Screencasts are videos that record the actions that take place on the computer screen, most often including a narrative audio track, in order to demonstrate various computer-related tasks, such as how to use a software program or navigate a certain Web site. All that is needed is a standard microphone and screen recording software, which can be…

How can we as librarians bring children and books from a variety of cultures and backgrounds together to create a more internationally literate community? This workshop addresses that question with a discussion of what it means to be internationally literate as well as internationally-minded, followed by an outline of some evaluation criteria…

We examined the issues related to delivering service excellence through the lens of 39 graduating school librarians in written assignments for the final course of their certification program, as they focus on what is needed to apply standards to become an effective school library media specialist in the 21st century. Of the 16 issues identified,…

This spring, the Milwaukee district announced major cuts to local school budgets for next year. At the 400-student elementary school where the author works, the projected cuts meant that, despite a modest increase in student enrollment, they had to cut an additional staff position. Given that in the past few years budget cuts had forced them to…

Librarians love books. They love the feel, the smell, and the look of the page. However, physical volumes have kept the author from reaching the ideas and stories that he wants. An impenetrable pile of pages in linear order, books are difficult to decode, search, and rearrange, and one of the worst information management systems he has…

Despite easy access to expert resources and extensive in-school modeling, students--even the youngest--are relying heavily upon "Wikipedia," especially when they do research away from school. With "Wikipedia" holding steady as one of the top ten Web sites worldwide, it is no wonder students are flocking there. For teachers, parents, and students,…

The relentless quest of the school librarian is finding the right book for each student, searching for the home-run book for every child, and keeping students reading book after book after book. A considerable amount of the school librarian's time, effort, and creativity are devoted not only to motivating students to read, but to keeping them…

Special and general educators rely on the school library for many reasons, such as the wealth of resources that are used to motivate students and individualize instruction and the fact that many students with disabilities enjoy spending time there (Smith-Canter, Voytecki, Zambone, and Jones 2009). In the June 2009 issue of "School Library…

Story structure is how humans think. If school librarians help students master the elements that define this story structure, then students can be assisted in efficiently and effectively mastering both reading comprehension and all forms of writing. Without exception and without equivocation, research studies conducted over the past quarter…

Roser discusses how both teachers and librarians, whom she calls the preservers of children's reading, should cling tightly to three essential practices to ensure that our children read more, read better, and read more widely. She argues we should: a) keep the classroom library viable; b) preserve, protect, and defend time for self-selected…

Ten randomly-chosen U.S. American Library Association (ALA) accredited programs which grant the first professional degree in library and information science (LIS) were studied to determine to what degree, and in what manner, 15 information technologies (ITs) based on computers have been incorporated into the curricula. The method of study included…

This twelfth edition of the annual Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) statistical report presents comprehensive statistical information and analysis about graduate library and information science education in the United States and Canada. The edition is divided into six sections: (1) Faculty (salary, gender, age,…

Program budgeting, a method founded in the systems approach, allows control, management, and planning in the library system, and avoids the more comprehensive analysis required by zero-based budgeting. By evaluation of the impacts of the work accomplished by the library staff, the budgeted amounts can be justified or adjusted in subsequent years.…

Prepared as part of the California Library School Recruitment Project funded by the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA), this report summarizes the current status of professional staffing in California's libraries. Following a brief history of the project and a summary of related research, a discussion of project methodology describes the…

The second phase of a 1977 University of Pittsburgh research study that focused on the resistance to technology in libraries, this parallel study of library school students and faculty continued the investigation to determine: (1) the extent to which technological transformation of library systems will tend to encounter resistance as…