Grimm’s Fairy Tales need to check 

out Reckless by Cornelia Funke. Jana shared 

some of the favorites that appear on most high 

school shelves like Torment, Fallen, Beautiful 

Darkness, Beautiful Creatures, Crescendo, 

Incarceron, Sapphique, and many more. 

Teens love to read books in series and Jana 

provided a useful handout of just released titles 

and upcoming titles. 

Librarians and readers 

are eagerly awaiting 

Where She Went, 

Beautiful Chaos, The 

Throne of Fire, Passion, 

and Everlasting, just to 

name a few. She also 

recommended Circle 

of Seven, a producer 

of book trailers. 

Paranormal literature 

seems to be growing in 

popularity. Get ready 

to fill your shelves 

with these titles our 

students want. Let’s 

keep them reading! 


Follow 

the Road to 

Storytelling 

and Dress for the Ride! presented 

by Cathy Toney and Judy South 

was truly a delightful, standing 

room only presentation by two 

motivated storytellers! Cathy 

and Judy shared multiple uses 

of their costumes with different 

stories, how they collected 

or hand-made costumes (by 

Judy’s Mom) and tons of ideas 

and wonderful, entertaining, 

and enlightening examples 

Follow the Road to Storytelling 

and Dress for the Ride! 

Ann Ayres, Springdale School District 

of their storytelling expertise! 

The room was packed and Judy and Cathy 

held us spellbound as they pulled out yet 

ANOTHER hat or tinseled crown, or another 

accent to share stories with us who 

were young at heart or TEACH the young 

of heart! There were super examples 

of how they turned everyday items 

into ways to teach different concepts. 

We ran out of evaluation forms, but no 

need...tons of “great job” and “let’s do this 

again,” could be heard for hours afterward! 

Above the 

Rest 

AAIM 2012 


6 

Stress and Coping for the 

21st Century Librarian 

Dr. Wendy Rickman, University of Central Arkansas 

AAIM Session Presenters: Dr. Kerry Roberts, 

Stephan F. Austin State University 

Dr. Sid Womack, Arkansas Tech University 

Dr. Shellie Hannah, Arkansas Tech University 

What 

is there to stress about as 

a 21st Century Librarian? Dr. 

Kerry Roberts and Dr. Sid Womack shared six 

stressors identified by current instructional media 

professionals that are dealt with on a daily basis: 

• Being a part of the evolving teaching 

profession; a school librarian’s job description 

will not be identifiable three years from now. 

• Being left out of the information 

loop by administrators instead of 

being invited to the conversations. 

• Being forced, day after day, to do a 

different set of things at work instead of those 

the school librarian has been trained to do . 

• Attempting to perform tutoring and 

remedial literacy functions school librarians 

were never specifically trained to do. 

• Falling behind in training with 

evolving technology while being denied 

the resources to catch up. 

•Increased duties, i.e., 

other duties as assigned. 

Dr. Shellie Hannah then discussed 

how individuals handle stress. 

Factors that affect how stress 

is handled include: experience, 

sleep, foods (quality and quantity), 

personality type, and exercise. 

Hannah further pointed out that a 

stressful lifestyle increases Cortisol 

levels in individuals, which is an 

“evil hormone” that is balanced by 

Seretonin. Seretonin lowers Cortisol 

levels, but only with enough sleep. 


Other tidbits of advice were 

offered by Dr. Hannah as follows: 

• Experience – The 

experienced professional can 

recognize that situations and issues 

will arise, but this too, shall pass. 

• Sleep – Those with less 

sleep do not handle stress well 

and more sleep helps one to 

have a more even temperament. 

• Foods – While comfort 

foods are comforting, they only 

offer a quick fix that often affect 

blood sugar levels, which can 

lead to the body even less able 

to handle stress. Specifically, 

corn products, refined sugars, and 

white flour can lead to blood sugar 

bottoming out an hour after consumption. A typical 

restaurant’s serving portion of pasta is actually 

the equivalent to 7-12 recommended portions. 

• Exercise – Exercise decreases Cortisol 

levels in the body. Twenty minutes three times 

a week is recommended for the a heart healthy 

lifestyle. The U.S. Government recommends 30 

minutes of exercise a day for a healthy lifestyle. 

• Personality Types – There are three 

personality types: Type A, Type B, and Type 

C. Type A are the organizers and for whom 

being right is very important. Type B are the 

procrastinators. Type C personalities look 

like Type B people, but are actually Type A. 

Dr. Hannah made several recommendations 

for individuals of different personality types. 

For Type A personalities, Hannah recommends 

recommended that one realize that things are 

not going to be right all the time. This recognition 

will help lower both your blood pressure and 

your heart attack risk. Type C personalities need 

to learn to express themselves more. Type C 

personalities are at the most risk for high blood 

pressure and heart attacks. Type B personalities 

have less risk of high blood pressure and heart 

attacks, but for the sakes 

of the Type A and Type C 

personalities, they need to 

be more aware of deadlines. 

Dr. Hannah noted that there 

is a documented correlation 

of personality type affecting 

how stress is handled. 

The overall picture in coping 

with stress for the 21st 

Century librarian is this: 

Know your self, be flexible, 

get regular sleep, exercise at 

least three times a week, and 

be mindful of portion control. 


Aylesworth, Jim 

The 

Mitten is 

retelling 

a 

of 

the folktale, The Mitten. 

This is a wonderful 

version with glorious 

illustrations by Barbara 

McClintock. It compares 

nicely with Jan Brett’s and 

Alvin Tresselt’s versions. 

