Am. Library Association

Collaborative strategies for teaching reading comprehension; maximizing your impact.

Intended for elementary school library programs, this teaching resource contains advice and sample lesson plans for building background knowledge, determining main ideas in a reading, using sensory images, making predictions and inferences, questioning, and synthesizing. Different plans address the needs of readers at the emerging, advancing, and advanced levels by presenting specific book titles and encouraging student participation. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Designing a school library media center for the future, 2d ed.

Two school library and media construction specialists with extensive combined experience have updated their guide to building a new school library media center to account for decreasing funding, increasing enrollment, and expanding technologies. School librarians will learn how to manage construction from the planning stages to conclusion, finding advice on accessibility and sustainability, cost control and savvy bidding, the creation of a functional and inviting interior, how facilities may be combined, and the technological needs of current and future students. Sample floor plans; chair, table, and shelf dimensions; and space allocation principles supplement the text. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Managing facilities for results; optimizing space for services.

Bryan (Southeastern Massachusetts Library System) offers advice on creating new service areas within existing library space, in this workbook for library directors, staff, and boards. The workbook outlines eight tasks and details their steps, with ideas illustrated by an ongoing case study throughout. Twenty-three workforms for collecting and organizing information are included in the book, and are also available for download from a web site. Each workform comes with notes on the purpose of the workform, sources of data needed, factors to consider when completing the workform, and line by line instructions. Three toolkits are also included, providing technical assistance on calculating square footage, assessing the message, and complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. The workbook can be used in small to large school, special, and academic libraries. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

The Newbery and Caldecott awards; a guide to the medal and honor books, 2007 ed.

This handy reference lists all the medal winners and honor books that have received a Newbery or Caldecott award since each award was founded, through those handed out in 2007. An initial section describes the history of the awards and their criteria for winning. The order is chronological by award, with a short synopsis included for each book. Title and author indexes are provided. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Serving teens through readers' advisory.

Booth, a public school librarian, knows that teens who read not only benefit by the content but also hone skills in critical thinking and communicating. She provides a range of activities and ideas designed to involve teens, especially those who do not know they are potentially proficient and confident readers. She explains why teens need and want to read, the mechanics of readers' advisories and the modifications needed in the case of teens, tips for the generalist, opening interviews, detecting and articulating appeal, going beyond the mere list to market titles, creating resources for staff, using indirect marketing and operating under special circumstances such as homework assignments. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Storytimes for two-year olds, 3d ed.

Nichols, a storyteller, puppeteer, and library consultant, outlines programs for engaging the youngest library audiences. She explains general planning considerations, then provides 50 ready-made programs on themes such as holidays, gardens, animals, play, and seasons. Each ready-made program includes a list of book titles, rhymes and fingerplays, crafts, and parent follow-up ideas. For this third edition, she updates thematic booklists to include newer titles, although some older titles are retained on each list. The professional bibliography has also been updated and expanded to reflect new resources. The author was previously the youth services coordinator for the Wichita Public Library. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)