Williams presents using personalized book baskets to connect learners to books that will ignite enthusiasm for reading, encourage expansion of reading genres, and allow the school librarian to understand and support students on a deeper level.

This article is about what the future of reading looks like. Currently many districts across the country--including New York City--are adopting research-based methods called the science of reading that focus on mechanics. Leanne Ellis surmises the future of reading holds great promise if school librarians can promote, showcase, and advocate for a…

The athletic department and the school library at Mayde Creek High School in Texas have been collaborating to build literacy and leadership skills among the athletes on the varsity football team, and both the boys' and girls' varsity basketball teams through collaborative leadership book studies that are also sports-focused. Because of the success…

Sometimes great initiatives in education start with just a glimmer of an idea and a belief that building a foundation under that idea can effect change. That glimmer of an idea came to Bandera Independent School District (BISD) from a middle school English teacher who attended an International Reading Association Conference and heard about…

It is important for students to be good readers. In order to encourage reading for the fun of it, the author developed a game plan for the library. In this article, the author discusses how to make the library the place to be. She suggests that librarians need to encourage students to read, read, read. They must make their libraries places of…

Reading is often thought of as a skill, something to be learned and practiced. But reading can also be considered a creative art, capturing the imagination of the reader in ways that result in creative thought and expression. School librarians have a unique opportunity not only to support classroom-based reading skill building but also to serve as…

Summer drift, otherwise known as loss of reading comprehension skills or reading achievement, has been a well-known and well-documented phenomenon of public education for decades. Studies from the late twentieth century to the present have demonstrated a slowdown in summer drift attributed to specific summer reading programs addressing motivation…

Schools and teachers act to a limited degree in "loco parentis", thus assuming the role of parents, especially in the health and safety of minors in attendance at public school, but also in setting educational standards. Public schools have been delegated this role and implement policies, programs, and procedures that sometimes, unintentionally,…

The use of graphic novels to engage students has increased steadily in recent years. School librarians and teachers throughout elementary, middle, and secondary schools are integrating graphic novels into English language arts learning and across the curriculum. The growing acceptance of graphic novels in teaching and learning activities is due in…

In the rapidly changing globalized world, school librarians cannot prepare today's students for every possible outcome, but they can give them the skills that will make them adaptable in 21st-century learning and work settings. The mission for school library programs is to ensure that students are effective users of ideas and information by being…

Graphic novels have been known to spark reading interest in teens. However, librarians still can not make the decision to integrate graphic novels into the book collection. In this article, the author addresses the issues related to the cataloging and classification of graphic novels.

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) "Standards for the 21st-Century Learner" is filled with objectives that are mostly unobjectionable--and that would have been just as applicable in the twentieth century. Who, after all, would oppose the idea of "organizing knowledge so it's useful"? Who's going to deny the value of effective…

This article introduces various writers, including Laurie Halse Anderson, Linda Sue Park, Richard Peck, James Patterson, and Charles R. Smith, Jr., who will give their presentations at the 2009 American Association of School Librarians (AASL) National Conference & Exhibition in Charlotte. This November the AASL National Conference and…

Discussion of free voluntary reading focuses on a study that tracked students' reading progress in reading motivation programs in elementary and secondary schools. Topics include standardized test results for sixth graders; media center collections and circulation statistics; and correlation of total reading minutes and total reading score. (LRW)

Connecting students with authors is a dynamic way to promote the love of reading. A successful program shows that teens will read--if they are given time to read books they are interested in and develop a community of readers. This article discusses the Author's Day program, a district-wide yearly event held in Wallkill, New York, that brings…