8 

The Arkansas Diamond 

Book Awards Reading 

List for 2011-2012 

Connie Zimmer, Arkansas Tech University 

DePaola, Tomie 

Stega Nona’s Harvest brings back memories of 

drying seeds from the best vegetables out of 

the home garden. Strega Nona does the same 

thing as she saves her seeds from last year’s 

garden. She also rotates her crops to keep the 

soil healthy, and she stresses the importance of 

compost and manure in the garden. She stresses 

the need to sow seeds in orderly rows which is 

something Big Anthony does not do. Needless 

to say, one garden is neat, and one is not. This 

is one of the best Stega Nona books in years. 

Emberley, Rebecca and Ed 

Chicken Little is a vibrant, colorful version of the 

tale of the chicken 

who does not have 

a plan of what to do 

when she thinks the 

sky is falling. This 

would be great to use 

when teaching about 

gravity. 

Gralley, Jean 

Yonderfel’s Castle: A Medieval Tale is a 

beautifully illustrated tale. King Yonderfel is 

renowned and beloved because he never turns 

anyone away until an ogre causes all his guests 

to leave. They all return when there is a flood, 

and Yonderfel saves the people. In the end, 

Yonderfel goes back to turning no one away. 

Kajikawa, Kimiko 

Tsunami is a Japanese folk story about 

the sacrifice of a wealthy rice farmer who 

realizes a tsunami is coming and sets fire to 

his rice fields to draw the villagers below to 

higher ground when they see the fire. This 

actually happened and is very usable today. 

Long, Loren 

Otis is a lovable little farm tractor who lives an 

idyllic life helping out his farmer and the little 

calf who lives in the barn with him. One day, 

the farmer shows up with a big yellow tractor 

that replaces Otis who gets parked to rust 

behind the barn until the little calf gets stuck 

in the Mud Pond. Guess who saves the day! 

Lowry, Lois 

Crow Call has details from Lois Lowry’s own 

life in the story of 

Lizzie spending the 

day with her father, 

a WWII soldier who 

just returned. She 

gets to use the crow 

call and is amazed 

at the birds she calls. 

Her father never lifts 

his gun, just enjoys 


seeing his daughter’s delight in the birds. 

The illustrations are muted and beautiful. 

Palatini, Margie 

Lousy Rotten Stinkin’ Grapes tells of a fox, a 

lot like Wile E. Coyote, 

who has grand plans to 

obtain grapes from the 

vines but won’t listen to 

any of the other animals’ 

ideas on how to get 

the grapes. When his 

grandiose, impractical 

plans fail, he goes off 

in a huff leaving the 

other animals to enjoy 

the fruit of their labors. 

Rappaport, Doreen 

Eleanor, Quiet No More is a beautiful telling 

of Eleanor’s childhood, marriage, and how 

she became the person she was. Children 

today may not know how much this 

first lady did, and this beautiful book is 

a great way to introduce her to them. 

Urbanovic, Jackie 

Duck and Cover is 

the story of Harold, 

a green alligator 

who shows up at 

Irene’s door and 

asks for shelter. He 

is a little surprising, 

so everyone 

hides except for 

Spinelli, Eileen 

Silly Tilly is a goose who is 

so silly the other barnyard 

animals ask her to quit 

being silly. When she does, 

they miss the silliness. This 

is a classic tale of being 

careful of what you wish for. 

Max who convinces the others they need 

to help Harold hide from the zoo detective. 

Imagine a room filled with stuffed alligators! 

Van Dusen, Chris 

The Circus Ship runs 

aground off the coast 

of Maine. The animals 

stagger ashore to a small 

island populated with 

suspicious people. Before 

long, however, they are 

living side by side each 

other. The story of the 

ship running aground 

is based on an event that really happened. 

Van Leeuwen, Jean 

Chicken Soup is a funny story 

of a Little Chicken who has 

a cold. The chickens hear 

Mrs. Farmer has gotten out 

her big soup pot and they 

are afraid she is making 

chicken soup. Mr. Farmer is 

sent out to find something 

and the hens run away 

except for Little Chicken who 

can’t keep up, no matter where she hides. 

This book has a very surprising ending. 

Williams, Karen L. and 

Khadra Mohammed 

My Name is Sangoel is 

the story of Sangoel who 

has to leave his country 

(Sudan) and then the 

refugee camp( in Kenya) 

where he had friends. 

Eventually he and his 

family are brought to the 

United States. His first 

days of school involve 

people being unable to say his name. He comes 

up with a creative solution to this problem. 


4th 

10 

Carla Killough McClafferty: 

The Many Faces of 

George Washington 

Melisa Rutherford, Blytheville School District 

General Session – Closing by 

Author Carla Killough McClafferty. 

The image of George Washington has become 

synonymous with the portrait on the one dollar 

bill, that of an old grumpy man with no personality. 

How far from the real truth could this be? 

As I reflect on the AAIM Conference and all 

the new paths that were blazed and now 

are waiting for me to explore, I found great 

comfort in a trail that had familiarity. Carla 

Killough McClafferty retraced her path in writing 

her latest book, The Many Faces of George 

W a s h i n g t o n : T h e R e m a k i n g o f a P r e s i d e n t i a l I c o n . 

In the back story, Carla not only shared her 

secret love of the History Channel, but her desire 

to defend George Washington to a total stranger. 

(She did warn herself that she didn’t have a 

dog in that fight, but she didn’t take heed.) 

Her story is a blending of two paths, one the 

research and story of Washington the man, and 

the other, the process of creating three images 

of George Washington in wax. These life- sized 

figures depict 

him at three 

p i v o t a l 

points in his 

life: at age 

n i n e t e e n , 

as a young 

surveyor in 

Virginia, at 

age fortyfive 

as 

G e n e r a l 

of the 

Continental Army and at age fifty-seven at his 

inauguration as the first president of the United 

States. But Carla took us on a journey that went 

beyond the book and straight to the personal 

experience and person, George Washington. 

