Meeting Minutes: November 15, 2004

November 15, 2004 meeting at Temple Dor Dorim, Weston

Present: Kathleen Clotfelter, Robin Coller, Barbara Cooper, Loreli Ennis, Robert Ennis, Heidi Estrin, Etta Gold, Joanne Jaffe, Sue Kirshner, Arlene Robert, Sara Schandelson, Schlomit Schwarzer, Walter Spielman, Amy Weishaus, Marci Wiseman, Jane Zalben, Steve Zalben.

Lunch was held in Temple Dor Dorim's lovely rotunda, where we were able to view a display of original art by our featured speaker, Jane Breskin Zalben.

Heidi Estrin called the meeting to order at 12:30pm.

Heidi introduced a new resource available from AJL, The 'All-of-a-Kind Family' Companion. This is a reader's guide to Sydney Taylor's most famous book, created in celebration of the author's 100th birthday, and the 350th anniversary of Jewish settlement in America. It is available as a PDF at www.jewishlibraries.org.

Amy Weishaus introduced us to her book gift basket business, Basket o' Books and More. She showed us the various literary baskets she creates, and explained her new fundraising relationship with Congregation B'nai Israel. Members were invited to take information for their own personal ordering, or for fundraisers.

Our featured speaker was author/illustrator Jane Breskin Zalben. She has written numerous Jewish and secular children's books, and illustrated most of her own work. She does finely detailed work with a hair-thin paintbrush, and often uses gold in her paintings. She spoke about the creation of her Jewish chararcters Beni the bear and Pearl the lamb. She also spoke about her book Let There Be Light, which was written in response to 9/11. It is a collection of peaceful sayings and prayers from various cultures, illustrated in a more surreal style than her usual work. She is planning a sequal called Paths to Peace. She and her husband Steve showed us their new joint book, Saturday Night at the Beastro, a funny book about monstrous creatures dining out on disgusting foods. They showed us many original pieces of artwork from this book. Jane also showed us Baby Babka the Gorgeous Genius, which is based on her own family memories.

At the end of the meeting, Heidi reviewed a few new books that she suggests as worthwhile purchases. They are:

What You Will See Inside a Synagogue by Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman & Dr. Ron Wolfson (Jewish Lights, 2004)
My Guardian Angel by Sylvia Weil (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic, 2004)

The meeting was adjourned at 2:00pm.

Meeting Minutes: August 30, 2004

Minutes of August 30, 2004 meeting at Congregation B'nai Israel, Boca Raton

Present: Linda Anton, Lee Batterman, Muriel Efron, Bob & Lorelei Ennis, Heidi Estrin, Jackie Fine, Etta Gold, Phyllis Gutmann, Charles Meyers, Arthur Quinn, Rabbi Paul Plotkin, Annette Rindner, Arlene Robert, Rabbi Tobias Rothenberg, Howard Rubin, Sara Schandelson, Stephanie Schoenberger, Edith Sherman, Alice Shook, Kathy Slutsky, Walter Spielman, Lee Wixman

Heidi Estrin called the meeting to order at 12:30pm.

The featured speaker was introduced, Rabbi Paul Plotkin of Temple Beth Am in Margate. Rabbi Plotkin is author of The Lord is My Shepherd... Why Do I Still Want? He spoke of the personal crisis that led to the book which contains reflections upon experiences. Rabbi Plotkin sold and signed copies of his book.

Heidi then spoke of Book Expo America in Chicago, a book trade convention, which she and Etta attended. Heidi and Etta also attended the AJL convention in Brooklyn, along with Alice Shook, Charles Meyers, and Lee Wixman. They visited historic sites including the New York Public Library and visited former SFAJL member Margot Berman who now resides in Battery Park. Alice Shook was a first-time attendee and encouraged other members to make an effort to attend convention if they have not in the past.

