What’s Black and White and Reid All Over? (book)

Reid, R. (2012). What’s Black and White and Reid All Over? Something Hilarious Happened at the Library. Chicago, IL: American Library Association. ISBN: 978-0-8389-1147-1.

Best-selling children’s author Reid knows a thing or two about getting kids’ attention and holding it. His advice? Cut out the blah-blah-blah and make ‘em laugh! In his new book, aimed squarely at the preschool/elementary school crowd, he highlights dozens of programming and title suggestions that are surefire ways to banish young ones’ yawns permanently, including

• Humorous lesson plans, organized by age group, with storytelling tips for maximum yuks
• Several book lists of the funniest titles published since 2000, encompassing picture books, books for beginning readers, graphic novels and Manga, juvenile fiction, poetry, and other literature
• More than a dozen original fingerplays, songs, activities and stories, along with a new “Rappin’ Rob Rap”

With the hilarious ideas and ready-to-use programs in this book, your storytimes will be the laugh factory of the library!

(book description)

Ture Stories of Censorship Battles in America's Libraries (book)

Nye, V. & Barco, K. (2012). True Stories of Censorship Battles in America's Libraries. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.

Intellectual freedom is a core value of librarianship, but fighting to keep controversial materials on the shelves can sometimes feel like a lonely battle. And not all censorship controversies involve the public objecting to a book in the collection—libraries are venues for displays and meetings, and sometimes library staff themselves are tempted to preemptively censor a work. Those facing censorship challenges can find support and inspiration in this book, which compiles dozens of stories from library front lines. Edifying and enlightening, this collection

• Tells the stories of librarians who withstood difficult circumstances to champion intellectual freedom
• Touches on prickly issues such as age-appropriateness, some librarians’ temptation to preemptively censor, sensitive cultural expressions, and criminality in the library
• Presents case studies of defenses that were unsuccessful, so librarians facing similar challenges can learn from these defeats
  

There are fewer situations more stressful in a librarian's professional life than being personally confronted with a demand to remove a book from the shelves or not knowing how to respond to other kinds of censorship challenges. Reading this book will help fortify and inform those in the fray.

(book description)

Developing 21st Century Literacies

Langhorne, Mary J., Denise Rehmke, and Iowa City Community School District. Developing 21st Century Literacies: A K-12 School Library Curriculum Blueprint with Sample Lessons. New York: Neal-Schuman, 2011. ISBN: 978-1555707521

From the Publisher:
Here is a guide that shows you how to help students develop the critical thinking and learning skills necessary for effective and engaged citizens in the 21^st Century. It provides tools and strategies to deliver a cutting-edge school library curriculum. Langhorne and Rehmke survey visual, technological, media, and information literacies, explore the concepts for learning with electronic formats, and expand the teacher librarian’s role in school reading programs. All of the forms, lessons, and worksheets found in the book are just a sample of what is available on the website, all of it available for easy downloading.

Part I of this book outlines the building blocks for creating a school library instructional program. Part II presents the curriculum blueprint developed in the Iowa City Community School District, including sample lessons and units. Like most curriculum documents, this one is organized around standards, benchmarks and objectives. Because school librarians have two major areas of responsibility for teaching, the content is also organized into two concept areas: literature and inquiry.

The school librarian plays a critical role in the reading program of the school, both in supporting classroom reading instruction and in library teaching activities that enrich reading for students through exposure to various types of literature, literary elements and the work of respected authors. The literature component of this curriculum reflects the long-held belief that skillful reading is fundamental to all types of literacy.

An inquiry-based approach involves students seeking multiple perspectives, working collaboratively with others, using information ethically and creatively, and developing dispositions for learning—curiosity, responsibility, persistence and independence.

