The relationships school librarians develop with administrators and teachers can serve as a powerful advocacy tool in demonstrating the tremendous potential they have as instructional leaders of multiple literacies in K-12 schools. Through the author's experience and research, this article presents principles that may help guide school librarians…

This overview demonstrates the need for school librarians to consider supplementing coding instruction with ethical discussions. School librarians are increasingly incorporating coding into library instruction through play, tutorials, collaboration in content areas, and design thinking projects. To enhance students' ethical decision making and…

How can relationship building and demonstrating impact on learning be done? As professionals, school librarians must seek out opportunities to lead or work with others in the area of programming. Much can be done in the library space but when the programs occur outside the school library, a librarian's willingness to be adaptable is leveraged and…

What are ways to draw attention to the need for an annual library budget? How can school library leaders advocate for equitable library budgets across a school district? These are questions the library services team of three district librarians researched before taking the first steps toward making transformational change in the Beaverton School…

Schools and school libraries are becoming more diverse. What cultural barriers do you face in your position? Have you come across challenges in how you handle cultural situations with students, teachers, or administrators? If so, have you considered skills that can help you facilitate conversations more effectively? How would you rate your…

With the changes in school library spaces and school librarians' roles, there has never been a more extraordinary time to be a librarian. However, one thing will never change even in these dynamic times; librarians are still the driving force behind strong reading programs and fostering that love of reading. How do librarians create a culture of…

Storytime is an important fixture in many school libraries that helps foster students' reading abilities. With a history of success, why would librarians want to alter storytime by incorporating technology? This article discusses how Laura Fleming, a long-time school librarian, addressed decreased student engagement in traditional reading…

This author encourages librarians to play some video games to get ready for the upcoming school year. Games aren't just for young males--they have tremendous potential to enhance 21st-century literacies, including critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. Playing games will not only help librarians see how these skills can be developed, but…

Over the last century, school library standards have gone through a number of iterations, and expectations for student learning have evolved. While the school library of today looks and functions differently from the school library of the early 1900s, the vision surprisingly is still very similar. The goal of today's school library is to provide…

Library and Information Science (LIS) as a discipline is guided by core values that emphasize equal access to information, freedom of expression, democracy, and education. Importantly, diversity and social responsibility are specifically called out as foundations of the profession (American Library Association, 2004). Following from this, there…

This annual volume offers the most complete and current listings of the requirements for certification of a wide range of educational professionals at the elementary and secondary levels. "Requirements for Certification" is a valuable resource, making much-needed knowledge available in one straightforward volume. [For "Requirements for…

Authors, videographers, musicians, photographers, and almost anyone who creates materials and makes them publicly available has an alternative to standard copyright licensing: Creative Commons (CC). It is a tool that helps the creator display a licensing mark. The creator can assign a variety of rights for others to use his work--rights that are…

School librarians need a simple action plan for overcoming the barriers to adopting School Library 2.0. This book provides one, and describes how fully integrating technology would dramatically benefit 21st-century schools. Despite the substantial efforts that have been made to bring schools into the 21st century, research indicates that the…

Many educators now agree that graphic novels inform as well as entertain, and to dismiss the educational potential of the graphic novel is to throw away a golden opportunity to reach out to young readers. This dynamic book takes a look at the term "graphic novel," how the format has become entwined in our culture, and the ways in which graphic…

Few issues have galvanized the attention of U.S. citizenry in the past year as have environmental concerns, especially climate change, global warming, and greenhouse gas emissions. Degradation to our fragile planet continues unchecked with only limited actions on a national level. Children who absorb these concerns through television, classroom…