Describes experiences of a librarian who participated in the World Library Partnership to volunteer in a South African elementary school library during a summer. Discusses classroom teaching techniques; library technical processes; training library staff and teachers; student workers; story times; library instruction; and library policy. (LRW)

This document serves as a source of friendly, practical, and proven advice about running the elementary school library. The looseleaf notebook format allows for removal of forms for copying and for additional pages. Section 1, "Roles & Responsibilities: You Want Me To Do What? When?" considers the mission of the school librarian, and includes a…

Discusses the use of volunteers in school libraries. Topics include possible functions of volunteers, including the area of technology; interviewing potential volunteers; training needs and suggestions; effective supervision; and recognition of good work. (LRW)

This paper suggests practical ways in which children's language skills can be developed through the guidance of the school librarian and the resources of the school media center. Both children and teachers need to be actively involved in the development of the media center's programs: care and use of audiovisual equipment, visual displays of…

This curriculum guide identifies minimum library and media skills students should master as well as expanded and new library skills that should be introduced and developed in all elementary classrooms. It begins with the mission of the Passaic School District, a message to classroom teachers and elementary school librarians, the mission of the…

The San Francisco Unified School District applied for a grant under Title III, Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, to fund a program that would organize a media specialist, a resource teacher, and a classroom teacher into a "Communication Arts Team." The program would redefine and expand the role of each member of the team as they plan…

A series of articles provides suggestions on using classroom libraries. One article suggests filling the library with genre books to inspire critical reading, critical thinking, and learning across the curriculum (folktales, fairy tales, tall tales, historical fiction, biographies, and autobiographies). Another article presents information on…

Points out the techniques and practices school librarians intuitively use to encourage and enhance reading by children and notes that cooperation between instructors and librarians can do much to improve children's reading skills. (RAA)

Examines ways of evaluating school library media collections: size; checking the collection against recognized standard bibliographies; and calculating average collection age. Suggests frequency of curriculum revisions, average age of materials in standard bibliographies, and weeding guidelines as possible measures for comparison to collection…

Chapters in this volume discuss the problems that teachers, parents, and librarians face in encouraging elementary school children to read and suggest ways to improve student motivation and reading ability in this age of mass media. "Sparking the Fuse for Literacy" defines the complex term "literacy," and examines the effects of the media on…

Discusses how to write assessment instruments for student performance skills with computers that cannot be evaluated by standard paper and pencil tests and considers the library media specialist's role. Highlights include assessing content and the container, or format; using examples of high quality work; giving criteria; revisions; and using…

Offers suggestions for building school library collections in English and language arts. Discusses how the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) tests for proficiency in three purposes of reading and how it can be used to evaluate a library collection; and includes four annotated bibliographies of books suitable for elementary…

Discusses the use of cost analysis and cost-benefit analysis in school library media centers and gives an example that compares three alternative methods for processing books in an elementary school library media collection. Cost accountability factors, effects on personnel and users, and library goals and objectives are also discussed. (three…

Three articles describe methods for teaching library skills. The first presents a song used to teach students the Dewey Decimal system; the second describes a reading program incorporating Halloween and foreign countries; and the third includes short poems designed to teach students to care for library books properly. (CLB)

These proven 20-minute standards-based instructional lessons, organized by grade level, provide the resources needed to effectively teach library and information literacy skills to students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Based on American Association of School Librarians and Association for Educational Communications and Technology…