Global Perspectives On School Libraries

Promoting literacies through the school library : "Reading opens all door : an integrated reading program at Genazano College in Melbourne, Australia" by Susan La Marca, Sandra Hardinge and Lyn Pucius.

Education for all can be more effectively provided through the services, programmes and activities of the school library tailored to the needs of the school community. This inspiring book can foster the school librarian's professional development for school library enhancement. It aims at providing amazing topics, methodologies, approaches and experiences. It presents projects and practices addressing the challenges of supporting basic literacy, including contexts where many children cannot or do not access formal instruction on a regular basis. These may inspire education authorities, public librarians and other cultural professionals who work closely with schools and communities.

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is the leading international body representing the interests of library and information services and their users. It is the global voice of the information profession. The series IFLA Publications deals with many of the means through which libraries, information centres, and information professionals worldwide can formulate their goals, exert their influence as a group, protect their interests, and find solutions to global problems.

Bridging the gap between research and practice communities is more pertinent than ever because of the need for evidence in developing and evaluating library services and programs. The gap between research and library practice has been discussed in the library and information science (LIS) field for almost two decades. The issues range from limited transfer of ideas from research into practice to a lack of education in research methods for library practitioners. This book introduces new voices from international research and practice communities into the discussion and contributes to the debate about the research-practice divide. Education and continuing training in research methods from international perspectives are explored and the experiences of researcher-practitioners from several countries highlight the issues. The volume includes chapters from LIS educators, academic researchers, and researcher-practitioners from 18 countries. It features the voices of instructors who teach research methods in LIS programs and library practitioners who engage in research. The book is addressed to the global audience of LIS educators and practitioners, with the goal of deepening the understanding of LIS education and training in research methods through sharing case studies and approaches to teaching and conducting research in practice.

This book celebrates the new IFLA School Library Guidelines and shows how the Guidelines can be used in improving school library services. Each chapter describes innovative initiatives for developing, implementing and promoting school library guidelines. The book provides inspiration and guidance for the creation of national school library standards and for the development and use of standards and guidelines to change school library practice, to define the teaching role of school librarians, to guide the initial preparation of school librarians, and to advocate for school library services. Contributors to the book come from around the world: Australia, Canada, Ethiopia, France, Malaysia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United States. Their work illustrates the shared commitment of school librarians around the world to "teaching and learning for all", as envisioned in the IFLA/UNESCO School Library Manifesto.

This book celebrates the new IFLA School Library Guidelines and shows how the Guidelines can be used in improving school library services. Each chapter describes innovative initiatives for developing, implementing and promoting school library guidelines. The book provides inspiration and guidance for the creation of national school library standards and for the development and use of standards and guidelines to change school library practice, to define the teaching role of school librarians, to guide the initial preparation of school librarians, and to advocate for school library services. Contributors to the book come from around the world: Australia, Canada, Ethiopia, France, Malaysia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United States. Their work illustrates the shared commitment of school librarians around the world to "teaching and learning for all", as envisioned in the IFLA/UNESCO School Library Manifesto.

This book focuses on inquiry-based teaching, one of the five vital aspects of the instructional work of school librarians identified in the second edition of the IFLA School Library Guidelines (2015). Effective implementation of inquiry-based teaching and learning requires a consistent instructional approach, based on a model of inquiry that is built upon foundations of research and best practice. The book explains the importance and significance of inquiry as a process of learning; outlines the research underpinning this process of learning; describes ways in which models of inquiry have been developed; provides recommendations for implementing the use of such models; and demonstrates how the other core instructional activities of school librarians, such as literacy and reading promotion, media and information literacy instruction, technology integration and professional development of teachers, can be integrated into inquiry. Inquiry-based learning is part of “learning to be a learner,” a lifelong pursuit involving finding and using information. Inquiry develops the skills and understandings that learners need in new information environments, whether that be as students in post-secondary institutions, as producers and creators in workplaces, or as citizens in communities. Through inquiry-based teaching, school librarians help students to build the essential skills and understandings needed for dealing with complex learning challenges, including analysis, critical thinking, and problem solving. In this book, special attention is given to the development of students’ metacognitive abilities, which are essential to their becoming life-long and life-wide learners.