Her book which she describes as CSI meets the 

Biography channel, not only provides a personal 

view of George Washington the person, but the 

process of the Mount Vernon project in which 

three life size figures of Washington 

were created to be as accurate as 

possible to depict this person who 

was more than a face. The science, 

technology, and art of the story are 

captivating. As a fan of CSI myself, 

I was compelled by the technology 

that was utilized to provide the image 

of Washington using the works of 

Houdon, notes from Washington 

himself to his tailors, portraits, and 

even the false teeth worn (no, he never 

wore wooden teeth) by Washington, 


as well as other pieces of historical artifacts. 

For me, the highlight of the 

presentation was the letters 

George wrote to Martha. 

There are only two; Martha 

destroyed all the others 

before her death. But in these 

two letters, you get a glimpse 

to the love and devotion that 

George had for Martha. Only 

one quote from one of the 

letters appears in the book 

but not because Carla didn’t 

try to have more included. 

I was thrilled to attend her 

concurrent session and 

learn about the primary 

and secondary source 

documentation that became 

not only the basis for her 

work but also afforded her 

a personal experience with George Washington. 

Now as the last general session opened, I found 

myself intrigued that some of the information I 

had heard previously might be retold but with 

a new spin. Carla’s passion 

about her subjects can 

easily be felt as you read her 

book but when you hear her 

speak, you cannot help but 

be drawn into her story and 

take your place emotionally. 

Thanks to Carla’s 

presentation, I have now read 

her book and really want to 

go to Mount Vernon and see 

the images of Washington at 

the educational center. I also 

have a renewed appreciation 

of life during the eighteenth 

century. And probably most 

importantly, my idea of George 

Washington is much more 

realistic and my appreciation 

of his work and his dedication 

to a fledgling country is so 

much greater. If you didn’t stay for the last session 

of the conference, you really missed a treat. 

Arkansas Teen Book Award 

Vote for The 2010-2011 Nominees now through 

October 22 during Teen Read Week 

http://arkansasteenaward.wikispaces.com/Voting+Form 

Reading Lists for 2011-2012 were released at this 

year’s Arkansas Library Association Conference . 

Check out the Arkansas Teen Book Award wiki for 

more information and materials. 

http://arkansasteenaward.wikispaces.com/ 


Each 

12 

AAIM Awards 2011 

Cathy Toney, Conway School District 

year outstanding people 

are nominated for the AAIM 

awards and only one person is chosen for 

each category. This year was no exception! 

At the 2011 AAIM conference held in Hot 

Springs, the awards committee presented 

five awards during the Monday luncheon. 

The School Library Media Specialist of the Year 

award is given for 

outstanding service 

to any Arkansas K-12 

school library media 

specialist who has 

attained individual 

excellence in the 

library media field 

through service to 

students, teachers, 

and community. 

This year AAIM 

presented this 

award to Claudia 

Smith. Claudia works at the Dunbar Magnet 

Middle School in the Little Rock School District. 

She implemented a program called “Millionaire 

Reading Club” where students are rewarded 

for reading so many words and then the top 

readers compete in the Dunbar “Who Wants to 

be a Millionaire?” game show. She wrote that 

she believes what makes her library a quality 

program incorporates three essential elements. 

These include teaching information literacy 

skills, facilitating and encouraging a love for 

reading, and teaching and guiding the students 

in utilizing the library media center resources in 

completing research assignments and projects. 

The Technology Leader of the Year award is given 

to any Arkansas educator who has demonstrated 

outstanding leadership in the field of technology 

through service to students, teachers, and the 

community in an Arkansas 

school, regional media 

center, institute of higher 

learning, or on the state 

level. AAIM presented this 

award to Stephanie Labert. 

She is an elementary media 

specialist in the Calico Rock 

School District. She has 

been a fifth grade teacher, 

a gifted and talented 

facilitator and coordinator 

and is currently responsible 

for organizing, planning 

and presenting technology related professional 

development for her school district. Last year 

she became a Thinkfinity Trainer of Trainers 

for Arkansas. Some of her other duties are 

maintaining her school website, logistics, leading 

the district technology committee and writing the 

school technology plan. One of her projects for 

the elementary school was Pirate Pods, which 

were podcasts created by fifth grade students 

who were book-talking in an interview format 

from the point of view of a character in a book. 

“The Outstanding Media Program Award is given 

to an AAIM member or group of members who 

have initiated and/or promoted an outstanding 


media program in a school, a district, an academic 

institution, a public library or in a community. 

Fountain Lake School District libraries were 

presented this award for their participation in 

National Gaming Day. The media specialists are 

Wendy Burfeind, Betty Davis and Laura Keese. 

National Gaming Day focuses on the social and 

recreational side of gaming. Gaming at Fountain 

Lake encouraged patrons of all ages to interact 

with diverse peers, share their expertise and 

develop new strategies for gaming and learning. 

National Gaming Day had 404 libraries participate 

the first year. In 2010, 1,822 libraries participated 

nation-wide. Fountain Lake hosted their event 

in the high school library. Some of their PTO 

officers and students came to the event dressed 

as their favorite book characters. Because of 

their huge turnout, the second year had to be 

moved to the school cafeteria. Some of their 

students brought their grandparents which 

also encouraged multi-generational interaction. 

The Pat McDonald Outstanding Individual 

Achievement award is given to an AAIM member 

who has demonstrated leadership in promoting 

media programs and practices which have resulted 

in an improvement of media usage in instruction. 

