This paper describes how the University of Arizona (UA) School of Information Resources and Library Science (IRLS) distance Master of Arts program works with policies and procedures written for traditional programs with different needs and objectives. Challenges discussed include: (1) registration, including using the university's automated…

The principal's desk is a crowded place at the end of the year. Memos from the superintendent, school board meeting minutes, parent messages, and reports on many aspects of the school and its functions make the desk appear to be the school's dumping ground. Among these reports is the librarian's annual report--a summation of the year's goals,…

When a person walks into any library media center, he or she will, no doubt, see lots of students busily working on classroom assignments. While these students may be focused and industrious, the real question is what drives their work, and are they learning? Student learning comes from active efforts to construct knowledge that requires them to…

This article talks about selection policy and provides suggestions on how library media specialists can update their selection policies to provide an atmosphere that facilitate inquiry. The selection policy is meant to ensure that the collection meets the needs of the school community as comprehensively and effectively as possible. Instead of…

This article offers a savvy guide to the best graphic nonfiction books for teens. Many of these titles work well with teens, offering them quick access to facts and an enjoyable encounter with books and information literacy. In putting together this list of essential titles for high schoolers, the author searched for graphic nonfiction that is…

Practice is important in learning, maintaining, or improving any skills. Studies by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) show that students perform better when they do independent reading. In order to be a good reader, a person must practice reading, but reading practice declines markedly after fifth grade. Educators and parents…

School librarians and educators have specific copyright questions that are often glossed over in larger books on the subject. Now, thanks to best-selling copyright authority Carrie Russell, there's a resource just for them, offering clear guidance for providing materials to students while carefully observing copyright law. Using whimsical…

Adolescents who receive current, accurate, reliable, and balanced sexual-health information are more likely to express healthier sexual attitudes and engage in healthier sexual behaviors than adolescents receiving limited or no sexual-health information. High school librarians have the potential to help meet sexual-health information needs of…

Teaching library terminology and definitions can be a real bore. Unfortunately, no matter how one looks at it, students need to learn a set of basic library words and their meanings. The Library ABC's game teaches elementary age students library terms and definitions, and it is effective, efficient, easy, exciting, and fun. Introduce the Library…

Many secrets can be told by the physical surroundings of library media centers. Whether the center is kid-friendly is one of the first obvious tell-tale signs. When a library center has Arthur & D.W., Clifford, Pooh & Eeyore, shells, special rocks, etc. hidden by the circulation center or in the back in boxes, it's time to revolt. The movie Free…

In this article, the author traces her journey from fulfilling her evolving job duties to an increased sense of awareness that advocacy was an integral part of her work. The author started her career by doing the best she could do for the library media program she managed, and evolved to become an advocate for school libraries in general. Through…

One lousy starred review. That was all, initially, that Susan Patron had to show for the 10 years she spent writing "The Higher Power of Lucky," her funny, tender story of a little girl struggling to gain control over her life. One star, from "Kirkus Reviews," for the heart and soul Patron poured into her second novel. Positive notices had…

Although science has provided empirical evidence for centuries, it's only as recently as the 1940s that a scientific method called randomized controlled trials (RCT) emerged as a technique to test the efficacy of drugs and medical procedures. Since RCT is unique in that it can claim causality, it's considered the "gold standard" of research…

The publishing gods must be crazy. How else can one explain the cruel fate of so many deserving children's books? While mediocre works abound among annual best sellers, scores of perfectly wonderful kids' books have vanished faster than Tony Soprano's henchmen. To address this injustice, a select group of librarian reviewers, booksellers, and…

The purpose of this article is to retrace the steps that led to the development of a philosophy statement for the Simsbury, Connecticut School District as well as to focus on the Simsbury Public Schools' library media department's satisfaction with the process. From the initiation of the school district's curriculum rewriting effort to the…