Schools and school libraries are becoming more diverse. What cultural barriers do you face in your position? Have you come across challenges in how you handle cultural situations with students, teachers, or administrators? If so, have you considered skills that can help you facilitate conversations more effectively? How would you rate your…

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…

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…

Despite the old-fashioned view of the academic library as a static institution, libraries can and do change in response to the needs of users and stakeholders. Perhaps the most dramatic shift in services has been the transition from a purely physical to a combination physical/virtual or even virtual-only environment. This article examines how…

Successive waves of technology change what is possible in information services, and to stay relevant, information professionals face two challenges. First, they must be willing to learn all about the new tools as they appear. Second, they must learn--or relearn--the crucial characteristics of users. In this article, the author focuses on the…

School library and youth services professionals must develop and display a strong sense of cultural competence to effectively serve their patrons. Cultural competence is defined here as one's ability to understand the needs of populations different from their own. This paper reports on the perceptions of school library and youth services students…

This book is designed to help library and information specialists and students tackle communication challenges ranging from public speaking to listserv posting. All types of communication are covered--conducting interviews; delivering speeches; leading group discussions, workshops, and conferences; designing newsletters, handouts, and brochures;…

A study of 107 academic library position announcements (1990-94) for systems librarians analyzed position titles, responsibilities, degree requirements, required skills, reporting lines, and salaries. The study concluded that systems responsibilities change constantly, that interpersonal skills are essential, and that 38% of the examined position…

Technological, social, legal, economic, educational and political advances have greatly affected the management of staff who have had to adapt to such developments as networking, the independence of educational institutions, income generation, compulsory competitive tendering, quality management and user consultation. This book is a guide to staff…

This book focuses on guiding librarians at institutions of higher education on being proactive in securing tenure and promotion in their professional employment. The book has nine chapters. Chapter 1 gives advice on what to include in an application for a tenure-track position and what activities representing individual growth and development…

The papers presented at this conference challenged participants to become an integral part of the planning necessary to keep libraries on the cutting edge of technological advances. Academic libraries are admonished to reposition themselves to deliver both new and traditional services, or face the prospect of being preempted by other agencies. The…