Many school administrators and librarians offer students opportunities to hone social skills while they research, read, and learn in libraries. Recently, transforming traditional libraries into spaces known as "learning commons" has become a popular way to match the social and academic preferences of students with numerous technological…

In this article, Summer Creek High School (Harris County, Texas) librarian, Louise Lankau shares a formula for successfully integrating technology via the school library and reaching every department and teacher in a school of 2,500 students and 170 teachers. The challenge is that the teaching staff at Summer Creek increases each year to…

With some thought and direction, QR (quick response) codes are a great tool to use in school libraries to enhance access to information. From March through April 2013, Caitlin Ahearn interned at Sanborn Regional High School (SRHS) under the supervision of Pam Harland. As a result of Harland's un-Deweying of the nonfiction collection at SRHS,…

Curation: to gather, organize, and present resources in a way that meets information needs and interests, makes sense for virtual as well as physical resources. A Northern New Jersey middle school library made the decision to curate its physical resources according to the needs of its users, and, in so doing, created a shelving system that is,…

In this article, Oakmont Regional High School (Ashburnham, Massachusetts) librarian Jeffrey Aubuchon describes how the school library is developing a new classification scheme called the Spartan system. This system seeks to mirror instructional practices at Oakmont. The major divisions of the collection will be drawn around academic departments…

A makerspace is a place where makers can envision a project, find an expert, and create something. Libraries have always held programming during which patrons were able to come in and create. The makerspace at the Lamar Middle School in Flower Mound, Texas, is available for students every day, so that they can daily create and play with innovative…

Middle school librarian Susan Grigsby believes strongly in teaching independence in book selection, and has been able to back up her belief by putting programs in place that provide evidence to show her administrators how fostering independence works. She spends time creating personal bibliographies for her students based on an interest survey.…

Traditionally, school librarians have had two main strategies for impacting the literacy development of students in their schools. One way is through reading promotion efforts: book talks, book displays, or online book trailers, and literacy events such as book fairs, contests, and reading incentive programs. The other way has been through…

In this article, the authors describe how they created a school library that is the center of learning in their school community with the collaborative vision of the principal (Mat McRae) and the school librarian (Kay Wejrowski) and the support of their entire staff. For eight years, McRae and Wejrowski have worked together as principal and school…

This paper draws on the "accidental" results of a UK national survey of school libraries to explore how school librarians can contribute to student pastoral care. Although the survey did not ask specific questions about student social development, responding librarians identified three key aspects of their contribution: support for…

This manuscript reports a study of the secondary-school library. The library, it is claimed, exists first to improve the curriculum, and second, to encourage reading as a leisure-time occupation. The purposes of this investigation are: (1) to list and describe activities and devices used in outstanding secondary-school libraries; (2) to present…