Capstone distribution center employee with book shipment

The tornadoes decimated the city’s schools and completely destroyed its libraries. When Sharon Hagge, Capstone’s Distribution Center Coordinator, learned of the destruction in Moore, she knew her department would want to pitch in to help. They have been busy organizing the shipment, but the schools were only recently prepared to receive the large donation. “We know there’s a lot more work to be done, but we hope that Moore’s first school year after the storms is a happy and safe one,” Hagge said.

Each year Capstone donates more than $1 million in books worldwide, and will continue to help rebuild Moore’s libraries in particular with its “Buy a Book, Give a Book” promotion through its trade publishing program, Capstone Young Readers. The publisher donates one book to the Moore schools for every book purchased through its website. Consumers can simply use the Promo Code “MooreRelief” when placing an order online.

Interactive Comics

Thirty-two titles from the “DC Super-Pets,” “DC Super Heroes: The Man of Steel,” “Superman,” and “Batman” series are now available as interactive ebooks from Capstone. An additional 28 titles will be released in the fall. There’s a one-time fee for “DC Super-Pets” interactive ebooks ($31.99 ea.) and “DC Super Heroes” ($33.99 ea.), which grants access to unlimited circulation for all students 24/7 in school, at home, or on any mobile device. “Our DC Comics brand of full-color chapter books offers readers the perfect introduction to DC Comics characters and are among Capstone’s most successful and best-selling series,” noted Matt Keller, Capstone’s Chief Marketing Officer. “Librarians can expand their digital collection with the titles kids love without having to worry about hidden fees or circulation limits.”

Math Challenge

WGBH Educational Foundation’s Innovation Math Challenge is for anyone who wants to create fun and engaging math educational media—educators, student teams, gamers, or programmers. Applicants can submit entries of games, math videos, infographics, or manipulatives. The contest challenges individuals or teams to design and create a web-based digital resource between two and six minutes in length related to middle school math and connected to the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. The entry should be “engaging, rich in content and context, and go beyond strictly procedural teaching.” The deadline for submission is November 22. Check out the website for more information and contest rules. Up to 100 winners will each receive $1,000.

Capstone in helping young victims affected by the recent tornado in Moore, Oklahoma. The publisher will work with the two schools most affected by the disaster, Briarwood Elementary and Plaza Towers Elementary, to distribute books to rebuild their libraries. For every book that customers purchase through Capstone’s website, the publisher will donate one book to the Moore schools. Those who would like to participate should use the promo code “moorerelief” when placing orders online.

And, there’s another way to help. Through its library division, Capstone Rewards members can donate their points to the school libraries. The company will double the total rewards points accumulated and give them to the schools to order new books. Members should log in to their Capstone Rewards account, redeem points, and email the redemption code to communitygiveing@coughlancompanies.com with the subject line “Moore Recovery Donation.”
Additionally, Capstone is donating more than 750 books for the students affected by the disaster to keep for their home libraries. “Providing children with good books to read is important for re-establishing a sense of normalcy and routine. Helping to provide Moore schools and educators with the books and resources they need to rebuild their fundamental role in the community is so important,” noted Ashley Andersen Zantop, Capstone Group Publisher and General Manager. “We hope our customers and friends join us. Capstone is preparing to send books to these schools as soon as they are ready to receive them.”

Granted

The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation’s Minigrant Program has presented 59 awards to teachers and librarians in 29 states. The grants of up to $500 are given to educators in public schools and libraries for specific programs that “foster the love of learning, enhance creative expression, and optimize interaction between educator and students.” Bad River Public Tribal Library in Odanah, Wisconsin, received a grant for a program designed to teach children and young adults about the Ojibwe culture by designing and making their own traditional dance outfits. Creekside Elementary in Boulder, Colorado, will use their funding to have fifth graders work with kindergarten and first grade students to make applehead dolls and create a fictional narrative about each doll.

