Describes eight study skills and reading comprehension learning strategies involving structured patterns used to help students find meaning and understand information: (1) GLP (Guided Lecture Procedure); (2) K-W-L; (3) Qair (Question Answer Relationships); (4) RARE (Review, Answer, Read, Express); (5) ReQuest; (6) SCORER; (7) SPaRCS; and (8)…

Describes a project for middle school librarians to use to motivate students to read for pleasure. Explains activities based on the idea of a mystery at the school, and describes how clues were developed and linked to books in certain genres that students had to read. (LRW)

Showcases the open-book design of a 36,000-square-foot library and media center for Olympic College in Bremerton, Washington. Discusses the architectural design requirments and need to phase construction, as well as costs and project history. Includes floor plan, general description, photos, and a list of manufacturers and suppliers used for the…

Discusses how to plan for successful author or illustrator visits to school libraries. Topics addressed include preparing students by acquainting them with the visitor's works; how to contact authors or illustrators; written letters of confirmation; arranging for copies of books for autographing; scheduling; and follow-up. (LRW)

Describes procedures for librarians interested in building a World Wide Web site. Highlights include hypertext markup language; home pages; determining audiences and purposes; promoting safety; the planning process, including text length and density, links to external sites, and maintenance; and copyright concerns. (LRW)

These nine articles present narrative accounts of typical days in the working life of school librarians from all over the world. Includes school librarians, teacher-librarians, network librarians, Peace Corps volunteers, and Webmasters, as well as a report from the IASL (International Association of School Librarianship) Web site. (LRW)

Presents a bibliographic selection of nonfiction work on the Holocaust in 31 countries, focusing specifically on the Jewish Holocaust. Countries are arranged alphabetically with brief commentaries plus one to four relevant titles per country. Three titles of general interest for quick reference are cited at the end of the list. (SM)

A school library media specialist cannot be the lone proponent of the library media program. Other voices--parents, coworkers, and students--must all play their respective roles in communicating the value of a great school library media center. This column provides suggestions on ways to improve the services offered by the media program to these…

At the end of each school year there are discussions on all the international teacher-librarians' lists about whether there is a need for inventory or, as the Australians call it, "stocktake"; whether it is reasonable for us to request resources be returned before the last day of school; and whether the library should be closed to allow…

Much has been written recently about the importance of "evidence based practice" for teacher librarians. Principals value most collaboration by teacher librarians. Collaboration affects achievement. This article discusses how principals can play a part in teacher-librarian collaboration.

In this article, the author describes how a "living memorial" for a deceased individual that provides comfort to the bereaved. The author discusses ways she has used living memorials in her own life and talks about the significance they have had. She states that memorial collections provide a means to grow a library's overall collection and…

In this brief article, the author discusses that teacher-librarians must continually balance the curricular needs of our collection with the needs of each child. Perhaps the needs are now more in other areas: psychological, social, religious and ethnic. Whatever the need, it is the teacher-librarians responsibility to look at their students and…

As a former elementary library media specialist now in a new middle school library media center, it was frustrating for the author to not have enough time to assist students and discouraging to see the apathy that so many of the students displayed toward books and reading. Middle schoolers are busy with social activities, sports, and schoolwork.…

The standards specified in all academic areas have risen to educational prominence and mandates to meet these standards have changed the face of American education for all educators. The positive ways by which emphasis on standards has changed the face of the library program are discussed and the challenges posed are presented.

Department of Education has created a report card with a star rating system, which would assist parents in evaluating the local schools in Minnesota. Schools should not concentrate only on the stars that are test-based but should also consider other criteria like the quality of the library program.