As school districts across the United States increasingly question the need for trained librarians, this collection of research-based evidence helps make the case for a state-licensed librarian in every school. While serving on the AASL legislation committee, Mirah Dow recognized the urgent need to utilize research-based evidence to prove school librarians are much more than an educational luxury. This collection is the result. It brings together school library research studies and findings from the past decade and draws connections to how they can be applied to situations and questions that occur in practice. Taken as a whole, the research underscores that state-licensed, school librarians are a necessity for 21st-century students. Chapters center on important research studies from the past decade that examine data and locate school libraries within operational contexts. Methodologies are explained and findings summarized, while notes clarify practical applications for school librarians. Because each chapter includes a connection to broad realms of theoretical influence in the social sciences, the work will also be relevant to educators and public policymakers, arming them to better communicate research-based links between investments in school libraries and student learning outcomes.

Libraries today are more important than ever. More than just book repositories, libraries can become bulwarks against some of the most crucial challenges of our age: unequal access to education, jobs, and information. In BiblioTech, educator and technology expert John Palfrey argues that anyone seeking to participate in the 21st century needs to understand how to find and use the vast stores of information available online. And libraries, which play a crucial role in making these skills and information available, are at risk. In order to survive our rapidly modernizing world and dwindling government funding, libraries must make the transition to a digital future as soon as possible—by digitizing print material and ensuring that born-digital material is publicly available online. Not all of these changes will be easy for libraries to implement. But as Palfrey boldly argues, these modifications are vital if we hope to save libraries and, through them, the American democratic ideal.

This publication focuses on the past, present, and future impact of school librarians. The contributors are recognized leaders within the information profession with expertise in school libraries, and they chronicle international issues in professional education, scholarship, organizations, and the innovations of practitioners –information that appeals to a global audience of professional educators, practitioners, and students involved in school libraries. The book is divided into three parts with each chapter contributed by an individual who has made significant contributions to the profession. Part 1 focuses on the history of school libraries and children’s literature. Part 2 provides a perspective on the current trends and opportunities for professional development and scholarship for school librarians, and Part 3 offers views on the ways school librarians will interact with students and teachers in the future. Readers will find authoritative information about the education, professional associations, scholarship, and innovations that are occurring internationally, and they will be inspired to perpetuate the legacy of school library advocacy established by Dr. E. Blanche Woolls. The book will appeal to a global audience of professional educators, practitioners, and students involved in school libraries.

This book provides an in-depth exploration of the topics that are currently relevant in K–12 curricula, including the school librarian's role in dealing with these issues, collaborating with teachers, and connecting to classrooms. This latest version of Connecting Libraries with Classrooms: The Curricular Roles of the Media Specialist is intended to help school librarians to collaborate with teachers in subject areas, meet the needs of special groups of students, and be fully aware of important educational trends. The first chapter covers collaboration and partnerships within the school setting, providing a background for the subsequent subject matter. The balance of the book addresses the role of the school librarian in the modern K–12 curriculum. This information is organized into the curricula of reading, music, and English as a second language; three groups of special students (students with autism, highly mobile students, and LGBT students); and critical trends in education—Web 2.0, distance education, and inclusion. This resource is an invaluable aid for practicing school librarians and serve as a core textbook for preservice school librarians.

This very readable text is updated to encompass the new role of school librarians in managing the digital world in libraries. This textbook is simply the ideal guide for preservice school librarians and those new to the field. After a brief introduction that describes the history of the role of the school librarian, the book covers how to choose a credential program, identify the requirements for working in each of the 50 states, and avoid the pitfalls of looking for and choosing a job. The text even supplies a first-week "survival guide" for excelling in that new position from the beginning, covering the challenges of successfully managing collections, facilities, personnel, and technology. Critical subject matter such as librarian/teacher collaboration, curriculum integration, proposal writing, tackling leadership, and the role of a school librarian in the legislative process are addressed as well. This latest version of this established, "go-to" text provides updated coverage of student learning assessment, supplies new information on managing digital and virtual libraries and collections as well as social media in the library media center, and supplies careful attention to key strategies to meet AASL and Common Core standards. - Presents up-to-date information and thorough revisions of a well-established and popular textbook - Highlights the teaching role of today's school librarian - Emphasizes the newest AASL standards, the Common Core standards, and the management of 21st-century digital and virtual libraries and collections - Supplies comprehensive coverage of current issues in school library media center administration