Research shows that an important step in the development of readers is having access to books. Steven Krashen, in "The Power of Reading," cites multiple studies that demonstrate access to books is crucial in developing strong readers: "the richer the print environment, the better the literacy development." Limiting access runs counter to research…

Library media specialists understand better than anyone else that students must learn to engage with a wide variety of information types and formats to be efficient and effective learners in the 21st century. The I-LEARN Model--Identify, Locate, Evaluate, Apply, Reflect, kNow--both describes the process of learning with information and provides a…

It's time for a sweeping new approach to information literacy learning! The sad truth is that few, if any, information literacy efforts in schools have fulfilled the promise of a "comprehensive" information literacy program: (1) A comprehensive program should reach "all" students in the school; (2) A comprehensive program should be "predictable"…

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…

Evidence-based practice is the collection, interpretation, and use of data, such as collection statistics or assessment results, that measure the effectiveness of a library media program. In this article, the authors will present various forms of evidence and show that any library media specialist can use data to make informed decisions that…

Evaluation is important. As the sea of information grows ever larger, educators must be able to teach their students to evaluate what they find and decide its relevance and accuracy. In the American Association of School Librarians' publication "Standards for the 21st Century Learner," evaluation is a skill (1.1.4, 1.1.5), a disposition in action…

Today school library media specialists operate in an environment of daily challenges and controversies. "No Child Left Behind" established mandates that all educators are scrambling to meet. No matter how people feel about the way the legislation is being carried out, it is difficult to argue against its purpose--that all educators must…

"AASL Standards for the 21st-Century Learner." New standards for library media programs! What does it mean to practicing library media specialists? Does this mean they must abandon all the strategies, activities, and lessons they have developed based upon "Information Power's Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning" and create all new…

In "Fool's Gold: Why the Internet Is No Substitute for a Library," Mark Herring paints a fairly grim picture of the future of libraries. Basically, he posits that a confluence of events and attitudes have come together to bring about the demise (unless something is done, and soon) of the library as people know it. First, people mistakenly believe…

Participating in an evidence-based practice workshop in 2005 was a transforming experience for the author. She realized that the traditional statistics that she had painstakingly gathered and recorded for her annual report did not provide evidence of actual learning. Evidence acquired through assessment, both formative and summative, provides the…

Any student will tell people that one question they've been asked repeatedly is "What do you want to be when you grow up?" From a young age, adults expect children to think about their future and to work toward a career goal. If teachers expect their students to be goal driven, career-oriented individuals, they need to provide them with ample…

Have you ever had a teacher say, "I'd love to bring my classes to the library more often, but we just don't have enough time because we have to prepare for our state standardized tests?" This response stems from a misconception about the role of library media centers and library media specialists. In some school environments, the library media…

A report for the British Library concluded that despite access to information provided by contemporary technology, there had been no increase in the information literacy of students. Major publications from the National Middle School Association, including "This We Believe" and "From Rhetoric to Reality," recognize that the mass media is a…

School librarians teach through collaboration with the classroom teacher, who comes to the library with a content assignment, and the librarian infuses it with information-skills lessons. But this type of collaboration is often hindered by various obstacles, including the teacher's reluctance to devote the time needed. This is the dilemma. School…

In this article, the author describes how the tragedy of a fire at Shikellamy High School in Sunbury, Pennsylvania helped her, together with Ellen Boyer, Shikellamy High School Drama/Communication Arts teacher, light a fire under their students. They were able to launch the new Information Literacy curriculum with an 11 period introduction to the…