With some thought and direction, QR (quick response) codes are a great tool to use in school libraries to enhance access to information. From March through April 2013, Caitlin Ahearn interned at Sanborn Regional High School (SRHS) under the supervision of Pam Harland. As a result of Harland's un-Deweying of the nonfiction collection at SRHS,…

Implementing a library advisory committee (LAC) is one of those fundamentals taught in the Master of Library Science program: gather shareholders, create consensus, and build a community. But the day-to-day reality of K-12 schools often is not conducive to vision building, and if there is no administrator support for such a committee, faculty and…

In this article, the authors describe how they created a school library that is the center of learning in their school community with the collaborative vision of the principal (Mat McRae) and the school librarian (Kay Wejrowski) and the support of their entire staff. For eight years, McRae and Wejrowski have worked together as principal and school…

In this article, Oakmont Regional High School (Ashburnham, Massachusetts) librarian Jeffrey Aubuchon describes how the school library is developing a new classification scheme called the Spartan system. This system seeks to mirror instructional practices at Oakmont. The major divisions of the collection will be drawn around academic departments…

School librarians should consistently build relationships to foster collaborative work. For the school librarian, collaboration begins with both the business side of the library and personal interactions. True collaborations involve varied partnerships with shared planning and responsibilities. A co-teacher is expected to share in all aspects of…

New Canaan, Connecticut, is a community of approximately twenty thousand residents, located fifty miles northeast of New York City. It was ranked second in the nation as an education town within its demographic category, according to Schools.org. In 2005 the high school rolled out an interdisciplinary project with freshmen health teachers to embed…

The number of linguistically and culturally diverse students has been rapidly increasing in the United States. English language learner (ELL) enrollment has increased more than 50 percent from 1995-1996 to 2005-2006, composing about 10 percent of the total number of Pre-K-12 enrollment. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that 40 percent of the…

It is important for students to be good readers. In order to encourage reading for the fun of it, the author developed a game plan for the library. In this article, the author discusses how to make the library the place to be. She suggests that librarians need to encourage students to read, read, read. They must make their libraries places of…

The importance of reading is evident in every aspect of schooling and affects all areas of a student's daily life. At Delsea Regional High School in Franklinville, New Jersey, teachers (along with the school librarian) work to alter students' feelings about reading by using a variety of reading programs including the computerized reading…

In this article, the author discusses the role of school librarians as teachers in our learning ecosystems. In the author's partnership as an embedded librarian with English teacher Susan Lester at Creekview High School, they have sought in their Media 21 learning initiative to engage student participation, creating and sustaining conversations…

Humorist Josh Billings quipped, "About the most originality that any writer can hope to achieve honestly is to steal with good judgment." Billings was harsh in his view of originality, but his critique reveals a tension faced by students every time they write a history paper. Research is the essence of any history paper. Especially in high school,…

Both the popular media and professional literature are filled with suggestions on how to improve reading, but the one approach that always works is rarely mentioned: provide readers with a supply of interesting and comprehensible books. Instead, people are given advice that is dead wrong as a means of improving reading (e.g., roller skating and…

Today's students find it difficult to develop an understanding of what it is they need to know, and more importantly, why they need to know it. Framing this "need to know" has been called by various names, such as "inquiry," "inquiry process," "essential questions," "knowledge construction." Inquiry, however, goes much deeper than casual…

School librarians have excelled in providing a physical library space that is welcoming, making sure students have an inviting space to access print and digital materials, and developing collections that provide access for all ages of students. In the physical library space services such as collaborating with teachers and consulting with students…

In the past, this author used a generic self-assessment form designed for administrators at her school, yet administration is only a part of what she does. The administrative self-assessment tool does not give her an opportunity to reflect on other important responsibilities of a professionally trained school librarian. Therefore, the author…