This article focuses on issues concerning school library ethics. In the U.S., American Library Association (ALA) has established a code of ethics for this profession. However, the school library is not the only one affected by the ethical code of the ALA. Since teachers have their own codes of ethics, librarians have now assumed yet another mantle…

A brand is an idea in the minds of one's constituents that is created by what one says or does. The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) describes itself as a professional membership organization, serving the needs of 10,000 school library media specialists in the United States, Canada, and around the world. In this article, the author…

Librarians are effective in sharing their best practices with each other. Learning from each other is crucial, but not sharing their stories with other members of the school learning community keeps them wondering exactly what it is that librarians do. In this article, the author offers steps that can guide librarians to write for publications…

Some of the author's most valuable experiences as a library media specialist (LMS) were not in a school library. Rather, they were on the streets of Chicago, in community gardens, and on the rooftops of buildings in Humboldt Park, where she was hired by the University of Illinois Community Informatics Initiative as a graduate assistant and LMS in…

Teachers serving students with disabilities often rely on the school library because of the diversity of resources, its positive association for many students, and the perception that it facilitates individualized attention. Media specialists and educators report that teachers typically send students with disabilities to the school library during…

In recent years, a number of statewide research studies have been conducted to determine the impact of school library media centers and their school library media specialists (SLMSs) on student achievement. Research studies in eighteen states have clearly established the relationship between well-staffed, well-funded school libraries on student…

This study investigated how school and public librarians can become better disseminators of health information and improve health information literacy in small and rural communities in a selected research area. We used the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas as our study area, composed of the economically depressed Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, and…

This anthology of opinions about the roles and functions of public and school libraries covers the following topics: (1) The School-Housed Public Library--An Evaluation; (2) School and Public Library Relationships; (3) The Case for Independent School Libraries; (4) Report on Killarney Branch Library (Vancouver); (5) Report on the Flint Public…

A school library service committee as an arm of the Tanganyika Library Service was established to improve school libraries to enable them to become a useful basic tool for teaching. The committee was faced from the beginning with the problem of how to develop school libraries with inadequate funds and insufficient manpower. The approach taken was…

This transcript for the National Public Radio's weekly program "Options in Education" concerns American libraries and their patrons. Several interviews provide descriptions of the Library of Congress, an explanation of copyright regulations and the challenges of photocopying, and a personal view of the role of lobbyist for the American…

Somehow we must convince "reading experts" that reading books--really curling up and silently digging through a real book--on school time is the newest and best teaching machine, kit, or workbook invented to teach children to read. We need librarians' help. (Author)

Recommends ways to alleviate the psychological, political, funding, communication, and planning problems which have blocked the full participation of schools in interlibrary networks. The roles of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and NCLIS's Task Force on the role of the school library media programs in networking are…

Comments that library media specialists have not been adequately utilized in schools, especially at the elementary level. Reasons why the library should be an integral part of the instructional program are discussed, and several ways in which the librarian, as a generalist, can aid students in academic achievement are listed. (MES)

Looks at collection development for print materials in school libraries serving children in grades K-8. The policy statement and the processes of evaluation, selection, acquisition, and weeding are examined, emphasizing the place of curriculum objectives and the role of the librarian. Twenty-two references and a bibliography of 15 selection tools…

Recommends bibliotherapy as a way in which school media specialists can help children become more independent and more socially and emotionally mature. Situations for which bibliotherapy is appropriate and the importance of discussions and other follow-up activities are covered. (8 references) (MES)