As part of the national Future Ready Librarians initiative at the Alliance for Excellent Education, Mark Ray and Shannon McClintock Miller serve as national advocates for school library programs and librarians. Mark and Shannon began their library advocacy careers in school libraries. For eight years, Shannon was the district librarian in Van…

Electronic communication technologies continue to change the landscape of reference services. For many users, virtual communication is the preferred means of conversing. Synchronous virtual reference, similar to other synchronous means of communication, is an important method for reaching students and for providing teaching and learning…

Rural schools in high-poverty areas are often understaffed. This descriptive phenomenological study examined fourth-grade state research projects in high-poverty rural Iowa schools to reveal the influence of school librarians' staffing levels on student learning of research skills. To determine evidence of students' critical literacy, ethical use…

College readiness has several dimensions, but of particular import is readiness to produce scholarly work that meets the expectations of college instructors. Differences from high school and college are well documented in the literature, and this study adds to that body of work by delineating the characteristics of first-year college assignments…

In the past decade, economic development experts have moved away from traditional approaches to economic development that have relied upon recruiting or attracting large businesses with offers of tax breaks, financial incentives, and other subsidies. Increasingly, communities are focusing their economic development resources on supporting the…

The theme of this working conference, Libraries Without Walls, was explored by representatives of business, labor, government, education, community organizations and libraries. Recommendations were made for the more effective use of libraries in providing information for the entire community. The problems, proposals and recommendations of thirteen…

This document examines the roles, issues, and needs of Iowa libraries in the age of the electronic information highway based on the responses of library practitioners to a request from the State Library of Iowa to briefly address these concerns. The report begins with brief discussions of traditional library services; electronic library services;…

The functions, roles and responsibilities, and services of school media centers and public libraries at the local and state levels are discussed, as are the supportive functions and services provided by the State Library Commission of Iowa and the Department of Public Instruction. An extensive list of recommendations outlines the part that…

This manual is designed to serve as a textbook outlining sound library administrative practices or as an aid in policy development. The basics of good library services are described, and libraries are encouraged to choose services appropriate for their situation, plan for them, and measure their effectiveness. Ninety performance measures outline…

The functions, roles and responsibilities, and services of school media centers and public libraries at the local and state levels are succinctly discussed, and supportive functions and services provided by the State Library Commission of Iowa and the Department of Public Instruction are indicated. Also enumerated are recommendations for school…

This handbook is designed to help Iowa library media specialists, teachers, and administrators develop quality library media programs. The first section summarizes the roles and responsibilities of the library media program. This is followed by a section that addresses personnel issues, including guidelines for professional and support staff; the…

Provides background information and copies a report by Marlys Cresap and Marilyn Nickelsburg on a statewide conference of children's librarians. Highlights include a survey of children's services in Iowa libraries and presentations on the history and philosophy of children's services (Margaret Bush) and the role of children's librarians (Barbara…

In order to assess community information needs and determine how the Burlington Public Library could plan to meet these needs, a community analysis project was undertaken. Specific objectives of the study were to: (1) prepare a descriptive statistical profile of the community; (2) describe the community environment, lifestyle, and information…

The role that rural libraries could have in increasing the awareness level of disability issues in their communities and in expanding opportunities for the disabled was studied in a survey of 401 rural Indiana and Iowa libraries. A review of the literature associated with rural rehabilitation services suggests that the two crucial barriers to the…

This document is the 1994 manual for the Iowa Summer Library Program. The 1994 theme will take children and librarians on adventures and journeys featuring the following themes and subtopics: shoes, feet, socks, giants and giant steps, nature trails, dancing, movement, travel and vacation trips, and fairy tale adventures, especially those that…