The face of reading is changing, and it is happening at a much faster rate than most people had imagined. Where is it all going? What factors are driving the most significant developments? And what role do librarians play in this rapidly evolving world? These are some of the key questions that stakeholders--including educators, publishers,…

It's not easy being a media specialist, especially if one is new to the profession or one has switched schools and is suddenly the "new kid on the block." This article offers 10 road-tested tips that will help every new media specialist not only survive, but also "thrive": (1) Learn the curriculum; (2) Document! Document! Document! (3) Smile and…

In this article, the author discusses how to transform a down-on-its-luck library into an irresistible place for boys. She suggests to begin with vision, energy, and a lot of hard work. Based on the author's 30-plus years of experience working with students, she knows boys respond well to a scholarly environment. In fact, it is one of the ways…

When Jim Chadwell, the former principal of Northwest High School in Texas, renovated his media center four years ago, he had two things in mind: Starbucks and Barnes & Noble. According to Media Specialist Naomi Bates, Chadwell wanted a place where students could read, do research, and work on classroom assignments, but also socialize. That is…

School Library Journal's 2007 Leadership Summit, "Where's the Evidence? Understanding the Impact of School Libraries," focused on the topic of evidence-based practice. Evidence-based school librarianship is a systematic approach that engages research-derived evidence, school librarian-observed evidence, and user-reported evidence in the processes…

The library, as we once knew it, may no longer be relevant. And, yet, this is undoubtedly the most exciting time in history to be a librarian. The future of the school library as a relevant and viable institution is largely dependent on librarians and how quickly they respond to change. They worry about their field and their practice. They worry…

In the past, everyone knew what a school librarian did--a librarian helped kids find good books and find facts in big, fat dictionaries and encyclopedias. Then, in more recent years, the Internet appeared in schools and knocked the rationale for school libraries over like a set of bowling pins. Many librarians have spent more than a decade…

Visits to the Open Corridor Schools in New York City were made to search out the role of the library and the librarian in these informal education situations. (2 references) (NH)

Greater use can be made of fewer materials if there is public library and school library involvement in satisfying the library needs of all children. (Author)

Comments that library media specialists have not been adequately utilized in schools, especially at the elementary level. Reasons why the library should be an integral part of the instructional program are discussed, and several ways in which the librarian, as a generalist, can aid students in academic achievement are listed. (MES)

Recommends bibliotherapy as a way in which school media specialists can help children become more independent and more socially and emotionally mature. Situations for which bibliotherapy is appropriate and the importance of discussions and other follow-up activities are covered. (8 references) (MES)

The school librarian can help kindergarten children develop motor skills and reading readiness skills. (PF)

The "65 percent solution," developed by First Class Education, a national advocacy group, states that 65 percent of a school's operating budget be devoted to "in-class instruction" as opposed to "out-of-classroom" purposes. One of the unintended consequences of this "solution," according to this author, is that it provides another basis for…

Discusses the role of the elementary school librarian, as well as the educational function of the school library from the 1950s to the present, and speculates about the future. (CMV)

To have an impact on student achievement, librarians must first find ways to educate kids who are steeped in an information-rich world--and then use research to show other educators how libraries make a difference in learning. Today's students live in an information-rich "cocoon" that most librarians did not grow up in, said David Loertscher,…