User experience (UX) internships generate ideas for usability projects, improve the design of existing and new services, investigate users' motivations and behavior, and build transferable skills for interns. This case study proposes a micro-internship model, grounded in the design cycle, that institutions can adapt to address their libraries and…

Library and information science education today must prepare future professionals to leverage various technologies and develop professional networks that will propel them into future careers. Increasingly, today's information professionals need to understand how to create identities, build relationships, and engage in productive work with others…

This article revisits Rosemary DuMont's 1986 articles on Black librarianship and racial attitudes in LIS. The first part addresses missing or limited coverage on the library schools at five historically Black colleges and universities: Alabama A&M University, Clark Atlanta University, University of the District of Columbia, Hampton University,…

Dresang's Radical Change (1999) has far-reaching implications for pre-service preparation programs for future library and information science leaders. The challenge is to create experiences that will assist with developing these leadership qualities. In this qualitative case study, the authors share findings related to leadership development from…

School library advocacy is increasingly important due to decreases in funding and staff. National organizations attempt to engage school librarians in advocacy and have developed resources and tools to assist with this task. However, there is little research examining how practicing school librarians engage in advocacy and how their advocacy…

To properly prepare pre-service school librarians, school library educators in online courses must provide opportunities for collaborative engagement. This collaborative education should also recognize the pedagogical benefit of the organic formation of communities of practice that develop within areas outside of curriculum content. This…

Implementing Communities of Practice (CoP) in online learning is well documented (Gray, 2004; Wenger & Snyder, 2000), and is of particular interest to the LIS profession (Yukawa, 2010). Most of the students in school library programs are practicing teachers seeking to add the library science endorsement to their existing license. They are…

This study explores Virginia elementary school principals' perceptions of the instructional role of the library media specialist and the origin of these perceptions. Principals who responded to the study strongly endorse the role of library media specialist as teacher of information literacy skills and as instructional partner. Respondents…

Includes five papers presented at the 1995 VTLS Inc. Fifth Annual Director's Conference in Roanoke (Virginia), entitled "Back to Basics: Rethinking Libraries." Topics include libraries' use of high technology, collection management and electronic publishing, public services and telecommuting clientele, what to expect of library school…

As part of a move toward data-driven decision making, the University Libraries at Virginia Tech made a commitment to evaluate library instruction systematically. During the design and implementation phase of the program, library faculty developed a variety of tools for evaluating teaching, tested them out, and consulted with educational experts to…

This paper reports the findings of a comparative case study designed to describe how the implementation of whole language, an educational philosophy influencing many of today's elementary schools, evolved in four school libraries in Virginia. The study examined the impact of whole language in terms of its effect on the library program and the…

A study was made to secure surveyed data on the current and projected employment of specialists in educational media and technology. In addition, the surveyed local school superintendents and deans of instruction in community colleges were asked to suggest areas in which media training would be desirable in the public schools and community…