Media centers have been transformed from warehouses for books and equipment into the hub of the learning community. Media specialists keep the hub functioning properly. If school library media specialists are doing their job well, they are making a difference in the ways teachers teach and in the ways students learn. On any given day, a media…

Provides guidelines for preparing successful school library media center staff orientations. Discusses outlining major items of information; listing goals for the presentation; starting with a slide show; and designing and implementing a team-based staff activity that includes a section for identifying personal goals and a reward for completion.…

To provide faculty and administrators with information on funding, the Learning Resources Center's library reference staff at the New River Community College in Dublin, Virginia, developed three 50-minute mini-seminars consisting of lectures and discussions followed by questions and hands on practice. Instructional objectives of the program stress…

Three support staff members--specialists in library/media, curriculum, and reading--of Rochester (NY) School for the Deaf describe their individual functions and interrelationships. Among topics touched on are the organization of instructional resources by the Learning Resource Center, staff training, and the need for a well-defined reading…

Briefly discusses the problems and concerns that face school librarians in foreign countries. Examples from various countries are presented to illustrate a few of the difficulties and the creative efforts of librarians and administrators to overcome these difficulties. (CLB)

A comprehensive assessment and dissemination study is presented which can be used to design continuing education programs and services for constituents of a professional association that are based on data describing their personal and situational circumstances. In this report, community college libraries and learning resources centers are the…

Discusses extended hours of operation for school library media centers and describes how to plan for them. Considers benefits of extended hours; planning questions; staffing, including volunteers; costs and funding; security; and patron use of extended hours. (LRW)

Overview of the new guidelines for school library media programs developed cooperatively by the American Association of School Librarians and the Association for Educational Communications and Technology reviews issues such as information studies curriculum, planning, media specialist roles, personnel, and information resources. (MES)

This paper on professional development activities in the Winnipeg (Canada) School Division No. 1 begins with background on population, staffing, and budgeting in the district, a list of principles of effective staff development, and historical perspectives on the division's staff development program from 1962 to 1988. Activities discussed include…

Four articles discuss the recruitment and use of volunteer workers in junior and senior high school libraries. Topics addressed include written policies; communicating ideas with the staff; program flexibility; volunteer program evaluation; scheduling; Friends of Libraries groups; and the use of volunteers for booktalks. (LRW)

The new library at Eastern Michigan University provided Learning Resources and Technologies (LR&T) with an opportunity to restructure its services and fully integrate technologies and technology services for the 21st century. Challenges facing LR&T include the need to reallocate and/or reclassify staff positions, extend the campus network…

This report discusses the importance of state libraries to the system of Australian library resources and outlines the relevance of state library resources to the present and future information needs of the Australian community. The nature and function of state libraries are reviewed and placed in a historical context. An outline of the challenges…

Describes integration of media center, library, computer systems, and common distribution systems for nonprint resources at California State University-Chico. Highlights include administration; functions (acquisition, selection and collection development, production activities, circulation, reserve); formats (film, video, filmstrip, slides,…

Describes the Knapp School Libraries Project that was developed in the 1960s to create model libraries in elementary and secondary schools by upgrading their materials and qualified personnel. Visits from librarians, educators, students, and community members that helped disseminate the model libraries' characteristics are discussed. (Contains 14…

Work study students at Northland Pioneer College's Learning Resource Centers in Arizona are required to take a one-unit class entitled Learning Resource Center Survival Skills. Students who successfully complete the course will have mastered 18 skills needed to perform their duties at the resource centers. Assignment of a grade for this course…