Describes the Pathways to Knowledge model for helping students achieve information literacy in library media programs. Discusses the searcher's thinking, information search or seeking, and instructional strategies; information skills; the six stages in the model, including appreciation, presearch, search, interpretation, communication, and…

"Inquiry is an investigative process that engages students in answering questions, solving real world problems, confronting issues, or exploring personal interests" (Pappas and Tepe 2002, 27). Students who engage in inquiry learning need tools and resources that enable them to independently gather and use information. Scaffolding is important for…

In this article, the author describes a management manual she maintained while working as a school library media specialist. She started the manual when she was a student in the organization and administration course in the library science program and kept it current with information gleaned from conferences, workshops, and networking with other…

School library media centers should be warm and inviting places where the environment entices children to read and explore. Creative bulletin board and case displays along with other exhibits help to make the library media center an exciting place. Bulletin board displays that promote authors, books, and exciting ideas motivate children to find…

In many professional roles, long-term vision may help guide short-term decisions. This is especially true for school library professionals as library media programs are constantly evolving. This author suggests strategies to assist library media specialists to nurture their vision and provides reviews of several sources and experts in the field…

This article discusses the importance of setting and implementing goals that can help change and improve a library media program over time--goals that go beyond merely keeping the library media center running. Suggestions for developing an action plan and strategies for effective time management are also presented.

One of the most important policy documents for a school library media center is the selection policy or the collection development policy. A well-developed selection policy provides a rationale for the selection decisions made by the school library media specialist. A selection policy represents the criteria against which a challenged book is…

Library media specialists find themselves in a challenging position today. They know that the Internet opens up information access in exciting ways, so they do not want to scare people; but they do need to inform them about practices for using the Internet that will keep young people safe. They have a responsibility to inform other educators,…