This year’s recipient was Diane Hughes. Diane 

is currently part-time media specialist at Lake 

H a m i l t o n 

School District, 

p a r t - t i m e 

librarian at 

the Arkansas 

C a r e e r 

T r a i n i n g 

Institute in 

Hot Springs, 

a d j u n c t 

professor in 

LSTE Education 

department at 

UALR, and adjunct professor in EDMD education 

department at Arkansas Tech University. She 

has been the president of AAIM and ArLA. She 

also chaired the Arkansas Association of School 

Librarians, has been the awards chair of the 

American Association of School Librarians and 

was president of Arkansas Library Development 

District IV. She is the scholarship chairman for 

the Arkansas Library Association, appointed 

to the TIE Cadre (Technology in Education) 

Team to develop professional development 

modules that are specifically designed to 

increase integration of technology in the 

classroom, and has received the Outstanding 

School Library Program award at AAIM. She 

has conducted various workshops on copyright, 

confidentiality, using videos in the classroom, 

webpage design, Web 2.0 and many more. 

The Herb Lawrence Leadership award may 

be given to an AAIM member who has made 

significant contributions to the organization and 

its progress through outstanding service to the 

organization. AAIM presented this award to Jana 

Dixon. Jana is a library media specialist in the 

Cutter Morning Star School District. She has been 

a 7th and 8th grade English and creative writing 

teacher and a library media specialist for middle 

and high school. She has been an instructional 

consultant for Dawson Educational Cooperative, 

presented workshops at HSTI, AAIM, ArLA , AASL, 

and at Tri-Lakes Reading Council meeting. She 

was been chairman of the Arkansas Association 

of School Librarians and president of AAIM. She 

received the AAIM Outstanding Media Program in 

2006 and was nominated for the AAIM School 

Library Media Specialist in 2008. She also was 

the 2010 AECT School Media and Technology 

Division elected Member-at-Large. The late Herb 

Lawrence’s son, daughter, daughter-in-law, 

and granddaughter attended the AAIM award 

luncheon and presented Jana with her award! 

Congratulations to all our 2011 winners! 


Listening 

to Sarah Weeks 

during the dinner 

session at the AAIM conference was like visiting 

with an old friend. Whether it was discussing 

the friendliness of Arkansans or noting how 

Southerners pronounce 

“life” as a two syllable 

word, Ms. Weeks was a 

captivating story-teller as 

she related how books 

are born from being 

aware of conversations, 

being observant of things 

around us, and being 

curious about the stories 

behind the people and the 

objects you see every day. 

14 

From Dairy Queen to Pie: 

A Visit with Sarah Weeks 

Michele Caroll, Harrison School District 

Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, 

Ms. Weeks had a family who cherished reading. 

Her father would read at the dining table each 

evening and her mother would read stories like 

Harry the Dirty Dog and The Little House books 

to Sarah as a youngster. Unlike her siblings 

who would become a doctor and an attorney, 

Sarah’s dream was to work at Dairy Queen®. 

While still in elementary school, Sarah proudly 

showed her teacher, Mrs. Miller, a story she had 

written. However, Mrs. Miller only noticed the 

many misspelled words and told Sarah she could 

not read “gobbledygook” and to not bring another 

story to her until Sarah could spell. Fortunately, 

Sarah had a champion in her mother, who 

realized the story was the important thing and 

not the spelling. Sarah’s mother worked with 

her until Sarah not only had the imagination to 

form stories, but also the ability to spell them. 

Ms. Weeks attended Hampshire College 

in Massachusetts and majored in music 

composition. After graduation, she worked as a 

singer-songwriter and eventually wrote songs 

for Sesame Street. How did the transformation 

from songwriter to children’s author occur? One 

day, while waiting outside 

her son’s daycare room, 

Ms. Weeks began talking 

to another mom (Laura 

Geringer), who was also 

waiting outside her crying 

son’s classroom. While 

they were talking, Laura 

Geringer mentioned she 

was a children’s book 

editor and Ms. Weeks 

mentioned her work 

with Sesame Street. 

Ms. Geringer suggested 

Sarah write a children’s book. Ms. Geringer 

would be the editor of Ms. Weeks’ novel, So B. 

It. Ms. Weeks stated that encounter was one of 

the great things about living in New York City. 

As Ms. Weeks started writing, ideas came from 

things as simple as clotheslines (Mrs. McNosh 

Hangs Up Her Wash), her son chewing/gnawing 

a gun out of toast (Oggie Cooder), reading an 

article about turtles in the newspaper (Follow 

the Moon), passing by a deserted house (As 

Simple as It Seems), her sons’ conversations 

(The Guy Series), and her love of cooking (Pie). 

In fact, Ms. Weeks notes writing is a lot like baking 

a pie. The author mixes all the ingredients to make 

a story and the reader devours the book, like a 

person eating a delicious piece of pie. Like a cook 

who enjoys watching her creations being enjoyed 

by diners, Ms. Weeks is grateful for the ability to 

write stories children (and adults) enjoy reading. 


The first Schools Without Walls Conference will 

be in Hot Springs this November 12-15 at the Hot 

Springs Convention Center. Participants can register 

online at https;//www.regonline.com/swowfall. 

Agenda and pre-conference listings are 

available along with conference hotel 

information at www.schoolswow.org. Find them 

on Facebook under Schools Without Walls. 

Travis Allen from the iSchools Initiative will 

be Monday’s featured speaker, and Tony 

Vincent will be the keynote on Tuesday. 

Pre-conference sessions on Saturday and Sunday 

include iPad workshops, iPod Touch, Nook and 

Kindle, iPad and Apple TV, and HP Touchpad. 

Breakout sessions on Monday and Tuesday 

include Common Core integration P-12, 

technology for administrators, mobile 

devices, 1 to 1 initiatives and much more. 

