Title I legislation was enacted in 1965 under the Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged Act. The goal of Title I was to support disadvantaged students in achieving academic excellence and to close the achievement gap between disadvantaged students and students from high socioeconomic backgrounds. Despite billions of dollars, and…

These days it seems like school librarians are under attack, if not already an endangered species. After eight years of the No Child Left Behind Act--which, paradoxically, chipped away at many library positions--recent state and local budget shortfalls have led to rounds and rounds of layoffs for school librarians. While things are tough in the…

The Position Statement on the School Library Media Specialist's Role in Reading, adopted by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Board in February 2009, is a guide to help practitioners build library programs that support every learner's development in reading. As part of the Learning4Life (L4L) plan to implement the Standards for…

Winter 2007 marked an episode of high anxiety in the library science profession, when the latest Newbery winner, "The Higher Power of Lucky," triggered discussion about words and their suitability for young readers. It seems that the entire world now knows that the word "scrotum" appears on the first page of the book. School…

Soviet libraries play a great role in the spiritual life of the country, in the education and enlightenment of broad sections of the population, and in dissemination of the cultural, scientific and technical achievements among the people. Due to this care and broad initiative of the people, the U.S.S.R. has the largest number of networks of…

Argues that in an age of information overload, the public library role is to promote books and reading and warns that public libraries that focus on technologies and information services will become cogs in the engine of material progress rather than fulfilling their role as sources of knowledge. (19 references) (EJS)

Designed to help librarians plan a summer reading program around the theme of bears called "have a bearable summer," this activity guide presents many activities and organizational suggestions. The first section of the guide deals with publicity and public relations, while the second section covers story time activities. The third…

Because studies have found that children can lose a year in their reading skills and motivation during summers, this planning guide suggests ways for librarians to interest children in a summer reading program by appealing to their fascination with bears and teddy bears. The guide is organized chronologically, beginning with a timetable, followed…

The following subject categories are included in this list of bibliographies: Aids in book selection, cataloging and classification, censorship and intellectual freedom, publicity, selected list of basic and inexpensive materials on Michigan, non-book materials, organization and administration of the media center, library for the blind and…