Mary D. Lankford, Ed.

There is a technique in young adult literature of having each teen read one chapter of a book and then give a brief oral review. This way, the entire book is “read” in about 20 minutes. Lankford’s collection of articles would be good for a monthly meeting of district teacher-librarians. One copy of the book can be cut up into chapters (oh my, destroy a book?), and the chapters can be distributed, perhaps, the day before the meeting. Nine people could then do a 1-minute presentation of the major ideas. Interested folks can then check out a copy of the book for further study. We all need to be reminded of leadership issues and principles. Lankford has assembled some notable Texans, including Betty Carter and Mary Beth Green, plus some excellent building-level teacher-librarians to write essays on leadership principles, advocacy, collection development, financial support, collaboration, professional development, learner-centered teaching, and evaluation. The essays are of varying length and substance. One annoying feature, though, is that the varying authors refer to our names as librarians, teacher librarians, and library media specialists. However, when used in the fashion described here, this book is worth a look. (Linworth Books, 2006. 160 pp. $44.95. 1-58683-191-7.)

Bottom line: Worth a look. David Loertscher

Judith Anne Sykes

So, we start learning about how the brain functions. So what? How does that knowledge affect what we do every day in the school library? Sykes, a Canadian leader in school libraries, demonstrates the tour through the world of brain learning that she took a few years ago and her discovery and then adaptation of new ideas for transforming a school library program. She introduces readers to the ideas of three important educators who have built educational strategies around brain-based research. Then Sykes takes us on a tour of ideas that will affect school library facilities, collections, collaboration, and information literacy.

    I like the impact that the new ideas have had on Sykes’s foundational school library ideas, and I wish that every school library professional would take the same journey. In the first chapter, readers are introduced to a number of ideas, web sites, and authors that are important to know. Unfortunately, the time in publication has made this chapter quite dated, but the ideas are there: Inquiry, new technologies, and new ideas are indeed there to transform education and help readers see beyond the test. For teacher-librarians who are discussing new directions, Sykes’s recommendations and examples are worth considering, although many are brief and general. I would like to see such a transformation in action, but I am not certain that there is enough guidance here to help those who have not taken the sample path that Sykes has taken. But, perhaps, none of us change unless we struggle to build new understandings and do the work to implement them on our own. (Libraries Unlimited, 2006. 136 pp. $35.00. 1-59158-246-6.)

Bottom line: Although not recommended as a guide to action, Sykes’s ideas should enter a professional development conversation. David Loertsher

Douglas B. Reeves

In its April 2006 issue, Teacher Librarian named On Common Ground: The Power of Professional Learning Communities by Richard Dufour, Robert Eaker, and Rebecca DuFour (National Educational Service, 2005) as one of the best professional books published in 2005. That book urged a faculty—including the teacher-librarian—to study together, decide on goals, and accomplish them collaboratively. This year, Reeves’s book is just as important because it draws on collaboration, research results, and principles of leadership to make restructuring actually work in a school, as opposed to making it just the “current program emphasis.” This book is designed to be read and studied by the principal or anyone else who is in a school leadership position (translation: the teacher-librarian). This is not a chatty book. It discusses research with emphasis on data mining to be the basis of decision making, but it makes the reader focus on “what is it that makes us successful, and why?” Of particular value is the leadership map that places those who intend to lead in one of four categories:

<ul>

Losing: Those who are failing and do not know why.

Lucky: Those who are experiencing success but do not know why.

Learning: Those who are failing, understand why, and know what they are going to do about it.

Leading: Those who succeed and know why.

</ul>

Reeves asks the leadership team to analyze what is working and supported by evidence and then to consistently pursue the best practices that lead to success. Here is an important book for the teacher-librarian to read, put sticky notes on, and then encourage the principal or the leadership team to adopt and have the professional learning community study. It is an eye-opener, and it has many implications for running an outstanding school library program that centers its mission on school improvement for every child. (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2006. 221 pp. $26.95. 1-4166-0332-8.)

Bottom line: Another must-read. David Loertscher

Rachel Singer Gordon

With hints of What Color Is Your Parachute? (Bolles, 2006), Gordon speaks mainly to the under-40 crowd about getting into the field, surviving the first job, and beginning to change the field as the older guard retires. For the upwardly mobile as well as the teacher-librarian who is considering a job change out of the school library field, this book is a good read. (Information Today, 2006. 248 pp. $29.50. 1-57387-256-3.)

Bottom line: An easy and tip-filled read. David Loertscher

Allan L. Beane and Linda Beane

This book provides bully free ideas and patterns that are designed to give to an assistant or a group of students to create bulletin boards for any available space in the library or  school. These ideas can be part of a program that sends the message that bullying will not be tolerated. (Free Spirit Publishing, 2006. 144 pp. $24.95. 1-57542-186-0.)

