This article asks three questions: (1) Why do the National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries matter to school administrators; (2) How is an administrator's knowledge of the role of the school librarian as articulated in these standards; and (3) Is it known what matters to school administrators and how…

This article provides an overview of and rationale for the use of authority in school libraries--from both an historical and current/future perspective. First, the importance of consistent, meaningful authority term context and form is discussed. Then, the exciting, yet challenging, role of authority in today's information world is…

The very nature of information seeking in today's world suggests that credibility is an important factor in how one goes about seeking and using information. The proliferation of Web-based resources and the ability for nearly anyone to publish on the Web force individuals to make judgments of quality and authority as they flow on- and offline in…

In this article, the author shares her experience during her practicum for her master's in library science wherein she had the opportunity to work in a school library that was moving toward combining with a local branch of a public library. Combining the public and school libraries meant integrating these two related yet distinct missions, or at…

In an academic setting, sources of information that can help the author answer a question or make sense of a problem are judged on competence and trustworthiness. As she locates a written text, an image, or a person, and "interrogate" it, the author is working through a series of judgment calls that end in a summative assessment of credibility.…

When the author attended a "weekend" conference on the "Standards for the 21st-Century Learner", she was filled with uncertainty about the AASL standards and how to implement inquiry in her fixed-schedule environment. Her uncertainty grew as the presenters introduced themselves. However, her uncertainty began to subside as one of the presenters…

The release of AASL's "Standards for the 21st-Century Learner" and "Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs" has provided school library media specialists with the opportunity to "develop new visions for learning" (AASL 2009), and to rethink what their roles are, and what skills and characteristics are required of them to…