“Reflecting on the past 25 years of the Ezra Jack Keats Minigrant Program gives us great pride and satisfaction, knowing that we have directly supported so many extraordinary teachers and librarians,” said Deborah Pope, Executive Director of the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation. “In an environment where educators have increasingly limited resources, we applaud those who have reached beyond the basic curriculum to create programs that inspire and encourage students in a creative and cooperative context.”

Database Update

The World Almanac for Kids Online has been relaunched by Infobase Learning to include a new streamlined interface and new content. The database goes beyond the print edition, featuring online-only content as well as Chelsea House and Facts On File sets and series that support Common Core standards. Search and browse options have been improved and are more kid-friendly. New sections include “Our Planet Earth,” “Space and Astronomy,” “American History,” and “Holidays and Celebrations”—and new material has been added to existing sections. Plans for the future include new information on the human body, plants, and sports. The “Homework Help” section has been revised to include topics such as resources for student reports and research, test prep, reading maps and time lines, and more. There’s also teacher support with new curricular handouts and iPad-friendly videos.

“By providing a trusted, content-rich, age-appropriate source for homework assignments and online research, The World Almanac for Kids Online serves a vital purpose for elementary and middle school students and their parents and teachers,” said Mark McDonnell, the president and CEO of Infobase Learning. “This site’s engaging material and appealing formats go a long way in getting kids excited about learning and coming back for more.”

25^th Annual Lambda Awards Announced

The winners of the 25th Annual Lambda Literary Awards were announced on June 3 at a gala ceremony hosted by comedienne Kate Clinton at The Great Hall at Cooper Union in New York City. On the heels of BookExpo America, the “Lammys” ceremony celebrated excellence in LGBT literature and 25 years of the groundbreaking literary awards. Ingrid Abrams, a children’s librarian at Brooklyn Public Library presented the award in the LGBT Children’s/Young Adult category to Benjamin Alire Sáenz for his acclaimed Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (S & S). Finalists included other 2012 SLJ Best Books: A.S. King’s Ask the Passengers, (Little, Brown), David Levithan’s Every Day (Knopf), and emily m. danforth’s The Miseducation of Cameron Post, (HarperCollins).

Mystery award: The Code Busters 2: The Haunted Lighthouse (Egmont USA) by Penny Warner won the 2012 Agatha Award in the Best Children’s/Young Adult category. In the book, Cody and his friends love codes, and when they receive a mysterious email suggesting that there’s a treasure hidden on Alcatraz Island, they are excited to start a clue hunt. A class trip to the prison is the perfect way for them to start their search. There are more than a dozen codes and puzzles in the book for readers to decipher.

The Agatha Awards honor “traditional mystery”books that are best typified by the works of Agatha Christie—that contain “no explicit sex and no excessive gore or violence.” The prizes were announced at the Malice Domestic 25 convention, an annual “fun fan” convention held in Washington, DC. Awards are also given in five categories for adults: Best Novel, Best First Novel, Best Nonfiction, Best Short Story, and Best Historical Novel.

Industry News

The Presidents: Capstone is adding 60 more titles to the K–3 PebbleGo Biographies module in August 2013. The new titles will complete its U.S. Presidential collection. Current subscribers to the database will receive the additional content at no extra charge. PebbleGo Biographies, which employ reading scaffolding strategies, feature narrated text, animated highlighting, a glossary, visual searching, educational videos and games, an interactive time line of key dates, and activities.

Graphic novels: ABDO’s Spotlight division will publish library editions of IDW’s Jurassic Park and Star Trek graphic novels this fall. There will be eight books in the Classic Jurassic Park set for all ages, based on the 1990s movies, and four Star Trek titles for young adults featuring characters resembling those in the current film franchise. Spotlight’s comic books and graphic novels are published as library editions, with side-sewn pages, a cloth reinforced spine, and a laminated cover.