The following is a sampling of lessons provided in the printed version of the book. Many more are available on the website.
• Alphabetical Order
• Library Orientation – Sections of the Library
• Book Care Kindergarten and
• Book Parts
• Selecting a Just Right Book
• Using the Table of Contents in a Nonfiction Book to Locate Information
• Using Nonfiction Book Elements to Locate Information
• Identifying Elements of Setting
• Identifying Elements of Character
• Poetry
• Fantasy: Characters
• Exploring Historical Fiction, Biography, and Nonfiction through Baseball
• Realistic Fiction
• Types of Literature Review
• Asking Questions of Text
• Barbara O’Connor Author Study
• Using Keywords to Find Online Information and Choosing Appropriate Sources
• Basic Searching in the Library Catalog
• Navigating Websites without Getting Lost
• Evaluating Sources of Information
• Using Non-fiction Text Structures to Improve Comprehension
• Note Taking
• Two Column Notetaking
• Notetaking and Citation Using Index Cards
• Creating a Beginning Bibliography
• Producing a “New Directions” Movie

Coteaching Reading Comprehension Strategies in Secondary School Libraries

Moreillon, Judi. Coteaching Reading Comprehension Strategies in Secondary School Libraries: Maximizing Your Impact. Chicago: ALA Editions, 2012. ISBN: 978-0-8389-1088-7

From the Publisher:
This companion volume to Collaborative Strategies for Teaching Reading Comprehension, which covered lower grades, completes the educational arc by focusing on adolescent readers in grades 6-12. Drawing on the most current standards from the American Association for School Librarians (AASL) as well as cutting-edge research, this straightforward book

• Offers a comprehensive approach to increasing students’ reading comprehension, with chapters covering the complete range of skills
• Includes graphic organizers, rubrics, sample student work, adaptable lesson plans, and more
• Addresses the evolving relationship between technology and reading comprehension

Designed to raise reading scores and encourage classroom teacher-school librarian partnerships, this timely resource identifies new and critical areas of importance as they relate to current standards.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction

Chapter 1 Collaborative Teaching in the Age of Accountability
Chapter 2 Maximizing Your Impact
Chapter 3 Reading Comprehension Strategy One: Activating or Building Background Knowledge
Chapter 4 Reading Comprehension Strategy Two: Using Sensory Images
Chapter 5 Reading Comprehension Strategy Three: Questioning
Chapter 6 Reading Comprehension Strategy Four: Making Predictions and Drawing Inferences
Chapter 7 Reading Comprehension Strategy Five: Determining Main Ideas
Chapter 8 Reading Comprehension Strategy Six: Using Fix-up Options
Chapter 9 Reading Comprehension Strategy Seven: Synthesizing

References
Index

Companion Book
Coteaching Reading Comprehension Strategies in Elementary School Libraries: Maximizing Your Impact

Digital and Media Literarcy: Connecting Culture and Classroom

Hobbs, Renee. Digital and Media Literacy: Connecting Culture and Classroom. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2011. ISBN: 978-1-4129-8158-3

From the Publisher:
Maximize the power of media for teaching 21^st-century skills

Today’s students tweet, text, and navigate apps up to 12 hours each day, but they may not know how to effectively analyze a TV show or website. Award-winning author Renee Hobbs demonstrates how to incorporate media literacy into the secondary classroom, providing the tools teachers need to:

• Effectively foster students' critical thinking, collaboration, and communication skills
• Integrate media literacy into every subject
• Select meaningful media texts for use in the classroom
• Recognize the "teachable moment" in dialogue about popular culture

Included are vignettes of Grade 6-12 teachers who are connecting their English, history, chemistry, and health classrooms to media culture. A companion website offers video clips and discussion questions related to the sample lesson plans in each chapter. Digital andMedia Literacy offers a wealth of ideas that you can implement immediately to prepare students for college and the workforce.

Book Repair

Lavender, Kenneth, and Artemis BonaDea. Book Repair: A How-To-Do-It Manual. 2nd ed. rev. New York: Neal-Schuman, 2011. ISBN: 978-1555707477

From the Publisher:
Libraries of all types have books that need to be repaired or conserved, especially in light of budget restrictions that may prohibit purchasing replacements. Limited funds also mean that this activity is increasingly handled in-house. Fortunately, there is a comprehensive source to which you can turn with all your questions: Book Repair: A How-To-Do-It Manual, Second Edition Revised by Kenneth Lavender with revisions by Artemis BonaDea.

