In this article, school librarians from Henrico County Public Schools in Virginia [the AASL 2011 National School Library Programs of the Year (NSLPY) Award recipient] share some of their experiences caring for students in their libraries.

To understand and share the feelings of students one must see the world through their lens. Empathic design includes aspects of empathy and offers a means for a practical application of the concept by encouraging organizations to put themselves into the shoes or situation of their users so as to better understand users' needs. Program evaluation…

Librarianship places an ethical demand on practitioners to put patrons or library users' interests before self-interest, and indeed, this is the hallmark of any service profession. But what obligation do school librarians have to their peer librarians and educators? The Code of Ethics of the American Library Association offers this principle, "We…

Educator Bell Hooks acknowledged the fundamental truth that teaching, caring, and transformation are closely linked, that is, that true teaching must be accompanied by a deep level of care in order for learning to take place. No matter how young or old, no matter the subject matter, and no matter where teaching and learning take place--a…

In this article, the author discusses the transformative power of care. In the interest of achieving some modicum of clarity, the author begins with a definition of the word "care." For each of the different school constituencies, there exist categories of actions through which educators demonstrate care. Broadly, these categories include:…

School librarians help train students to be effective acquirers, evaluators, and users of ideas and information--a necessary skill for survival in the information-rich society. From this stance, school librarians are definitely caregivers. But the author argues that this does not get to the heart of the matter: Librarianship usually translates…

In 2005, a record breaking 26 named tropical storms including 13 hurricanes ravaged the Gulf Coast of the United States. In response to the devastation of hundreds of schools, the Laura Bush Foundation swiftly created The Gulf Coast School Library Recovery Initiative to help school libraries become fully functional and to offer the needed print…

A school librarian may or may not have access to the same students on a daily basis as would a teacher. This could be a good thing or a bad thing. Often, students are drawn to those who are not their "teacher," and a bond is naturally formed. In other instances, students may not seek this bond. Either way, a school librarian can reach out to…

Librarians, teachers, authors, video game designers, corporate executives, in fact all providers of information struggle with the dilemma of how to get consumers of information engaged with their message. School librarians know that engaged students learn more and retain the information longer; authors and game designers want their readers and…