As many school librarians start their career they often feel comfortable taking on the job of instructional partner. Becoming an instructional leader in your school requires having a seat at the table. Building relationships with the various community stakeholders sets the tone for the author's school library and their leadership as an…

The actions of a single librarian can bring about district support aimed at increasing students' equitable access to a strong school library. This article shares a success story from a sole school librarian who showed evidence of the school library's value and was able to double her contracted presence as the school's librarian.

Youth are natural scientists at birth, discovering and exploring their world and trying to make sense of it (Bers, 2008). A child's education is not limited to just the time they spend in the classroom. Children learn at home with their families, in public libraries, or through out-of-school-time (OST) experiences provided at community centers and…

Libraries are learning hubs that connect families to free resources, activities, and services to cultivate children's learning about topics that excite them. Despite recent technological developments which have revolutionized how we read and access information, libraries continue to evolve in order to serve their communities, especially families…

In this article, school librarians from Henrico County Public Schools in Virginia [the AASL 2011 National School Library Programs of the Year (NSLPY) Award recipient] share some of their experiences caring for students in their libraries.

Web evaluation has been a standard information literacy offering for years and has always been a challenging topic for instruction librarians. Over time, the authors had tried a myriad of strategies to teach freshmen how to assess the credibility of Web sites but felt the efforts were insufficient. By familiarizing themselves with the cognitive…

This report explains the key role that school librarians and libraries should play in state- and district-wide efforts to transition to digital learning, or the effective use of technology to improve teaching and learning. The report calls for district and school leaders, policymakers, and boards of education to support, encourage, and fund the…

This article describes the fundamental challenges to data curation, how these challenges may be compounded for smaller institutions, and how data management is an essential and manageable component of data curation. Data curation is often discussed within the confines of large research universities. As a result, master's and baccalaureate…

Includes five papers presented at the 1995 VTLS Inc. Fifth Annual Director's Conference in Roanoke (Virginia), entitled "Back to Basics: Rethinking Libraries." Topics include libraries' use of high technology, collection management and electronic publishing, public services and telecommuting clientele, what to expect of library school…

The authors describe how their institution revised its general education writing curriculum and how that change not only affected the university's approach to advanced composition but also transformed the roles and relationships among teachers, librarians, literacy practices, curricula, students, and the community. Part service-learning, part…

The feasibility of combining school and public libraries in Fairfax, Virginia was studied. Case studies were made of attempts by 23 localities in 12 states to combine school and public libraries. Several surveys were conducted to compile applicable laws, regulations, and standards. Four statistical tables were prepared which display information…

This final performance report for the Loudoun County Public Library literacy project begins with a section that provides quantitative data. The next section compares actual accomplishments to the major project objective: to create a non-threatening learning environment at the Transitional Housing Center (THC), a residential homeless shelter.…

The Jefferson-Madison Regional Library (Charlottesville, Virginia) conducted a project that involved training, basic literacy, collection development, tutoring, and computer assisted programs. The project served a population of 100,000-200,000, and targeted the homeless, workforce/workplace learning, and adult non- and new-readers. Tutoring was…