Reports on a study conducted by the Northern Illinois Learning Resources Cooperative to determine requirements and develop recommendations for a statewide library telecommunications network. Covers the results of a statewide needs assessment, the current status of library and educational telecommunications, trends, functional design criteria, and…

Describes the life cycle of children's and adolescents' books, distinguishing between out of print and out of stock materials. The relationship between children's librarians' reliance on review media and their perception of an out of print crisis is examined, and suggestions are offered for ensuring that ordered titles are available. (CLB)

Reviews curriculum guides and the research literature to examine locational skills instruction in elementary schools and the transferability of skills to the public library. Factors that may limit instructional effectiveness are identified and the need for public children's librarians to have realistic expectations of children's abilities to…

Discussion of several of the objectives in Information Power, the new American Association of School Librarians/Association for Educational Communications and Technology guidelines for library media specialists, considers such topics as access to information and the role of the media specialist. (eight references) (MES)

Abstracts describe five research projects which investigated a library-based computer-assisted writing program; high school library media specialists with exemplary programs; the impact of access to an academic library via online catalog for college bound students; transferability of library research skills from high school to college; and the…

Describes a study of the characteristics of students using the services of Mount Royal College's Learning Skills Center. Compares center clientele with the general student body in terms of gender, age, year and program of study, enrollment status, first language, and referral source. Center clientele were predominantly female and in their first…

Outlines steps for school library media centers planning for regional cooperative collection development (CCD) based on the use of a conspectus. CCD and resource sharing are contrasted; and use of the conspectus for analyzing the current collection, studying growth and use trends, and deciding future collection needs is explained. Conspectus…

Reviews 13 dissertations completed between 1992 and 1994 as well as 8dissertations in progress that are relevant to the school library media field. Topics include children's literature, information retrieval, media production, international school librarianship, and use of the library. (LRW)

Describes a project sponsored by a grant from the American Association of School Librarians and the Highsmith Corporation that focused on elementary curriculum integration of the library media program, collaboration between teachers and media specialists based on roles suggested in "Information Power," and flexible or fixed scheduling of…

To raise money for a high school learning resource center, a librarian produced a cookbook from recipes gathered at local community events. The process included typing the recipes in WordPerfect, photocopying, obtaining a cover design, cutting and collating, and binding. Two thousand cookbooks were made and 875 were sold. At $10 a copy, a $750…

Discusses budgeting strategies for school media technology programs. Highlights include sources for school funding, school district budget information, control of the budget, how to write an effective budget, working with other community and school groups, local politics, and sidebars that discuss spreadsheets and maintenance budgets. (LRW)

Reports the results of a nationwide survey of school library media centers. Highlights include information from 38 states on the number of school-age children enrolled in public education; the number of certified school library media specialists; and the current status of educational funding for school library media centers. (LRW)

Discusses the importance of Boolean searching as a skill that students will need in the future. Methods for teaching Boolean searching are described, and the value of truncation as an online searching aid is considered. (MES)

A study of teachers' experiences in four schools suggests that successful implementation of cooperatively planned, resource-based teaching is dependent upon continuous and visible administrative support, shared leadership, and opportunities for teachers to share their ideas and successes with one another. (six references) (EA)

Reports on observations of two middle school achievers and two low achievers during the research process to discover why high achievers utilize the teacher librarian more often. Discusses the findings that students' self-confidence plays a role and that observation and interaction with students have value in the teaching process. (two references)…