It is essential school librarians understand and demonstrate how they impact the school culture, implement school and district goals, and form positive relationships within the school community. However, some school librarians have difficulty understanding the connection between advocacy, leadership, and acting in a leadership role. As a result,…

What is the future of urban school libraries? The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) "National School Library Standards" offer a framework for school librarians to reflect on how they can tailor their professional practice to serve their specific school communities. Through the lens of the standards, school librarians can…

To gather, contribute, connect, be a creative force, defend, and guide are demanding dispositions that make an excellent school library professional. School librarians use these dispositions like poles of support as they glide down the slopes of student learning and curriculum. They leverage their roles of teacher and librarian like skis giving…

School librarians regularly face difficult intellectual freedom questions. Is it a good idea to put grade- or reading-level labels on the outside of books or use labels to determine what students should read? Do children have First Amendment rights? The ALA "Intellectual Freedom Manual" provides answers and guidance. The…

In this essay, we embrace a vision of the future of academic libraries where librarians confront and creatively address the lack of racial and ethnic diversity within our profession and actively pursue a social justice agenda within our libraries and in the communities we serve. This future requires that we acknowledge that many of our current…

Academic librarians should expand our understanding of what counts as an authoritative resource, and be unafraid to challenge long-established wisdom in this domain. Wikipedia is far from perfect, but neither is the Encyclopedia Britannica. Wikipedia is updated daily, while the Britannica is no longer printed. If we cling to the Britannica as a…

The rumored death of librarianship caused by the advent of technology has not, and will not, come to pass. In this article, the author describes how technology has exponentially increased the librarian's ability to provide library service at the Calcasieu Parish Public Library, where she serves as head of Collection & Computing Services. The…

In 2006, technology directors from independent schools across the country had banded together and created "Principles of Good Practice" for technology in independent schools. These principles "define high standards and ethical behavior in key areas of independent school operations" (NAIS 2006). This author decided that it was time for the National…

The article is an introduction to The Ohio Department of Youth Services librarians and the services they provide. Information about each juvenile prison facility is revealed and provides an explanation of guidelines and standards for prison libraries. Sixty-eight questions were asked in four in-person interviews to present a profile of the…

It is reasonable to assume the existence of a new "dynamic" that influences how to measure reference services in libraries and how we evaluate the reference librarians who provide those services. Traditional, face-to-face delivery of reference services is reported to be declining, and there is myriad evidence, albeit largely uncollated…

The basic documents on faculty status for librarians in colleges and universities are compiled. The first chapter contains a history and overview of university librarians' status and discussions of such topics as professionalism, the librarian's role, tenure, academic freedom, evaluation, titles and ranks, professional growth, research, and…

Discusses possible risks to workers using visual display terminals (VDTs), standards relating to VDTs, the provisions of the European Community Directive concerning minimum health and safety standards, how the standards are being interpreted in the United Kingdom, and implications for libraries. A workplace assessment questionnaire is appended.…

This study presents brief digests, with some explanations of the school library standards which were in effect at the beginning of 1954. It includes digests of school library standards used by four regional associations which accredit secondary schools, and by State departments of education. In addition, the study contains a summary of…

The following list of books, pamphlets, and periodicals was compiled for the use of school administrators, librarians, and teachers who are concerned with the organization and administration of the effective school library in modern education. An endeavor was made to select materials which will be of practical usefulness to educators of today,…