Since children develop the critical language and early reading skills necessary to enter kindergarten between birth and age five, reading aloud is one of the most influential steps librarians, teachers, parents, and caregivers can take to foster preschoolers' literacy skills. Early exposure to books heavily influences vocabulary knowledge, which…

"Developing Collections to Empower Learners" examines collection development in the context of today's shifts toward digital resources while emphasizing the foundational beliefs of the school library profession. Writer Sue Kimmel includes practical advice about needs assessment, planning, selection, acquisitions, evaluation, and…

Fire, water, mold, construction problems, power-outages--mishaps like these can not only bring library services to a grinding halt, but can also destroy collections and even endanger employees. Preparing for the unexpected is the foundation of a library's best response. Expert Kahn comes to the rescue with this timely update of the best…

With their explosive sales and widespread availability over the past few years, e-books have definitively proven that they're here to stay. In this sequel to her best-selling book of the same title, expert Polanka dives even deeper into the world of digital distribution. Contributors from across the e-book world offer their perspectives on what's…

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…

E-books have been around for more than 10 years but are still a relatively new phenomenon to many librarians and publishers. With the introduction of e-book readers, the e-book has become mainstream, with recent triple-digit annual increases in sales. But what place do they have in the library? In this volume, Sue Polanka brings together a variety…

As high school enrollment continues to rise, the need for effective librarianship serving young adults is greater than ever before. "Young Adults Deserve the Best: Competencies for Librarians Serving Youth," developed by Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), is a document outlining areas of focus for providing quality library service…

In this fully updated revision, expert instructor and librarian Peggy Johnson addresses the art in controlling and updating your library's collection. Each chapter offers complete coverage of one aspect of collection development, including suggestions for further reading and a narrative case study exploring the issue. Johnson also integrates…

This book addresses critical issues of digital preservation, providing guidelines for protecting resources from dealing with obsolescence, to responsibilities, methods of preservation, cost, and metadata formats. It also shows numerous national and international institutions that provide frameworks for digital libraries and archives. The first…

This book describes how the following 12 virtual libraries use library skills to organize Internet resources: Agriculture Network Information Center (AgNIC); Argus Clearinghouse; Blue Web'n; BUBL Information Service; Edinburgh Engineering Virtual Library (EEVL); INFOMINE; Internet Public Library (IPL); Librarians' Index to the Internet (LII);…

Challenging popular prognostications and asserting that the complex mix of technologies projects suggests no clear path to the future, this book offers an alternative model to a simplistic digital future. The book is divided into four main parts. Chapters in the first part, "Being Analog," consider the need to get over the digital…

This book, Volume 2 in an eight-volume series on "Current Practice in Health Sciences Librarianship," is an introduction, overview, and state-of-the-art depiction of educational services in health sciences libraries. This book is not intended as a detailed, step-by-step guide to planning and implementing educational programs. The volume…

This book promotes a library-based curriculum for teaching reading and suggests a wide variety of books to use with new readers. It provides an outline of basic skills that literacy students must master to become good readers. It also suggests numerous skill-building activities for teachers to develop using the words and ideas derived from…

Written for librarians and school library media specialists, this book is designed to foster awareness and encourage confidence in serving the needs of children with disabilities. It provides practical guidelines for recognizing and understanding many disabilities, including vision, hearing, and speech impairments; emotional, behavioral, and…

Curriculum Materials Centers (CMCs), resource centers that support teacher education programs, are facing many challenges, including maintaining funding, meeting increased expectations, and coping with changes in technology. This volume covers a wide range of management issues from the perspective of 18 librarians, including practical advice on…