Charles Meyers then brought to the attention of the members that the Palm Beach County Library system has no plans of acknowledging the 350th anniversary of Jewish settlement in America. Suggestions were made on how to promote this event. Heidi will send a letter from the chapter and asked individual members to follow up and also write letters to the central library or their local branch.

Etta spoke of a project for children she is using to commemorate this anniversary. Each child writes the name, origin and year when the first relative emigrated to America, all written on a cardboard ship. The ships are placed along a timeline denoting significant periods of Jewish immigration.

Discussion followed of new books published. Lee Wixman recommended two books, Grave Endings by Rochelle Krish and The Outside World by Tova Mirvis. Heidi suggested several others (children's books): The Garden by Elsie Aidonff,Sammy Spider's First Sukkot by Sylvia Rouss,The Only One Club by Jane Naliboff,Miriam and Her Brother Moses by Jean Marzollo, an Ilan Ramon biography by Barbara Sofer, No Rules for Michael by Sylvia Rouss and Esther by Sharon McKay.

Future meetings will be November 15 at Temple Dor Dorim in Weston; January 20 at Alper JCC in Miami; and May 10 at Books and Books in Coral Gables. The meeting for March 9 is open and it is preferred that the venue be in Palm Beach County. Heidi also said she would like to increase membership, particularly in Broward County.

Lee Wixman announced that the Irene Levin-Wixman Memorial Library will be dedicated the first week in December at Temple Shaarei Shalom in Boynton Beach. The date will be determined later and the membership will be informed.

The meeting adjourned at 2:30pm.

Meeting Minutes: May 17, 2004

Minutes of the May 17, 2004 meeting at Temple Beth Am, Miami

Present: Kathleen Clotfelter, Robin Coller, Heidi Estrin, Inez Feingold, Jackie Fine, Jean Genuth, Etta Gold, Phyllis Gutmann, Annette Rindner, Sara Schandelson, Schlomit Schwarzer, Barbara Share, Peter Tarjan

After general greetings, Etta introduced Peter Tarjan, an author who had spoken at her recent Ideas Through Books meeting at Temple Beth Am. Tarjan is a contributor to and editor of Children Who Survived the Final Solution (published by iUniverse). The book was written by 26 South Florida "child survivors," now in their 60's and 70's. They wrote from varying age perspectives and about differing Holocaust experiences. Their common experience was that adult survivors told them "you don't remember anything, you were too young." But they did remember, and this book is their testament. The books may be purchased at a discount through Etta Gold.

Schlomit Schwarzer gave a presentation on library planning and renovation. She has been through many renovations in her professional life, and describes it as "a painful experience." She says the most important thing is to stay involved in the process, even though your parent institution may not think it is necessary to involve you, because architects do not understand librarians' needs. Key suggestions:

• find other people who've been through a similar renovation so they can share their experiences and warn you of pitfalls
• have a weekly meeting with the architect and/or construction people to make sure they keep your needs in mind and so that you can catch their mistakes
• think about current and future needs, plans for new services you haven't started yet, projections of how many students or patrons you'll be serving in future
• measure your collection. Know what type of materials you'll need to shelve, as you might need different widths for different materials.
• when budgeting space, remember that a table also needs space for chairs around it, and needs room for the chairs to pull out from the table.
• make sure lights are lined up between the stacks
• plan space to fit use - do you need quiet areas, casual areas, space for classes or meetings or training? Configure space based on work flow.
• think about weight load (especially if not on the ground floor). Books are very heavy. How much weight can the floor bear?
• Other general things to consider: air conditioning, level of humidity, lighting, telecommunications needs, signage, extra wiring for future electronics needs, fire codes, acoustics, security...

Schlomit will send out a bibliography, but a few of the books she brought to show us are:

Checklist of Library Building Design Considerations by William W. Sannwald (ALA)

Libraries for the Future, Planning Buildings That Work by RMG Martin (ALA)

Library Bildings, Equipment, and the ADA by Susan Cirillo (ALA)

She suggests that school librarians go the ALA's AASL Information Power web page for guidance. She also suggested visiting www.wbdg.org for the "Whole Building Design Guide."

