Williams presents using personalized book baskets to connect learners to books that will ignite enthusiasm for reading, encourage expansion of reading genres, and allow the school librarian to understand and support students on a deeper level.

The Big Read was developed by the National Endowment for the Arts to revitalize the role of culture in American society and encourage the reading of landmark literature. Each year since 2007, the DeKalb Public Library, Northern Illinois University, and Kishwaukee Community College have partnered to foster literacy in the community. This article…

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Literacy and Reading Section is trying to help librarians address the question: "How can librarians effectively promote literacy and reading?" This guide is IFLA's second publication aimed specifically at librarians and related organizations who want to find ways to…

Building a culture of reading in a school requires the participation of the entire school community--students, teachers, administrators, staff, parents, and patrons. To be successful, the whole community must be on board with books--not just the helpful librarian in the school library. Implementing library programs to encourage students to read…

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) "Standards for the 21st-Century Learner" is filled with objectives that are mostly unobjectionable--and that would have been just as applicable in the twentieth century. Who, after all, would oppose the idea of "organizing knowledge so it's useful"? Who's going to deny the value of effective…

The relentless quest of the school librarian is finding the right book for each student, searching for the home-run book for every child, and keeping students reading book after book after book. A considerable amount of the school librarian's time, effort, and creativity are devoted not only to motivating students to read, but to keeping them…

The future of reading is very much in doubt. In this century, reading could soar to new heights or crash and burn. Some educators and librarians fear that sustained reading for learning, for work, and for pleasure may be slowly dying out as a widespread social practice. Several social and technological developments of the 20th century, such as…

Audiobooks are excellent tools to help students build literacy skills as well as improve listening, writing, and vocabulary competencies. In many shared or independent reading situations, audiobooks offer support to reluctant and struggling readers, special-needs students, and English-language learners. They are also embraced by voracious readers.…

In his hugely successful "Connecting Boys with Books" (2003), the author delved into the problem that reading skills of pre-adolescent boys lag behind those of girls in the same age group. In this companion book, Sullivan digs even deeper, melding his own experiences as an activist with perspectives gleaned from other industry experts to help…

Based on more than twenty years' experience working to get boys interested in reading, the author now offers his first readers' advisory volume. With an emphasis on nonfiction and the boy-friendly categories of genre fiction, the work offers a wealth of material including: (1) Suggestions for how to booktalk one-on-one as well as in large groups;…

In education, it is possible to find dozens of examples of "forced" reading incentive programs that categorize student reading levels, provide limited reading lists coordinated with those reading levels, assess student reading through computer-based tests, and award tangible prizes when they pass the test. Those who perform best get the most…

As advocates for reading, librarians cannot help but love a reading program. In this article, the author talks about the Battle of the Books, a reading enrichment program that had been in place since 1996. Battle of the Books promotes reading among middle school students by offering interesting books and a trivia-type competition. The author…

This article offers a savvy guide to the best graphic nonfiction books for middle schoolers. These include: "Ronald Reagan: A Graphic Biography" by Andrew Hefler; "Clan Apis" by Jay Hosler; and "Corpses and Skeletons: The Science of Forensic Anthropology" by Rob Shone.

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…

Over seventy percent of students who are deaf or hard of hearing will attend a public school and enroll in a classroom with their hearing peers or in a self-contained classroom with other deaf and hard of hearing students. Teacher-librarians who work in these schools can improve their instruction by understanding not only what it means to be…