A study showed that library circulation of noncomic materials increased by 30 percent and overall library usage by 82 percent, with only minimal comic collection security problems, when comic books were added to the collection at West Junior High School, Columbia, Missouri. (RAA)

Examples of school library media activities that illustrate instructional involvement currently taking place in various parts of the nation are classified according to David Loertscher's taxonomy. (CHC)

Describes a program in which first-grade minority group children wrote the books to stock a classroom library. (FL)

Describes visual aids that can be used to help hearing impaired children participate in library story hours as well as programs for library instruction and encouraging reading. Factors to be considered in selecting appropriate library materials for this group are discussed, and book selection aids and information sources are indicated. (CMV)

Illustrates how the "Big Six Skills" model of information problem solving (Task Definition, Information Seeking Strategies, Location and Access, Use of Information, Synthesis, and Evaluation) is a perfect match to the influx of technology in student research. Outlines two typical assignments that focus the Big Six perspective on the…

Discusses the benefits of school library security, software security, and computer security systems. Describes specific products for each type of security system. A sidebar lists names and addresses of security manufacturers and distributors. (AEF)

Presents five steps for establishing an organized plan for selecting and purchasing school library/media center furniture: (1) programming; (2) schematic design; (3) contract documents -- bid specification; (4) formatting price tables; and (5) coordination -- post-award to installation. Sidebar lists name and address of library furniture…

Work sampling is a research technique where workers are observed at random times and their activities recorded. Data are converted to percentages indicating the overall distribution of how time is spent in various categories. A background of work sampling, its history in libraries and the planning and implementation of a school library media study…

To help students understand that references are tools used to locate specific information, one librarian has her third-grade students create their own reference toolboxes as she introduces dictionaries, atlases, encyclopedias, and thesauri. Presents a lesson plan to introduce print and nonprint thesauri to third and fourth graders and includes a…

Discusses "Learning for the Future: Developing Information Services in Australian Schools" (1993), a contemporary standards and guidelines document that could be used to monitor the effectiveness of school library resource centers in a range of educational settings across Australia. Describes how outcomes-based education can provide a…

Discusses the state of community (primary) school libraries in Papua New Guinea. Highlights include teachers' delegated library duties, training in librarianship, lack of books, acquisition problems, facilities and types of storage, classification of the collection, and unattainable standards. (AEF)

Analyzes interviews with nine librarians in Jamaica concerning the influence of the International Association of School Librarianship (IASL). Discussed are the IASL's roles in fostering personal and professional growth, in highlighting the importance of the library to the educational process, and in developing school library policy. (PEN)

A computer expert describes two stand-alone, multimedia CD-ROM computer systems suitable for school and public libraries: a budget version for less than $2000 and a power version for about $3000. Recommends specific personal computer models, monitors, operating systems, processors, RAM (random access memory), hard drives, video subsystems, CD-ROM…

Discusses the role that school library media specialists can play in the development of children's writing skills. Recommends a number of reference books for student writers published by Scholastic, including a dictionary, thesaurus, dictionary of idioms, rhyming dictionary, dictionary of spelling, and a treasury of quotations. (LRW)

Describes a reference source for middle school students on biotechnology that is useful for science and social science curricula as well as interdisciplinary approaches. Explains the four-volume format and various features that make it useful to media specialists and students. (LRW)