Susan Gilley: Tech Programs 

David Eckert 

Craighead County- Jonesboro Public Library 

I had the opportunity to attend both of Susan 

Gilley’s technology presentations at the AAIM 

conference this past April, and let me tell you, 

they were both excellent and exasperating all at 

the same time. Excellent because she provided 

more than two hundred names of websites or 

programs that will help you with a wide variety 

of projects. Say you are looking to incorporate 

comics and drawings into your lesson plans, or 

maybe some pictures? Did you want to go even 

more high tech and make some videos? Maybe 

you are more of a “words” person and are looking 

to publish some things, or your students need 

help with vocabulary. Susan Gilley has found a 

site for you, several in fact, to accomplish any 

and all of those things. And the best part is that 

they are all virtually free. Besides the software, 

she also gave tips on what equipment to get, 

where to get it, and even specific manufacturers 

and model numbers. She provided so much 

information that she could only hit the highlights. 

And this brings us to the exasperating part. I 

figure, given my usual schedule, that it will take 

me a good year to explore all of the sites that 

she has listed on her handout. Of course, by 

then it will be time for another AAIM conference 

and Ms. Gilley will be back with a whole 

new set of sites and programs to check out. 

Please note that you can download a copy of 

Susan Gilley’s handout at sgilley.wikispaces.com. 


Wendy 

Rickman, Assistant 

Professor at UCA received 

a faculty grant to attend HSTI this summer 

and the iPad pre-conference workshop. 

Jeff Whittingham (Assoc. Prof. in the Dept. 

of Teaching & Learning) also received this 

faculty grant and attended the pre-conference. 

Kathey Solley’s Fouke High School Library 

received a $2,000 grant from an anonymous 

benefactor toward the upgrading of the nonfiction 

collection. She has been implementing ideas 

from literacy lab into the program for the past 

several years. She displays the new titles all 

over her library. She also prepares a PowerPoint 

presentation for every ten new titles and 

emails it to language teachers who use it for 

bell work. She says her circulation is up 34% 

over what it was two years ago! She says she 

has had a great year and hopes you have too! 

16 

Around Arkansas 

Rachel Shankles, Lakeside School District 

Marilyn Brewer reports she is retiring after many 

years at Batesville High School. Her plans are 

to travel as much as possible. In fact, she left 

on a bus trip to Charleston, Atlanta, Savannah, 

& Nashville on June 5. She also plans to read a 

lot and volunteer with the local literacy council. 

Dora Brach is retiring after 13 years as the Media 

Specialist at the Middle School and High School at 

Mountainburg. Among other things in retirement, 

she will try to build the online business (ReadCQ) 

of making and selling reading quizzes based on 

award-winning books that she started this year. 

It includes over 50 Newbery and Charlie May 

Simon books from the past several years. Since 

this was her last ‘end of the year’, she made 

going away gifts for her students. For the fifthgraders, 

Dora made bookmarks with all the CMS 

books listed on one side. On the other side she put 

four quotes about books from the links of quotes 

someone had posted to the AAIM listserv. Then at 

the bottom, she wrote that she was going to miss 

them all and signed her name. Since the sixthgraders 

don’t read CMS books, she made them and 

some other older students, a bookmark with the 

10 top favorite children’s fiction books of all time. 

Melisa Rutherford, LMS, says this year has 

been an especially busy one for the Blytheville 

Intermediate School Library. Through the library, 

a total of four authors have visited the school, 

including the following: Galand Nuchols, Celia 

Anderson, Sharon Draper, and Michael Patrick 

O’Neill. As a participant in First Book, a foundation 

devoted to placing new books in the hands of 

children, the library has been able to provide 

students with eleven new books for their home 

collection. The overall favorite was Christian 

the Lion, the true story of a lion cub that was 

purchased from a department store in London 

and then returned to the wild in Kenya. This was 

also the first year for virtual field trips in our 

school. The library acted as the host for each 

event and held essay contests to select students 

to attend particular field trips--- such as the NFL 

Hall of Fame, a Rock and Roll Dance class, and 

special museums--- while other events included 

the entire school. The library hosted a “Reading 

Rewards” program in which students received 

new books, ice cream, and recognition for meeting 

their reading goals each quarter. This was paid 

for, in part, by a grant from Kinder Morgan and 


y the PTO. This library was an active part of the 

school. Everyone is looking forward to next year. 

Faith Boatright, LMS, is moving into 

a beautiful new library at East End 

Elementary in Sheridan School District. 

David Hall of Rison Elementary School is 

retiring. David has been the librarian for K-6 

at Rison Elementary and worked for many 

years in Florida before coming to Arkansas. 

Viola Snow is retiring as librarian at Fox Meadow 

Elementary School in Nettleton District near 

Jonesboro. She has been in education for 46 years. 

Karen Mullinex reports she has held a Girls Book 

Club for 4th grade girls this year at Nettleton 

Intermediate. They met once weekly during lunch 

period. The most recent book read and discussed 

was The Year of Miss Agnes by Kirkpatrick Hill. 

Although not a recent publication, the girls loved 

it. Most said it was their favorite of all the books 

they’ve read in their club. At the last meeting of 

the year the girls compared the main character of 

this book, Miss Agnes, to excellent teachers they 

have had in their elementary years. They listed 

teaching methods that their favorite teachers 

have used with those used by Miss Agnes. 

Thanks to a generous donation by the PTO, Karen 

held end-of-year luncheons for the 3rd, 4th, and 

5th grade top Accelerated Reader students. The 

library was decorated and she played music 

while the students enjoyed pizza, beverages, and 

desserts. During January and February, she had 

collaborated with two 3rd grade teachers and 

the computer lab instructor on a Curriculum Fair. 

Students came to the library, where they learned 

how to access and gather information on the fifty 

states and how to write a simple bibliography. 

Students used the information for their “Traveling 

the USA” displays in the gym at the Fair. They 

wrote greetings and created graphics for postersized 

postcards that replicated those they would 

send home to parents while traveling the states. 

The classes also produced an eye-catching 

PowerPoint slide to go along with the assignment 

in their computer classes. Parents and families 

viewed the projects during the Curriculum Fair 

Night event at the school in late February. 