“These are two of the most popular science fiction story lines in history,” noted Jim Abdo, the company’s publisher. “One warns of what happens when science goes wrong, the other promises a time where science helps humanity come together and build a future. And there is plenty of action and adventure, too. We think our librarian friends will love getting these into the hands of their kids and young adult readers.”

Author Michael Dahl helped give away hundreds of copies of his new picture book Goodnight Baseball (Capstone, 2013) on “Educators Day” at a Saint Paul Saints baseball game on May 9. The day is exclusively for teachers and students, and was the first exhibition game of the minor league baseball team this season. Photo provided by Capstone Publishing.

SPONSORED BY:

Archive now available!
Common Core State Standards require that we build strong research habits from the earliest grades.  Calls for:
·         Increased exposure to informational text
·         Preparation for the rigors of text-based discussion and evaluation
·         Emphasis on writing, comprehension and collaboration
All point toward the need to begin the habits of good research with our youngest students.

Join a lively presentation and discussion with Cobb County, GA elementary media specialists Ellen Adams and Tina Launey to learn how they are using Capstone’s PebbleGo database to motivate students, master curriculum objectives and prepare their students for a lifetime of learning!

Presenters:
Ellen Adams- Medla Specialist, Fair Oaks Elementary School
Tina Launey- Media Specialist,Belmont Hills Elementary School

Moderator:
Amy Cox- Library Marketing Manager,Capstone

Didn’t make it on May 22nd? No problem! The archive is now available for on-demand viewing at your convenience!

Follow us on Twitter! @SLJEvent  #SLJcapstone

Calling All Media Specialists

Media specialists, teachers, and principals in public and private K–12 schools are invited to submit their collaboration success stories for an opportunity to win the 2013 Gale/LMC TEAMS Award which recognizes the critical collaboration of teachers and librarians to “promote learning and achievement.” The award is sponsored by Gale and Library Media Connection magazine. The collaboration could have taken place in the 2011–12 or 2012–13 school year. The judging, done by a panel of education professionals and Gale staff, will evaluate the entries based on demonstrated collaboration, effective techniques that positively impact student learning and achievement, support from school leadership, and replicability. Be sure to check out the award’s website for complete information.

Three winners will receive $2,500, Gale products, a one-year subscription to Library Media Connection, and Educator’s Professional Bookshelf from Linworth Publishing.

All entries must be submitted by July 1. Winners will be announced in November 2013 at the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) annual conference in Hartford, CT.

And the Award Goes to…

The Capstone Young Readers website recently received the 2013 Internet Advertising Competition Award for “Best Publishing Site” for excellence in online advertising from the Web Marketing Association. The competition was judged by professionals from the Internet advertising community on criteria such as creativity, innovation, impact, design, and copywriting. Capstone launched their new Capstone Young Readers website in February 2013. It features nearly 3,000 titles in a variety of formats for toddlers through teenagers.

“Capstone Young Readers had a tremendous first year. We’re thrilled to celebrate our growth with the launch of a fresh new website that integrates seamlessly with our social media efforts. To be recognized by advertising design and technology experts with this award is an honor and another wonderful reason to celebrate. Our new site delivers up-to-the-minute information for readers about our titles, promotions, events, authors, media and more,” said Ashley Andersen Zantop, Capstone Group Publisher and General Manager.

Close the digital divide: The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) and Best Buy have become partners in attempting to close the digital divide for teens. Every time Best Buy Mobile opens a new location in the United States, YALSA will designate a public or school library in the vicinity to receive $2,000 from Best Buy to purchase digital library resources for teens. According to YALSA, that library will take part in a community celebration to promote the partnership. To help the designated libraries get training on how to best use the money they receive, YALSA is creating an online community for the recipients to share information and best practices.

“This partnership is so important to YALSA because it helps us make strides towards fulfilling our mission of expanding and strengthening library services for and with teens,” said Jack Martin, YALSA president. Best Buy Mobile specialty stores are usually located in shopping centers and malls and offer smartphones, tablets, accessories, services, and plans.

