Kathy Yoder, Bowling Green

On May 21, 2010 the Curriculum Materials Center Interest Group of ALAO held their Annual Spring Workshop at Bowling Green State University.  The Jerome Library’s Curriculum Resource Center was host to 26 participants who met for a day of meetings and presentations on topics of interest to those who are involved in library collections for pre-service teachers.  This year’s participants not only included representatives from academic libraries in Ohio, but also from the surrounding states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky.

Hosted by Kathy Yoder, Acting Head of Bowling Green State University’s Curriculum Resource Center, and assisted by CRC staff members Gaynelle Predmore, Vicki Seifert, and Jennifer Nyiri as well as instructor Kellie Tilton; the event featured an afternoon visit to The University of Findlay’s Mazza Museum International Art from Picture Books.

The morning session opened with a presentation from Ohio Resource Center Ambassador and Findlay High School Librarian Debbie Reynolds.  She shared information about The Ohio Resource Center’s website, which works to improve teaching and learning among Ohio teachers by promoting standards-based best practices.  The participants explored the website and were impressed with the depth of information and organization of the resources.  As university collections embrace digital resources, The Ohio Resource Center is a valuable and comprehensive tool for curriculum materials centers to offer pre-service teachers studying at their institutions.

A New Resources Round Table drew on the expertise of the participants as all were invited to share information on popular items that they carry in their centers.  Most attendees chose to participate in this activity, and a comprehensive list of all that was mentioned was created and distributed at the end of the day in a list titled “Curriculum Center Must Haves.”  Over 50 items were shared in the categories of children’s literature, curriculum titles, audiovisual resources, realia, puppets, and periodicals.  Electronic copies of “Curriculum Center Must Haves” is available by contacting jnyiri@bgsu.edu.

Other morning activities included a welcome from Interim Dean and former CRC Head Librarian Sara Bushong, tour of Jerome Library’s Curriculum Resource Center, and a short ALAO-CMCIG Board Meeting.  The Michigan workshop attendees expressed an interest in hosting a workshop in conjunction with the Ohio CMCIG at a southeastern Michigan location.  Next year Stephanie Bange of the ERC at Wright State University offered to co-chair the CMCIG along with Linda Scott of the University of Mount Union.  Initial plans are to hold the ALAO-CMCIG Spring Workshop at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.

The afternoon involved the group traveling south to Findlay, Ohio to the Mazza Museum of International Art from Children’s Picture Books.  A soup and salad luncheon was held at the Gardner Pavilion at the University of Findlay followed by a docent led tour of the museum, library, and vaults of the Mazza.