Phyllis Hunt, librarian at Magnet Cove Elementary 

School, hosted author Michael P. O’Neal on April 

20 th . To learn 

more about this 

author go to www. 

batfishbooks. 

c o m . 

Rachel Shankles 

received a PTO 

grant to purchase 

Kindles and 

ebooks for her 

library from the 

Lakeside PTO. She also worked to develop a new 

Acceptable Use Policy so students will be able to 

bring their own laptops and e-readers to school 

next year. She also has totally rearranged her 

library again since a lot of you have been to visit. 

She is purchasing a gaming console that looks 

like a slatwall bookshelf when turned to face 

the wall, but has the Wii and the mounted flat 

panel TV on the other side when it is time to play 

games in the library. Rachel says the Civil War 

Sesquicentennial will be big in Arkansas this 

year so remember to check the sites and find out 

how to get some programming about the war in 

Arkansas into your libraries. Email her for ideas. 

Her library will have a bivouac area set up around 

Thanksgiving when they do their food drive and 

guest re-enactors coming in throughout the year. 


Arin Parks will be the new LMS for Jonesboro’s 

Westside High. She will graduated from UCA 

with her library degree in August of this 

year. She was the 12th grade English/AP/ 

journalism teacher at Trumann High School. 

Her husband took an Agri teaching position 

with Westside Schools this past year, and it 

looks like she will be able to join him there. 

Sloan Powell, library media specialist at Simon 

Intermediate in Conway, AR, worked with Kathy 

Powers, literacy teacher at Simon Intermediate, 

on a grant from Mobile Beacon. Mobile Beacon 

was created by a nonprofit organization with over 

20 years of experience serving the educational 

community, and is one of the largest national 

educational broadband service providers in 

the United States. Simon Intermediate will 

receive 25 HP laptops; unlimited use of Mobile 

Beacon’s broadband service for a year, as 

well as USB modems and mobile hotspots. 

Carolyn Melton is retiring from Pulaski County 

Special School District from her elementary 

school library position in Maumelle. Carolyn 

had 35 years in PCSSD and 5 years in LA for 

a total of 40 years. After teaching elementary 

classes for three years in LA and then being in 

a library for two more, she taught 5 th grade 

for one year in PCSSD, and spent the rest in 

various libraries in Pulaski County District. 

From hiking an active volcano in Sicily to climbing 

the Acropolis in Greece to strolling the side streets 

of Rome, five Midland students and library media 

specialist, Karen 

Wells, explored 

the world beyond 

the confines 

of a classroom 

on a recent 

Discovery Student 

Adventures trip. 

Activities on the 

Italy/Greece trip 

included a personal 

tour of the Temple 

18 

of Zeus and the Acropolis as well as a streetby-street 

tour of Pompeii. “When I was in 

elementary school, I read a book about Pompeii 

and have always been fascinated by the city’s 

story,” Wells said. “Our tour guide took us through 

all the buildings and explained what historians 

believe was happening in the days leading up to 

the explosion of Mt. Vesuvius. That part of the trip 

was a personal favorite of mine,” Wells added. 

Other highlights included running races on the 

original track at Olympia where the first Olympic 

Games were held, working with volunteers from 

around the world to relocate sea turtles eggs in 

Kyparissa Bay, white-water rafting down the Lao 

River, admiring the beauty of the Sistine Chapel, 

and exploring the ruins of the Coliseum. It was 

a wonderful opportunity for Midland students 

who returned from the trip with a renewed 

understanding that people are the same no 

matter where you go. A chance encounter and 

subsequent discussion with a young man who 

had taken part in the recent demonstrations 

in Greece has helped students have a better 

understanding of the current economic upheaval 

in that country. Next summer Wells plans to 

travel to Costa Rica where her students will 

conduct environmental service projects in the 

rain forest. Future trips include Australia, New 

Zealand, London, Paris and China. For more 

information on international student travel, Wells 

can be contacted at kwells@midlandschools.org. 


On 

Arkansas Association of School 

Librarians Conferenence 

Eurka Springs 

Tracy McCallister, Greenbrier School District 

July 23-25, 

139 library 

media specialists 

from across the 

state met together 

in beautiful 

Eureka Springs, 

Arkansas for the 

annual Arkansas 

Association of 

School Librarians 

Conference. Along 

with the group of 

teacher librarians 

were 10 authors 

and 13 vendors 

comprising one of 

the largest in total attendance in many years. 

The conference kicked off Saturday night with 

a pre-conference round table at 

local restaurant, Forest Hill. Many 

questions were shared and answered 

from technology to planning to 

communication with administrators. 

Sunday started with a general meeting 

and ADE’s Shirley Featherolf updating 

everyone on the Common Core State 

Standards. Conference goers were 

able to choose from over 50 different 

sessions during the two day event 

and had time to meet the authors and 

vendors. All sessions were approved 

for professional development 

through the Department of Education. 

Sunday night’s banquet included 

guest speaker Gene Elderwind from 

the Carroll County Carnegie Library who 

spoke about the library’s rich history and 

a highlights of their library programs 

for children and youth. Afterward, a 

bus was provided by the Eureka Springs 

School District shuttled everyone to the 

downtown library for a tour. Members of 

the library’s board greeted us on a very 

warm evening with some very refreshing 

lemonade and cookies. On Monday, the 

conference started early at 8:30 with 

more informative sessions and guest 

Stephen Svetz from the Arkansas Attorney 

General’s Office speaking on identity theft. 

Lunch was a welcome time to sit and 

talk one last time with others around 

the state and to hear our keynote, author 

ReShonda Tate Billingsly. Be sure to look for 

information about next year’s conference. We 

hope to see an even bigger crowd next year! 