Barbara Share is taking a course this summer on Planning Libraries for the 21st Century at TAFT Educational Center in Connecticut. See http://www.taftschool.org/TEC/ for more information.

Phyllis Gutmann said that when she had to move her library to a new space, she had a rep from Highsmith come out and consult with her for free on redesigning the space. Highsmith's main number is 1-800-558-2110.

Etta Gold spoke about Mission Statements and their importance. She said that they define your library, and their purpose is to ensure that everyone knows what you are aiming for. Staff must identify with and own the mission or it won't work. Other stakeholders (such as the board of trustees) should be able to fit the mission into their own goals for the organization.

Etta distributed the new SSC Standards of Excellence document, which is a very useful guideline.

Heidi announced that we need hosts for next year's meetings. Phyllis Gutmann and Inez Feingold are tentative hosts, but we still need others. The idea of meeting at a Jewish Book Fair was also brought up.

Heidi also brought up the topic of membership recruitment. She suggested that next year, each SFAJL member should commit to personally calling one unaffiliated librarian and trying to get them interested in our chapter. Those present seemed amenable to the idea.

The meeting was ajourned around 2:00 pm with a tour of Etta's library and of the wonderful artwork of Beth Am's students, displayed in the gym upstairs.

Meeting Minutes: March 15, 2004

Minutes of March 15, 2004 meeting, Temple Emanu-El, Palm Beach

Present: Gertrude Berman, Roberta Clark, Kathleen Clotfelter, Cheri duMee, Muriel Efron, Lorelei Ennis, Robert Ennis, Heidi Estrin, Babette Elfenbein, Phyllis Gutmann, Frank Handler, Troim Katz Handler, Dovid Katz, Sue Kirshner, Ildi Kovacs, Elsie Leviton, Charles Meyers, Art Quinn, Arlene Robert, Sara Schandelson, Marshall Schneider, Stephanie Schoenberger, Alice Shook, Susanne Sussman, Carole Wexler, Lee Wixman

Heidi Estrin called the meeting to order at 12:05pm. Heidi introduced the first speaker, Roberta Clark of the Anti-Defamation League who discussed the film, "The Passion of the Christ." She said that previous passion plays expressed elements of the Christian faith but contained the charge against all Jews for killing Jesus. With the publication of Nostra Aetate in 1965, Christian-Jewish relations improved. However, Mel Gibson belongs to a sect of Catholics that reject the reforms of the second Vatican Council. In the film, the high priest Caiaphas is portrayed as manipulating all aspects of the passion and a figure of Satan is often seen in scenes with Jews, particularly Caiaphas. The overwhelming violence could distract non-Jewish viewers from the anti-Semitic aspects. Roberta helped us understand both Jewish and Christian perspectives on the movie, and gave us materials with advice for dealing with possible anti-Semitic reactions to the movie, and to help us provide correct information to library users on the topic.

The second speaker was Troim Katz Handler, author of Simkhe. Simkhe is a book of love poetry in Yiddish, transliterated with English letters and literally translated into English. She read excerpts of her poems and spoke about her inspiration for writing the book.

Heidi distributed handouts to all members.

Promotional materials for the library automation software, Resource Mate.

Publicity for the book, Defying the Tide by Reha Sokolow, a Holocaust memoir for young adults.

Information regarding the AJL convention June 20-23, 2004 in Brooklyn.

Information regarding the ALA convention this June in Orlando.

Copies of an article Heidi recently published in the February issue of Sh'ma.

Discussion followed on the book, Rachel Calof's Story. The book is a biographical narrative about a Russian woman who emigrates to North Dakota to marry a pioneer who has settled there along with other members of his family. It is a unique view into the experience of Jews in late 19th century prairie lifestyle. Four people present had read the book, but the discussion was general, and gave everyone an interesting perspective on the era in history.

