Author: Chris Haught

Chris is the Media mentor at SouthWest Educational Development Center, a Regional Service Center that supports the schools in the Southern Utah area,

UELMA/UCET Conference 2024!

Chris Haught

Librarians – 

UELMA is excited to be partnering with UCET for our combined UCET/UELMA conference this year. We are in full conference planning mode and hope you are as excited as we are. We still have a lot of planning to do but want to make sure you have your calendars marked and questions answered.

To help you plan ahead we would like to answer some of your questions – 

When is the conference?

  • March 19-20, 2024 (Tuesday & Wednesday)

Where is the conference?

  • The Salt Palace in Salt Lake City

What time will the conference be?

  • Registration opens at 7:30 am
  • Opening session starts at 9:00 am
  • Sessions end at 4:30 pm each day

If I can only attend one of the two days – which would be better?

  • Both days will have many incredible sessions however, if you can only attend one day, Wednesday will be our ‘library heavy’ day.
  • Register here!

Can I attend virtually?

  • Yes! If you can only attend in person one day, we are happy to have you! We also want you to be able to get the most out of the conference so if you register for both days, you will be able to access some of the second day & materials virtually. The virtual session will include the keynotes and prerecorded sessions, not all live sessions will be streamed or recorded.

Are there other activities available after the scheduled sessions?

  • Tuesday night conference attendees will be able to attend AFTER DARK – a time to get together with other conference attendees and have some fun. We will be hosting games, karaoke, a movie, and more! Attendees are welcome to participate no matter how much of the conference they are able to attend in person. Come have fun with us!

Still have questions?

  • More information about the conference, the statewide book club, awards, and more – is forthcoming so please stay tuned. 
  • Information will be posted on the website as well as our social media platforms
  • You are always welcome to contact the UELMA board at board@uelma.org
  • Visit the UCET page here for more information as well.

See the full schedule below! Your Sched login will be sent after you register.

View the UCET 2024 schedule & directory.

Library Collaboration on UEN PD!

Chris Haught

In part one of this special two-part series, host Katie Blunt takes you to Providence Hall High School in Herriman, Utah, to meet with Library Media Specialist Mariah Gerlach, who shows us how she uses technology tools to support students’ information literacy skills while collaborating with English teacher Catherine Jensen and her students on their research project. More resources here!

UELMA Service Project 2020

Chris Haught
books

Panguitch High School is located in Garfield County, Utah. This is one of the more remote towns in Southern Utah, it is designated as a “frontier town”, with only one traffic light in the whole county! The county’s economy has struggled as timber and farming jobs have disappeared. This area is the gateway to Bryce Canyon and depends on tourism to sustain the economy. This has made it difficult for the school district to operate financially, and one area of impact has been the library. It has not been staffed for several years. The teachers and students at this school are rugged pioneers and have been making the best of it. They use the old pocket card system and student honor system, so students still have access to books, but nothing has been added to the library.

At this point, the school has involved the teachers, Student Council, Trustlands Committee and others to create plans for a “new” library that will meet the students’ needs for years to come. They have procured funding to order new shelving and hire a librarian, but could really use the help from our UELMA Librarians!

This school would love to have 7-12th grade fiction books to offer their students. You can donate a book at our UELMA Conference March 6 or donate the funds to buy a book or two.

Ways you can help!
Contact Chris Haught-chris@sedck12.org and I’ll pick them up
Donate books at the information table, be sure to fill out the bookplate.
Donate cash during lunch, we’ll pass the hat.
Donate at Donors Choose, use the code “liftoff” to double your donation!
http://bit.ly/2Ikuae5
Thank you!

This is what the students have designed!

Words Have Power

Chris Haught

more information on this!

Schedule:

10:00 – 11:00 – Opening Session – Wanda Huffaker, Chair-elect of the ALA Roundtable on Intellectual Freedom
11:00 – 11:15 – Break/Snack
11:15 – 12:00 – Breakout Session One
12:15 – 1:00 – Breakout Session Two

Breakout Sessions – (Participants pick two)

  • Evaluating and Updating Library Policies to Foster Academic Freedom – Jim Wilson, Canyons School District
  • Book Selection Strategies and Guidelines – Sharon Deeds, State Library
  • Good Reading Processes – Monica Flint, Davis School District

                               

Please see the attached flyer for our upcoming statewide symposium on intellectual freedom.  The  main meeting/broadcast site will be at Highland High School.  We are excited to have the following regional sites onboard – Heber City, Blanding, Richfield, Price and Cedar City.   We are still working out logistics to broadcast to the Uintah Basin, Grand County and Logan and other areas which have all shown interest in having local meetings. We can arrange for more sites if there is interest.

Wanda Huffaker, Chair-Elect of the ALA Intellectual Freedom Round Table, will be our keynote speaker and there will be breakout sessions following.

Our Agenda for the day will be:

  • 10:00 – 11:00 AM:  Opening Session – Keynote
  • 11:00 – 11:15 AM: Break/Snacks
  • 11:15 AM – 12:00 PM:  Breakout Session 1
  • 12:15 – 1:00 PM:  Breakout Session 2


The entire event will be broadcast, including the breakout sessions. This will be a very informational event, if you have questions about book purchasing policies, book challenges and how to handle controversial content and more,  you must attend! You can register in Midas, this is the state system mostly used by teachers, but all paraprofessional have access as well, you just need to create an account here. – https://usbe.midaseducation.com/site.php?page_id=1210