Family Literacy Night is an exciting way to engage students and their parents in meaningful literacy activities while building community spirit and strengthening the partnership between school and home. It is an opportunity for students to show their parents what they do in school; how they create in the computer lab, how they work in the art…

Librarians might remember that day, whether it was a month ago or over ten years ago. They may have asked themselves what they needed to know, how they should do it, how they could improve it, and, if change was needed, whether they could effect change with ease or would be met with opposition? Did they go in like lambs and become lions, or learn…

This article offers some collaborative ideas that promote reading in the summer and throughout the year. These easy and economical ideas can be adapted and implemented to meet the needs of students. Collaboration can be the key to creating a program that offers more to students via many helping hands. Drawing upon the strengths and expertise of…

In today's knowledge economy, both high school and university educators must ensure that students are equipped with the proficiencies needed to transition from high school to college and, ultimately, from college to the workplace. As librarians at Arizona State University (ASU), the authors sought to develop a local program that would support this…

How can library media specialists encourage kids to read outside the curriculum and maintain this reading beyond elementary school? What does it take to get children involved in recreational reading and turn their focus to books? At Sycamore Elementary School in Avon, Indiana, library media specialists have organized reading programs which have…

It's time for a sweeping new approach to information literacy learning! The sad truth is that few, if any, information literacy efforts in schools have fulfilled the promise of a "comprehensive" information literacy program: (1) A comprehensive program should reach "all" students in the school; (2) A comprehensive program should be "predictable"…

People don't just live in a material world anymore. They live in a digital world. Today's students have grown up with technology and the Internet. Like most people, they cannot thrive in their daily lives without the use of a digital device. In this article, the author suggests that teachers match their teaching strategies to the learning styles…

Reading advocacy is an essential aspect of school librarians' role. Using their knowledge of students, school librarians provide reader's advisory, matching books to individuals based on their interests, aptitudes, and abilities. They know that reading skills are an integral part of academic achievement and work to accelerate this important…

Educators have a great challenge to meet--they need to re-energize education and help change students' learning experiences so that they are relevant and effective for the 21st century. One of the most powerful ways to do this is to incorporate videoconferencing as part of what happens in their school and district. Videoconferencing provides…

Implementing new and advanced technology for instruction and access to the curriculum for the increasingly diverse student populations in schools can be a daunting task for even the most tech-savvy school personnel. This task can be even more challenging when devices, tools, and systems associated with assistive, or adaptive, technology are part…

Collaboration in the library need not always follow the standard pattern of "one" library media specialist working with "one" core teacher. Why not toss an art or drama instructor into the mix and watch the fun and excitement intensify? In this day of testing and curriculum standards, creative projects involving several staff members are too often…

The LMS and library media program standards were written to reflect the 21st century learner. The most current documents, "Standards for the 21st-Century Learner" and "Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in Action", have embraced the 21st century learner jargon, despite how vaguely the terms are defined. The library standards, although written…

School librarians know the importance of collaboration. They cannot run effective school library programs unless they work closely with classroom teachers. They have learned that deep collaboration is a fluid process that evolves over time. Only as connections are made and relationships are forged can real instructional progress occur. Yet it…

In 2003 the Public Education Network developed the pilot Revitalizing High School Libraries (RHSL) initiative, funded by The New York Life Foundation. Based on the Library Power Program, it included many of the same features--collaborative planning, flexible scheduling, collection development, and facility renovation--with a focus on how this…

Developing lifelong readers is integral to the role of the librarian. Facilitating, encouraging, and promoting reading is not an add-on to the job. Consider the role librarians play in developing readers in school. They know they are contributors; they must make sure the school community is aware of their valuable role in supporting the five…