Popular culture texts are widely desired by many elementary students, and yet some teachers do not value the use of popular culture texts in the classroom (Lambirth, 2003; Marsh 2006). The purpose of this research was to explore two, Title I elementary teachers' perceptions of the use of popular culture texts during independent reading. Data…

How might book introductions open up spaces for critical literacy? This is the research question we asked while examining the records of teaching and learning within a yearlong teacher-research project in a second grade classroom. We designed a series of literacy units focused on themes of human rights, freedom, peace, and civil rights. Our focus…

The researchers investigated the effects of listening to expository text on the listening comprehension and book choice of 77 first-grade students. Two intact classes of experimental children heard expository read-alouds over four weeks while two intact classes of 40 controls received no intervention and followed their teacher's normal read-aloud…

Published just over a half century ago, "Schedules of Reinforcement" (SOR) (Ferster & Skinner, 1957) marked the seminal empirical contribution of the book's second author and ushered in an era of research on behavior-environment relationships. This article traces the origins of both the methods and the data presented in SOR, and its legacy within…

The Coretta Scott King (CSK) Award, instituted in 1969 and recognized as an official award by the American Library Association (ALA) in 1982, is conferred annually to an African American author and an illustrator for their outstanding contributions to literature about the Black experience for children and young adults. A partial impetus for the…

The author suggests that it is impossible to motivate students. He said that in fact, it's not really possible to motivate anyone, except perhaps oneself. What a teacher "can" do--"all" a teacher can do--is work with students to create a classroom culture, a climate, a curriculum that will nourish and sustain the fundamental inclinations that…

Librarians are in an excellent position to conduct media research that could better inform us of transactions'' between books, films, tapes, and students. They need to actively create and promote programs that attract a larger community, especially the nearly invisible disadvantaged who can be found everywhere. (Author/NH)

Describes the rationale for implementing a book club or a book discussion in college developmental reading classes in order to offer both the instructor and the students a chance to interact with the text and peers. Gives instructions on how one can implement a book club including details about the entire process. (Contains 18 references and 2…

The author discusses her anthology, focusing on the choice of ideas and subjects and the selection of poems best suited to express them. (RM)

Discusses the increasing rate of book losses in libraries and some ways to combat the problem. Topics covered include: who steals; what is being taken; how much is disappearing; results of loss; theft detection systems; effectiveness of detection systems; whether you should invest in a system; and mutilation, an unwanted by-product. (JPF)

At the Library of the University of British Columbia, computers are used for a variety of tasks, including the control of book and serial acquisitions. The computer-produced circulation records have been employed to study the use of library materials at U.B.C. in three distinct areas. There have been studies of use in relation to loan policy,…

Although all library security systems reduce losses, there are significant differences among them in terms of types of protection, cost, and false alarms. Systems from five companies are assessed: 3M, Checkpoint, Gaylord, Knogo, and Sentronic International. (JPF)

Discusses the pros and cons of the increased willingness of university presses to include trade books within their lists. Describes an experiment in which the same manuscript dealing with a nonacademic subject was submitted for publication at five university presses. (JP)

Discusses what to consider when purchasing basic equipment and books for a preschool program. Book title suggestions are given and materials suppliers listed. (SB)

NINETY PERCENT OF THE TWENTY-SEVEN MILLION AMERICANS WHO DID NOT HAVE ACCESS TO LOCAL PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN 1956 WERE FROM RURAL AREAS, WHILE ANOTHER FIFTY-THREE MILLION HAD ACCESS ONLY TO INADEQUATE PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE. THE PROBLEM ARISES FROM THE APPARENT DIFFICULTY OF PROVIDING GOOD LIBRARY SERVICE WHERE TOWNS ARE SMALL AND RURAL PEOPLE ARE…