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 The furniture was outdated.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
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
2008 National Book Awards Nominees in the young people's literature category graced the red carpet on Awards night Nov. 20, 2008.
The Buzz Nov. 2008 So the economy’s gone south, you still need your gadgets.
Folktales from Around the World: The Bear Prince. DVD. 11:56 min. with tchr’s. guide. Prod. by Colman Communications. Dist. by 100% Educational Media (schoolvideos.com). 2008. $39.95.
K-Gr 4–While this animated Mexican fairy tale will be new to most viewers, the story contains familiar elements from such popular tales as “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Little Mermaid,” and “Puss in Boots.”
Let them eat cake! Library aide Shanta Ramkhelawan (left), librarian Camina Raphael, and Colleen McCrea, head of the children's library, served delectable dessert to more than 130 people celebrating the 85th anniversary of the historic Robert Bacon Memorial Children's Library in Westbury, NY. Upon opening its doors in 1924 it was only the third children's library in the world.