MA School Library Transforms into New Learning Commons By Debra Lau Whelan - 12/10/2008
Before there was the enormous LCD TV, coffeehouse, and scattered comfy couches, the library at Chelmsford High School in Massachusetts was a run down mess. The bright yellow paint was peeling. The furniture was outdated. The carpet was frayed—and everyone kept tripping over the duct tape that helped to keep it down.
More
Free for All: Open Source Software By Karen Schneider - 08/01/2008
So what is open source software (OSS)? It’s software that is free in every sense of the word: free to download, free to use, and free to view or modify. Most OSS is distributed on the Web and you don’t need to sign a license agreement to use it. In fact, you’re probably using OSS and may not know it.
More
Consider the Source: Cracking Open By Marc Aronson - 04/01/2008
Teens don’t know enough about history and literature to tie their own shoelaces. That’s more or less the conclusion of a study I read about in the New York Times (see “Survey Finds Teenagers Ignorant on Basic History and Literature Questions,” February 27, 2008). Common Core—a nonpartisan research and advocacy group that favors more teaching of the liberal arts in ...
More
[Librarians]=Higher Test Scores By Staff - 03/01/2008
Here’s some more evidence that school librarians are essential to student learning: researchers at Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies (iSchool) have found that students who attend New York schools with certified media specialists have higher scores on their fourth- grade English Language Arts (ELA) test.
More
Yahoo! Teachers By Staff - 10/01/2007
Spread the word: Yahoo! has developed a free social networking site that lets librarians create, modify, and share standards-based curricula. Yahoo! Teachers lets educators search a specific subject and then pull up a list of preselected sites that adhere to state standards in math, science, social studies, and language arts.
More
The Sower: Interview with Keith Curry Lance By Doug Achterman - 10/01/2007
Without a doubt, he’s the Johnny Appleseed of school library research. But Keith Curry Lance is far too modest to accept this, or any other, accolade (Dr. Data? The Prince of Predictors?). “I just happened to be in the right place at the right time,” says Lance. That place was the Colorado Department of Education, which Lance has been affiliated with since 1985, right after he...
More
The Trouble with The Gold Standard: School Libraries & Research By Carol Gordon - 10/01/2007
Strongly held beliefs die hard, even when they are unfounded or lack evidence. Some still believe that fish is brain food and rumors of Elvis sightings continue to fly through cyberspace. Other times, unfounded beliefs are denials of an uncomfortable or “inconvenient truth.” For example, the denial of global warming was a dangerous, unfounded belief that persisted for years despite ...
More
2009 National Book Awards On the red carpet with nominees in the Young People's Literature category.
Photos by Rocco Staino.
SLJ Covers 2009 A bigger and better view of SLJ's covers from 2009
BookExpo America 2009: SLJ's Day of Dialog School Library Journal held a Day of Dialog in conjunction with the annual BookExpo America on May 28, 2009 at the Brooklyn Public Library. Full story: bit.ly/1a0G7o
Rockin’, Rollin’ and Ridin’ with Rebecca Frezza & Big Truck. CD. 23 min. Prod. by Big Truck Music. Dist. by CDBaby.com. 2009. $8.99.
Gr 1-5–A veteran of Noggin Channel and PBS Kids, Frezza created these eight exceptional rock ‘n roll songs for elementary grade children who are too old for Raffi, but not old enough for adult pop music.
Friends and colleagues of the late Effie Lee Morris may enjoy this photo of the children's librarian, which Nicholas Glass, founder and executive director of Teachingbooks.net, recently found on his computer. It was taken at the 2009 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago, and features (from left) Ashley Bryan, Christopher Myers, and Morris, also an advocate for children's literature and library service to youngsters with impaired vision, who died of cancer on November 10, 2009.
View All Stories
Rockin’, Rollin’ and Ridin’ with Rebecca Frezza & Big Truck. CD. 23 min. Prod. by Big Truck Music. Dist. by CDBaby.com. 2009. $8.99. 
