Overview
This book was developed for a course the authors co-teach in essential reference skills knowledge for school library media specialists. It focuses on core reference skills, current electronic and print resources, and leadership in teaching reference in K-12 school libraries. The authors have reviewed the AASL guidelines Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning and focus on how school media specialists can assist students in becoming information literate by teaching core reference and information processing skills and by building an excellent reference collection in their school media centers.
Synopsis
Newly updated, this book offers a concise overview of the state of reference services and their role in school libraries.
School Library Journal
Newbie librarians and teachers, as well as veterans in the field, will find useful information that can be applied to daily practice not only in the school library, but also in the classroom. Chapters cover such topics as information literacy, print and electronic sources, library catalogs, searching the Web, library instruction, and building a collection. The authors help nontechie educators navigate online reference sources by recommending useful Web sites and virtual sources. Seasoned professionals will notice a paradigm shift in service; that is, a change from having the librarian find needed information to teaching students to find it themselves.—Angela Washington-Blair, Emmett J. Conrad High School, Dallas, TX
Editorials
From the Publisher
"This will work will be a good choice for the busy practitioner or student who needs updated material. It is recommended for professional collections."
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ARBAonline
"Lanning (library media and reference, Southern Utah U.) and Bryner (teacher education, Brigham Young U.), a website developer, offer an overview of essential reference services for school library media specialists. Focusing on core reference skills, electronic resources, and leadership skills, they discuss information and information literacy, using and evaluating print and electronic resources, providing and evaluating reference services, creating web resources, catalogs, searching the web, teaching the core curriculum, and building a reference collection. This edition updates the core reference skills with information on virtual reference services and library instruction. The resource section has new editions and updates to electronic resources and Web 2.0 tools, and the leadership section has been expanded."
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SciTech Book News
"This is quite a comprehensive and informative monograph in the area of reference services, through K–12 standards, in the U.S. The monograph is primarily intended for media specialists, who will find the text, contents and delineation useful and handy for needed orientation for reference services."
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Library Times International
"for a simple introduction to reference services for teacher-librarians, this book does a satisfactory job."
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Booklist
"Newbie librarians and teachers, as well as veterans in the field, will find useful information that can be applied to daily practice not only in the school library, but also in the classroom."
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School Library Journal
"an invaluable resource for both new and experienced librarians. . . . Highly recommended."
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Library Media Connection
"This title contains a detailed reference list with a range of book material, journals and many websites and an index. It is a place to start for an understanding of contemporary reference collection development and reference services. Core, established reference services as well as virtual reference services are part of the 2010 skills portfolio of the teacher librarian profession."
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Australian Library Journal