If 

you haven’t joined the 100 million active 

users of Twitter, you might want to consider 

becoming involved and joining the crowd (Twitter 

Blog). Why do you need a Twitter account? You 

need it because Twitter can be one of the best 

places to learn, especially for library media 

specialists who can be isolated within the media 

center and not able to collaborate with other 

media specialists. With Twitter, you can build 

a personal learning network of people that you 

follow within different areas of expertise. In Liz 

Dwyer’s online article “Why Twitter is a Teacher’s 

Best Tool, she explains that “Twitter has simply 

become one of the best places for teachers to 

collaborate, share solutions to common classroom 

problems, and discuss education policy.” 

Don’t you love being able to have time to share 

ideas and talk to other media specialists about 

issues you might be having? In the past, I have 

20 

Why Twitter? 

Jana Dixon 

Cutter Morning Star School District 

used popular listservs such as LM_NET and 

YALSA to get great ideas and information. I still 

do use listservs, but not to the extent I used 

to. Twitter has replaced the function of these 

for me. Of course, it hasn’t replaced the AAIM 

listserv! I think we have all seen the value of 

being able to send something out on the AAIM 

list and get feedback almost instantaneously. 

In a sense, Twitter works in a similar way, 

but gives us global contact with many people 

who might have been out of reach in the past. 

For example, I have several young adult authors 

that I follow on Twitter. It’s really interesting to 

see a glimpse into the life of an author by the 

things they tweet. This summer, I did a workshop 

on Young Adult Literature. The day before the 

workshop, I was doing some preparation for 

the session and thought it would be cool to 

arrange to Skype with an author during our 


session. But how would I be able to contact an 

author to Skype with on such short notice? My 

solution was to tweet! I sent out two tweets: 

And within a few minutes, I had a reply from @ 

lisa_schroeder and scheduled a Skype session 

with her the next morning. That evening @ 

L a u r e n M y r a c l e 

responded as well, 

and I had not one, 

but two authors who 

Skyped with the 

session participants 

at no cost! It was 

a great experience, 

and one that I believe 

is unique to Twitter. 

Unlike Facebook, you 

can follow someone 

on Twitter, but he/she 

doesn’t necessarily 

have to follow you. 

The relationship 

isn’t reciprocal. The 

people I follow 

include YA authors 

like Sarah Dessen, 

Maureen Johnson, 

John Green, Ellen 

Hopkins, and Kami 

Garcia. Judy Blume is even on Twitter! In 

addition, I also enjoy following other school 

librarians such as Joyce Valenza, Cathy Nelson, 

Shannon Miller, Doug Johnson, and leaders in 

technology like Tony Vincent, David Jakes, Kevin 

Honeycutt, Larry Ferlazzo, Will Richardson, 

and Steven W. Anderson. When someone 

tweets about a resource that I’m interested 

in, like this one from School Library Journal 

about Common Core, then I mark it as one of 

my favorites, so I can refer to it in the future. 

You can also do searches on Twitter for tweets 

on a particular topic. This is the reason for the 

hashtag in the tweet (#keyword). This makes 

the word searchable, and it is very useful. For 

example, you can 

tweet at a conference 

session about the 

presentation using the 

same hashtag. You 

may see conferences 

advertising the 

hashtag to their 

attendees in order 

to everyone to 

use the same 

searchable keyword. 

Type the hashtag 

#edchat in the search 

box, and you’ll see 

a real-time stream 

of discussion about 

an unlimited number 

of educational 

topics” (Dwyer). 

If you decide to 

give Twitter a try, 

look me up! I’m @readingdiva. And be sure 

to follow AAIM’s Twitter as well @aaimhome. 

Hope to tweet you there! 

WORKS CITED 

Dwyer, Liz. “Why Twitter Is a Teacher’s Best 

Tool - Education - GOOD.” GOOD Home Page. 21 

May 2011. Web. 22 Sept. 2011. . 

Twitter Blog. Web. 22 Sept. 2011. . 

Follow AAIM on Twitter at 

@AAIMhome 


I 

don’t know about you, but one of the 

challenges that I have in the library is keeping 

the collection up-to-date with new titles that are 

published. There is a variety of ways that I attempt 

to plan ahead to get new titles on my purchase 

lists. Some of these include using Amazon.com 

or GoodReads.com to search for newly published 

titles. Sometimes I simply go to Books –a-Million 

and spend a couple hours pursuing the shelves 

for new books and authors. But recently I 

discovered a great site for finding upcoming 

titles called yalit.com. They have lists of recently 

22 

New in YA Lit 

Jana Dixon, Cutter Morning Star School District 

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011 

The Lying Game #2: Never Have I Ever by Sara 

Shepard 

After Obsession, Carrie Jones & Steven E. Wedel 

All These Things I’ve Done by Gabrielle Zevin 

Always a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough 

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead* 

Damned (Crusade) by Nancy Holder 

Goliath (Leviathan) by Scott Westerfeld 

Nevermore by Kelly Creagh 

Sweetly by Jackson Pearce 

The Bitter End by Jennifer Brown 

The Bridge to Never Land (Starcatchers) by 

Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson 

The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch 

The Fox Inheritance by Mary E. Pearson 

The Gray Wolf Throne (A Seven Realms Novel) 

by Cinda Williams Chima* 

The Hidden (The Hollow Book 3). Jessica Verday 

released titles as well as upcoming publications. 

Here is a list of some new and upcoming 

titles you might be interested in obtaining. 

This list is definitely not a complete listing of 

upcoming titles, and it is not necessarily an 

endorsement of these titles, but simply a listing 

of new titles that are of particular interest to 

my students and possibly to yours. These are 

organized by the month of publication. I’ve 

starred some of the upcoming titles that I’m 

particularly excited about! Happy Reading! 

