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As families are looking for better ways to educate their children,
more and more of them are becoming interested and engaged in
alternative ways of schooling that are different, separate, or
opposite of the traditional classroom. Homeschooling has become
ever more creative and varied as families create custom-tailored
curricula, assignments, goals, and strategies that are best for
each unique child. This presents a multitude of challenges and
opportunities for information institutions, including public,
academic, school, and special libraries. The need for librarians to
help homeschool families become information and media literate is
more important than ever. This collection of essays provides a
range of approaches and strategies suggested by skilled
professionals as well as veteran homeschool parents on how to best
serve the diverse needs and learning experiences of homeschooled
youth. It includes information on needs assessments for special
needs students, gifted students, and African American students;
advice on how to provide support for the families of homeschoolers;
case studies; and information on new technologies that could
benefit libraries and the homeschooler populations that they serve.
In a changing world, with multiple and often conflicting voices,
the library's important role as a location of safety and inclusion
as well as the crusader for knowledge cannot be overstated. It can
be easy to reflect differing perspectives in our collections and
displays, but if we do not practice our values, we are lacking. As
leaders in our communities, librarians have an obligation to
educate and inform; we must be ready to lead and model the
principles we support. The question that arises for many is: how?
As an integral part of the community, libraries need to move beyond
diverse collection development and social issues displays. Here,
experienced librarians offer suggestions, guidance and inspiration
to motivate librarians at all levels to consider the assumptions we
may take for granted, seek out new creative paths, and work to
support change in our organizations. Be it steps to create a book
group for the intellectually disabled, partnering with social
workers or advocacy for employees with disabilities from within,
included in these chapters are both theoretical foundation and
hands on practical ideas.
At a time when libraries are no longer leading proprietors of
information, many library professionals find themselves rethinking
their purpose. In this collection of new essays, contributors share
their experiences and ideas for keeping libraries integral to
changing communities. Innovative approaches and best practices are
discussed for strategic planning, packaging, branding and
marketing, funding issues, physical spaces, collection needs and
trends, partnerships, programming and services, professional
education, and staffing.
The foreword writer and librarian, D. Joshua Taylor, MA, MLS, the
Host of Genealogy Roadshow (PBS) and President, New York
Genealogical and Biographical Society noted: "The increasing
popularity of the topic require that any librarian who encounters
genealogical customers remain on the forefront of new developments
in the field." The thirty-four chapters are written by experts
across the United States actively engaged in helping patrons with
genealogy.
Libraries, writers, and poets have long had a close working
relationship. Rapid changes in technology has not changed the
importance of this cooperation: book talks and readings are as
popular as ever-and the ways librarians support local writers with
workshops, festivals, widely varied community events, are presented
in creative ways in the 29 chapters. The forty-seven contributors
are from across the United States.
During the past few years, groups like the President's Council of
Advisors on Science and Technology, Center for Education have been
placing great emphasis on the significance of STEM (science,
technology, engineering, and math) education. In brief, the US is
seen as falling behind the rest of the world in science and
technology education. In response, the curricula have been revised
in many educational institutions and school districts across the
country. It is clear that for STEM to be successful, other
community organizations, most particularly libraries, need to be
closely involved in the process. Library staff realize the
importance of getting involved in STEM education, but many have
difficulty finding comprehensive information that will help them
plan and successfully implement STEM direction in their
organization. This book is designed to meet that need. It is timely
and relevant. How to STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Math Education in Libraries is by and for libraries who are
involved in contributing efforts into advancing these subjects. It
is organized in 9 parts including funding, grant writing, community
partnerships, outreach, research, and examples of specific
programming activities. Authors are drawn from the professional
staffs of educational institutions, libraries, and non-profit
organizations such as science museums. The book contains eight
parts, each emphasizing a different aspect of how to succeed with
STEM. Part 1 emphasizes how hands-on activities that are both fun
and educational can be used to further STEM awareness. Parts 2 and
3 contain chapters on the uniting of STEM with Information
Literacy. Innovative collection development ideas are discussed in
Part 4 and Part 5 focuses on research and publishing. Outreach is
the theme of Part 6 and the programs described in these chapters
offer an array of ways to connect with students of all ages. The
final section of How to STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, and
Math Education in Libraries addresses the funding of these
programs. Librarians of all types will be pleased to discover
easy-to-implement suggestions for collaborative efforts, many rich
and diverse programming ideas, strategies for improving reference
services and library instruction to speakers of English as a second
language, marketing and promotional tips designed to welcome
multicultural patrons into the library, and much more.
It is an exciting time to be a librarian. Advances in technology
have allowed libraries to expand far beyond walls and lead the way
in information delivery, while at the same time transforming the
physical space of the library into a place where customers can
connect to information in new ways. At the same time, it is a
challenging time to be a librarian. With continual change as the
new normal, staying current can seem overwhelming. Even facing
budget shortfalls and staff reductions, librarians are tasked with
finding the time and resources to keep abreast of rapid changes.
This book offers a cornucopia of practical advice about how to
acquire new skills as well as formal and informal credentials
through all stages of a career. The 27 essays are divided into
eight parts, covering topics such as formal and online education,
conferences, fellowships, workshops, networking, teaching,
mentoring, balancing a personal life with a professional one, and
matters of money. Filled with practical, honest, and real-world
advice, the book will prove valuable to librarians of all kinds.
In the current economic climate, most librarians recognize the
critical importance of marketing as a means of self-preservation,
largely accepting that the future of libraries requires marketing
in order to increase library use and public perceptions of worth.
However, few librarians have prior professional experience
marketing products or services and the majority must balance
marketing duties with many other job responsibilities. This
anthology offers practical insight on marketing techniques
specifically designed for libraries. Concise, how-to case studies
from practicing public, school, academic, and special librarians
provide proven strategies to improve brand management, campaign
organization, community outreach, media interaction, social media,
and event planning and implementation. Intended for the novice and
the old hand, individuals and large staffs, this valuable guide
provides librarians with the effective marketing tools necessary to
help their libraries thrive in these challenging times.
"Creativity is just connecting things," observed Steve Jobs. In
today's diverse, ever-changing job market, creativity is more
necessary than ever. In a profession offering a broad range of job
opportunities, librarians are surrounded by myriad connections to
be made. They are trained to recognize them. This insightful
collection of new essays covers a wide spectrum of methods for
cultivating creativity as a skill for career fulfillment and
success. Topics include learning through role-playing games,
libraries as publishers, setting up and using makerspaces,
developing in-house support for early-career staff, creating
travelling exhibits, creative problem solving, and organizing
no-cost conferences.
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