Encyclo-Media is a two-day educational conference hosted by the Oklahoma State Department of Education focusing on the fields of library media, reading, counseling, gifted and talented, and technology. The annual conference, usually held in mid-September, hosts approximately 2800 educators. Over 100 breakout programs, 250 exhibitors, 4 luncheons, national speakers, and state educators sharing their best practices are highlighted each year. National and state authors appear as speakers and to autograph their books.
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Sponsoring Organizations
These four professional organizations help sponsor Encyclo-Media. Annually these groups host luncheons during the conference.
For 2009, the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) hosted a luncheon during the conference. This group is affiliated with the Oklahoma Afterschool Network (OKAN).
Mission of Conference
Although the conference has had several directors, the mission has not changed. Encyclo-Media seeks to provide high quality professional development by encouraging Oklahoma educators to share their best classroom practices to peers, and by inviting nationally known speakers such as Jim Trelease, Richard Peck, Alan November, Patricia Polacco, Doug Johnson, Stephen Krashen, Sharon Draper, Linda Sue Park, and more.
History
Encyclo-Media began in 1981 as a statewide workshop, featuring library media programs. The first Encyclo-Media was held at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, OK on September 10 & 11, 1981. There was a special breakout program held for recipients of the Library Media Improvement Grant.
In the late 1970s the Library Media Improvement Program was established by the Oklahoma state legislature, the Oklahoma State Board of Education, and the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE). Money was appropriated and Library Media Improvement (LMI) Grants were awarded to help upgrade the collection and staffing of school libraries to meet state and national guidelines. LMI Grants were awarded from 1978 through 1994, beginning with the 1977-78 school year.
Encyclo-Media got its start as a result of the LMI Grants. In 1980 a workshop was held for grant schools. There was so much interest, that Barbara Spriestersbach, Assistant Administrator at the OSDE, decided there was a need for professional development programs for everyone, not just grant schools. The following year, in 1981, Encyclo-Media was officially organized and as a result Spriestersbach was awarded the American Association of School Librarians Baker & Taylor Distinguished Service Award in 1991 for her leadership in the implementation of the LMI program. Since the first Encyclo-Media directors of the Library Media/Instructional Television Section have organized and directed the conference.