Raising awareness of the value of programs through publishing a library newsletter is recommended. It is suggested that besides writing about local library events one should write articles that teachers could use, as useful articles will attract more readers.

Donna Walters remembers her twenty-five years of service as a library media specialist and compares her last twenty-five years to an open book that she would like to call "All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in the Media Center". The book would carry dedications to two groups, the students, as each student is a gift from God and teachers, as they…

The Golden Rule which combines the two bodies of ethics namely Codes of Ethics (Gerhardt 1990) and Association for Educational Communications and Technology code (AECT) plays an important rule in analyzing the two codes of ethics that affect school librarianship, which is aimed to keep the patrons safe and secure. Some of the ways in which library…

Library media centers need to present the data they collect in a way that attracts funding from sources that increasingly look to quantifiable measures rather than qualitative reports before parting with money. Tips on how to compile numbers through Automatic Data Generation as well as Manual Data Generation are offered.

A short newspaper or magazine article can be used by teachers and librarians to boost students' reading comprehension, increase background knowledge, and enhance vocabulary skills. This method can be a powerful bridge to reading longer articles and eventually lead to reading entire books. This article presents a few types of articles for…

School librarians occupy a space rich in resources and numeracy. They are thus positioned to offer resources and standards that promote inquiry, drawing conclusions, real world connections, and aesthetic enjoyment. Part of their task with teachers is to create those connections with curriculum and students. School librarians' collections are aswim…

As advocates for reading, librarians cannot help but love a reading program. In this article, the author talks about the Battle of the Books, a reading enrichment program that had been in place since 1996. Battle of the Books promotes reading among middle school students by offering interesting books and a trivia-type competition. The author…

Collaboration empowers everyone in different ways: in the school setting it brings partnerships with colleagues and relevance to the cycle of ongoing instructional improvement; in a regional setting it provides an understanding of the various facets that make up an exemplary library media program along with the challenges of the classroom. The…

Media specialists are never done learning technology. They can't truly learn in isolation and they are not ever settled in their roles as collaborator and teacher. Selecting literature and managing collections is an "old school" role. Just like language evolves, just like the town grange has evolved from a listserv, forum, to a wiki, media…

School media specialists hold the key to ensuring successful research projects that bring the world, and its vast amount of information, into a manageable perspective. More than ever, professionals in school libraries have the responsibility of guiding students to become information literate citizens in this new century. An important contribution…

In this article, the author discusses how a librarian of a school can be a source of support for first year teachers. Not only can the library media specialist provide the new teacher with a variety of resources, but also with a unique perspective. Just as the administrative assistant and financial director help the new teacher understand the…

Many schools are experiencing substantial growth in the Hispanic student population. These students need books written in Spanish and in English as well as bilingual books. The focus of this article is analyzing the content of the books in the collection, whether in English or Spanish. Standards discuss that the diverse needs, multicultural…

Today's students are bombarded with digital imagery and sound nearly 24 hours of the day. Video use in the classroom is engaging, and a teacher can instantly grab her students' attention. The content of the videos comes from many sources; the curriculum, the student handbook, and even the school rules. By creating the videos, teachers are not only…

On October 10, 2008 the "Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act" was signed. This law requires schools receiving federal E-rate discounts on Internet services to educate their students on appropriate online behavior. Many states including Virginia have mandated Internet Safety education in all grade levels as part of technology education.…

History teaches that a lack of disaster awareness and preparation are common threads among all major weather-related disasters. Weather hazards come in many forms: storm surge, high winds, blizzards, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, or a combination of these. It is important for both family and work colleagues to have an action plan…