This book is geared to helping librarians and other educators to empower young women and men through information and information skills. Gender issues are a focal point because content and content delivery have historically minimized women's contributions and perspectives, and students can have the opportunity to resolve these issues. Access to and manipulation of information is a valuable set of skills for young people, for it enables them to examine social messages and assumptions rather than feel manipulated by them. In addition, educators can foster a gender-inclusive learning environment. The first chapter points out the gender issues that exist in many educational settings, and provides a historical and social context that demonstrates the need for examining them. The second chapter looks at self-esteem issues, and provides ways for teachers to introduce activities that foster critical self-examination so students can gather information about themselves and use that data to improve their self-concepts. The third chapter examines gender-associated ways of learning. It looks at biological and social issues that can enrich students' learning experiences. The fourth chapter offers an organizational structure that accommodates a variety of perspectives for learning. It emphasizes an inclusive learning community, and deals with the varied levels of implementing gender awareness and inclusiveness. The fifth chapter looks at the specific issue of information literacy: how students interact with information to solve problems. It also points out how focusing on gender issues helps develop a more complex and richer research context. The sixth chapter reviews how to plan and implement learning activities that foster gender equity and a sense of inclusiveness. It challenges classroom and librarian teachers to examine their course content and the resources they use. Emphasis is placed on teacher-librarian partnerships, which models a collaborative spirit. The seventh chapter provides a framework for developing reality-based lesson plans that incorporate gender issues. Thirty-one ready-made lessons follow to provide guidelines for meaningful learning and action. A subject-arranged bibliography of 151 significant resources that deal with gender issues is located at the end of the book. (Author)