Battle of the Books is a high school book-knowledge competition. This paper describes the Battle of the Books competitions held yearly in Montreal, Quebec since 2013. The competition provides an opportunity for students who are not necessarily athletically inclined to experience competition and belonging to a team. The author outlines the history…

This study aimed to employ machine learning techniques to uncover the pivotal determinants influencing the reading proficiency of fourth-grade students across 65 regions, as participants in the PIRLS 2021 assessment. The primary objective was to discern and assess key factors at the student, family and school levels that predict high and low…

Although teacher librarians play a role as literacy and literature educators in schools, little research attention is given to this role. In addition, the use of book discussion in school libraries to enhance reading engagement is not often closely considered as an educative practice. This paper draws on qualitative research findings from…

Globally, there is great interest in enhancing young children's literacy development as a route to improving worldwide literacy. To contribute to this area of interest, this paper reports findings from a multi-pronged early-literacy program designed to improve the print-knowledge of young children in Yucatec Mayan villages. The school-based…

How can we as librarians bring children and books from a variety of cultures and backgrounds together to create a more internationally literate community? This workshop addresses that question with a discussion of what it means to be internationally literate as well as internationally-minded, followed by an outline of some evaluation criteria…

Despite rapid and continued adoption of mobile devices, few learning modes integrate with mobile technologies and libraries' environments as innovative learning modes that emphasize the key roles of libraries in facilitating learning. In addition, some education experts have claimed that transmitting knowledge to learners is not the only…

This publication follows the tradition of publishing selected papers from the Pacific Islands Association of Libraries, Archives and Museums (PIALA) annual conferences. This 24th annual conference was held in Koror, Republic of Palau, November 10-15, 2014. This volume includes a listing of the PIALA 2014 Organizing Committee and PIALA Officers and…

Since 1945, a method of catalog classification, originally devised by H.W. Eppelsheimer for the Mainz City Library, has found wide acceptance. It is a complex of catalogs which combines features of both subject classification and alphabetical subject indexing. (25 references) (Author/NH)

Explores complexities of book controversies in Canadian schools. Canada lacks clear guidelines for addressing issues of schools and religion and an authoritative codification of fundamental human rights; thus Canadians fighting censorship must do so ad hoc. (WD)

Presents an overview of libraries and related services for Palestinian Arab Children in the Haifa and Galilee regions of Israel and on the West Bank based on interviews with librarians and educators between 1993 and 1996. Covers funding, organization, collection development, censorship, staffing, and programming. (MMU)

The annotated bibliography, commissioned by the Canadian Studies Project Committee, is a basic list of available Canadian materials suitable for school libraries. It consists of over 1,000 entries with an emphasis on materials relevant to Manitoba. A broad range of topics is covered: business education, consumer education, fine arts, guidance,…

Describes elementary school classroom trade book collections in the Prince Edward Island (Canada) school district, and explores the relationship between the collections and school library resource center program. The report is based on a survey of 46 classroom teachers, teacher-librarians, and principals. Three models of classroom collections are…

Describes the development of Books for Africa, an organization that solicits donations of books in the United States and sends them to Africa, largely to school libraries, to improve literacy rates, increase library holdings, and build library shelves. Other organizations that donate books are also listed. (LRW)

Enthusiasm for and a commitment to literature are the essential tools needed to successfully promote the enriching, challenging, and thought-provoking world of books. This paper focuses on the promotion of literature inside the classroom, inside the library, and in the wider community. Programs at Methodist Ladies' College (Australia), a boarding…

The five essential features of any good library plan are objectives, inputs, process, outputs, and evaluation. In developing countries, the following factors affect, and should be considered, in the formulation of library plans: illiteracy, lack of educational facilities, no common language, insufficient funds, and geographical features and the…