To thrive, a successful school library program needs active participation from all members of its community. As an instructional leader, the school librarian must be the one to raise the bar, not just informing other educators about resources and services, but empowering all adults to become engaged in the school library program. For example,…

The "embedded librarian" as a concept has emerged in the literature only recently, but has quickly gained footing as a model of practice. Many scholarly explorations of embedded librarianship have been published, though no two works define this concept in the exact same way. David Shumaker's description seems to be particularly apt: "Embedded…

Which potato chip is healthiest: (1) regular; (2) baked; or (3) sour cream and onion? This problem requires critical and numerical skills in order to read and compare nutrition labels. The question has applications in mathematics and science classrooms but also in teachers' lounges and school cafeterias. It is a problem that addresses the five…

In the last two decades, fundamental changes in information distribution, in the general economy, and in the behaviors of faculty, students, and library staff have problematized the question of an academic library's value and how it can be measured. This article reviews those changes and, drawing on research linked to the Collegiate Learning…

On 1 January 2012, early-childhood and out-of-school-hours care services were mandated to begin working under a new framework, designed to deliver greater consistency in service provision across the sector. With the aim of raising quality and driving continuous improvement through consistency among services and service ratings, the National…

Introduction: This paper investigates participatory practices in library activities for young children and their care-givers in a specific cultural context. Method: Using an ethnographic approach data were collected through participant observations of songtimes for babies and toddlers, and interviews and group interviews with staff and…

This research examined the functions and roles of public library systems in New York State and the services they provide for individual libraries and the public. The dissertation further studied the service decision-making processes at three selected New York State cooperative public library systems. Public library systems have played an important…

Approximately five years ago, the library at Emporia State University started a laptop lending service to provide laptops for use in the library. The program has been highly successful. In the last few years, some modifications were made to the program, and netbooks were added. In this article, the authors will explore laptop programs in a variety…

Although it is pretty easy to find colleagues who will express fatigue or frustration about the constant need for libraries to prove their value proposition, there is also an upside to the exercise of crafting a message that justifies librarians' mission. The catch is that however good their crafted message may be, they must forget about ever…

Over the next few years, librarians at many Australian universities will participate in the creation of local Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). This article aims to prepare librarians for this task. It begins by summarising the development of the MOOC concept and then moves on to review the growing literature on MOOCs and librarians. It…

Teachers can use comic books and graphic novels (fiction and nonfiction) to teach curriculum and standards. Publishers see the interest that students have in graphic novels. Some companies have published graphic novels of the classics. These versions make it easier for second language learners or students reading below grade level to grasp the…

This report explores the world of e-books and libraries, where libraries fit into these book-consumption patterns of Americans, when people choose to borrow their books and when they choose to buy books. It examines the potential frustrations e-book borrowers can encounter when checking out digital titles, such as long wait lists and compatibility…

The core mission of libraries has always centered on making content and related services available to patrons. The form in which that content is delivered has changed continually. The most ancient libraries or archives organized clay tablets or cylinders written in cuneiform. Centuries ago, the transition from scrolls to codices must have been…

Introduction: Our paper describes three examples of how public libraries in at-risk-neighbourhoods have worked with social innovations in order to develop and strengthen their services for minority groups. The libraries were chosen because they are frontrunners in the field of cultural diversity and social inclusion in Denmark. Method: The…

No one other than Nancy Pearl has so convinced Americans that libraries, books, and reading are critical to our communities. Her passionate advocacy has done that nationwide for thousands of individual readers and library workers in the trenches at the local level. She has spread book lust via broadcasts to the nation on National Public Radio's…