Describes three library activities designed to be used with specific curriculum units on reading and language arts and social studies. Using the parts of a book is taught with the Guinness Book of World Records, and use of encyclopedias and the card catalog with projects on the ancient Greeks and Indians. (EM)

Respondents to a survey of educational software producers to determine extent to which computer assisted instruction courseware is fieldtested, and what this process involves, indicate that 52% fieldtested all their software. The relevance of these results to school media specialists and their role in selecting and evaluating software is…

Discusses the importance of preservation as a priority for all librarians and explains the basics of controlling environmental factors, disaster planning, book repair, educating students, selection and preservation, ephemera, and library binding in the context of school libraries. Specific examples in the school library environment are included.…

Description of how library media specialists can assist teachers and administrators in retrieving useful information by using ERIC highlights its organization, the types of materials available that are especially useful to classroom teachers, and ways that it can be accessed online. A list of ERIC Clearinghouses with addresses is included. (EM)

Argues that the master's degree awarded by a graduate program accredited by the American Library Association is the requisite credential for youth services librarianship. Problem areas discussed include the departmental location of education for youth services librarians, the development of skills standards, and the need for identifying career…

Reports results of study which investigated kinds of professional development activities engaged in by school library media specialists. Values and types of professional development activities, amount of input to district library media policy, release time provided, and other factors influencing professional development activities are noted.…

Offers suggestions for training inexperienced, untrained child caregivers in early childhood care programs. (HOD)

Presents results of survey of 200 Nebraskan media specialists conducted to determine extent to which school librarians are involved in processing print and nonprint materials and the tools they use. Classification and subject heading systems used, authority for main entry choice, and other authorities consulted are noted. Questionnaire is…

This article describes how the assessment center has enhanced the service and training facilities of the University of Utah and suggests ways in which universities can make significant contributions to the assessment center through research. (TE)

Discussion of school library media specialist's involvement in reconsideration of materials from library media collection focuses on what media specialist should bring to complaint situation (school board-approved materials selection policy, training and experience, knowledge of available resources in intellectual freedom) and reconsideration…

Raising some of the most challenging questions in the field, this call-to-arms focuses on the important services gifted programs provide, the potential crisis gifted educators face, and what must be done to keep the gifted child movement alive and well. Key features include: (1) James J. Gallagher's unflinching account of the issues that continue…

In developing the 1999-2000 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), a special effort was made to include questions that would help determine the extent to which the characteristics of professional development policies and practices were consistent with the emerging consensus on the key features of professional development as described by Hawley and…

The DeWitt Wallace-Readers Digest Library Power Initiative has been instrumental in precipitating reform efforts in school libraries. National Library Power programs have strengthened the role of the school library media specialist and the school library program. The initiative emphasizes that library media specialists integrate information…

This study initiated service request sheets, evaluated reference services provided by the staff of the Cleveland Law Library (Cuyahoga County, Ohio) for the time period April-September, 1995. Five thousand and fifty-two questions were included in the study, of which 2,949 were of the type in which reference service was provided. The other 2,103…

This book is a guide to teaching orientation and mobility (O&M) skills to students with visual impairments in the public schools. The first chapter offers an overview of the nature and responsibilities of the orientation and mobility specialist and explains the fields legal underpinnings. Next comes a look at O&M in relation to the school year…