Now more than ever school librarians need to be advocates. COVID brought to light so many things that are wrong with the education system around the country. According to the author, they learned that, although they talk about equity and access for their students, they are not even close to equity and access being a reality for all. As the…

As part of the national Future Ready Librarians initiative at the Alliance for Excellent Education, Mark Ray and Shannon McClintock Miller serve as national advocates for school library programs and librarians. Mark and Shannon began their library advocacy careers in school libraries. For eight years, Shannon was the district librarian in Van…

"Dewey or don't we?" is the question that hundreds, if not thousands, of school librarians across the country are currently asking themselves. Do they throw out what is old but trusted for new organizational systems, or do they continue using the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system and make changes and adjustments to the…

Digital media increase the visibility and presence of the past while also reshaping our sense of history. We have extraordinary access to digital versions of books, journals, film, television, music, art and popular culture from earlier eras. New theoretical formulations of database and archive provide ways to think creatively about these changes…

In this article, the author discusses the most important thing she thinks school libraries should work toward. It is important for a school librarian to know and understand the mission of the school. It is also important to formulate a mission for the school library program. School librarians must think about and reflect on their own beliefs. What…

The author recently asked his colleagues, "How can libraries determine the value in collecting, managing, preserving, and/or cataloging e-resources?" hoping to challenge readers to come up with some thoughtful opinions and useful tips. Not surprisingly, he received a handful of substantially different but uniformly provocative and creative…

John Palfrey is one busy guy, with an impressive gig. In 2008, he was named the Henry N. Ess III Professor of Law and Vice Dean for Library and Information Resources at Harvard Law School. And when he's not teaching courses on intellectual property and Internet law, there's a good chance he's overseeing the L school's research library. Palfrey,…

In answering the question "What is the next trend in usage statistics in libraries?" an eclectic group of respondents has presented an assortment of possibilities, suggestions, complaints and, of course, questions of their own. Undoubtedly, usage statistics collection, interpretation, and application are areas of growth and increasing complexity…

Scholars in many academic areas, including librarians, devote a significant amount of thought to critical thinking. Surveying views of its use and possibility, the author considers some key librarians' thoughts on critical thinking. In conclusion, the inability to define critical thinking means that librarians need to emphasize control of…

This article is a brief description of a young librarians' first six months in the profession. The article lists five things the librarian knows he has done wrong, and five things he knows he has done right.

For a librarian of St. John's School, Texas literacy is a passion and she believes that what all read matter because their lives are changed through the experience of reading good literature. She feels that most important responsibility of librarians is that of creating lifelong readers and learners.

Discussion of the concept of service and its significance for library reference work focuses on attitudes and qualities important to good service. The changing nature of reference resulting from technological developments and the appropriateness of these values for modern day reference work are then addressed. (13 references) (MES)

Based on a study trip to Denmark which included visits to a large central public library, branch libraries, the Royal Library, a special library, several university libraries, and the library school, this article offers personal observations on library education since the passage of the Royal School of Librarianship Act in 1985. (Three references)…

Presents Lorenzo Gurreri's narrative of his long and distinguished library career, which began in 1962 when he took an MSLS degree from Syracuse University. The ensuing years found him in cataloging and reference positions while the library profession began to feel the effects of the new Information Age. (VWC)

Focuses on how Effie Lee Morris continues the tradition of librarian-activist. Notes that her activism emerged during her youth when, as a high school student, she desegregated public bathhouses and pools in Cleveland, Ohio. Considers how today she remains actively involved in the American Library Association, the Children's Defense Fund and other…