Like many teacher librarians, this author is often blessed with the opportunity to mentor preservice teacher librarians. There are "apps" she would like to "load" onto every student teacher-librarian's "screen," if he or she is to have true credibility in leading a school through an information and communication landscape that is continually in…

It's not easy being a media specialist, especially if one is new to the profession or one has switched schools and is suddenly the "new kid on the block." This article offers 10 road-tested tips that will help every new media specialist not only survive, but also "thrive": (1) Learn the curriculum; (2) Document! Document! Document! (3) Smile and…

When asked what Facebook is for, kids will say that it's there to help them make friends. The kids the author celebrated in his early books as "digital natives," capable of seeing through all efforts of big media and marketing, have actually proven less able to discern the integrity of the sources they read and the intentions of the programs they…

Readers' advisory with middle schoolers does not come easily. In an effort to expand students' reading horizons, the author describes how to teach students to speak intelligently and thoughtfully about their book preferences. She cites Joyce Saricks's "Readers' Advisory Service in the Public Library" (ALA, 2005), a book that gave her the clarity…

In this article, the author profiles Carolyn Brodie, winner of this year's Scholastic Library Publishing Award. One can be completely charmed by Brodie's soft-spoken Arkansas accent, warm demeanor, and genteel manners. While the graciousness is authentic, the woman behind it is fearless, with a clear vision for youth services, remarkable tenacity,…

Microsoft and Google have very different business models. Microsoft believes that if they build it, people will come--and buy their products. Google's approach is different: if they build it, people will integrate it into their lives. People use Microsoft's product on Microsoft's terms, but people use Google products on "their" terms. In this…

This article describes a practical, sure-fire way for media specialists to boost student achievement. The method is called data-driven collaboration, and it's a practical, easy-to-use technique in which media specialists and teachers work together to pinpoint kids' instructional needs and improve their essential skills. The author discusses the…

The reading patterns and habits of young and old are changing as reading migrates from the printed page to the computer screen. Now, new forms of expression such as remixes and mash-ups are emerging from interactive digital environments. How can school librarians help students read with understanding in dynamic digital environments? How can they…

Social bookmarking allows multiple users to save their favorite sites, articles, and even podcasts on the Web--instead of inside one's browser--making them accessible from home, school, the library, or anywhere with Internet access. It's quickly becoming a popular way for teachers and students to store, classify, share, and search links, all of…

Students from Far Rockaway High School are just back from spring break, and media specialist Geri Ellner is busy getting ready for her first class. She's already pulled out a copy of Anthony Browne's award-winning picture book "The Shape Game" (Farrar, 2003), and now she's patiently cuing up a Disney video of "Pocahontas" on…

Students at Middletown High School are not turning to Google as their main source of information. Cecelia Freda, Middletown's head librarian, was responsible for making sure that students learn the basics of research. Before Freda's arrival at Middletown, most of the school's students were clueless about anything having to do with library. Now,…

Having sleepovers at the public library can be fun and exciting. This article describes the Brownie Sleepover program, a library sleepover program, which started 10 years ago when two local Brownie leaders approached the former head of children's services to ask if she could help second graders earn their "Be a Reader" patch. After…

How can a young media specialist not only survive but thrive during their first year on the job? What do you need to know about working with an experienced staff? In this article, the author provides some strategies that helped the author earn his colleagues' respect. Sections include: (1) Listen and Learn; (2) Take the Terror out of Technology;…

Students at Gill St. Bernard's are introduced to guided inquiry as soon as they enter either the middle or upper school. It's the job of the research librarian, to guide younger students along the path to information literacy, the ability to locate, evaluate, and use needed information. The research librarian meets seventh and eighth graders twice…

It is the recent emphasis on testing that has brought life to this issue once again and has spawned the "New Boys Movement," which focuses on helping boys achieve in reading and writing, Researchers have been studying what makes boys tick. What they've learned is that boys take longer to learn to read than girls; they read less than girls and are…