In spring 2024, the Multicounty Multitype Library Systems, supported by State Library Services, conducted a census of K-12 public and charter schools in Minnesota to learn about the status of school libraries. A total of 1,528 out of 1,777 eligible schools completed the census. The findings can help legislators, school staff, librarians, and…

Assessment and evaluation are sometimes difficult things to discuss, and we often think of them as once-and-done end results. However, assessing where you are in the learning process should be an ongoing activity, and formative assessments can provide valuable information about what the next (or first) steps should be to approach a learning…

Keeping pace with the rapid advance of library technology and electronic services can be both exciting and daunting, especially for libraries with a small (but mighty!) staff. Out of necessity, small staffs often undertake many disparate tasks to keep electronic resources running smoothly for users. Because of these constraints, it is useful for…

The purpose of this manual is an introduction to the concept of organizational learning for librarians working in for-profit colleges and universities, though the suggestions and ideas herein are applicable to librarians working in a variety of institutions. Information in this manual was collected through a literature review, as well as the…

Reaching the "leadership zone" happens when librarians tap into the extraordinary skills lying within to overcome obstacles and transform sometimes-difficult situations into meaningful outcomes. Maturing into an experienced leader who stays in the leadership zone requires knowledge, training, and practice. This article provides tactical…

This report presents strategies for providing efficient and affordable interlending of actual physical items from special collections for research purposes, as well as advice on determining if a loan is the most appropriate way to fulfill a particular request. Lending physical items ranks among the most divisive issues in the field of archives and…

Sharing expertise gleaned from more than two decades as a library security manager, Graham demonstrates that libraries can maintain their best traditions of openness and public access by creating an unobtrusive yet effective security plan. In straightforward language, the author: (1) Shows how to easily set clear expectations for visitors'…

In January 2012, a group of four school library professors attending the ALA Midwinter Meeting were having lunch and discussing various issues related to the school library field. These school library professors agreed that one challenge facing the profession is preparing future leaders. As current school library leaders retire, it is difficult to…

The article examines some of the non-routine challenges that an academic library director can expect to deal with during his or her career. Each challenge is discussed in a paragraph or two, beginning by characterizing the challenge as an animal that serves as a metaphor for unusual but nonetheless important conditions that can, sooner or later,…

When 250 employees of Lincoln Public Schools (LPS) in Lincoln, Nebraska, left their workspaces in the administration building on Friday, May 25, 2011, they thought the only thing that was significant was that it was the last day of the 2010-2011 school year. However, on Monday evening, May 30, 2011, during a wind and rain storm, the 90,000 square…

In this era of higher student enrollment coupled with budget cuts, some school library professionals are considering retirement, while others are standing up to defend the profession they know has a strong positive impact on student learning. Many school librarians who weather difficulties do so by choosing to find energy in the challenges of…

School library budgets are about as miserably low or nonexistent as many librarians have ever seen. The population of school librarians who have not just one, but "many" school libraries to manage is growing. Time and funds are short, and needs for books, programming, and technology are high. Grant money is out there for librarians, and the author…

Moving a library media center takes time, energy, and organization. As the sole media specialist/librarian for a new facility, this author has experienced moving material from another school. She learned a great deal and had help from people who volunteered their time and energy to make it happen. Although she does not claim to be a moving expert,…

Fire, water, mold, construction problems, power-outages--mishaps like these can not only bring library services to a grinding halt, but can also destroy collections and even endanger employees. Preparing for the unexpected is the foundation of a library's best response. Expert Kahn comes to the rescue with this timely update of the best…

Selecting materials for school libraries has always been a challenging task, but it has become much more complicated in the 21st Century. A school librarian at a junior high in the late 1990s could allot a certain portion of her budget for reference books, the general circulating collection, a few audiovisual materials, and newspapers and…