Video game challenge: The National STEM Video Game Challenge, presented by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop and E-Line Media, is the perfect way to tap into your middle and high school students’ passion for playing video games. Now in its third year, the Challenge promotes science, technology, engineering, and math education. U.S. students in grades five to twelve, either individually or in teams of up to four students, can submit an original game concept and design through April 24, 2012. The games can be created using any game-making platform such as Gamestar Mechanic, Mirosoft’s Kodu, GameMaker, Scratch, or a written game design concept document. Be sure to check out all the rules and entry information.

Winners will receive an AMD-powered laptop computer loaded with game design and education software. Additionally, the school or non-profit organization designated by the winner will receive a donation of $2,000.

This year, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is joining returning sponsors: the AMD Foundation, Microsoft’s Xbox 360, the Entertainment Software Association, the Hive Digital Media Learning Fund in the New York Community Trust, BrainPOP, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting PBS KIIDS Ready to Learn Initiative, Learning Game Network, and Edmondo. As a new sponsor, IMLS is supporting the development of tools and online museum- and library-specific content to help these institutions help students create games. There will be 14 workshops held throughout the country, so make sure to check out the Game Design Workshop page.

Freebies

Interactive ebooks: Listen up, libraries with tight budgets. Capstone, a publisher of children’s books and digital products and services, is offering library customers free interactive ebooks for their library. All you have to do is order any of Capstone’s library products, including hardcover books from any of its imprints, PebbleGO, or Capstone Interactive Library interactive eBooks, and you can receive these free ebooks for your library. Customers who purchase $1,000 of any Capstone library product, can select 20 free interactive eBooks; those purchasing $2,000 of library products can select 50 free interactive eBooks. Use the promotion code “13CILANY” and place your order by May 1, 2013. “With over 2,000 interactive ebooks available, there’s plenty of choice,” said Matt Keller Capstone Chief Marketing Officer.

Publishing News

Acquisition: Dreamscape Media has acquired the iconographic book to video firm, Nutmeg Media. Its new owners will be responsible for the sales, marketing. and distribution of the entire Nutmeg Media catalog of 107 award-winning, book-based children’s video titles. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring such a highly regarded line of video titles into our growing portfolio, and we’re hoping to introduce even more libraries to these wonderful programs,” said Brad Rose, Vice President of Dreamscape. “As we move forward and produce new video titles, we intend to continue the Nutmeg tradition of high-quality, award winning, iconographic video programming based on new children’s books.”

You have to be in it: The 2013 Samsung K–12 “Return on Intelligence” Gift Programs have been announced by Samsung Techwin, a manufacturer of document cameras. The Superhero Program competition encourages students to prepare a 1–3 minute digital video (camera phone quality is acceptable) in which they portray their favorite historical character. The deadline for entries is May 31. The contest is opened to students in grades K–12 and the video will be judged on presentation performance, character and content accuracy, and content quality. The winner will receive $500 and the student’s class will get a SAMCAM 760 document camera.

To enter the Scholarship Program, high school students must write an essay of no more than 300 words in response to the question: What do you think about technology advancements and how they will change the way we learn in the future? Is it for the better? The deadline for submissions is May 15. Essays will be judged on the basis of original thinking, relevance to the real world, and writing quality. All applicants must be sponsored by a teacher. Five winners will be announced on May 31 and will receive a $1,000 award.

Under its 2013 Grant Program, ten teachers will each have the opportunity to win a SAMCAM 760 document camera for use in school by writing a fun lesson plan of 100 words or less in which they use the camera. The deadline for submissions is May 1, The top 20 finalists will then have to submit a video showing their lesson in the classroom using the SAMCAM 760. Ten winners will be selected on June, and their school district will also keep the camera.

