To enable learners to seize the opportunities they will face in the future, school librarians must hold a clear vision of where they want their learners to go. Indeed, the primary responsibility of school librarians is to develop whole-child-focused library programs that engage and empower learners with the durable skills, attitudes, and…

Reaching the "leadership zone" happens when librarians tap into the extraordinary skills lying within to overcome obstacles and transform sometimes-difficult situations into meaningful outcomes. Maturing into an experienced leader who stays in the leadership zone requires knowledge, training, and practice. This article provides tactical…

Information anxiety is a serious issue that has the potential to hinder the success of a large percentage of the population in both education and professional settings. It has become more prevalent as societies begin to focus more on the value of technology, multitasking, and instant information access. The majority of the population has felt, to…

People see challenges to libraries in funding, in ebooks, and in the internet. However, in this information-rich age, librarians' roles are even more important. They are information experts. They know how to think about the changing information environment, and they know the impact--both positive and negative--it can have on people whose jobs…

Two hundred years ago, literacy meant being able to read and write. Today people find themselves with many literacies in a nation that is considered ninety-nine percent literate. The plethora of literacies has just given birth to another term--transliteracy. Transliteracy is the ability to read, listen to, view, understand, synthesize, and apply…

This article is Part 3 of a three part summary of selected articles from the journals of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) over a period of thirty-five years from 1972 to 2007. This three-part series in the April, May, and June (2009) issues of "School Library Media Activities Monthly" ("SLMAM") illustrate the evolution in…

As we look back over the last six months, we are surprised at what we have accomplished with a coordinated effort and a team attitude. The librarians who "check their egos at the door" (Sanders 2008) will find that their joint accomplishments exceed the sum of their individual efforts. The willingness to accept others' ideas (both internal and…

If Google represents the first flicker of information technology, the development of additional tools has continued to enhance access to information but with the unfortunate downside of decreasing information literacy. Todd Gilman, librarian for literature in English at Yale University's Sterling Memorial Library, decries the resulting disconnect…

This is Part 2 of a three-part summary of selected articles from the journals of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) over a period of thirty-five years from 1972 to 2007. This three-part series in the April, May, and June (2009) issues of "School Library Media Activities Monthly" ("SLMAM") will illustrate the evolution in…

This paper describes a project that underscores the critical role of this nation's museums and libraries in helping citizens build such 21st century skills as information, communications and technology literacy, critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, civic literacy, and global awareness. Recognizing that every individual requires these…

Many teachers think too little about the role of the library media specialist in their professional lives, and because of this oversight they underutilize this great resource. This article explains the top ten reasons why teachers should work with their library media specialists: (1) Improving test scores and enhancing student academic…

Discusses the role of college libraries in the teaching of library skills to undergraduates, and describes a program in which an English department cooperated with library staff in sharing the responsibility for instruction. (FM)

Ralph Waldo Emerson's criticism that libraries lack the profession of "professor of books" represents the central problem of bibliographic instruction: an inadequately formed theoretical or conceptual framework. A history of the ideas, notions, terms, and phrases about bibliographic instruction illustrates this. (MSE)

School library media specialists at all levels have been investing long hours in preparing and implementing lessons. They try to coordinate these lessons with teachers, and, in the best-case scenario, they collaboratively plan and deliver the instruction. The missing piece is an indication of whether or not students have actually been learning.…

Since 1976, Uris Undergraduate Library at Cornell University has provided a program in bibliographic instruction involving 140-150 classes per year and reaching between 2,500 and 3,500 students. In addition to course related and course integrated classes for students at all levels, the program includes intensive training for teacher-librarians.…