Describes the experience of a middle school library which instituted a no-fines policy, and summarizes the benefits of such a policy with regard to book losses and public relations. (FM)

An elementary school librarian relates her experience talking a fifth grade boy out of committing suicide. Raises the question of librarian-student confidentiality in assembling a crisis management team. Argues that the school library should be a refuge, a place to get books and information, and love. (PEN)

Explains a work-study program designed for fourth and fifth grade students and describes pros and cons of using student workers in the media center for checking out materials, shelving books, straightening shelves, and dusting. Includes the student's job application, the teacher's application for student workers, and the work-study agreement and…

Discussion of the use of teleconferencing by teacher-librarians focuses on teleconferences between middle school students and authors as part of reading motivation programs. Topics addressed include costs, how to contact authors, how to prepare students, procedures during and after the teleconference, benefits to students, and limitations of…

Describes a school library media project for teaching poetry in which fifth-grade students write and illustrate a poem and produce a poster using the PosterPrinter machine. Suggestions for additional activities are included. (EAM)

Describes a library media game for grades four and five that is centered around books and is based on the television show "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?". Procedures for the game are explained, and examples of questions from simple to more difficult, with answers, are presented. (LRW)

Discusses reasons for including sports books in school library reference collections, explains why they should not be found only in public library collections, and provides six annotated bibliographies of sports books suitable for intermediate or middle school library collections. (LRW)

Describes a collaborative curriculum program developed by the library media specialist and classroom teachers for a sixth-grade unit on space exploration at a North Carolina elementary school. Staff development, shared activities of teachers and the library media specialist, and special activities in the library media center are described. (LRW)

Discusses the planning and implementation of a sixth-grade sleepover in a school library to celebrate National Library Week and to provide literature enrichment. Topics include student selection criteria; preparation; schedule and sample of activities; commentary and evaluation of event. Sidebars offer information on items to bring for overnight…

Describes the development of a reading incentive program at a school library for grades four through nine. Discusses a reading list provided by the librarian that students choose from; writing a summary of the book read in student journals; teacher participation that improves relationships with students; and motivation. (LRW)

Describes activities developed by an elementary school library media center to involve students in a before-school program in meaningful activities that center around a Teachers of Tomorrow group emphasizing leadership, scholarship, service, and responsibility. Highlights include reading to primary students, writing original books, an overnight…

Discusses how public relations can help make library media specialists and programs more visible and gives examples from a middle school library media center. Topics include monthly memos to school principals, including statistics; suggesting lesson plan ideas to teachers; attending department meetings; and helping out with routine school tasks.…

Describes a library-research-skills curriculum integrated with a social studies curriculum for emancipation celebrations for sixth graders. Using the school library media center and public and university libraries, students access, identify, and retrieve primary sources for evaluating and interpreting history. Student journal excerpts are…

Describes the structure of the graphical user interface for the digital resource library presently in use at three Baltimore middle schools. Focuses on video overview and preview mechanisms which are designed to facilitate users' exploration of the whole resource collection, support rapid browsing of object surrogates, and provide access to…

Discusses advantages of learning Latin, including enriching vocabulary and higher verbal test scores on the SATs; describes extracurricular activities based on Latin; and includes a lesson plan for library media specialists, suitable for intermediate grades whose curriculum includes ancient Roman life, that integrates language arts and social…