According to the author, we are all creators and consumers of media. Technology has made it easy to copy, paste, and transfer anything educators might want to use in their classrooms. As educators, school librarians have an obligation to honor the law and be the role models that learners and other staff members need them to be. So many times the…

The Bitmoji classroom craze swept education during online teaching and learning in 2020-21. Was that just a fad for pandemic times, or do they retain value in post-pandemic K-12 education? In a recent survey of 72 educators that included 45 school librarians, 71%, mostly at the elementary level, reported that they still use them. The purposes…

There are many different job titles for this position around the country: school librarian, library media specialist, information technology specialist, research technology specialist, and library media coordinator. The position has changed from primarily a traditional librarian position to a balance of teaching and librarianship, and it's…

The idea that information is the building block for learning is not new. In fact, it has been a core tenet of learning theory since the study of human cognition began. What's new about learning in the twenty-first century is that various dimensions of information have changed--expanding in every conceivable way. Information is now a "24-7"…

Developing lifelong readers is integral to the role of the librarian. Facilitating, encouraging, and promoting reading is not an add-on to the job. Consider the role librarians play in developing readers in school. They know they are contributors; they must make sure the school community is aware of their valuable role in supporting the five…

Collaboration empowers everyone in different ways: in the school setting it brings partnerships with colleagues and relevance to the cycle of ongoing instructional improvement; in a regional setting it provides an understanding of the various facets that make up an exemplary library media program along with the challenges of the classroom. The…

The American Association of School Librarians' (AASL) "Standards for the 21st-Century Learner" (2007), with their emphasis on multiple literacies and the social context in which information skills develop, embrace instruction that engages students' critical thinking about the changing communications environment. An inquiry-based approach to…

Summarizes responses of three university librarians to four questions concerning the preparation of college-bound students regarding library use; the skills students need; what approach they take to help students learn such skills; and the things that library media specialists and teachers can do to prepare college-bound students to use university…

This article presents findings from the School Library Journal's 2006 national technology survey that investigated the trend in today's library media centers. As this study demonstrates, technology continues to be a significant aspect of K-12 media centers. Despite restricted funding and schedules stretched to the limit, media specialists have…

The subject specialist in a university library selects materials, provides reference service to the university community, gives instruction in library use, locates and makes available less commonly used materials, etc. (Author)

Participation in a workshop conducted for media library specialists developed team teaching projects to integrate library/media skills into the subject areas of their school curriculums. Six of the projects were selected for inclusion in this report. A dictionary skills game provides a fun way of learning for fifth graders while reinforcing…

While the promotion of literacy is a fundamental mission for all librarians, over the past decades the definition has expanded and, paradoxically, fragmented into various multiliteracies, such as computer literacy, visual literacy, media literacy, and so forth. From these, a broader concept of student competencies, one that includes both…

Provides suggestions for media specialists to conduct effective and motivating professional development for teachers. Highlights include making examples that teachers can use in their classrooms, small- versus large-group instruction, providing a printed agenda and handouts, using an instructional assistant, sticking to a schedule while breaking…

Reviews selected studies of the curricular and instructional role of the school library media specialist to identify predominant patterns in research findings, and discusses their implications for librarians, educators, administrators, and other professionals. It includes 23 references. (RAA)

Designed as an aid for librarians and teachers in instructing elementary and secondary school students in library media skills, this handbook includes a detailed sequential list of such skills, as well as a list of books and media which concern the philosophy of teaching media skills or the materials used in developing skills programs. Arranged…