summaryedgewood

Summary Edgewood This year I introduced a **Young Adult Advisory Board** for 8th graders so they can recommend books for purchase that meet the needs of our older readers. By listening to the students articulate why their favorite books are significant, and sharing with them my choices for more challenging reading, we can help each other provide the richest and most relevant reading experience for Edgewood’s voracious readers. Thanks to a **District 112 Foundation grant**, students have begun marketing books to each other through our new system of book review podcasting. We have purchased three iPods with our Foundation grant and we have moved our media station into roomier quarters in the Listening Library. When students have prepared a review for podcasting, they enter the **Listening Library** with their scripts to record in **Garageband** as though they were in a mini broadcasting center. Podcasts are being loaded on the ipods and will be used in classrooms so that students can listen to their peers chat up the best books.

Another electronic form of reading support came this year in the form of **Playaways** which we have purchased to begin a core collection. These mini players contain an entire book as an mp3 so that no other device is needed to enjoy the audio book. The Playaways are small enough to slip in a pocket and travel well. Also, in a gift from our Destiny vendor, all libraries have received a beginning collection of **ebooks** so that we can determine whether to expand this format of books in our collection.

Our visit from award winning author [|Margaret Petersen Haddix] is one we have waited three years to host. Thanks to the generosity of the **Foundation and our PTO**, Ms Haddix presented to the whole school as well as conducting a writer’s workshop that sparked enthusiasm throughout the school. Among the hidden, indeed!

Meanwhile, research continues apace, with our new collection of databases from **GALE, including the Student Resource Center, Biography Resource Center, and Opposing Viewpoints** which Edgewood piloted last year. New in our library this year, a pilot of Britannica online has proved a great way to boost our research.