End-of-year Inventory time is here and Follett Software has provided you with resources and eLearnings that are sure to assist you in making your inventory process more efficient and quicker, so that you can get back to what you love the most – educating students.
There’s only one place to go to find all you need to complete your end-of-year inventory tasks: the Inventory Resource Center at www.FollettSoftware.com/Inventory. Follett Software customers with current support can find: · Online inventory help. · Complimentary eLearnings. · Pre-recorded webinars. · Best practices for a successful inventory. · Answers to common inventory questions. · 24/7 access to online resources. · Live Technical Support from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm.
Questions? Call 800.323.3397. And don’t forget, if you need a new scanner or replacement barcodes, check out www.DestinyExpress.com for easy online ordering of inventory essentials.
Yesterday I noted that I left my home town to get to the airport at 4AM…. Here it is a day later at 4PM and my, what a day can bring!
So much learning…my brain is beginning to burst. I’ve wanted to use Destiny Quest as the student portal into many new ways of searching but didn’t really think through how to best accomplish it. I hate to admit this, but kids at my school, when given a report to do just don’t search for books. (I don’t reckon that that is at all unique, yes?) It’s ‘hit the ‘net’ for just about every information problem they have.
Among the many educators, students, parents, and librarians that celebrate World Read Aloud Day, Follett stands among the community that advocates for literacy.
Have you made a contribution to #WRAD? Please share with us by adding a link to your post/video in the comments below.
Rebecca Levinson, Online & Social Media Marketing Manager
It is awesome to see the power the Internet has in bringing business organizations, individuals, libraries, schools and institutions together to celebrate World Real Aloud Day. Founded by Litworld, a 501C3 nonprofit organization to promote sustainable literacy practices worldwide, World Read Aloud Day, #WRAD, is about taking action to advocate Global Literacy.
As educators prepare for World Read Aloud Day across the globe, bloging, tweeting, and posting to Facebook and YouTube we have captured some of these moments. Check out the storify post above.
March 7th we will continue to update our findings throughout the web from educators, the "ed.net", as they post their activities. We will also share a video of our own that was prepared by Follett in celebration and support of World Read Aloud Day.
How are you celebrating World Read Aloud Day? We'd love to know. Please share with us in the comments below.
Rebecca Levinson-Online & Social Media Marketing Manager
It’s been about two weeks now since we crossed the 25,000 signatures mark for the White House petition. From ALA President Molly Raphael’s School Library Task Force to the ALA Think Tank on Facebook who bought ads on Facebook to the vendor community who sent out messages to all their customers to the librarians and their supporters who convinced their families to all sign the petition to the ALA divisions who helped pull in the entire library community to the other national organizations and associations that partner with AASL who spread the word through their websites and memberships as well, it truly was a team effort. I think the reason we hit 25,000+ is because everyone worked together.
We now wait for the White House response. There is no timeline given by the White House other than they will respond as quickly as is possible. The response will be posted on the White House – We the People – website and everyone who signed the petition will receive the response via email. There is no guarantee that the response will include any action from the White House. However, the petition will help raise awareness of the issues facing school libraries today.
But, the petition is not a silver bullet. As we work towards getting school libraries included in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, it will be important that we keep up the effort. We need to be talking to Senators and Representatives, encouraging them to support the Skills Act. On January 17, U.S. Representative Raul Grijalva (D-AZ, 7th), along with Representatives Rush Holt (D-NJ, 12th) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA, 6th) introduced the Strengthening Kids’ Interest in Learning and Libraries (SKILLS) Act. The SKILLS Act, numbered H.R. 3776 in the House, is a companion bill of S. 1328 that was introduced in the Senate by Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Thad Cochran (R-MS) back on July 6, 2011.
The AASL Congressional Briefing in October, followed by the petition, have been great steps in advocating for school libraries at the Federal level. But they are just steps in the journey. We’ve not reach our destination, so we have to keep moving forward as we paint a picture for our legislators about what today’s school libraries can do for students and the importance for each and every student to have access to a quality school library program!
Carl is the librarian at North Elementary School in Noblesville, Indiana and the 2011-2012 President of the American Association of School Librarians. He can be reached at carl@carl-harvey.com or @caharvey2 on Twitter. He blogs at Library Ties.
On Jan. 4, 2012, I posted a new petition on the White House website requesting recognition and funding for school libraries in the reauthorization of the Elementary Secondary Education Act.
Here is where I need your help. We have until Feb. 4, 2012 to get the 25,000 signatures needed to get a response from the White House.
First, please go and sign the petition yourself. You’ll need to create an account if you don’t have one already. A few people who have had trouble have suggested that changing to a different browser or different computer has helped. Also try logging out and logging back in as well has helped.
Next, spread the word about the petition. Use Twitter, Facebook, email, or any social network/communication method you have at your disposal. We need to get the word out to as many people as we possibly can.
It has to be more than the school library community that signs the petition. Anyone over the age of 13 is qualified to sign the petition. Teachers, parents, students, community members are all encouraged to sign the petition. Contact your family and friends and ask them to sign as well. This is a perfect opportunity to spread the word about school libraries by asking them to sign the petition.
