Describes five steps that school librarians should follow every week to keep their computers running at top efficiency. Explains how to update virus definitions; run Windows update; run ScanDisk to repair errors on the hard drive; run a disk defragmenter; and backup all data. (LRW)

As varied as the schools and the communities they serve, so too are the Web pages for the library media programs that serve them. This article provides guidelines for effective web design and the information that might be included, including reference resources, reference asistance, curriculum support, literacy advocacy, and dynamic material. An…

Some children delight in pursuing information about a particular subject. They are excited about facts and theories, and want to know about the "how" as well as the "what" and the "who." They love the challenge of making connections and seeing the ways the pieces of any puzzle or mystery are linked together. On research projects, these young…

This column provides an updated list of thirty online lesson plan sites. Some are general, some specific, and some are geared toward one age level or another. The sites described cover topics ranging from American History to Physics to Astronomy.

The Fourth Monday in October is International School Library Day (ISLD)--an opportunity for school libraries around the world to celebrate the contribution they make to the education of the children in their care. International School Library Day was proclaimed in 1999 by Dr Blanche Woolls, president of the International Association of School…

History teaches that a lack of disaster awareness and preparation are common threads among all major weather-related disasters. Weather hazards come in many forms: storm surge, high winds, blizzards, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, or a combination of these. It is important for both family and work colleagues to have an action plan…

An accessible library media center (LMC) offers many benefits for the school community. Library media specialists can support their education colleagues in delivering inclusive learning opportunities to a wide range of students. Assistive technology (AT) deployment in the LMC can benefit students and teachers by spotlighting low-, mid-, and…

The author, as a library media specialist, admitted that she needed more study on library organization despite three years of teaching Dewey to her elementary students. To be more accurate, she realized she needed a clearer understanding of what Mr. Melvil Dewey had in mind when he devised his plan for organizing books and information in the…

A library media specialist already knows from library school some things that he/she should do, namely collaborate with teachers to integrate information skills instruction with classroom content, encourage reading, teach wise use of technology, and advocate for the library media center program. Maybe what isn't talked about as much is what a…

A library media center is the information hub of the school, but it is beginning to look a little frayed at the shelves and it's time for a makeover. In this article, the authors present the steps in the makeover process and provide creative ideas to improve the atmosphere of the library media center. Before the makeover, there should be a plan.…

An important tool for communication and collaboration is the library newsletter, which the library media specialist writes to the staff, teachers and library media specialist from other schools. The newsletter includes upcoming events teachers can sign up for, information on web sites to be used for projects, curriculum ideas, introduction of a…

Library programming documents can help to keep organized in the midst of ever-changing plans and can give teachers the guidance they need to fulfill their role in collaborative units. A list of programming documents that are suitable for handouts or e-mails is presented.

This article briefly discusses two librarians exploration of Linux. Andrea Baker and Amy Daniels were tired of telling their students that new technology items were not in the budget. They explored Linux, which is a program that recycles older computers, installs free operating systems and free software.

Terje Hillesund points out that "information technology and especially the Internet have profoundly changed the ways of publishing." Recently, the book publishing industry has started to catch up, making digitized texts--including multimedia texts--available for sale through online bookstores, and in some cases, available for free downloading.…

Teacher-librarians need to convey the message to students that they are willing to help them find what they need in the library. However, teacher-librarians also need to teach them how to help themselves. In this article, the author asserts that is is inappropriate for teacher-librarians to teach to students that they cannot find information for…