Through informed use of such electronic tools as Web sites, electronic discussion lists, and e-mail, school library media specialists can assume responsibility for their own professional growth and can actively influence issues and institutions that are important to their professional lives. Discussion includes recognizing information needs;…

Presents a dramatization of a high school library in 1968, a place with wooden bookcases, card catalog, wooden furniture and tiptoeing librarian through 30 years of changes to a library media center with banks of computers, librarian-teacher cooperation, emphasis on authentic assessment, and the satisfaction of librarian, teachers, and students…

"Parents: the Anti-Drug" is a public service campaign developed on the premise that parents are the most influential adults in a child's life, at any age. Action is the operative term in these announcements. The parent is not influential in a quiet, reserved role nor as one who moves aside for others to deal with education of the child. The parent…

This column provides background related to several "hot" reading topics currently taking place in schools across America as educators strive to produce lifelong readers who enjoy reading, read for a variety of purposes, and make meaning from the texts they read. Information for further reading on the topics explored also are shared. Such topics…

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…

Considers how school library media specialist administrative responsibilities can carry over to a job as state consultant for school library media services. Discusses characteristics of effective administrators; collaboration; the appreciative inquiry process for systemic change; and duties and projects of the state program that strengthen media…

Presents strategies for educating administrators as to the value of school library programs and their influence on student achievement. Highlights include meeting and communicating with principals and superintendents; providing documentation to support library policies and collections; demonstrating professional research abilities; inviting them…

Magazines created for teenage girls are effective because of their developmental appropriateness; the relationship developed between magazine and reader represents a distinct feminine space, while the demands of the text itself are appropriate to the analytic ability of the adolescent. The inclusion of the confessional "embarrassing story" column…

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…

Keeping a good balance in the classroom and in the library media center is no easy task. It is an on-going process that will continually involve reflective thinking, research, professional reading, networking among other professionals, and collaboration among teachers and fellow library media specialists. In this article, the author discusses what…

School library media specialists at all levels have been investing long hours in preparing and implementing lessons. They try to coordinate these lessons with teachers, and, in the best-case scenario, they collaboratively plan and deliver the instruction. The missing piece is an indication of whether or not students have actually been learning.…

The act of reading a well-written book to students is one of the easiest writing lessons a library media specialist can give. When kids hear new or unusual words and descriptive, poignant phrases, it increases their own experimentation with writing. Using good literature to develop good writers just makes sense. There are a plethora of avenues and…

Sometimes a simple idea, such as selling gel bracelets that say "Libraries Matter" to raise money, can spark something much bigger. In this article, the authors explain how their Libraries Matter campaign grew beyond their own regional system to cover their whole state and eventually other points around the globe. This successful…

In many ways, science classrooms and school library media centers are parallel universes struggling with their own reform issues and with documenting their own positive impacts. As the trend toward data-driven decisions grows in the school setting, it is increasingly important for every component of the learning environment to have demonstrable…

This document, a directory of Nevada libraries, is divided into sections for academic and special libraries, school libraries (public and private), and public libraries. Entries for individual libraries typically list key staff, postal and electronic addresses, phone and fax numbers, and hours of operation. Lists of 1996 Nevada Library Association…