In inquiry environments, assessment is integral to the learning process. This means that students not only assess their own work, but they also help identify the criteria for assessment and design the tools for measuring the quality of the performance. One critical assessment tool, which is being used in countless classrooms, is the rubric.…

Hearing some fun facts about books and authors can bring books to life and help ignite students' interest in books and reading. Because most elementary school media centers and public libraries have many of the Newbery Medal books, students will have a better chance of finding books they decide they want to read once they hear about them. Reading…

Media centers have been transformed from warehouses for books and equipment into the hub of the learning community. Media specialists keep the hub functioning properly. If school library media specialists are doing their job well, they are making a difference in the ways teachers teach and in the ways students learn. On any given day, a media…

Many school library media specialists, especially in elementary schools, establish library clubs and library monitor programs. In most cases, these clubs and programs are limited to students assisting with clerical duties in the library such as shelving books and manning the circulation desk under supervision. The library media specialist assigns…

Since the earliest days of the profession, school libraries have been establishing standards and guidelines to guide and shape school library programs. For the most part, the standards have shaped what programs are and what they do. Rarely has a set of standards focused on the content and process of what school libraries teach students. The…

Have you ever had a teacher say, "I'd love to bring my classes to the library more often, but we just don't have enough time because we have to prepare for our state standardized tests?" This response stems from a misconception about the role of library media centers and library media specialists. In some school environments, the library media…

Describes the evaluation of school librarians in Australia, including who should do the evaluating and reasons for evaluation. Questions the accuracy of perceptions of the librarian's role by some evaluators and presents a model for evaluating the library evaluators to encourage administrative support for the library. (LRW)

Across the country, school improvement plans and school improvement committees are the guiding forces in schools. As school improvement plans are created, revised, and evaluated, library media specialists have an opportunity to demonstrate how they can play a critical part in the team that strives to increase student achievement in their building.…

Today's schools place a great emphasis on encouraging community service. At Raytown South Middle School, Library Helpers and community service go hand in hand. As of the beginning of April, 34 sixth, seventh, and eighth grade Library Helpers have come to the library media center 427 times and given 185 hours of community service. They have shelved…

In this article, the author discusses and provides some examples on how students and teachers should use library media centers. He also discusses the common problems with facilities design as it changes along with other aspects of society. He states that flexibility in design ensures that the physical facility will meet future program needs.…

Classrooms are places for learning. The library media center, which is the library media specialist's classroom, should also be a major place for learning. The author, as a classroom teacher for 20 years, knows that for learning to take place, consistency is crucial. Realistic rules and enforcement of these rules helps with this consistency.…

The rationale behind weeding books is to remove dated, obsolete, erroneous material and worn books in disrepair from the collection to make room for current titles. Students of Lakeview have discovered an innovative idea of creating an altered book from the weeded book by taking a hardcover book and changing the original cover by means of a…

Johnson Doug, a representative of the state library association decided to speak to the board members of the Left Overshoe Independent Schools when they threatened to implement a budgetary cut for the library school program. The local parents and teachers should testify to the board the advantages of a library program and raise voice against…

There is a curriculum ready, willing, and able to remedy the US' significant information literacy deficiency. So why doesn't anyone know about information literacy standards? In a recent editorial column by Carol Simpson, she offers three suggestions: (1) library media specialists are not doing a good job spreading the word; (2) The standards are…

First Class Education, an organization based in Washington D.C., is trying to persuade the voting public to pass a law that could eliminate school libraries and many other educational support services. First Class Education promotes the idea that sixty-five percent of instructional money should be spent in the classroom. At first blush, this…