Ray Palin, librarian at Sunapee Middle High School in Sunapee, New Hampshire describes what it takes to make the school library a space for those looking for "peace and quiet." Palin begins this article by noting that much has been written about the advantages associated with the learning commons model of library design, however less has…

Six years ago Jessica Gilcreast accepted the position as the school librarian in a diverse urban elementary school (80 percent low-income student population). The library had a bare-bones automation system, block scheduling, and no library assistant. None of this, however, was her biggest challenge. Inheriting an institutional, cold,…

This article discusses the importance of designing a library media center that engages students in constructing new knowledge. The author describes the planning stages of a new library facility. In the early planning stages, the author focused on the expectations of the administration. She soon realized that they had included all the…

This article describes how the author changed a gloomy and outdated library into a cheery and welcoming place for teaching and learning. When the author was hired as the new library media specialist at Tri-County Career Center Library in Nelsonville, Ohio, the library was antiquated, uncomfortable, and not geared for the present-day hills of…