This paper explores whether analysis of school library borrowing records can reveal any insights into the reading habits of junior age children. Data in the form of computerised library-borrowing records were collected from a cohort of 90 Year 6 (age 10-11 years) children over the full course of the academic year. Two-thirds of the cohort were…

The good news is that many public libraries are now overflowing with teens. The bad news is that most teens still don't visit libraries, and that's a shame. Teens would use libraries if they clearly understood their value. But for years, young adults have been mostly ignored by librarians. The solution is to initiate a major paradigm shift, one in…

No matter which community people live in, they are bound to hear educators deliberating on topics such as quality assurance, data-driven decision making, and curriculum restructuring. Whether these discussions involve parents, teachers, administrators, school board members, or community leaders, two issues consistently emerge: the demand for…

A school is a home for students. For some it will be the best, most friendly, and welcoming home they will experience. It is a place where students will spend much of their waking hours for a large portion of the year. Within the school, that special place that gives students a warm feeling is the library media center. It is unique to the rest of…

Ohio Educational Library Media Association (OELMA) has been working for many years to gather evidence in hopes of convincing their state government of the need for a certified library media specialist in every school. Its latest efforts began in 2002 when the board of OELMA applied for a grant to do a state study. Board members of OELMA, however,…

A freeze on $3.28 billion in requests for aid under the federal E-rate program has left hundreds of school districts scrambling to pay for their technology needs--and, in some cases, crippled classroom instruction. The E-rate program, which has disbursed more than $8 billion since its inception in 1997, helps link public and private schools as…

The GlobaLIS Project intends to attain the globalization of Japanese library and information science (LIS) professional education by defining the requirements for internationally transparent and harmonized educational programs for LIS professionals. We asked three research questions in a stepwise manner: (1) What are the basic requirements for…

The picture book is a simple yet profound tool for teaching peace. Picture books are nearly pieces of art--with rich text accompanied by illustrations, paintings, and photographs that speak to the spirit of the child. They are an ideal peace resource, in part because they are readily accessible for all age levels. Books can be borrowed through…

Native American and other cultural stories provide students with a broader perspective on the world. In addition, cultural stories connect science content and knowledge about the world to cultural interpretations and people's life ways. By implementing the ideas suggested in this article, you can select books that both enrich your science library…

Developmentalists state that children are born with the intrinsic motivation to learn, but studies show that this intrinsic desire to learn begins to wane during the early school years, around third grade, and continues a steady decline through eighth grade. Intrinsic motivation is at the core of information literacy, the foundation for a desire…

In this article, the author shares how she became an advocate for school libraries. Moving into a career as a school library media specialist after five-and-a-half years as a teacher, she eventually became a delegate to the first White House Conference on Library and Information Services. At these conferences, she learned where and how decisions…

A healthy volunteer program can be a great asset to any school library. Volunteers do much of the routine work that then frees the librarian to work with students individually or in groups, providing instruction and reading guidance. In addition to the physical work volunteers provide, they become strong advocates for a school library program…

According to one of the authors, teacher/librarian collaborative instruction is still the most effective means to teach information literacy skills in order to improve student achievement. Numerous studies have confirmed the importance of library media center and library media specialists (LMSs) in improving student achievement. In this article,…

This article features Eliza Dresang, an award-winning author, and her achievements. Dresang was responsible for making a radical shift in how teachers and parents understand modern children literature when she wrote her groundbreaking book, "Radical Change." She found the motivation to write this book after realizing how teachers and parents were…

This article reports on a reading intervention project undertaken in a high poverty primary school in Gauteng where reading levels in both the home language, Northern Sotho, and in English were very low. Some of the factors associated with school effectiveness (SE) are first examined and thereafter the nature of the reading intervention programme…