Covering both basic book repair techniques and sound preservation practices, this practical, step-by-step manual offers illustrated sections on cleaning, mending, hinge and spine repair, strengthening paperbacks, and more. Other topics include: wet and water-damaged books; mold and mildew; repair of book linings and pamphlet bindings; using acid-free materials to repair damaged books; lining paper objects; affordable repair tools and supplies, and much more. A full discussion of when and how to make repairs is provided, as is a discussion of alternative conservation practices that will enable each librarian to develop procedures appropriate to his or her library.

Throughout the book, more than 110 detailed diagrams, photographs, and drawings illustrate each repair technique.

Previous editions of Kenneth Lavender’s Book Repair: A How-To-Do-It Manual have firmly established this as the go-to reference. This revision not only provides a comprehensive compendium of book repair topics and illustrated processes, but also contains updates throughout, a brand-new glossary, and a wealth of leads for Web-based informational resources.

Summary Table of Contents:

• The Basics: Tools and Techniques
• Paper Cleaning
• Treatment of Water-Damaged Books and Papers and Removal of Mold and Mildew
• Paper Mending
• Hinge and Spine Repair
• Protective Enclosures

Defusing the Angry Patron

Rubin, Rhea J. Defusing the Angry Patron: A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians. 2nd ed. New York: Neal-Schuman, 2011. ISBN: 978-1555707316

From the Publisher:
How do libraries deal with angry comments on their websites, blogs, or social networks? Does having a security staff actually help defuse angry users? How can library staff members best respond to frustrated users who get angry in a chat reference setting?

Here, renowned library consultant Rhea Rubin deals with these questions and more in Defusing the Angry Patron: A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians, Second Edition. New technologies for service delivery have ushered in new venues for frustration. To help librarians know how to react in the face of patron anger, Rubin adds five new coping strategies to the 20 basic ones she
introduced in the first edition. All of them have been updated them in light of key changes, including virtual reference service and the Web 2.0 phenomenon. A whole new chapter addresses anger in the digital landscape.

This very practical how-to shows how effective staff training and intentional behaviors can positively affect patron behavior, minimize altercations, and ease the stress of public services staff. Library staff members looking for effective ways to prevent and handle anger-driven confrontations with their patrons will find Rubin’s revised text an exceptionally useful, applicable, and enlightening guide.

Copyright for Teachers & Librarians in the 21st Century

Butler, Rebecca P. Copyright for Teachers & Librarians in the 21st Century. New York: Neal-Schuman, 2011. ISBN: 978-1555707385

From the Publisher:
Here is a practical copyright handbook designed to help librarians, media specialists, technology coordinators and specialists, and teachers stay within copyright law while making copyrighted print, non-print, and Web sources available to students and others. Library educator Rebecca Butler explains fair use, public domain, documentation and licenses, permissions, violations and penalties, policies and ethics codes, citations, creation and ownership, how to register copyrights, and gives tips for staying out of trouble.

She explains copyright considerations for the web, television, videos and DVDs, computer software, music, books, magazines, and journals--materials that can create a day-to-day challenge for educators and require this resource’s careful guidance. Up-to-date coverage includes:

• iPods and other hand-held devices (including cell phones that access the Internet)
• blogs, wikis, Pod-casts, RSS feeds and Nings
• Second Life and other Internet world environments
• social networks (FaceBook, MySpace, Twitter, etc)
• Moodle, Skype, and similar digital communication tools
• social bookmarking, web syndication and video streaming
• TIVO and similar systems
• deep-linking
• computer, video games and gaming
• Open-sourcing / Creative Commons

Butler also covers how to deal with those who would have you break the law; orphan works; file sharing; distance education; digital rights management; the law: classroom exemption, handicap exemption, library exemption, other important federal exemptions in the K-12 schools, parodies, and state laws; copyright lawsuits; relationship of plagiarism to copyright; and copyright and privacy.

