In this era of higher student enrollment coupled with budget cuts, some school library professionals are considering retirement, while others are standing up to defend the profession they know has a strong positive impact on student learning. Many school librarians who weather difficulties do so by choosing to find energy in the challenges of…

In January 2012, a group of four school library professors attending the ALA Midwinter Meeting were having lunch and discussing various issues related to the school library field. These school library professors agreed that one challenge facing the profession is preparing future leaders. As current school library leaders retire, it is difficult to…

In April 2010, the New York State Board of Regents challenged the library community to rethink the State's vast array of library services to ensure that they are aligned with modern expectations and the expanded functions needed in today's society, operate with improved efficiency, and are prepared for the future as an essential and vibrant part…

School library budgets are about as miserably low or nonexistent as many librarians have ever seen. The population of school librarians who have not just one, but "many" school libraries to manage is growing. Time and funds are short, and needs for books, programming, and technology are high. Grant money is out there for librarians, and the author…

Moving a library media center takes time, energy, and organization. As the sole media specialist/librarian for a new facility, this author has experienced moving material from another school. She learned a great deal and had help from people who volunteered their time and energy to make it happen. Although she does not claim to be a moving expert,…

What do school librarians fear most? Hands down, their biggest fear is a formal challenge to a resource in the school library. There are no accurate statistics about the number of challenges to school library resources. The staff of ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom estimates that only about 20 percent are reported to ALA annually. For the…

When designing a school library space and deciding how to arrange resources, it is important to consider multiple components of adolescent development, including social, emotional, and behavioral aspects. Acknowledging these developmental facets and their importance can provide additional justification for some of the more controversial aspects of…

Chicago Public Schools librarians have discovered that iPads engage students in developing their reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills while expressing their creativity. Their librarians embarked on a year-long experiment with the mobile devices that inspired them to completely reinvent the way they teach. This article presents tips…

Implementing a library advisory committee (LAC) is one of those fundamentals taught in the Master of Library Science program: gather shareholders, create consensus, and build a community. But the day-to-day reality of K-12 schools often is not conducive to vision building, and if there is no administrator support for such a committee, faculty and…

Flexible scheduling of school library media is accepted notion in major library school associations and the classes meet in the library media center based on instructional and curricular need instead of fixed scheduling of school library in which classes have specified library times each week. The controversy regarding fixed and flexible school…

Selecting materials for school libraries has always been a challenging task, but it has become much more complicated in the 21st Century. A school librarian at a junior high in the late 1990s could allot a certain portion of her budget for reference books, the general circulating collection, a few audiovisual materials, and newspapers and…

It is no secret that since the fall of 2008, fiscal managers have been making tough decisions. The trend is consistent among economic sectors, including education. In their efforts to stem budget shortfalls, school administrators and business managers are cutting programs and eliminating teachers. School librarians in particular are struggling in…

The article is divided into three sections. The main section, "Filtering beyond CIPA: Consequences of and Alternatives to Overfiltering in Schools" (Kristen Batch) describes factors that contribute to the overimplementation of CIPA. Internet filtering is a routine practice in public schools and libraries. The Children's Internet…

School librarians in the Mesquite Independent School District (ISD) have been operating solo on their campuses since the 1970s. Campus clerical assistance in the school libraries was a luxury that they couldn't afford. Since the district's vision was of a teaching librarian, a Library Processing Department was established in 1972. As years passed,…

In the 21st century, school libraries are under pressure to innovate. Library budgets are frequently slashed as districts struggle with limited fiscal resources, while library personnel are increasingly expected to provide students with resources they need to help them pass high stakes tests. In an effort to meet student needs with limited…