The purpose of this study was to examine variables related to teachers' perceptions of the impact of a one-to-one laptop program on learning. The participants were fifty-three high school teachers who taught at a school with a one-to-one laptop program. A mixed-methods design was implemented using a survey designed to determine the teachers'…

Just four months ago, a class of 20 first graders at Monarch Academy, a K-5 charter school in Oakland, California, couldn't operate a mouse, much less log in to and operate a digital program. By February, the kids had become capable computer users, able to tackle a range of activities and the Web and ready for the next new thing their…

Do library catalogs compete with Google or is it the other way around? We know which came first but which will finish in the end? Only trained library professionals were considered qualified to develop reliable catalog records. However, with the increased sophistication of search engines, we are beginning to realize that a collaborative effort may…

School librarians need to be proactive in identifying new ways to help students prepare for the world of the future. Students need relevant educational experiences that support emerging demands created by information and service based economies. The economies of Pacific Rim countries such as the USA, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Canada are…

Despite easy access to expert resources and extensive in-school modeling, students--even the youngest--are relying heavily upon "Wikipedia," especially when they do research away from school. With "Wikipedia" holding steady as one of the top ten Web sites worldwide, it is no wonder students are flocking there. For teachers, parents, and students,…

Embedded librarianship is a relatively new term but is a fairly well-established stance in academic librarianship. While the terminology has certainly spawned new activities and vigorous new channels of communication, few are talking about the strategies for expanding and enhancing the position of the librarian and libraries organizationally once…

School librarians currently speak about school libraries as the largest classroom in the building. If so, how can these librarians describe what they teach? This article explains the user-centered instructional role of secondary school librarians in teaching information and technology literacy skills, as well as how they can authoritatively ensure…

The Library of Birmingham (LoB) is a 193 million British pounds project designed to provide a new space for lifelong learning and knowledge growth, a physical and virtual portal for Birmingham's citizens to the wider world. In cooperation with a range of private, public, and third-sector bodies, as well as individual citizens, the library, due to…

If Google represents the first flicker of information technology, the development of additional tools has continued to enhance access to information but with the unfortunate downside of decreasing information literacy. Todd Gilman, librarian for literature in English at Yale University's Sterling Memorial Library, decries the resulting disconnect…

Podcasting is a term derived by combining iPod with broadcasting. During 2006, when the idea of podcasting was still in its infancy, this author [an information systems librarian at the Universal College of Learning (UCOL) in New Zealand] began to consider how this new technology could be used by librarians to provide instructional sessions. She…

Since the earliest days of the profession, school libraries have been establishing standards and guidelines to guide and shape school library programs. For the most part, the standards have shaped what programs are and what they do. Rarely has a set of standards focused on the content and process of what school libraries teach students. The…

During the 1890s, the library media specialty was established through "a School Library Section as an integral part of the National Education Association" (Cole 90). In the ensuing decades, this role has expanded and changed; it demands a balancing act between the more traditional roles surrounding books and reading, and the newer expectations and…

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…

Discusses the Beck Center for Electronic Collections and Services at Emory University (Georgia), including the role of text centers both within and outside of the academic research library. Describes projects with various departments, and innovative partnerships with technologists from the library and the campus computing center, as well as with…

Discusses World Wide Web uses in a computer setting for university administrative purposes with a focus on how the library can enhance administrators' awareness of this tool and the potential benefits to the library from doing so. Sidebars present a sampling of World Wide Web sites that demonstrate university administrative applications.…