Many librarians work in public libraries to make a difference for children, families, and communities and identify family and community engagement as a cornerstone of their responsibilities. For librarians to be successful they must be afforded strong foundations in family and community engagement that begin early in their preparation. Yet little…

For the Spring 2015 semester of the Public Library Management course, students were given digital badges along with grades for their coursework. For each topic's corresponding assignment, students received a traditional grade and those achieving at least an A- received a digital badge that represented the skill or knowledge demonstrated. By using…

The paper reports on a collaborative education model involving library education, faculty and public library practitioners preparing under-represented and culturally diverse individuals for employment as support staff in public libraries. The Urban Library Program (ULP) is an intensive ten month education certificate at the para-professional…