Save the Date!

Save the dates!

The AASL Fall Forum will be held in Greenville, SC on October 12 and 13, 2012 (Friday and Saturday).  The theme is "Transliteracy and the School Library Program."  Registration is currently open and conference information is available at this link.

Also, the American Association of School Librarians recently announced the dates and locations for the 16th and 17th Conferences.  See the link above.

The 16th Conference will be held November 13-17, 2013 in Hartford, CT.

The 17th Conference will be held October 15-18, 2013 in Columbus, OH.

Keep checking for more information as it is released.

In the meantime, don't forget the ALA Annual Conference being held in Anaheim, CA on June 21-26, 2012.  There's a lot to see and learn, not only at the conference, but in southern California.  In addition to the wonderful sessions, there are plenty of activities in which to participate.  Disneyland, anyone?  Don't forget the Rock Bottom Remainders will be performing on Saturday at 8 p.m.  (If you've never seen them, they are a group of authors who get together and perform.  They're actually pretty good!  Members include Stephen King, Amy Tan, Mitch Albom, Dave Barry, Matt Groening, Scott Turow, Ridley Pearson, Greg Iles, James McBride, Roy Blount, Jr., Kathi Goldmark and Sam Barry. Roger McGuinn of The Byrds joins the band as special musical guest.)

Early Bird registration is now open.

Mark your calendars now and we'll hope to see you there!

Solar Eclipse Sunday

Did you know there will be a solar eclipse on Sunday, May 20?

The eclipse this weekend is referred to as an 'Annular' eclipse because the moon is at its farthest distance from the Earth. As a result, the moon will not fully cover the sun. At the height of the eclipse, the sun will be seen as a 'Ring of Fire' in the sky. It should be a spectacular sight.


Unfortunately for those of us on the East Coast of the United States, we won't be able to enjoy the show, which begins on Sunday night around 5 p.m. in the US.  The eclipse this time runs from China to the Southwest United States, although people as far east as the Appalachian Mountains will see some effect. 

However, all is not lost.  There are many sites online which will be tracking and showing the eclipse.  Here are just a few (thanks to MSN.com):

• Slooh Space Camera: The Slooh website has organized a series of webcasts from Japan, California, Arizona and New Mexico, accompanied by commentary from Astronomy Magazine columnist Bob Berman and Lucie Green, a BBC commentator and solar researcher at University College London's Mullard Space Science Laboratory. The show gets started at 5:30 p.m. ET Sunday, when the eclipse will be just getting good in Japan. Prime time for the webcasts from the American West will kick in around 8 p.m. ET. For more, check out Slooh's news release.
• Eclipse Live from Fujiyama: Panasonic is planning a solar-powered webcast from high atop Japan's Mount Fuji, which is inside the track of annularity. The team will charge up batteries from an array of electricity-generating solar cells at a base camp, then carry the batteries up to the camera site. Video coverage via Ustream is due to start up at 5 p.m. ET. This YouTube video previews the event. For updates, check out the project's Facebook page and Twitter stream.
• Hong Kong Observatory: The webcast from Hong Kong is due to begin at 5:41 p.m. ET
• Live-Eclipse: Japanese eclipse-chasers plan to be webcasting via Ustream at 6 p.m. ET.
• YokosoNews: This page from the Japanese news site lists lots of webcasts, generally beginning at 5 p.m. ET or later.
• Ustream: Do a search on "eclipse" and you'll find all sorts of Ustream goodies, from 5 p.m. ET onward. One user is promising a video stream from the northern tip of Taiwan starting at 4:50 p.m. ET.
• AstroBob's viewing guide: Duluth photographer Bob King provides a vivid guide to the phases of an annular eclipse and also links to AstronomyLive.com as a potential source of webcasts.
• University of North Dakota: UND's SEMS (Sun Earth Moon Systems) team is organizing an eclipse webcast from Shasta College in Whittier, Calif. The streaming is due to begin at 8 p.m. ET, and there's a chat window that lets you compare notes with other eclipse fans. The UND team has been doing eclipse webcasts since 2004, so they've built up a loyal following over the years.
• Scotty's Sky: Skywatcher Scotty Degenhardt is promising an unconventional webcast of the annular eclipse via his iPhone from Area 51's "Black Mailbox," a popular gathering place for UFO fans in the Nevada desert. The show is set to start at 8:10 p.m. ET. Check out Degenhardt's website for the details.
• Exploratorium in Second Life: Speaking of "unconventional" ... San Francisco's Exploratorium science center is planning to provide information about the eclipse in the Second Life virtual world. If you're a Second Life resident, set a course for Exploratorium Island.

 If, however, you miss the entire show, you'll have another chance on June 5, 2012, when the planet Venus crosses between the Earth and the sun.  Then, on November 13, 2012, there will be a total eclipse.

 

VERY IMPORTANT: Remember to take the proper precautions when viewing the eclipse such as using special eclipse-viewing glasses, filters on telescopes or binoculars, or pin-hole projectors.  NEVER LOOK DIRECTLY AT THE SUN.  You can get more details by checking the NASA website.  Also, check out this video at Eyes On the Sky.