The idea of "reading the room" borrowed from the business world applies to how school library professionals can identify and responsively meet the needs of users. By stepping up to do work even when it is not requested, and yet in alignment with our mission, we can help sustain our library programs.

This report was produced by "The School Librarian Investigation: Decline or Evolution?" (SLIDE), a research project funded by a Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services to Antioch University Seattle. It studied the employment status of school librarians in the United States from 2009-10…

During a six month contract with the Royal University of Bhutan, the author was required to develop the initial stages of a first library qualification to be offered in Bhutan. Questions raised by this project included: is a first qualification in librarianship needed in Bhutan? What are the potential student numbers in such a programme? What…

Alternatives are presented which aim to produce leaders in the school library field who will assume leadership roles in large school libraries, in school districts, and at the regional, state, or national level. (29 references) (MM)

Part of a series of needs assessment studies conducted at the Kent State School of Library Science, this study reports the results of a survey concerning library employment opportunities in Ohio for individuals with graduate degrees in library science. The three main objectives of the study were: (1) to estimate the number of professional and…

The South Pacific School Libraries Project was launched by UNESCO in 1978 and continued until 1991. It was designed to improve school library service in the 11 independent island states (Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Turaw, Vanuatu, and Western Samoa) of the Southwest Pacific and to develop…

This 2002 staffing survey investigated personnel in school libraries in all 50 states. Topics include staffing shortages of certified library media specialists; recruitment efforts; certification processes; ratio between students and librarians; budget cuts; government role; and online graduate library science programs. (LRW)

The main objectives of the institute program were to develop in the participants: (1) Knowledge about curriculum changes and emphases, and the impact of educational innovations on the library program, (2) An understanding of the broad field of learning resources that relate to an ever-changing curriculum. (3) Knowledge and skills concerned with…

Seven issues of a newsletter on recent library statistics provide information on Colorado public libraries, librarian and library assistant salaries, materials challenges, school library media centers, and circulation policies. One 1995 library survey compares average public library salaries with and without an American Library Association…

Focuses on role of school library media programs in the fostering of lifelong learning and development of information skills. Highlights include information use and users, access, instruction, consulting, attitude problems, personnel and economic issues, planning and evaluating programs, education of library media specialists, and information…

As part of the Unesco School Library Development Project in the South Pacific, a selected group of librarians and a coordinator of extension studies from the region met with Unesco consultants to design and develop a general course or courses for teachers and teacher librarians on the design, production, use, and organization of learning…

Summarizes findings of library research according to specific areas of library skill and, where appropriate, school level investigated (elementary, secondary, or post-secondary). Implications of studies for present practice and future research are discussed from perspective of school districts, building-level library media specialists, and library…

This paper discusses the problems and difficulties faced by school libraries in the United Kingdom (UK), specifically England and Wales. These problems are lack of funding, lack of a central role in the curriculum, lack of a central role in the management structure, and inadequate staffing. Lack of library funding stems from overall under-funding…

Provides an overview of the current state of libraries and information services in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Topics include academic, national, public, special, and school libraries; factors dictating the need for information services, including socioeconomic changes; problems; and the need for library education for staffing. (LRW)

Discusses multitype library cooperation in South Dakota, including a statewide automated network that supports library operations and contains periodical indexes; state library activities that include providing service to rural libraries via the Internet as well as library staff training; and school library projects. (LRW)