Discusses commercial sources, locally produced transparencies, and transparencies in the school library. (JB)

Library media specialists are often asked when to create a new record in cataloging various editions of the same title for library media center collections. This article, adapted from the new edition of "Catalog It," will provide some hints to answer this question. In some cases, it is easy to recognize when two copies of the same information…

Even though librarians fulfill the roles of teacher, instructional partner, information specialist, and program administrator many outside the library still say that librarians don't do anything. However, there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes before the library program begins.

The answers to questions and comments that continually arise in school libraries are found in the essential documents. The different ways of planning and writing essential documents as well as their promotion and application are described.

Good school libraries influence student achievement and there are studies from 15 states to prove it. Several reports provide evidence that access to a good school library has positive correlation to reading scores. Higher test scores have also been linked to the presence of quality libraries in schools. Professional librarians are an essential…

Just like an engaging teacher sets the pace for a conducive classroom learning environment, it is the library media specialist who "sells" the idea of what a library media center is and what a library media center can be to all patrons who walk through its doors. How can library media specialists break up and shake up the ruts that both library…

Library media specialists typically are expected to collaborate with everyone. Because the teacher holds the proverbial key to the classroom door, he or she also has the access to the students. If there is no access to students, there is no opportunity to cause student learning. Real collaboration is, in contrast, based on a mutual understanding…

In this article, the author expresses her disappointment over the self-censorship being practiced by some schools. Some schools are only letting students search sites on district-approved lists, while others are imposing stringent time limits on certain sites. In a few extreme cases, schools banned Internet entirely. These practices are blocking…

Before 1994 education in South Africa was divided along racial lines. There were separate departments of education for whites, coloureds (people of mixed decent), Indians (people of East Indian decent), and blacks (black Africans). Education for white children was much better funded than any of the others. The quality of the education that white…

Library science students in school librarianship were surveyed to determine their information seeking and avoidance behaviors in Web-based online environments. Two coping styles were identified among students. Barriers to student online collaboration, such as individual preferences, concerns on efficiency, and lack of mutual trust, were observed.…

A study of a three-year environmental curriculum project is documented with attention to the process of co-constructing and implementing the curriculum while exposing the hidden potential for thoughtfully aligned learning communities to strengthen curriculum construction. The curriculum project is integrated across all disciplinary subjects and…

It is the school library's responsibility to provide the tools necessary for students to utilize online resources effectively and efficiently. This education should also account for the increasing need for instruction regarding cyber ethics, particularly with the rise of cyberbullying. The teacher librarian is in the unique position to organize…

Despite past lessons, book-banning continues to exist at all levels within our democratic society. This case presents a realistic scenario when the school district, facing a book challenge by a concerned parent, responds by removing the book from the library. On the basis of a true story, the study features a parent of an elementary child…

School librarians currently speak about school libraries as the largest classroom in the building. If so, how can these librarians describe what they teach? This article explains the user-centered instructional role of secondary school librarians in teaching information and technology literacy skills, as well as how they can authoritatively ensure…

A name is one of the first things one learns about people. Many times the first word a young child learns is his or her name. Furthermore, names often serve as an indicator of a person's cultural identity. Unfortunately, for many English Language Learners (ELLs) and other students who immigrate to America, a name can be an embarrassment rather…