It's not that boys can not read, they just do not read. Study after study reveals that boys read less than girls. And according to the U.S. Department of Education, school-age boys tend to read a grade and a half lower than girls. How can librarians get guys to turn the page? For starters, they need to move beyond their traditional "here is a book…

For young teen girls, reading has become hot again. With their appealing covers, witty heroines and humorous plots, teen chick lit books are bringing girls out of the malls and into local libraries and bookstores in search of the next must-have title. These fun books are about boys, friendship, family, fitting in, and growing up. What makes the…

This author observed that many Montessori schools have made efforts to include diversity in their programs. She toured schools in Chicago and found them oozing with multicultural awareness--from the library books on the shelves to the marketing materials they provided to the classroom celebrations of a variety of holidays. However, she observed…

Patents are an underutilized source of scientific information, particularly in the life and health sciences. Patents and patent applications usually contain the first disclosure of new technologies and processes and serve to link theory with practice, providing "real world" examples of the application of scientific research. Increasingly,…

"Chronicle of Higher Education" presents an abundant source of news and information for college and university faculty members and administrators. This July 23, 2004 issue of "Chronicle of Higher Education" includes the following articles: (1) "Waking up from the American Dream" (Abramsky, Sasha); (2) "The Well-Tempered Seminar" (Parini, Jay); (3)…

Purpose: To argue for the consideration from an historical perspective of technology-enabled changes in higher education. Design/methodology/approach: Uses examples from the author's history of JSTOR as a case study. Findings: That the case of JSTOR offers evidence that technology-enabled changes in higher education will have historical interest.…

Libraries are seeking the best possible solution for integrating online journals into their collections. While exploring the different methods and technology available, many libraries still strive to fulfill the original "library mission" proposed by Charles Cutter in his "Rules for a Dictionary Catalog". Providing comprehensive access to…

This article explores the future trajectory of librarianship and its status as a profession in the context of the contested terrain of the information professions and particularly the development of a differentiated information technology workforce. Andrew Abbott's theory of the system of professions informs the historical comparison and future…

In this article, the authors examine the discipline of knowledge organization by harnessing the theories of Michel Foucault and Jurgen Habermas. The argument is that knowledge organization is not just a question of improved technology; as an academic discipline, it has to define and legitimize its relevance for society. The authors use the…

The literature suggests that teachers may rely more often on intuition when making course planning decisions than on informed assessment of learners' needs (Barkhuizen 1998; Spratt 1999). This article proposes a more principled alternative to the intuitive approach, based on the use of teacher-designed class-specific questionnaires intended to…

The role of school resource centres in promoting educational excellence has been largely ignored in South African post apartheid education. Previous so called advantaged schools that have begun to enroll large percentages of students who are black are now beginning to suffer due to the strict adherence of national norms in terms of funding and…

This article discusses the development of a community college online information literacy course to match the general education guidelines for the California State University System, and describes blending information literacy skills into the core GE requirements for equipping students to become lifelong learners while gaining an understanding of…

This paper describes the development of library and information science education (LIS) in the Baltic and Nordic countries and gives a brief overview of the historical and present connections of these countries. The similarities and differences between the Baltic countries as well as the Nordic and Baltic higher education systems are described.…

Preparation for entry into the information professions has always been through a combination of academic study and practical training. Broadly speaking there is probably general agreement about the knowledge and understanding which the new entrant to the profession needs to acquire. There is less clarity regarding the skills which are required if…

Metadata enables users to find the resources they require, therefore it is an important component of any digital learning object repository. Much work has already been done within the learning technology community to assure metadata quality, focused on the development of metadata standards, specifications and vocabularies and their implementation…