Here’s a one-stop guide to help libraries with participatory design, open-ended play, and resources that contribute to an active learning environment for young children.

Libraries are community connectors, places where people come together, think together, and learn together. Libraries support and nurture strong, resilient communities. Day in and day out, the library workers at these institutions are doing much more than ensuring equal and equitable access to information; and their impact stretches far beyond the books, programs, and services they facilitate. Featuring contributions from such library leaders as Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, the late Nicolette Sosulski, and Erica Freudenberger, this collection of inspiring first-hand stories from across libraryland spotlights the countless ways in which library staff are making a difference for their communities. A sharing of the hearts, minds, and spirits of library staff from across the country, the uplifting personal narratives in this book include when a routine reference query inspired a librarian to reach out to a senior patron; how a public library’s annual Diwali celebration has strengthened the social fabric of the surrounding community; the story of a library that burned down, was hit by a hurricane, got sued twice, and yet still reemerged stronger than ever; how the team at the Fayetteville Free Library (FFL) of New York has strategically nurtured a culture of innovation by integrating Syracuse University students into the staff, holding technology “open houses,” and developing other initiatives; and the intervention of a public library staff member that helped a mother keep her son enrolled in school and receive his diploma. Library workers change and save lives every day, and this book is a powerful and nourishing reminder of exactly why libraries are essential.

Susan Orlean’s bestseller and New York Times Notable Book is “a sheer delight…as rich in insight and as varied as the treasures contained on the shelves in any local library” (USA TODAY)—a dazzling love letter to a beloved institution and an investigation into one of its greatest mysteries. “Everybody who loves books should check out The Library Book” (The Washington Post). On the morning of April 28, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. The fire was disastrous: it reached two thousand degrees and burned for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed four hundred thousand books and damaged seven hundred thousand more. Investigators descended on the scene, but more than thirty years later, the mystery remains: Did someone purposefully set fire to the library—and if so, who? Weaving her lifelong love of books and reading into an investigation of the fire, award-winning New Yorker reporter and New York Times bestselling author Susan Orlean delivers a “delightful…reflection on the past, present, and future of libraries in America” (New York magazine) that manages to tell the broader story of libraries and librarians in a way that has never been done before. In the “exquisitely written, consistently entertaining” (The New York Times) The Library Book, Orlean chronicles the LAPL fire and its aftermath to showcase the larger, crucial role that libraries play in our lives; delves into the evolution of libraries; brings each department of the library to vivid life; studies arson and attempts to burn a copy of a book herself; and reexamines the case of Harry Peak, the blond-haired actor long suspected of setting fire to the LAPL more than thirty years ago. “A book lover’s dream…an ambitiously researched, elegantly written book that serves as a portal into a place of history, drama, culture, and stories” (Star Tribune, Minneapolis), Susan Orlean’s thrilling journey through the stacks reveals how these beloved institutions provide much more than just books—and why they remain an essential part of the heart, mind, and soul of our country.

The only things librarians seem to encounter more often than acronyms are strings of jargon and arcane technical phrases—and there are so many floating around that even just reading an article in a professional journal can bewilder experienced librarians, to say nothing of those new to the profession! Featuring thousands of revised and brand new entries, the fourth edition of ALA Glossary of Library and Information Science presents a thorough yet concise guide to the specific words that describe the materials, processes and systems relevant to the field of librarianship. A panel of experts from across the LIS world have thoroughly updated the glossary to include the latest technology- and internet-related terms, covering metadata, licensing, electronic resources, instruction, assessment, readers’ advisory, and electronic workflow. This book will become an essential part of every library’s and librarian’s reference collection and will also be a blessing for LIS students and recent graduates.

Some students are more "challenging" than most. This book helps school librarians prevent, deal with, and overcome discipline problems they may face when communicating with K–12 students. Positive Classroom Management Skills for School Librarians is a rich, highly needed collection of strategies and methods for building and maintaining a positive learning environment in the library classroom. Appropriate for both pre-service and practicing school librarians at all grade levels, this book provides suggested techniques and examples of best practices for managing students in a school library. This invaluable information has been obtained from observations of school librarians and from discussions with pre-service students, and based upon coauthor Kay Bishop's 20 years of experience as a school librarian in various library settings. Specific topics covered include establishing positive relationships between students and school librarians; characteristics of students in different grade levels; techniques that librarians can use for effectively managing students in the school library; ways to relate with diverse students, including students with special needs; managing students as they utilize technology in library settings; and designing a school library environment to avoid potential discipline problems.

Providing a model of critique useful in readers advisory, collection development, and book clubs, this title encourages the inclusion of young adult titles advancing a positive representation of girls in programming and instruction. Even in an era in which there are multiple and wide-ranging conversations about representations of diverse groups in literature, the depiction of girls in young adult literature has received inadequate attention. This text provides a model for understanding how girls are represented in young adult literature that will aid school and youth services librarians in their personal understanding and awareness as they build collections and create programming. It provides practical suggestions for how to use and implement a feminist lens while reading, discussing, and reviewing titles. Included are a list of recommended annotated titles and discussion questions for use in developing appropriate instructional and interesting programs that explore concepts of girlhood, media literacy programs, and diverse collections.

With Knoll’s guidance, children‘s librarians will be informed and inspired to rise to the challenge of providing quality service to babies, toddlers, and care providers.

"Good morning America book club"--Jacket.