An estimated 1 in 110 children in the United States has autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Although the public awareness of autism has grown significantly, teens are not as educated about this subject as they should be. When accurately and positively presented, literature has been shown to help the classmates of those with ASD better understand the disorder. Increased familiarity with the subject will, in turn, help foster acceptance. In Autism in Young Adult Novels: An Annotated Bibliography, Marilyn Irwin, Annette Y. Goldsmith, and Rachel Applegate identify and assess teen fiction with autism content. In the first section, the authors analyze how characters with ASD are presented. Where do they live and go to school? Do they have friends? Do they have good relationships with their family? How are they treated by others? The authors also consider whether autism is accurately presented. This discussion is followed by a comprehensive bibliography of books that feature a character identified as being on the autism spectrum. The novels reviewed in this volume date as far back as the late 1960s and include works published in the last few years. As more and more authors of young adult fiction become sensitive to ASD, they are featuring such characters in their novels, creating more realistic works for their readers. This study will help librarians and others collect, choose, evaluate, and use these works to educate young adults.

Evaluation is essential to library management: it provides the data that underlies informed and effective decision-making. This book is a one-volume, how-to guide to library evaluation techniques, planning, and reporting. Library professionals-regardless of whether they operate in a school, public, or academic library setting-need to have effective evaluation skills in order to be accountable to stakeholders and to effect informed improvement. Practical Evaluation Techniques for Librarians provides information and guidance that is highly useful and accessible for all librarians looking to intelligently manage the strengths and weaknesses of their library as well as communicate its value to its stakeholders. Rather than focusing on data-gathering methods appropriate for researchers, the book concentrates on data collection at the local level that enables informed managerial decision-making. It describes and compares techniques that can be used with any level or type of resource-staffing, software, and expertise, for example-in any size library. Author Rachel Applegate makes it clear that accountability is everywhere and imperative, and any librarian can learn the simple techniques to benefit from evaluation. Provides specific directions for writing surveys, conducting interviews, and performing a wide range of evaluation techniques, accompanied by examples to follow Covers the evaluation of library's electronic and physical collections, face-to-face and virtual service, and facilities Supplies a framework and specific tools for proving your library's value and improving how it operates Lays out a clear methodology for quantifying and demonstrating progress towards an objective: measure, analyze, and report

This book helps directors of small college libraries to plan, staff, and organize their facilities and make the right decisions to effectively contribute to their college's mission. The purpose of this book is to provide the director of a small college library—typically defined as a facility managed by one to seven librarians—with information on every important managerial function specific to their facilities. This content will be much more useful for these library specialists than that of management books covering generic library management or targeted towards large academic settings. Managing the Small College Library covers the key responsibilities of the small college library director: personnel, planning, budgeting, and serving key constituencies. The author draws upon her in-depth knowledge of bureaucratic, political, and human resources managerial theory to explain how librarians can advance the mission of their library. It also includes an in-depth discussion of tenure and academic status for librarians, and examines the effects of both public and religious affiliation.