Local librarians gather for education and fun at conference

CALIFORNIA GIRL—Jane Lofton, a teacher and librarian at Lindero Canyon Middle School in Agoura Hills, swings a bikini top over her head during the American Library Association's conference recently. Lofton was one of 16,000 librarians attending the annual event, which included both the light and the serious. More than 16,000 librarians gathered for an education fest and a little fun at the American Library Association's annual conference in Anaheim earlier this summer.

Four local librarians took a break from the educational sessions and exhibits to compete in the fourth annual "Book Cart Drill Team," a fun competition that helped keep spirits light, said Jane Lofton, the teacher/librarian at Lindero Canyon Middle School in Agoura Hills.

Lofton said she and three Conejo Valley librarians joined the "California Girls," a team of Southern California credentialed school librarians representing the California School Library Association Southern section.

The women strutted and shimmied a choreographed dance routine while pushing book carts on wheels.

Lofton, a Westlake Village resident, was joined by three Los Angeles Unified School District teacher librarians who also live in the Conejo Valley. Roza Besser, who works at Gaspar De Portola Middle School in Tarzana, is a Calabasas resident. Tammie Celi hails from Agoura Hills and heads the library at Christopher Columbus Middle School in Canoga Park, while Maria Rangel is a librarian at John A. Sutter Middle School in Canoga Park and lives in Westlake Village.

Librarians in the Las Virgenes Unified School District were recently at risk for losing their jobs. When Gov. Schwarzenegger slashed education funds to shore up California's state budget, school district officials identified cuts to the library as a possible moneysaving measure. Local librarians, teachers and others attended several board meetings to convince administrators not to use library funds to make up for shortfalls in other areas.

District officials announced at a recent school board meeting that librarians and counselors will keep their jobs—for now.

"We decided to . . . highlight the fact that, while the reading we promote and the information literacy skills we teach in our school libraries are crucial for 21st century learners, we also make reading and learning library skills fun for our students," Lofton said.

Celi said she's designed a variety of library activities for her students.

"As far as making library skills, research and learning fun, I like to turn lessons into songs," said Celi, who uses the music from the classic hit, "Louie, Louie" by the Kingsmen to belt out the song, "Dewey, Dewey" (decimal system).

She reworked the lyrics of a KISS song to include the line, "I want to read my book all night," and changed "Surfin' U.S.A." by the Beach Boys to "Reading U.S.A."

In addition to tweaking popular music lyrics, the librarians find other creative ways to reach their students.

Celi conducts trivia contests, hosts book clubs and costume parties, and participates in promotions by the California Reading Association.

Basketball giant Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a library supporter, attended the conference to sign his READ posters for librarians, Celi said. Jabbar supported the "Virtual Library Day on the Hill," a campaign where librarians from around the nation wrote letters to federal legislators asking for increased funding for libraries and support of the SKILLS (Strengthening Kids' Interest in Learning and Libraries) Act.

The SKILLs Act guarantees that highly qualified, state-certified library specialists will continue to help students at all school levels and be provided with the necessary resources to perform their jobs.