This report presents tabulations for the 2008 Academic Libraries Survey (ALS) conducted by the United States Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the Institute of Education Sciences. This First Look summarizes services, staff, collections, and expenditures of academic libraries in 2- and 4-year,…

Developing and updating subject knowledge is an important and ongoing area of professional development. As well as formal subject-specific CPD, teachers can extend their pedagogical subject knowledge by researching and using curriculum materials. This article reviews the resources available from the National STEM Centre eLibrary to help teachers…

This paper aims to provide the reader with a comprehensive background for understanding current knowledge on Learning Analytics (LA) and Educational Data Mining (EDM) and its impact on adaptive learning. It constitutes an overview of empirical evidence behind key objectives of the potential adoption of LA/EDM in generic educational strategic…

This author contends that there never has been a need for the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), and there is no evidence that it will do students any good. The Common Core ignores the real problem in American education: poverty. The Common Core movement will be a disaster for libraries and will have a negative impact on nearly every aspect of…

Faculty status, tenure, and professional identity have been long-lasting issues for academic librarians for nearly forty years, yet there is little agreement on the benefits of faculty status. This paper examines faculty status and tenure for academic librarians and presents the results of a survey inquiry into professional identity, current and…

Web 2.0 technology has drawn much attention recently as a fascinating tool for Information Literacy Instruction (ILI), especially in academic libraries. This research was aimed to investigate the implementation of Web 2.0 technology for ILI in Thai university libraries, in terms of information literacy skills being taught, types of Web 2.0…

Evaluation of instructional personnel is standard procedure in our Pre-K-12 public schools, and its purpose is to document educator effectiveness. With Race to the Top and No Child Left Behind waivers, states are required to implement performance-based evaluations that demonstrate student academic progress. This three-year study describes the…

We introduce an interactive online resource for use by students and college instructors in introductory astronomy courses. The General Education Astronomy Source (GEAS) online tutor guides students developing mastery of core astronomical concepts and mathematical applications of general astronomy material. It contains over 12,000 questions, with…

This paper describes a public pedagogy project embedded into The Global Teacher, a subject within the Bachelor of Education program for student teachers at an Australian university. The subject provides a global perspective on socio-political issues that shape education. In 2013, The Global Teacher introduced an approach that asked student…

Like other disciplines, organizational and technological innovations have influenced the standard philosophies of librarianship. These innovations have changed the basics of information retrieval and delivery in libraries. As a result, library authorities are demanding competency-based job performance. Nonetheless, there is a scarcity of research…

Debates typically invoke an image of individuals arguing over the merits of opposing viewpoints. However, the term has a softer, more deliberative sense that connotes reflection, discussion, and consideration. The 2009 WebWise conference, titled "Digital Debates," was conducted in this spirit, with panelists and attendees engaged in…

The days of top-down communication and controlled internal messages at a library organization are--or should be--behind us. Modern libraries must be fluid and flexible organizations with equally nimble internal communication infrastructures in place to keep up with the fast-paced environments that have been created in these organizations. As is…

Reviews are an important resource for readers' advisory and collection development. They are also a helpful promotional tool, introducing patrons to what is new on the shelf. This resource includes: (1) Tips for writing strong, relevant reviews; (2) Different ways reviews can be used to promote your library; and (3) A chapter by Joyce Saricks…

This article presents an interview with two effective spokespeople, notable school librarian Sara Kelly Johns and retired public library administrator Molly Raphael, who compete to be American Library Association (ALA) president. One of them will be elected president of ALA for a year's term beginning in July 2011. Each candidate comes from a…

According to the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy, it is estimated that 93 million adults in the United States have basic or below basic literacy skills. Those individuals found most lacking in literacy skills were adults living in poverty, adults lacking a high school diploma, seniors and the elderly aged 65 and older, the more than one…