School librarians in Alaska have worked diligently to see the American Association (AASL) Standards Framework for Learners adopted by the state board of education from December 2018 until September 2020, when they were approved by the Alaska State Board of Education. The standards will be formally adopted after being signed by Alaska's Lieutenant…

Social capital, in the form of relationships among teachers, results in sharing information and resources, which leads to improved student academic achievement. However, school librarians in secondary schools often face challenges when it comes to collaboration. Not surprisingly, collaboration between teachers and librarians is a major focus of…

Today school library media specialists operate in an environment of daily challenges and controversies. "No Child Left Behind" established mandates that all educators are scrambling to meet. No matter how people feel about the way the legislation is being carried out, it is difficult to argue against its purpose--that all educators must…

Papers presented at the annual conference of the Alaska Library Association (AkLA) focused on the Alaska Library Network with special emphasis on collection development and resource sharing through networking. Papers and reports from the conference, some of which have been updated, are presented in six chapters. The first provides an overview of…

Developed as part of a statewide coordinated collection development effort, this document is a compendium of the narrative statements of collection development policies from 19 Alaskan university, public, school, and special libraries. Only the basic narrative plus any unique appendices are included for each policy, and some of the policies are…

Three sets of library arrangement guidelines are given for the small-school teacher. These guidelines relate to (1) order and receipt of materials, (2) classification and cataloging, and (3) care and repair of books. Details are given for establishing the card catalog, arranging books according to Dewey Classification, and organizing non-book…

This guide is a general introduction to school libraries with specific information for libraries in Alaska. More than 60% of the nearly 500 public schools in Alaska have fewer than 200 students, and it is not unusual to find school libraries staffed by people with little or no preparation. This guide answers many frequently asked questions. The…

Developed to encourage and promote the establishment and maintenance of standards of excellence in all school library media centers, standards presented here are designed to be the minimum acceptable for Alaska schools. Each school is urged to use the standards as a base to develop a quality library media program which reflects the unique…

This study is an assessment of the impact of Alaska school librarians on academic achievement in the state's public schools. It examines the direct relationship between such staffing and student performance and identifies selected activities of library media staff that affect test scores. Other conditions of library media center operation were…

This directory of Alaska's Libraries lists: members of the Alaska Library Association (AkLA) Executive Council and Committee Chairs; State Board of Education members; members of the Governor's Advisory Council on Libraries; school, academic and public libraries and their addresses, phone and fax numbers, and contact persons; personal,…

This manual is intended to help library staff maximize their work by providing information and references to many of the "frequently asked questions." There are two parts to the manual. The "Overview" is an introduction to school librarianship in Alaska that discusses putting school libraries in perspective; managing the school…

Reports the results of three statewide studies in Alaska, Colorado, and Pennsylvania, which show that a school library media program with a full-time library media specialist, support staff, and a strong computer network leads to higher student achievement as evidenced on standardized achievement tests. (LRW)

An interview with Lindy Davis, school librarian in Delta Junction, Alaska. (PF)

In remote Bristol Bay (Alaska), award-winning librarian Tiki Levinson built a library program that inspired students to read and teachers to embrace new resources for their classrooms. She recommends new books and Web sites to students and teachers and searches avidly for new resources that might pique a child's interest or meet a teacher's needs.…

Describes events in Fairbanks (Alaska) resulting from an attempt by some community members to remove a book about homosexuality from the high school library. The discussion covers community reactions, media coverage, and a school board campaign that focused on this issue. Tabbert's speech the night of the vote is presented in the second article.…