Both a self-education tool and a practical guide, the book makes clear just what teachers and librarians can and cannot do in the classroom or library. Essential background is provided for everything from the basic concepts of copyright law to specific applications of it for various types of media. Figures and flowcharts throughout make the book easy to follow and understand. Appendices feature U.S. copyright law excerpts and resources for further information.

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This complements another book by Ms. Butler, Smart Copyright Compliance for Schools, which is more about developing policies to help schools comply with copyright.

Stop Plagiarism: A Guide to Understanding and Prevention

Cvetkovic, Vibiana B., and Katie E. Anderson, eds. Stop Plagiarism: A Guide to Understanding and Prevention. New York: Neal-Schuman, 2010. ISBN: 978-1555707163

From the Publisher:
Designed to be of use to all levels of educators working with students--from high school to post-graduate--this book addresses the problems and concerns facing librarians and educators involved in the process of teaching academic honesty. Many of the original authors from The Plagiarism Plague have returned with new essays along with new voices, a majority of whom represent the next generation of librarianship, the Web 2.0 professional.

Stop Plagiarism contains background material, web resources, a collection of sample exercises, and an interactive CD that provides tools an educator can use to stop plagiarism. One of three videos on the CD features an animated interactive quiz that helps student understand when they must include a citation. The authors have also established an anti-plagiarism wiki where readers are encouraged to participate in the on-going conversation on plagiarism. This book is a one-stop source for anyone who wants to understand why students knowingly or unknowingly plagiarize, who needs materials for teaching academic integrity, and who will benefit from a current resource guide to tools for actively detecting plagiarism.

Winning Grants (book & CD)

MacKellar, P.H. & Gerding, S.K. (2010). Winning Grants. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers.

Written by two experts who have won millions in grants from an astonishing variety of funding sources, Winning Grants is a combination workbook, how-to-manual, and multimedia workshop.

Now presented in Neal-Schuman’s newly revised How-To-Do-It series layout, Winning Grants gives you MacKellar’s and Gerding’s combined decades of successful grant-getting techniques in an accessible design so you can master these complex processes more easily. The authors’ expertise is unique as they have been on all sides of the grant process as grant writers, reviewers, project coordinators, consultants, and trainers. They have maintained the popular Library Grants Blog for over five years, helping librarians find grant opportunities easily and at no cost.

This multimedia package features three sections. Part I, “The Grant Process Cycle,” presents the full grant process cycle with MacKellar and Gerding sharing invaluable procedural advice that distinguishes proposals that receive sustained funding. Part II, “Library Grant Success Stories,” showcases real-life success stories that demonstrate the process in practice and provide motivational tips from successful library staff. Part III, “The Winning Grants Multimedia Toolkit and DVD,” includes time-saving tools, such as reusable checklists, worksheets, and templates. All of these tools are both in the book and reproduced as Microsoft Word documents on the multimedia DVD so you can make these templates your own and share them with colleagues. The DVD includes the entire text of successful grant proposals plus ten instructional videos to walk you through each step of the grant process cycle.

(book description)

Collection Development & Management for 21st Century (book & CD)

Gregory, V.L. (2011). Collection Development and Management for 21st Century Library Collections: An Introduction. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers.

Covering virtually every aspect of its subject, Collection Development and Management for 21st Century Library Collections is a soup-to-nuts guide perfect for students and beginning librarians, yet full of sage advice and new ideas for experienced practitioners.

This landmark new text was overseen by a stellar editorial advisory board: Karen Brown (Dominican University), Kay Ann Cassell (Rutgers University), Alma Dawson (Lousiana State University), Ann O’Neill (Emporia State University), and Patricia Oyler (Simmons College). Vicki Gregory, Professor at the University of South Florida, takes a process approach to her subject, making the book easy to consult about a specific question or problem. Practical and to the point, here’s an authoritative guide to collection development and management that covers the entire gamut.

Each chapter includes discussion questions, activities, references, and selected readings. Special features include samples of a needs assessment report, a collection development policy, an approval plan, and an electronic materials license.

