Colorado school librarians are in the midst of a crisis. According to a 2009-2010 survey of public schools in Colorado, just 23% of elementary schools have an endorsed librarian, while 37% of middle schools and 32% of high schools report having an endorsed librarian. This report also shows how these percentages have dropped in just a two-year…

School librarians know the importance of collaboration. They cannot run effective school library programs unless they work closely with classroom teachers. They have learned that deep collaboration is a fluid process that evolves over time. Only as connections are made and relationships are forged can real instructional progress occur. Yet it…

There have been substantial changes in the labour market over the past few years and survey results indicate 60% of staff will leave public library service over the next decade. While this creates opportunities for library staff, limited training budgets and a focus on compliance and specific library skills training have led to a gap in the formal…

Four librarians from Irish university libraries completed the U.K. Future Leaders Programme (FLP) in 2010. In this article they recount their experience and assess the effect of the programme on their professional practice and the value for their institutions. The programme is explored in the context of the Irish higher education environment,…

This article describes how and why the Library 101 Project was created and the lessons that the developers learned out of this project. The Library 101 is a project that challenges librarians to revise the paradigm of "basic" library services in order to remain relevant in this technology-driven world. It was developed by Michael Porter,…

Today's academic library provides resources that users can access both physically in the library and virtually from academic offices. This increasing availability of online access means that information resources are no longer confined within library walls and librarians need to rethink how their constituents' information needs are being met.…

Students at Middletown High School are not turning to Google as their main source of information. Cecelia Freda, Middletown's head librarian, was responsible for making sure that students learn the basics of research. Before Freda's arrival at Middletown, most of the school's students were clueless about anything having to do with library. Now,…

This bulletin outlines the programs submitted by 50 States and Territories for the second year of the Library Services Act. These programs reflect the planning and development which has been taking place across the Nation in the extension and improvement of public library service in rural areas. In the first year, fiscal 1957 (July 1, 1956,…

Never before has a fully informed citizenry been more important to the present and future well-being of the Nation than it is today. And yet, recent investigations have shown that 27 million of our children and adults live in areas without any public library service, and 53 million more have only inadequate book and information services available…

A 1956 Office of Education study showed that 26 million rural residents were without any public library service and that more than 300 rural counties had no public library within their borders. An additional 50 million rural residents had only inadequate service. Congress passed the Library Services Act in 1956 to stimulate the further development…