The government and society are increasingly questioning the value of libraries and higher education institutions (HEIs). While there is no one agreed upon standard of value or a way to measure it, both Library and Information Science (LIS) and Education research have suggested that library and educational resources and services should demonstrate…

Today's educators stand at the crossroads of globalization and technology. The world is rapidly shrinking. The workplace is being transformed before our very eyes. Technology is forever changing the way we perceive reality and the way we do business. Educators are required to equip students for a workplace that has yet to emerge. The skill sets of…

Opened in fall 2009, YOUmedia attracts high schoolaged teens who want a safe and welcoming place to hang out and socialize, as well as those with established or nascent interests in both digital and traditional media. With the guidance of staff and the synergy of peer involvement, participants discover and pursue their interests through both…

Whether a library's reference collection is large or small, it needs constant attention. Singer's book offers information and insight on best practices for reference collection management, no matter the size, and shows why managing without a plan is a recipe for clutter and confusion. In this very practical guide, reference librarians will learn:…

This paper reports on a research project that examined the test scores of students who took part in an online information literacy course. Researchers analyzed the pre- and post-test scores of students who received different types of instruction including a traditional one-shot library session and an online course. Results show that students who…

Three multivariate analyses, all controlling for the effects of poverty, confirm the importance of the library. Replicating McQuillan's analysis of 1992 NAEP scores, this study finds that access to books in school and public libraries was a significant predictor of 2007 fourth grade NAEP reading scores, as well as the difference between grade 4…

As more and more schools implement professional learning communities (PLCs), school librarians often ask: What is the role of school librarians in PLCs? What should they be doing to contribute? What are their colleagues in other schools doing? In this article the authors explore these questions by first describing eight potential roles for school…

When most people think about 4-H, they remember county fairs, livestock programs, and agricultural education. While these programs are still prominent, 4-H has grown in order to meet the growing demands of today's youth. The organization has expanded services and programs to serve rural, suburban, and urban youth in every state in the U.S. 4-H is…

New Canaan, Connecticut, is a community of approximately twenty thousand residents, located fifty miles northeast of New York City. It was ranked second in the nation as an education town within its demographic category, according to Schools.org. In 2005 the high school rolled out an interdisciplinary project with freshmen health teachers to embed…

Academic librarians at a mid-size university library developed an online information literacy tutorial that is easy to create, access, edit, and organize even for those with limited time and technological skills. Modular in structure, Project Information Literacy Online Tutorial (PILOT) includes interactive exercises, media, and self-testing as…

As schools around the country implement the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), teachers and school librarians are looking for ways to incorporate more engaging nonfiction reading. The quantity of informational texts students will be required to read will increase drastically, and students will be asked to apply higher-level thinking skills to…

An e-portfolio is an organized collection of professional work (artifacts), selected and reflected upon by the author, that represents a person's best efforts. Over time, an e-portfolio will reflect professional changes and growth. This article discusses some of the reasons for a school librarian to create an e-portfolio. Before creating an…

At present, about 20% of the scientific publications worldwide are freely (open-access) available (Bjork, Welling, Laakso, Majlender, Hedlund, & Guonason, 2010) and this percentage is constantly on the rise. In the Netherlands, a similar trend is visible (see Fig. 1). Why is open-access (OA) publishing important, and why will it become even…

This article considers Open Access (OA) training and the supports and structures in place in academic libraries in the United States from the perspective of a new librarian. OA programming is contextualized by the larger project of Scholarly Communication in academic libraries, and the two share a historical focus on journal literature and a…

Beginning in 2004, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) requires institutions seeking accreditation to develop a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) to improve student learning. QEP topics may be focused on a single educational initiative or may combine several efforts in order to enhance and assess student learning. While some plans…