When talking about collection development, few school librarians think about databases. Databases provide learners with a one-stop shop for cross-curricular, up-to-date, vetted information in a structured and easy-to-manipulate format for class projects. To be successful learners, students need to know how to use a database to find the information…

Tripp Reade is the school librarian at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh, North Carolina. This article describes how he redesigned his school's library orientation program after learning about escape rooms and a variant known as puzzle rooms. Puzzle rooms present players with a set of challenges to solve; they require "teamwork,…

In this article, high school librarian Beth Ebenstein Mulch describes how she used iPads to introduce students at T. C. Williams High School (Alexandria, Virginia) to the school library. Her goal was for the library to come to life in front of new students and for them to learn from peers about all the great resources and services their library…

Looking for new way to teach high school students how to use the library and library resources? The HeLIOS (Hemingway Library Information Online Skills) tutorial, an online tool designed specifically for high school students, may be the answer. For the past two years, students at home, in classrooms, and at libraries throughout Utah have used…

Why is it important to prove that school libraries add value to the school program? The National Center for Education Statistics reports that 20 percent of U.S. public schools lack a full or part-time certified librarian (NCES 2013). In California the ratio of certified school librarians to students is 1:7,374 (California Department of Education…

School librarians should consistently build relationships to foster collaborative work. For the school librarian, collaboration begins with both the business side of the library and personal interactions. True collaborations involve varied partnerships with shared planning and responsibilities. A co-teacher is expected to share in all aspects of…

Dual credit students (those enrolled for both high school and postsecondary curricular credit) benefit from library instruction classes and provide an important opportunity for academic libraries to reach out to local K-12 schools. These classes benefit high school students whose excitement and enthusiasm make them uniquely open to acquiring…

A century ago, a woman named Mary E. Hall convinced school leaders of the need for the professional school librarian--a librarian who cultivated a love of reading, academic achievement, and independent learning skills. After graduating from New York City's Pratt Institute Library School in 1895, Hall developed her vision for the high school…

Today's principals must have knowledge of content area standards and be involved in curriculum planning and pacing. They assign strong master teachers as mentors to new teachers. They are involved in what's happening in their classrooms and practice ongoing assessment of the classroom teaching, focusing on improving student learning. Today's…

It's winter! While it is frosty outside, one can at least think warm thoughts by starting now to plan ahead for summer information literacy programs. This article is designed to provide some ideas for planning next summer's reading, sleuthing, and research programs. It features a variety of programs organized by academic librarians this past…

Teaching students the difference between good and bad information has become increasingly more difficult for librarians and other educators. While tools exist to help students to understand how to determine good and bad online information (Web site evaluation forms, techniques to link back to Web site owners, etc.), the reality is that most…

This article describes Tool for Real-time Assessment of Information Literacy Skills (TRAILS), a freely available, online tool designed to measure the information literacy skills of high school students. It is based on information literacy competencies for ninth-graders found in the "Ohio Academic Content Standards" (Ohio Department of Education…

While the promotion of literacy is a fundamental mission for all librarians, over the past decades the definition has expanded and, paradoxically, fragmented into various multiliteracies, such as computer literacy, visual literacy, media literacy, and so forth. From these, a broader concept of student competencies, one that includes both…

Coming up with interesting information literacy lessons can be challenging for the high school librarian. If school librarians have taught their upper class students well, most are prepared to navigate their way successfully through libraries and Internet resources. In this article, the author explores a unique high school project that resulted in…

In discussions about information literacy and required research assignments, several high school teachers lamented that student research papers had regressed to the point that the completed work represented nothing more than "point and click" exercises. Similarly, Asselin and Lee (2002, 10) began their article on the need for library instruction…