(book description)

Mystery Theater for Teens (book)

Siwak, K.J. (2010). Library Programs for Teens: Mystery Theater. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press.

It's no mystery that fun and exciting programs bring teens into the library. Theater programs provide a venue for teens to express themselves creatively, encourage their participation in library programming, and offer them the opportunity for lively interaction with peers and adults. In Library Programs for Teens: Mystery Theater, Karen Siwak provides readers with complete instructions for creating a successful mystery theater program. With this guide, Siwak solves the ever puzzling programming issues of timing, setting clues, props, costumes, decorations, and food.

In addition to providing a basic formula for such programs, Siwak presents nine original teen-tested scripts—from the intriguing "Medieval Murder" to the hijinks of "Case of the Looney Librarian"—that will appeal to a wide variety of audiences. Reproducible graphics, flyers, bookmarks, invitations, nametags, book tie-ins, and player worksheets are included with each script. Programming is no longer perplexing with this heavily-illustrated collection of original mystery theater scripts for teens. Public and school librarians will find this volume a valuable tool for educational and entertaining programming and also for simply planning a fun party.

(book description)

Let's Pretend (book)

Bane, R.C. (2010). Let's Pretend: 50 Start-to-Finish Preschooler Programs for the Busy Librarian That Foster Imagination. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers.

Nothing comes as naturally to children as pretending. This book harnesses that wonderful capacity to nourish learning, literacy, cognitive development-- and pure enjoyment. What sets the book apart is Bane’s unique integration of storytelling, crafts, and play. Fifty compelling themes encourage kids to use their imaginations to learn about subjects as diverse as camping, the beach, the Old West, pirates, jungle safaris, dinosaur digs, plus 44 more scenarios.

Bane begins each program with a short storytime, then uses songs and props to guide children through play that fosters the development of thinking, language, social, and physical skills. Step by step, she spells out detailed, creative programming ideas for props, crafts, and songs--a welcome timesaver for increasingly busy librarians. Over 80 color photographs of sample scenes make setup a snap. Props are made from inexpensive, easily accessible materials with an accent on recycling and an eye to reutilization. Bane even gives guidance on how to apply her concepts to your own ideas or to open-ended imaginative play. Particularly valuable to children’s librarians under pressure to offer more and better programs despite budget cuts, Let’s Pretend is an all-in-one guide that will make your job easier--and a lot more fun.

(book description)

Making Library Web Sites Usable

Making Library Web Sites Usable : A LITA Guide, by Tom Lehman and Terry Nikkel. New York : Neal-Schuman Publishers, c2008

From the publisher:

If your library's website is not as user-friendly as it could or should be, you need this book. A LITA guide, it is the most authoritative, current reference on usability testing for libraries. It gives you practical advice in clear, non-technical prose, plus success stories from 18 academic, public, corporate, and government libraries. Read it and you will learn what usability assessments are, why they are important for libraries, why you should do them regularly, and what the most common challenges are. You will also learn all of the necessary how-tos, whats, and whys for the most common assessment techniques and how to interpret your results, document findings, and effectively communicate results and recommendations.

Usability-in-action success stories from Purdue, the University of Virginia, and Wright State University libraries; the Clinton Macomb Public Library in Michigan; the MITRE corporate library; and the library at NASA Goddard offer rare insights and practical advice for facing challenges like limited time, working within a budget, and rallying support for website changes. For library webmasters, members of library Web or usability teams, and library administrators committed to putting their patrons at the center of their website design strategy but unsure of how to begin.

Public Library Computer Technology Benchmarks

Public Library Computer Technology Benchmarks, [New York, N.Y.] : Primary Research Group, c2011.

From the publisher:

This 200+ page report looks closely at public library computer technology policies. It looks at purchasing plans for various brands of computer workstations, laptops, netbooks, tablet computers, smartphones, eBook readers and other technology. It looks at library plans for dual boot computers, computer technology centers, computer training videos and much more.

In addition to information on computer hardware the report looks at plans in patron training, outsourcing, help desk staffing levels and much more. [Read more]