What administrators know and understand matters when it comes to organizing a school for teaching and learning. When principals and assistant principals discourage the use of practices unfamiliar to them or do not support best practices, they can actually hamper student achievement and professional growth. This is especially true when it comes to…

The role of web hate sites on the tragedy that occurred in Red Lake School and its community on 21 March 2005 is discussed. Library media specialists and technologists should make sure that students find communities with values that are life-affirming and socially responsible, as even a small thing can make a huge difference in a student's life.

School library media specialists are the first to witness the malaise that permeates American schools threatening the future of our society. Believing that personal lack of aspirations, our failure to encourage reading for pure enjoyment, and society's disrespect toward education has left a void in our children that is filled with apathy.

The leadership role of the library media specialist is very important because it enhances the achievement level of the students. Information Power, Building Partnerships for Learning encourages library media specialists to be members of the leadership team, organize learning opportunities for members of the learning community, develop curriculum…

Booktalking authentic multicultural literature can encourage students to read, promote respect for all cultures, and help make all students feel welcome in libraries and media centers. It also provides opportunities to collaborate with teachers to increase diversity throughout the schools. This article presents selected booktalks of contemporary…

Nothing comes closer to "the truth" than a primary source, even a primary source with wart--biases, narrow-minded interpretations, and historical inaccuracies. Students who learn to apply critical thinking to the analysis of primary sources also learn to situate sources within the broader historical context, test hypotheses, form their own…

This article talks about the first-ever Texas Conference on School Libraries on April 6, 2005 that was attended by one hundred thirty-five school administrators and trustees. The miniconference, entitled Strong Libraries, Strong Scores, was held at the Austin Hilton, Austin, Texas during the Texas Library Association's Annual Conference and was…

The Student Library Aide Program provides real-world work experience to students in a safe learning environment. Students who are interested in working in the library complete an application form similar to a real job application listing their classroom teachers as references, telling why they want to work in the library, and any experience they…

The idea of reading a classic out loud during lunch each day of National Library Week was to make high school students participate in the library campaign. A library media specialist at Cleburne (Texas) High School discusses the planning, promotion and implementation of the programme.

Promoting reading through a library program does not have to mean a major offensive involving the latest in technology. Little, engaging activities--storytelling, book talking, book displays, puppetry, games, author visits, songs and chants, readers' theater, hands-on centers, and special event celebrations--can have the same effect. This author,…

The new AASL standards clearly spell out ethical responsibilities, which school librarians strive to instill and model as they work with staff and students. In this article, the author presents the AASL standards together with some tips and lesson ideas which she and her library partner have put into practice within their library media program.

There are plenty of reasons why teaching students to set up their own blogs should not be taught by school librarians. But the truth is, not all students have access to that out-of-school technology world. ELL students and kids from lower-income homes are unlikely to have the Internet at home. As much as school librarians promote and encourage…

In March 2003, a total of 394 media specialists throughout the state of Kentucky completed an online survey regarding the professional development needs. The public relations subcommittee of the Kentucky School Media Association Board of directors generated the questions and collected data from the three parts of the survey-demographics,…

Georgia's Choice/America's Choice (GC/AC) is a school reform model, which was adopted in approximately 160 schools across the state to focus on student work and achievement, to align the instructional process and to place emphasis on results. Library Media Specialists (LMSs) are important to school community's spirit of acceptance and should serve…

In inquiry environments, assessment is integral to the learning process. This means that students not only assess their own work, but they also help identify the criteria for assessment and design the tools for measuring the quality of the performance. One critical assessment tool, which is being used in countless classrooms, is the rubric.…