Bottom line: Worth a look. david Loertsher

Stephanie Rawlins Gerding and Pamela H. MacKellar

Knowing the availability of a possible grant is just the first step in getting it. Gerding and MacKellar are experienced grant-writing professionals, and they have conducted grant-writing seminars in many venues. Part One of this book explains the stages that one goes through in writing and submitting a winning grant proposal. Part Two provides many examples of successful grant projects. Finally, Part Three and the CD-ROM provide many forms, guides, and examples to follow in the construction of an actual grant. This book is an appropriate purchase not just for the individual teacher-librarian who needs a short course in grant writing, but also for a district director who intends to provide professional development on this topic. The authors cover all types of libraries, but there is sufficient information for the school library to make the book worth its purchase price, if the buyer seriously wants to learn the ropes of obtaining grants. This book can also be used as a text in a library school seminar or in a continuing education workshop. It is certainly a text worth considering. (Neal-Schuman, 2006. 251 pp., plus CD-ROM. $99.95. 1-55570-555-9.)

Bottom line: Recommended. david Loertscher

Prepared by the Taft Group for the American Library Association

The fight for funds to keep collections and technology current continues to plague the nation’s school libraries, requiring every teach-librarian to look for support outside of school, district, and state dollars. This volume is an expensive resource, and I do not recommend its purchase unless the teacher-librarian—perhaps at the district level—decides that grant seeking is a serious activity. There are a number of online sources for grant seeking. This printed catalog narrows the search a bit and describes hundreds of possible sources. (American Library Association, 2006. 1667 pp. $275.00. 0-8389-3558-3.)

Bottom line: Recommended for the committed grant seeker. David Loertscher

George M. Eberhart, Ed.

            The Whole Library Handbook has been fun and informative reading since the publication of its first edition. This edition is no different. It is packed with data, brief professional writing, bibliographies, trivia, issues, and everything else the editor found to tweak our interest, professionalism, and our funny bone. This fourth edition contains the best of the old and much new material, and it is targeted at librarianship as a whole.

And for those interested in the school library arena, Blanche Woolls and I edited a companion volume to Eberhart’s book, also published by ALA (2004), entitled Whole School Library Handbook. A number of library professors use The Whole Library Handbook in a beginning course to introduce students to the field. It is a fine compilation for that purpose, but for the experienced librarian, it continues to fill both an almanac function as well as being a professional information treasure. (American Library Association, 2006. 585 pp. $42.00. 0-8389-0915-9.)

Bottom line: Recommended. David Loertscher

Deborah A. Robertson

In many communities, school and public libraries can join together to celebrate so many wonderful diverse aspects of culture—and, here is how to do it from a professional at the American Library Association’s headquarters. (American Library Association, 2005. 120 pp. $35.00. 0-8389-3551-6.)

Bottom line: Definitely worth a look. David Loertscher

Sharon McQueen

This is a well-illustrated guide that is better than the brief materials provided by the supply houses. (Scarecrow Press, 2005. 130 pp. $35.00. 0-8108-5224-1.)

Bottom line: Worth the price. David Loertscher

Patricia H. Fisher and Marseille M. Pride

Created for every library, this handbook offers practical advice, forms, activities, data collection instruments, and other tips for getting a marketing campaign off the ground. (American Library Association, 2006. 152 pp. $45.00. 0-8389- 0909-4.)

Bottom line: This book is particularly good for district-level coordinators. David Loertscher

James H. Stronge, Ed.

 AND

Effective Teacher Evaluation: A Guide for Principals

Kenneth D. Peterson and Catherine A. Peterson

Working with administrators to boost quality teaching—and being evaluated ourselves—these two books are a good way to update oneself on methods currently being used in the field. (Corwin Press, 2006. 328 pp. $39.95. 1-4129-0978-3; 2005. 128 pp. $24.95. 1-4129-1483-3.)

Bottom line: Worth a look. David Loertscher

Office for Intellectual Freedom

Check your shelves. Which edition of this manual is there? Are you ready for those challenges? (American Library Association, 2006. 544 pp. $52.00. 0-8389-3561-3.)Bottom line: Now might be the time to update your copy of this essential source. david Loertscher

