Library Services for Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders (book)

Farmer, L.S.J. (2013). Library Services for Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.

Autism is now the second most commonly diagnosed serious developmental disability, and the number of children identified as autistic continues to grow. Introducing what autism spectrum disorders are, and identifying the great need to build and manage programs for different youth with these disorders, Farmer offers librarians in or outside a school environment all the information they need to build a library literacy program geared towards these children. Designed to both awaken sensitivities of library staff and address the questions of those who are already aware of the issue, this book

• Shows how children with this diagnosis are increasingly mainstreamed into traditional library and school programs and identifies the special needs and issues they face in a library setting
• Equips readers to meet the needs of young library users who are autistic with practical tools for training library staff, teachers, and volunteers 
• Explains hyperlexia, the main barrier to the development of literacy among these children, and how programs using sensory experiences can strengthen both literacy skills and socialization
• Proposes strategies for using library design to ensure that materials and resources are accessible to all patrons

Including a glossary of terms and bibliography of additional resources, Farmer’s book is an important tool for raising awareness and supporting literacy development for children with these disorders in the library setting. (book description)

Diversity in Youth Literature (book)

Naidoo, J.C. & Dahlen, S.P. (2013). Diversity in Youth Literature: Opening Doors Through Reading. Chicago, IL: American Library Association.

Surveying the landscape of children's and YA literature, this contributed volume shows how books have grown to include the wide range of our increasingly diverse society. Identifying both exemplary and problematic titles, the contributors

• Provide context by sketching out the historical trajectory of diversity in youth lit
• Organize titles into sections that range from familiar themes (African American, Asian, Latino) to the lesser known (such as literature dealing with incarceration, transnational adoption, and homelessness)
• Offer guidelines for evaluating and selecting the best in diversity literature
• Suggest youth-tested programs and strategies to promote multicultural books in the library and classroom

This thoughtful and timely book helps meet the informational, recreational, and cultural needs of today’s youth and those who serve them. (book description)

Metadata for Digital Collections

Miller, Steven J.  Metadata for Digital Collections.  New York: Neal-Schuman, 2011.  025.3 Mille  

ISBN 978-1555707460

More and more libraries, archives, and museums are creating online collections of digitized resources. Where can those charged with organizing these new collections turn for guidance on the actual practice of metadata design and creation? To Metadata for Digital Collections: A How-To-Do-It Manual for Libraries, Archives, and Museums. This practical, hands-on volume will make it easy for readers to acquire the knowledge and skills they need, whether they use the book on the job or in a classroom.. Author Steven Miller introduces readers to fundamental concepts and practices in a style accessible to beginners and LIS students, as well as experienced practitioners with little metadata training. He also takes account of the widespread use of digital collection management systems such as CONTENTdm. Rather than surveying a large number of metadata schemes, Miller covers only three of the schemes most commonly used in general digital resource description, namely, Dublin Core, MODS, and VRA. By limiting himself, Miller is able to address the chosen schemes in greater depth. He is also able to include numerous practical examples that clarify common application issues and challenges. He provides practical guidance on applying each of the Dublin Core elements, taking special care to clarify those most commonly misunderstood. The book includes a step-by-step guide on how to design and document a metadata scheme for local institutional needs and for specific digital collection projects. The text also serves well as an introduction to broader metadata topics, including XML encoding, mapping between different schemes, metadata interoperability and record sharing, OAI harvesting, and the emerging environment of Linked Data and the Semantic Web, explaining their relevance to current practitioners and students. A companion Web site includes exercises for each chapter, with suggestions for instructors, along with additional practical and reference resources.

The Virtual Learning Commons

 

Loertscher, David V., Carol Koechlin, and Esther Rosenfeld. The Virtual Learning Commons: Building a Participatory School Learning Community. Salt Lake City: Learning Commons Press, 2012. ISBN: 978-1-933170-70-1

Note
A virtual learning commons is the online arm of a learning commons, a combined school library and computer lab, that reinvents a school library website as a portal for interactive learning.

Publisher's Description
This book is a companion to and an extension of The New Learning Commons Where Learners Win 2nd edition, published in 2011. In that volume, we presented the idea that the school library and computer lab be merged into a single entity in the school, and that this new place be reinvented from the ground up in order to become a giant collaborative. 

In the past year, as we have watched Learning Commons develop around North America, we have discerned the need to elaborate on the virtual part of the  the Learning Commons that would replace the often bypassed school library website.

Our contribution is brief by design. It is what we hope is just enough of a spark to get you, the reader’s, imagination going. In the first part, we lay out the foundational ideas of what a giant participatory Virtual Learning Commons could contribute to teaching and learning in the school. Then, using Google Sites as just one possible tool, we guide the reader to download our free template and get started.

The last few chapters of the book deal with some of the important additional issues that are sure to come up as a school launches this grand experiment. We hope that the reader will be as excited by the possibilities as we are. Education across the world is changing, and we hope that the Virtual Learning Commons will be the vehicle to help both young people and adults learning to work in a global community. It is time to focus on building young people who are in charge of their own learning; a habit that will serve them their entire lives.

See the related book, The New Learning Commons: Where Learners Win!

The New Learning Commons

 

Loertscher, David V., Carol Koechlin, and Sandi Zwaan. The New Learning Commons: Where Learners Win!: Reinventing School Libraries and Computer Labs. 2nd ed. Salt Lake City: Hi Willow Research, 2011. ISBN: 978-1933170671

Publisher's Description

Originally published in 2008, the first edition of this book proposed a complete rethinking of the school library and computer lab in a 21st century school. After four years, the concepts of the Learning Commons have gained momentum across North America and in Australia. This second edition is rich in the further development of the concept and its implementation and draws upon many schools that have developed their programs and recreated their physical space and turned their library websites into virtual learning commons. For those who purchase the print edition, a Book2Cloud version is accessible. In this collaborative digital work, the many links to resources are live and readers can comment, add material and join with other readers in the discussion beyond what a static ebook version would have been. Every chapter has been totally revised and rethought to include the  latest research in education, technology, and library science. The book also contains a new chapter  concerning the building by students of their own personal learning environment. In this life0changing project, they learn to create their own portal into the world of the Internet, construct a personal learning network, and construct their own portfolio and public face on the Internet. Readers of the first edition will be pleased to encounter many more resources, ideas, experiences from the field, and a host of ideas from educational authorities around the world. And with the Book2Cloud edition, you can join in the conversation with the authors.

See the related book, The Virtual Learning Commons.