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson 

The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab 

The Power of Six (I Am Number Four) by 

Pittacus Lore* 

Torn (Missing) by Margaret Peterson Haddix 

Vanish (A Firelight Novel )by Sophie Jordan 

Wisdom’s Kiss by Catherine Gilbert Murdock 

You Against Me by Jenny Downham 

A Monster Calls: Inspired by an idea from 

Siobhan Dowd by Patrick Ness and Jim Kay 

This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of 

Victor Frankenstein by Kenneth Oppel 

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie 

Perkins 

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick 

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor 

Hades (Halo) by Alexandra Adornetto 

Fateful by Claudia Gray 

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson 


Sweet Venom (Sweet Venom Trilogy) by Tera 

Lynn Childs 

All You Desire (Eternal Ones) by Kirsten Miller 

Soul Thief: A Demon Trappers Novel by Jana 

Oliver 

Nocturne (Claire de Lune Novels) by Christine 

Johnson 

Dark Souls: A Novel by Paula Morris 

Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions, Melissa Marr 

Misfit by Jon Skovron 

The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann 

Witchlanders by Lena Coakley 

Circle of Fire (Prophecy of the Sisters, Book 3) 

by Michelle Zink 

Dust & Decay by Jonathan Maberry 

Fury by Elizabeth Miles 

Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard 

Paul Evans 

Inheritance (The Inheritance Cycle) by 

Christopher Paolini 

Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick (Hush, Hush) 

The Death Cure (Maze Runner Trilogy) by James 

Dashner 

The Future of Us by Jay Asher & Carolyn 

Mackler 

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater 

Prized (The Birthmarked Trilogy) by Caragh M. 

O’Brien 

Destined (House of Night) by P. C. Cast 

The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa 

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever by Jeff 

Kinney 

Reckoning: A Strange Angels Novel by Lili St. 

Crow 

Ranger’s Apprentice: The Lost Stories by John 

Flanagan 

Tiger’s Voyage (Book 3 in the Tiger’s Curse 

Perfect by Ellen Hopkins* 

Beautiful Days: A Bright Young Things Novel by 

Anna Godbersen 

A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies 

TimeRiders: Day of the Predator, Alex Scarrow 

Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey 

As I Wake by Elizabeth Scott 

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2011 

Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia & Margaret 

Stohl* 

Brotherband Chronicles: The Outcasts by John 

Flanagan 

Crossed by Ally Condie (sequel to Matched)* 

Heroes of Olympus Book Two: The Son of 

Neptune by Rick Riordan* 

How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr 

Series) by Colleen Houck 

Triangles by Ellen Hopkins 

Dark Eden by Patrick Carman 

Devoted: An Elixir Novel Hilary Duff 

DECEMBER 2011/JANUARY 2012 

Clockwork Prince (Infernal Devices) by 

Cassandra Clare* 

Enshadowed (Nevermore) by Kelly Creagh 

Bloodrose: A Nightshade Novel by Andrea 

Cremer 

A Million Suns: An Across the Universe Novel by 

Beth Revis 

Hallowed: An Unearthly Novel by Cynthia Hand 

Life Eternal (A Dead Beautiful Novel) by Yvonne 

Woon 

Witch & Wizard: The Fire by James Patterson 

Darkness Falls (Immortal Beloved) Cate Tiernan 

Jessica Rules the Dark Side by Beth Fantaske 


24 

Above the Rest: AAIM 2012 

April 22-24 

Cathy Toney, Conway School District 

Conference Chair/President-Elect 

April will be here before we know it, so let’s 

get ready to “float” to the northwest corner of 

Arkansas at the Rogers Embassy Suties and 

Conference Center for 

our “Above the Rest: 

AAIM 2012” conference. 

Registration for this years 

conference will begin 

on December 1. In order 

to facilitate conference 

planning, there will 

be a small change in 

registration. An additional 

fee of $25 will be charged 

for any attendee registering 

after February 14. Late 

registration ends March 14. 

Anyone registering after 

that date will be able to 

use our on-site registration. 

There are rooms blocked at the Embassy suites 

for the AAIM 2012 Conference. A notification will 

be sent out when reservations can be made. 

There will be a Sunday evening dinner with an 

author that will be held at the 

convention center ballroom. 

As soon as our speakers 

are all under contract, I will 

let you know who will be 

speaking and which day. 

Start now working on your 

students to participate in 

the Student Media Festival. 

There were outstanding 

winners last year and this 

year will be no exception. 

More information will be 

posted on the AAIM wiki 

as soon as it is available. 

We are “Above the Rest” in 

information, technology and motivation in our 

educational institutions. See you in April!!! 

More conference information available on the 

conference wiki at 

http://aaimconference.wikispaces.com/ 

Plan now to present at AAIM and share the 

great things you’re doing in your library! 


Volume 44 Issue 2 

Dates to Remember 

Teen Read Week 

October 16-22, 2011 

American Assoication of School Librarians 

Minneapolis, MN, October 27-30, 2011 

Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) 

November 8-11, 2011 

National Gaming Day 

November 12, 2011 

Schools Without Walls Conference 

November 14-15, 2011 

Arkansas Reading Association Conerence 

Little Rock, AR, November 17-18, 2011 

Teen Tech Week 

March 4-10, 2012 

National Library Week 

Aoril 8-14, 2012 

Arkansas Association of Instructional Media Conference 

Rogers, AR, April 22-24, 2012 

Children’s Book Week 

May 7-14, 2012 

Hot Springs Technology Institute 

Hot Springs, AR, June 18-22, 2012 

American Library Assoication (ALA) 

Anaheim, CA, June 21-26, 2012 

International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE) 

San Diego, CA, June 24-27, 2012

Volume 44 Issue 2 - Arkansas Association of Instructional Media

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