Business Presenters

Naomi Lederer

What do good presenters do? What do they do to prepare? How do they manage the space in which they are presenting? How do they pace their presentations? How do they design their visuals and handouts? How do they use web sites to their advantage? How do they insert humor?  How do they form and manage groups during work sessions and discussions? If you are a beginning presenter or one with some experience seeking to sharpening your skills, this book is like going to mother for advice. It is not a book to try to read through; rather, think of it as a book of quotations organized by subject so that you can zero in on topics of interest. Each suggestion is a brief, one or two sentences, taken from the author’s repertoire. Each section concludes with a list of books or articles  for further reading. To the experienced presenter, the suggestions might seem common knowledge—until you remember back to when you first started presenting, falling on your face until you learned the ropes. Now that many teacher-librarians have the opportunity not only to present in a classroom, at a faculty meeting, at a professional development session, or at a state or national conference, it does not hurt to hone one’s skills. For example, I learned long ago not to pass out the handouts until some time into the session, because so many folks who are session-hopping come to pick up anything they can grab, and then there are not enough handouts for the serious participants. Common sense, right? But Lederer helps us learn such practicalities in advance. Therefore, this book of advice is a $35.00 investment in a private tutor that can be consulted almost any time. If you want to read another treatment with similar material, try Workshops That Really Work: The ABCs of Designing and Delivering Sensational Presentations (Portner, 2006). (Scarcrow Press, 2005. 232 pp. $35.00. 0-8108-5212-8.)

Bottom line: Recommended for the beginning and the somewhat-experienced presenter. david Loertscher

Sherry York

Library Media Connection has a resourceful column in which practicing teacher-librarians submit quick ideas that help solve problems, or they give creative solutions to problems likely to be faced in many school libraries. There are eight sections to this book: “Managing the Library,” “Teaching Library Skills,” “Working with Students,” “Working with Teachers,” “Using Technology in the Library,” “Promoting Reading,” “Building Positive Public Relations,” and “Working with Helpers.” Each idea is accompanied by the name of the teacher-librarian who submitted it to the magazine, so the book constitutes a collection of these ideas over a period of time. Individually, the ideas reinforce the notion that given a problem, the teacher-librarians of the country are very creative, and like the many listservs across the nation, buzzing with shop talk, the sharing of ideas for the everyday problems and solutions constitutes a superb support group. However, there is a major problem here because as a group of ideas, the collection paints a picture of the professional teacher-librarian that should not exist, one that does not accurately represent the contribution of today’s school library to the school. What do I mean? As a group, the ideas belong in the support role of the school library program; the role that can be done by a paraprofessional rather than a professional with a master’s degree. The library professionals of the nation are being replaced at a rapid pace by paraprofessionals who command lower salaries. This situation is due to the low opinion that many administrators, politicians, and community members have of the function of the school library and of the teacher-librarian. If the library is seen as just a department that dispenses materials—a warehouse—a place where children are entertained or taught a quick lesson, then teacher-librarians will never progress as a profession. Thus, this collection constitutes advice for paraprofessionals whose role it is to manage the place. It lacks the great ideas for the higher level and critical functions that push achievement and partner with curriculum, or push students to higher-level thinking. (Linworth Books, 2006. 168 pp. $36.95. 1-58683-211-5.)

Bottom line: This collection of ideas is not recommended as any picture of what a teacher-librarian can and must do. david Loertscher

Gail Dickinson

And

National Board Certification in Library Media: A Candidate’s Journal

Peggy Milam

Here are two important books on the same topic but from two different perspectives. National Board Certification is a major effort and now a sizeable business of recognizing quality performance in many teaching fields. In some states, those who apply and are recognized receive pay differentials from their state legislatures, and others do the rigorous paperwork just for the recognition. The process is costly: two thousand dollars the last time I checked, and it requires a great deal of time, preparation, paperwork, evidence gathering, and persistence. Are you a teacher-librarian who is interested in applying? Then consider these two books. Dickinson, an assistant professor at Old Dominion University in Virginia, has been interested in National Board Certification since 2000 when the standards for that recognition were issued. She has conducted workshops on the topic and has now published a book to assist those who are interested in applying for the certification.

She approaches the task as an academic, giving lots of background information about board certification, the development of the process, and the process itself. Then she gives a solid theoretical—yet practical—chapter to each of the four major areas that must be documented by the applicant: collaborative integrated instruction, literature appreciation, integration of technology, and best practices. She then provides detailed guidance for each of the sections.

Milam, on the other hand, approaches the credential somewhat like a diary of a practitioner facing this somewhat daunting task. As a practicing teacher-librarian, she logs her way through the process, giving practical guidance along the path through each of the topics to be covered by the applicant. Alternatively, the reader is taught each step of the process, and then, in handwritten diary entries, the reader understands the author’s journey as a teacher-librarian who is going through the process. If I were thinking of applying, I would invest the $85 in both books, read them both before deciding, and then follow their wise counsel as I went through the process. (American Library Association, 2005. 184 pp. $40.00. 0-8389-0901-9; Linworth Books, 2005. 152 pp. $44.95. 1-58683-183-6.) $44.95.)

Bottom line: Both books are highly recommended. David Loertscher