Presents a framework to help media specialists and other educators facilitate the process of integrating computer technology and the Internet into classroom instruction and curriculum design. Highlights include planning, including concept maps; research, including critical thinking; development, including knowledge construction and higher-order…

Describes a program developed at Winona Middle School (Minnesota) to integrate the state standard for information literacy into the curriculum. Explains the role of the school library media specialist and discusses the final product which is a student portfolio, a HyperStudio multimedia presentation that incorporates the newly acquired skills.…

Reports the results of three statewide studies in Alaska, Colorado, and Pennsylvania, which show that a school library media program with a full-time library media specialist, support staff, and a strong computer network leads to higher student achievement as evidenced on standardized achievement tests. (LRW)

Discusses the role of the school library media specialist in student assessment. Topics include guidelines in "Information Power" (1998, American Library Association); formative and summative assessment; the role of classroom teachers and students; collaboration between teachers and media specialists; and the evaluation of…

Presents results of a survey of 22 Australian libraries aimed at highlighting the common nature, responsibilities, philosophies, and structural factors identified with the term "Children's Librarian." Provides a Children's Librarian profile, and discusses parameters of the specialist position; range of operations; range of skills; vision…

Assesses the effectiveness of a mother-focused, neonatal hospital-based intervention program in which 12 low socioeconomic group mothers in Boston participated in a structured developmental and behavioral assessment of their premature infants, with the goal of enhancing their ability to provide appropriate interactions and environmental…

Reviews the top periodical databases for elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools based on the opinions of library media specialists and teachers. Explains the evaluation criteria which include searchability; navigability; help available; appearance, including consistency of page design; reading level; speed; document printing and…

Discusses how school library media specialists can build partnerships with principals: provide leadership and support to classroom teachers, be technology savvy, model information retrieval and technology use, collaborate in curriculum planning, develop a vision for technology in the school, participate in staff development, make clear the role of…

Reports on a case study that focused on journal writing as a means of deepening elementary school students' cognitive and affective awareness of the information search process. Describes the research team that conducted the research and the impact of journal writing on the school library media specialist's reflective practices. (Author/LRW)

Recruiting and preparing the next generation of school library media specialists (SLMSs) is a growing concern nationwide. School library media preparation programs are critical to meeting the current shortage of SLMSs in the United States. To determine the status of professional preparation programs for SLMSs, surveys were sent to forty-eight…

School library literature has illuminated several structural barriers (such as lack of time and role perception conflict) that impede many school library media specialists (SLMSs) from fulfilling their student assessment role in practice, and specialists have identified technology as a mediating artifact that could aide in an expansion of that…

Contemporary educational thought holds that one of the pivotal causes of inadequate student achievement is the inability of schools to staff classrooms with qualified teachers. The primary sources of the problem of underqualified teachers are, most assume, deficits in the quantity of prospective teachers recruited and in the quality of preparation…

Since the significant report "Becoming a Nation of Readers: The Report of the Commission on Reading" (Anderson, Hiebert, Scott, and Wilkinson 1985), more attention has been given to the need to motivate and encourage reading in addition to teaching reading skills. That report concluded that the best predictor of reading comprehension, vocabulary…

This column is a collaborative effort by library media specialists and K-16 educators who write about the motivational strategies that have worked for them in teaching IL skills. Motivational strategies include ways to gain and sustain attention, increase relevance for learning information literacy skills, build confidence in students' developing…

In this article, the author presents anecdotal scenarios which reflect some important moments in the teaching and learning of reading. In the first scenario, a student recognized fluent reading and named it, illustrating the power of a common vocabulary. The second scenario addressed the importance of common visual supports in the school…