It was announced that the next meeting will be at the University of Miami in Coral Gables on May 17. The meeting adjourned at 2:05pm.

Meeting Minutes: January 20, 2004

Minutes of January 20, 2004 meeting, Greenfield Day School, Miami

Present: Heidi Estrin, Inez Feingold, Jackie Fine, Etta Gold, Jean Genuth, Shulamit Gittelson, Esther Hershenhorn, Phyllis Levy, Art Quinn, Barbara Samuels, Alice Shook, Ruth VanderZee, Marci Wiseman, Nancy Zombek

Heidi Estrin called the meeting to order at 12:30pm and thanked Jackie Fine for hosting the meeting. Since Heidi is taking on extra responsibilities with AJL National, as Chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Award committee, it was announced that other members will be taking a more active role in chapter business: Alice Shook will find venues for meetings, Andrea Kalish will handle mailings of Headlines and Footnotes, Jackie Fine will handle public relations, and Robin Coller will handle our chapter's submissions to AJL Newsletter.

Pre-certification for national accreditation was performed for Jackie's library at this meeting. Attendees participated in a "scavenger hunt" style exercise before the beginning of the meeting to assess the library and help Jackie complete her required paperwork for the accreditation process. Dr. Binder, principal of Greenfield Day School, spoke of her work at the school and praised Jackie Fine for her work in the media center. Dr. Binder is pleased that the media center is beginning the process of accreditation by AJL. We presented Dr. Binder with a Pre-Certification certificate and a "Love My Library" mug to help her keep the library uppermost in her thoughts.

Etta Gold spoke of the upcoming ALA conference in Orlando this June and encouraged members to attend. Since the convention will be so close, we hope that SFAJL members will carpool and perhaps share hotel rooms in Orlando.

Heidi reminded the members that the CANDLES Museum in Indiana needs donations of books on the Holocaust since it was severely damaged by arson. Heidi asked that members send her books to be shipped or to ship them on their own. The shipping address is listed in the January issue of Headlines & Footnotes in the sidebar on page 2.

A copy of the book Defying the Tide was raffled off, and promotional materials on the book were passed out. These materials and the free book were provided by the author, Reha Sokolow, who was interviewed for the January issue of Headlines & Footnotes. The book is her family's story, about how a Christian family that helped her family survive WWII.

Etta discussed the Sydney Taylor Book Awards and encouraged members to attend the upcoming AJL convention in Brooklyn this June. Heidi discussed the titles that won Sydney Taylor Book Awards for 2003.
In the Younger Reader's category:

The winner is Bagels from Benny by Aubrey Davis

Honor books are The Moses Basket by Jenny Koralek, Chanukah on the Prairie by Burt Schuman, and When the Chickens Went on Strike by Erica Silverman
In the Older Reader's category:

The winner is Who Was the Woman Who Wore the Hat? by Nancy Patz

Honor books are Tough Questions Jews Ask by Rabbi Edward Feinstein, Birdland by Tracy Mack, and Ancient Israelites and their Neighbors by Marion Broida.

Guest Speakers: Ruth Vander Zee, author of Erika's Story, was present and discussed the inspiration for her book, which has been translated into seven languages. Esther Hershenhorn, author of Chicken Soup by Heart, was also present and spoke of her book and other books she has published. Esther read the beginning of a new book she is writing about a child who loves klezmer music and accepted suggestions by members on how to develop the story further.

Member News:

Etta announced that a panel of childrens authors will be at the next Jewish Book Fair held at the Alper JCC.

JBI (Jewish Books for the Visually Impaired) is underwriting a keynote speaker, Bess Myerson, for the Fourth Annual Senior Health Fair to be held February 18 at the Michael Russell JCC in Miami.

CAJE in Miami is now offering graduate level courses.

The next meeting will be at Temple Emanuel in Palm Beach on March 15. The meeting adjourned at 2:05pm.