When American Association of School Librarians' (AASL) "Standards for the 21st Century Learner" were released in late 2007, librarians rushed to incorporate them in curricula at the local and state level and in existing lessons. After an initial frenzy of simply replacing old learning objectives with new ones, the field settled into the task of…

When the authors met through a mutual colleague, Gail Dickinson at Old Dominion University, Karen and Shana set about to examine issues that do not normally interest sociologists--the number of days school libraries are closed and whether or not library schedules (fixed or flexed) impact student achievement. However, Shana, a sociologist who…

One of the goals of the school library media specialist is to "Promote the library media program as an attractive, welcoming, and essential venue" (AASL 89). The media center should convey an atmosphere where students feel welcome. Creating media center memories can help library media specialists to achieve this goal. This article describes…

Over the past decade or so, gardens have been blossoming in schools all across the United States. These gardens are as varied as their schools and are as unique as each child who tends to them. Some are bountiful vegetable gardens, and others are arid natural habitat gardens. Some are acres of land with entire classes devoted to their teachings…

Closing a school library is not like switching out a broken computer with a working computer unit. Nor is it like moving a classroom of desks from one building to another. The collection is a wealth of information that is built and maintained to support the curriculum and student interests. It is a collection of categorized knowledge that must be…

Making changes in the school setting is not easy. However, it is possible if one looks beyond the library, to see how change can benefit the entire school. Just switching wording from the comfortable language of library lingo to a broader school perspective, made change possible in the author's school. In this article, the author shares her…

The author's first "real job" when she was fresh out of library school was working as a leave replacement for an elementary school media specialist. One of her first tasks as the interim media specialist was to help organize the fourth grade science fair. Using her recently acquired library school skills, she decided to call the local public…

The traditional American school schedule of about 180 days and about six-and-a-half hours per day seems fixed in stone. It has not changed since World War II. The author and his colleague Warren Goldstein have written a book, "Time to Learn: How a New School Schedule Is Making Smarter Kids, Happier Parents, and Safer Neighborhoods", in…

With the change in Ohio's Operating Standards in July of 2002, students across Ohio began losing school library learning opportunities. District after district made financially based decisions to minimize, and in a few cases totally eliminate, school library programs. Across the state, many of Ohio's children lost precious learning opportunities.…

Some economists have called the current U.S. economic environment the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Many educators and parents believe it is more important than ever for students to master financial literacy skills. To become successful and responsible 21st century citizens, students need to graduate globally competitive for…

The state of Virginia is in danger of cutting library resources to meet the state's Standards of Quality (SOQs), which assigns a minimum requirement for staffing a library. There is no greater time to advocate for school libraries. The author argues that now, more than ever, is the time to continue advocacy efforts to provide quality staffing for…

In this article, the author talks about the Florida Power-Library School (FPLS) program. She describes the why, who, what and how of the Florida Power-Library School initiative, as well as the favorable results for schools. Schools successfully completing this process see relationships among staff and community members strengthened. Library media…

As the world grows closer, as access to resources worldwide increases, as more students move from country to country, the need to connect with other librarians around the globe increases. Over the past few years, the author's participation in international associations and other professional activities has grown, which has expanded her own…

One calls people on the street strangers if he or she doesn't know who they are, so students whom the librarian has never dealt with are just that, strangers. When the school librarian gets involved in collaboration, most of the time they don't see the student's Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), language barriers, or anything else that…

School libraries can hardly keep graphic novels on their shelves. Enthusiasm for the genre has led many librarians to question how such novels might be infused into normal curricula. However, many librarians who have proposed such an integration have learned that their colleagues do not share their enthusiasm. From the teachers' perspective, it…