Freebies

Teaching guide: Hurry up and get your free copy of Brother Sam and All That: Historical Context and Literary Analysis of the Novels of James and Christopher Collier (Clearwater Pr., 1999) from AudioGO. The lessons compiled in this companion teaching guide provide teachers and librarians with information about how to use historical fiction in the classroom—just what the Common Core Standards require—and tips for teaching the novels by James and Christopher Collier. AudioGO publishes audiobook and ebook versions of more than 50 novels by James and Christopher Collier, including the classroom favorite, My Brother Sam Is Dead. The first 100 people to email michell.cobb@audiogo.com will receive this teaching guide at no cost.

Publishing News

Trade picture books: This spring, Capstone Young Readers, an imprint of Capstone, is launching a collection of fully illustrated picture books. “We are excited to introduce a range of picture books in both paper-over-board and trade paperback formats,” says Ashley Andersen Zantop, Group Publisher and General Manager. “We believe that quality illustrated titles provide an important stepping stone to reading and an opportunity to inspire imagination, creativity, and a love for good books.” The titles and series scheduled for publication in February 2013 are: Flood by Alvara F. Villa, “Princess Heart” series written and illustrated by Molly Martin, “The Other Side of the Story” series by Nancy Loewen (classic fairy tales), and Charlotte Gullain’s “Animal Fairy Tales” series.

And more picture books: Hank Finds an Egg (ages 3–8) written and illustrated by Rebecca Dudley will be published by Peter Pauper Press in May 2013 as their initial venture into publishing children’s trade picture books for children. The wordless picture book tells the story of a young boy who finds an egg on the forest floor, helps it return to its home in a tree, and is rewarded by his new forest friends. Three additional titles are scheduled for publication: Bruce Arant’s Sheep Won’t Go to Sleep! (Fall 2013), Digby Differs by Miriam Koch (Fall 2013), and Sarra J. Roth’s Not the Quitting Kind (Spring 2014). If you’re a picture book author, Peter Pauper Press is accepting unsolicited submissions online, or you can send your manuscript to Mara Conlon, Senior Editor, Peter Pauper Press, 202 Mamaroneck Ave., White Plains, NY 10601.

Peter Pauper Press has been publishing gift books, references, travel guides, children’s activity books, and other products for adults since it was founded in 1928.

Children’s Lit Conference

Digital Lit: Librarians, teachers, and others who love books are invited to attend e-Looking Glass: Children’s Literature in the Digital Age, a full-day conference to be held at Carthage College Hedberg Library in Kenosha, WI, on April 13, that will explore “how books are being reinvented to create visual and interactive experiences that printed books cannot provide.”  Topics will include the changing landscape of texts (interactive ebooks, book apps, learning products, and online communities), how to integrate this new technology into the classroom, and the design and development of these new types of books. Among the speakers are Brandon Oldenburg, award-winning illustrator and co-founder of Moonbot Studios; Umesh Shukla, animation director and founder of Auryn, a digital publisher of apps; Denise Johnson, author of The Joy of Children’s Literature; William H. Teale, Professor of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago; and others. Undergraduate continuing professional education credit is available. The cost to attend the conference is $65, and $40 for students. You can register online. The cost of one credit hour is $50; to view the syllabus, contact Marilyn Ward at mward@carthage.edu.

Recovery grants:

You Have to Be in It…

Free audiobooks: To promote its new distribution partnerships, Findaway World, the maker of Playaway, Playaway View, and Catalist Digital, is giving away three $1,000 Playaway starter collections to schools. Media specialists and teachers can visit the website, complete a short survey, and enter for the chance to win one of these great audiobook collections. One school will be selected to receive a starter collection each month, from March through May.

Playaway audio content comes preloaded in circulation-ready media players. Playaway’s new distributors include Mackin Educational Resources, Perma-Bound, Children’s Plus, Baker & Taylor, Classroom Library Company, Delaney Education, Bound To Stay Bound, Central Programs, and AV Café. Each distributor will offer various titles from Playaway’s collection of 17,000 titles. Findaway World will continue its longstanding distribution relationship with Follett Library Resources and Follett Educational Services.

