Presents the following tips for getting the school media center off to a good start in the fall: refocus to-do lists; be ready for business; provide advance scheduling; deal with perceptions; conduct new staff orientation; focus on teachers of new students; and provide ongoing staff development. (AEF)

Discusses the National Board Certification for the Early Childhood through Young Adulthood/Library Media certificate, under development by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Explains the library media standards overview, including knowledge, activities, and professional growth; portfolio requirements; required assessment…

The Internet's unique scope, characteristics and potential make it a vehicle for media specialists to model good use of information technology and provide far-reaching instructional leadership in schools. This article focuses on approaches to Web site selection, supervision, and staff development for effective use of the Internet in schools. (AEF)

Discusses standards created by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) for library media programs that improve student achievement. Highlights include Information Power, 1998 edition; how to use standards; curriculum content standards; the influence and use of…

Library media staff at Western High School (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) established a library media center without walls and an information hub without limits. This article describes the planning, funding, wiring, equipping, programming, managing, and benefits of the $624,500 network. (PEN)

Explains how school library media specialists can write grants to help fund library projects. Highlights include having specific needs and specific programs in mind; catchy names; brief summaries; statement of need and specific objectives; methodology; planned evaluation; budget information; timeliness; and a list of Web sites for grant sources.…

Discusses budgeting strategies for school media technology programs. Highlights include sources for school funding, school district budget information, control of the budget, how to write an effective budget, working with other community and school groups, local politics, and sidebars that discuss spreadsheets and maintenance budgets. (LRW)

Discusses Internet plagiarism and includes an outline for a presentation that library media specialists can use with teachers. Highlights include an overview of the problem; helping teachers recognize the signs; pinpointing the source, including the use of search engines and Web sites; and prevention, including more control over the research…

Discusses 10 challenges media specialists must overcome to effectively use technology in education. Highlights include people opposed to technology; teacher training to help develop collaborative relationships; establishing and using a comprehensive technology plan; assuming more professional responsibility; and empowerment. (LRW)

Describes how the media center at Mt. Bethel Elementary School (Marietta, Georgia) was redesigned to make better use of electronic resources. Discusses the initial preparations and the remodelling process. Outlines the four components of managing change--vision, planning, funding and implementation. (AEF)

Discusses ways that school media specialists can save time to make the transition from traditional tasks to newer responsibilities necessitated by changes in education. Highlights include placing orders; record keeping, particularly clerical tasks that could be handled electronically or by other people; cataloging; parent volunteers; and working…

Describes a high school media center's plans for changing their computer configuration from a local area network to a district-supported wide area network to share resources. Topics include interlibrary loan; networking CD-ROMs; cooperative planning; computer printers; access from remote locations; and Internet access. (LRW)

Discussion of automation and school library media specialists focuses on library Web sites. Highlights include characteristics of library Web sites; examples of high school, middle school, and elementary school library Web sites; an evaluation methodology; and a list of useful online library research sites. (LRW)

Presents a framework to help media specialists and other educators facilitate the process of integrating computer technology and the Internet into classroom instruction and curriculum design. Highlights include planning, including concept maps; research, including critical thinking; development, including knowledge construction and higher-order…

Describes a program developed at Winona Middle School (Minnesota) to integrate the state standard for information literacy into the curriculum. Explains the role of the school library media specialist and discusses the final product which is a student portfolio, a HyperStudio multimedia presentation that incorporates the newly acquired skills.…