We can’t wait or assume someone else is going to do this for us. We have to take action for our programs and for the needs of our students. This petition will help raise awareness to the White House that our country values school library programs.
Thank you for your support of the petition!
Carl is the librarian at North Elementary School in Noblesville, Indiana and the 2011-2012 President of the American Association of School Librarians. He can be reached at carl@carl-harvey.com or @caharvey2 on Twitter. He blogs at Library Ties.
"I love Destiny, I get to see the book covers and then find it in the library!" "Destiny Quest is beastly!" — 3rd and 4th Graders “Beastly” may not seem like a compliment, and these may not seem like the average accolades we get from our clients. But these are the real, extraordinary comments of 3rd and 4th grade students from Solon Community School District in Iowa.
During the recent American Association of School Librarians conference, two employees from Follett Software met with Destiny® user and school librarian, Kathy Kaldenberg from Solon Community School District, Iowa. Kathy extended an invitation for Follett Software to Skype (make a video call over the Internet) with her 3rd and 4th graders and discuss Destiny Quest™.
Of course we jumped at the opportunity.
It’s Elementary, Dear Follett
One-by-one each student walked up to the computer and asked their question.
“Where did the name Destiny Quest come from?” ” How many schools around the world have Destiny?" “How do you get your ideas for Destiny?”
Not only did these savvy Destiny Quest users have questions about their products, they were also brimming with suggestions for new features:
"Can we make our own Destiny Quest backgrounds?” “Can we make our own themes for Destiny?”
As the questions continued to broadcast through our Internet Telephony connection, it occurred to us that perhaps we were viewing the future wave of developers at Follett Software. In any event, we were enlightened and inspired by their candor and enthusiasm for Destiny Quest.
K-12 Educators: We Pose One Question to the Students in Your Classroom
If you could add a new feature to Destiny Quest, what would it be? We’d love to hear from you with your students’ feedback. Please let us know by commenting below.
Destiny Quest is going mobile on December 19th. The release of our Destiny Quest Mobile app for Apple and Android will give students, librarians, and teachers the ability to search and use their school library’s resources from their mobile device.
It’s All about Your Students' Experience Today’s students are digital natives. They want useful applications that are user-friendly and responsive to their needs. Destiny Quest Mobile app, contains some of the same look, feel, and functionality of Destiny Quest, which makes it a complimentary, unique user experience.
On the ‘Main Screen’ students can access the information and resources they need with just one touch. They can view their account information and content lists like My Bookshelf, Resource Lists, Top 10 titles to name a few. Students can even begin to find resources through the Search bar.
Allow your Students to Search Your Local Library Resources with Ease Using the Search function in the Destiny Quest Mobile app is as easy as physically searching for books in your local library. Type a keyword query in the search bar, such as the popular book “Hunger Games”, and it will show targeted results via 4 unique searches – Library, WebPath Express, One Search, and Digital.
• Library Tab - If you have the TitlePeek service it will show the cover of the book and title information such as book title, author, availability, and rating.
• WebPath Express – Will deliver credible, safe and relevant web search results for accurate, grade-level approved results.
•Digital – If you have digital content, such as videos, they will populate under this tab.
•One Search – With just one search you’ll receive targeted results from multiple databases with multiple resources to use for your research. Free with Destiny 9.9 and higher.
These easy search functions in the Destiny Quest Mobile app make searching for library resources fun for students.
Your Learning Library Will Be Open 24/7
As long as your Destiny library software platform is available on the web, your students will have 24/7 unlimited access to the resources in their library. Students can place holds on books, checkout Follett Library Resource eBooks, and soon be able to read them through the Follett Digital Reader app.
Get Ready, Get Set for the Destiny Quest Mobile App
With the upcoming release of our Destiny Quest Mobile App on December 19th, it is important to educate your students on how to use Destiny Quest. We recommend that you give your students their own logins to Destiny and add access to Destiny through your District or school websites. Learn more about the places students can go with Destiny Quest through Destiny customers who have shared their experiences.
Need to know more about Destiny and what it can do for your library? Contact us today and we’ll be happy to explore Destiny with you. If you’re already a Destiny library software customer, let us know what you think about making your library mobile by commenting below.
Carl is the librarian at North Elementary School in Noblesville, Indiana and the 2011-2012 President of the American Association of School Librarians. He can be reached at carl@carl-harvey.com or @caharvey2 on Twitter. He blogs at 
Carl is the librarian at North Elementary School in Noblesville, Indiana and the 2011-2012 President of the American Association of School Librarians. He can be reached at carl@carl-harvey.com or @caharvey2 on Twitter. He blogs at 
applications that are user-friendly and responsive to their needs. Destiny Quest Mobile app, contains some of the same look, feel, and functionality of Destiny Quest, which makes it a complimentary, unique user experience. 
Using the Search function in the Destiny Quest Mobile app is as easy as physically searching for books in your local library. Type a keyword query in the search bar, such as the popular book “Hunger Games”, and it will show targeted results via 4 unique searches – Library, WebPath Express, One Search, and Digital. 