Programming

Arts and humanities awards: Libraries are encouraged to apply for the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program (NAHYP) Award, an initiative of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The deadline is February 4. Be sure to check out eligibility requirements before completing the application. Twelve winners will be selected to receive a $10,000 grant. In addition, 38 finalists will receive a Finalist Certificate of Excellence. The award will be presented by First Lady Michelle Obama at a ceremony at the White House.

Programs should be in place for at least five years and “offer sustained and consistent out-of-school or afterschool opportunities for young people to engage hands-on with the arts or humanities.” After-school and out-of-school arts and humanities programs sponsored by museums, libraries, performing arts organizations; educational institutions (e.g., preschools; elementary, middle, and high schools; universities; and colleges), arts centers, community service organizations, businesses, and eligible government entities can submit an application.

Industry News

Professional development: After recently acquiring the assets of Maupin House, a publisher of more than 200 professional resources on literacy topics for K–12 educators and administrators, Capstone has launched Capstone Professional. This new professional development service will include onsite and online training webinars, books, and ebooks. Among Maupin House’s bestsellers are “Caught’ya! Grammar with a Giggle” series by Jane Ball Kiester; Razzle Dazzle Writing  2001) by Melissa Forney; and the CraftPlus K–8 Writing Program, a curriculum aligned to the Common Core Standards. Capstone is a leading publisher of children’s books, digital products, and literacy programs.

Your Vote Counts: OneVote 2012 is a student mock election held before the national presidential election. Launched by Channel One News, the program gives young people the opportunity to learn about the electoral process and the issues via interactive content as well as the chance to cast their votes for the next president of the United States from October 22–26. Prior to the election, Channel One News will offer news and other special segments to help teens make informed decisions. Team OneVote, a group of six teens, will act as on-air political commentators and contribute to OneVote on Channel One’s YouTube channel. The site features informative brief videos about issues such as energy, the Latino vote, healthcare, voter ID laws, education, and more. There’s even a lesson plan for teachers to use with their students. Educators are encouraged to get their classes involved. Just print out the ballots, tally them, and submit them to onevote.com by October 26. The results will be broadcast on November 1. And it’s interesting to note that since 1992, OneVote has accurately predicted the result of every presidential election.

The Latino Experience

Culturally relevant: Mamiverse Books, launched by Mamiverse.com, is a digital book resource for Latino parents who want to introduce their children to books that accurately reflect the U.S. Latino experience. The site offers book reviews, author interviews, and feature articles. The site also features recommended picture books and bilingual books as well as books for middle grades and young adults. In conjunction with the launch of this site and National Book Month, there’s also an online pledge, Mamiverse Reads, that commits Latino families to making reading and books a life-long priority. “Studies have shown that reading paves the way for future academic success,” notes Adriana Dominquez, former reviews editor for School Library Journal’s Criticas magazine and executive editor at HarperCollins Children’s Books. “It is essential that we provide families with quality resources that specifically address the needs of Latino parents who want direction on how to incorporate books and reading into their children’s lives.”

App-enings

Borrow ebooks with your Nook: It’s just become easier for Nook users to borrow ebooks and audiobooks from their public and school library. Overdrive recently introduced a free OverDrive Media Console app for Nook. Just visit the Nook store and install the app. With the app, you can locate a library or school nearby and browse or search their ebook collection. Then simply enter a valid library card or school ID and check out and download the title for up to three weeks (or a time period allowed by the library). At the conclusion of the lending period, the title expires.

