Besides being a social experience, tabletop games can serve as intrinsic educational tools that tap into students' needs and interests, inspiring them to find motivation in applying new knowledge to their academic work. Why? Because, as with school, every game has a very specific set of rules by which participants must abide. Experiences with…

The COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated with vivid clarity how important it is for people to have digital literacy skills. From the workplace to the classroom and beyond, being able to use digital tools effectively is fundamental to success. To succeed in this rapidly changing environment, workers need broad-based digital problem-solving skills that…

When secondary school librarians teach students digital life literacies, they help students perceive that librarians can provide support for real-life problems. The more librarians work with students, create inviting library environments, and have positive engagements with students, the more they change student perceptions of librarians in…

In this article, the authors share how cloud-based applications, such as Google Calendar, Wikidot, Google Docs, Google Sites, YouTube, and Craigslist, played a big part in the success of their plan of implementing a technology training program for customers and employees. A few years ago the Denver Public Library, where the authors work, developed…

Readers' advisory with middle schoolers does not come easily. In an effort to expand students' reading horizons, the author describes how to teach students to speak intelligently and thoughtfully about their book preferences. She cites Joyce Saricks's "Readers' Advisory Service in the Public Library" (ALA, 2005), a book that gave her the clarity…

In this article, the authors offer an approach to teaching that can help students prepare to write for the workplace and in the community: a case study of community-based writing. In this case-study project, students work in groups to study the writing needs and practices of a community-based group or organization, such as a local public library,…

Describes methods used by the Louisville Free Public Library's children's department to introduce the library's programs and services to elementary school children. Specific suggestions for one-person visitations are provided including pertinent book titles. (EJS)

Examines the following elements of scaffolding, providing insight into the librarian's role as educator: attention, ownership, collaboration, appropriateness, modeling, support, adjustment, and internationalization. A sidebar lists 10 ways to recognize a constructivist children's reference librarian. (AEF)

This document contains two syllabi and selected handouts developed for a graduate-level course in bibliographic instruction (BI). The purpose of the course is to enable students to become familiar with the field of bibliographic instruction and to plan, implement, and evaluate a BI course within an academic setting. Attention is also given to…

Focusing on federal efforts to fight illiteracy through the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA), Title I, this report describes some of the literacy projects that have been supported by LSCA funds, examines current literacy trends, and discusses some ideas for the future. The definition of literacy is considered, public libraries are…

The seven narrative reports featured in this publication detail the accomplishments, in seven key areas, of State Grant Programs (Titles I, II, and III) funded by the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA). These descriptions of state and local library activities, demonstrating how libraries are meeting a variety of users' needs, are: (1)…