English proficiency: English language learners can test their proficiency in English with Oxford University Press’s “How Good Is Your English” free app that that can be downloaded from iTunes to the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. First, users take a test to determine their reading level, and then they can try a sample chapter with synchronized audio from each of the 30 Oxford Bookworms apps. For those without an Apple device, an online version of the test is available. There’s also a video from Professor Richard Day, chair and co-founder of the Extensive Reading Foundation, in which he explains the benefits of reading in English. “Being able to know your reading level, and to choose stories at that level, is an important first step to enjoying reading in a foreign language, says Verissimo Toste, teacher and teacher trainer in Oxford University Press’s professional development department. “Reading will feel comfortable as students focus on the story and not the language. Comfort and enjoyment will lead students to read more, exposing them to more language, helping them to improve their English.”

Oxford Bookworms apps offer six levels of readers with stories that will appeal to a wide range of readers, such as Sherlock Holmes tales, Dracula, Alice in Wonderland, and more. The stories are written or adapted for language learners and include color illustrations and interactive quizzes.

Industry News

Leveled readers: Capstone has launched Capstone Classroom, three leveled reading programs for early readers. “Engage Literacy” features leveled fiction and nonfiction books for K–3 readers that support literacy, language development skills, phonics, and phonemic awareness. “Wonder Reader” is a nonfiction levelled text program for beginning and transitional readers in the content areas of math, science, and social studies. The titles in the “Wonder Words” program feature nonfiction titles that present the first 100 sight words in math, science, and social studies themed titles.

Picture books: On August 31, Candlewick launched a yearlong video celebration of picture books in honor of their 20th anniversary. Every day for 365 days, as part of the We Believe in Picture Books campaign, Candlewick will offer a video shot by authors, illustrators, staff, and friends, sharing what picture books mean to them, recommending a favorite story, and more. Librarians and teachers are welcome to post these videos on their own websites to share with students. You can also submit your own video to the publisher in which you informally talk about your favorite picture book, what the format means to you, or why it matters.

Pinterest Contest

Win an audio package: Califone International is encouraging educators to follow them on Pinterest and create their own board titled “Classroom AV Wish List,” in order to win tools for their classrooms. To enter the contest, educators have to repin one of four audio packages—portable PA, mobile and ELA learning, library, and clicker—from the Califone Pinterest contest board and then explain how the it will help enrich their classroom. One pin per contestant per week is permitted. Contest rules and submission requirements are featured on the Califone blog. Winners will determined by Califone based on creativity and effective use of audiovisual products. You have until September 24 to enter. Winners will be announced by October 5.

Buy One Get One Free

Ebooks: To celebrate Capstone’s expansion of its Interactive Library interactive ebook program, the publisher is offering customers the opportunity to buy one ebook and get another free. This fall Capstone is expanding its program to include more than 2,000 titles. The program has also improved its technology and is compatible with any PC, Mac, iPad, interactive white board, and any other device with high-speed Internet access. Kids can access Capstone’s interactive ebooks in school, at home, or on any mobile device 24/7. Hurry—this special promotion only runs until November 16. To place an order, customers should use the code “12CILBOGO.”

Careers in Library Service

Career opportunities: The Pratt Institute School of Information and Library Science (SILS) is offering students in their SILS program tuition scholarships and two semester internships at the Brooklyn Museum, the Frick Art Reference Library, and the New York Art Resources Consortium to prepare them for careers in museum libraries and archives. M-LEAD TWO (Museum Library Education and Digitization-Technology, Web, Online) is a three-year project that will give students hands-on experience—they will be able to work with research materials from these museum libraries and be mentored by the museums’ staff. Students will graduate with a master’s degree and an advanced certificate in museum libraries and will also get stipends for participating.

The project is funded by a grant of more than $261,000 from the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) through the 2012 Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program. “With a two-semester internship program and a focus on collection accessibility, the new project furthers our efforts to prepare students for careers as museum librarians and archivist and also advances a new model for museum library education for the 21st century, incorporating digital collections and services across the museum so that graduates are preparing to meet the challenges of museums in our global networked information environment,” noted Tula Giannini, dean of Pratt-SILS and project director.