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Purpose: The main objective of this study was to gain insight into school-based speech-language pathologists' (SLPs') perspectives on and experiences with telepractice as a service delivery model at the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic. A better understanding of the facilitating and challenging factors that belie telepractice-based services will guide the creation of training and resource development to further support remote speech-language services in schools. Method: Four focus group sessions using a semistructured format were conducted with 22 school-based SLPs from 14 states in the United States. The focus groups provided an opportunity for SLPs to reflect on their telepractice experiences, including pros and cons, necessary knowledge and skills, factors impacting telepractice service delivery, and student and family participation. Inductive thematic analysis was used to describe the collective experiences and perspectives of the participants. Results: Three themes regarding telepractice emerged: technology use, locus of control for decision making, and student and family engagement. Participants reported experiencing a range of successes and challenges when attempting to meet students' needs and identified gaps in resources and school capacity for telepractice. Conclusions: The findings revealed how school SLPs experienced telepractice service delivery during the remote learning portion of the 2019-2020 school year due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study increases our understanding of factors that facilitated and challenged the effective delivery of speech-language services via telepractice. To assist SLPs in future telepractice efforts, implications for professional development and further research are provided.

This paper uses a meta-ethnographic approach to examine a core body of research conducted primarily by one iSchool research center that has bolstered its curriculum in support of school librarian leadership in the past decade. Substantive studies, conducted by faculty and doctoral students, have focused on various phases of leadership from pre-service to mastery with emphases on technology integration. The goal of this paper is to go beyond the traditional summarizing of the research in the area to synthesizing and reinterpreting published findings for the purpose of building a foundation on which to investigate a theoretical framework for leadership by school librarians.

In this article, the author reflects on some cuts that were presented during her term as the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) President. The author developed a plan to showcase what an excellent school library program looks like so that school libraries and school librarians could escape the cuts. She asked each AASL state affiliate organization to provide the name of an outstanding school library in the state that she could visit and they could celebrate. Out of fifty states, thirty-five participated in what was named the "Vision Tour," providing the general public with a vision of outstanding school libraries. Why didn't every state participate? Some state leaders maintained they could not choose only one school in their state. The author shares her experiences from this tour.

Introduction: A legislative mandate to adopt digital textbooks in Florida provides an opportunity to identify concerns school librarians have regarding digital textbook implementation. Method: The stages of concern questionnaire was used to identify stages of concern among Florida school librarians about their potential role in this implementation. Analysis: Descriptive statistics were used to describe the sample and the distribution of responses to each question. Questions were separated into seven separate stages, with key differences analysed using the stages of concern profiles and the analysis of variance test. Results: Results indicate that participants conform to the non-user profile, which has higher unconcerned (Stage 0), informational concerns (Stage 1) and personal concerns (Stage 2). It is also found that school librarians' restrictive schedules and heavy workloads prevent them from studying new innovations--in particular digital textbooks. Intensified personal concerns (Stage 2) suggest potential resistance to digital textbooks. Conclusions: These findings could provide librarians as educators an opportunity to establish more interest in digital textbooks and to discuss those textbooks' impact on teaching and learning. More broadly, the findings can provide some implications and recommendations to help educational policy makers and school administrators identify issues related to expanding digital textbooks.

Supporting the "Infrastructure Needs of 21st Century School Library Programs," also known as the Pennsylvania School Library Project, was a one-year project conducted in Pennsylvania to better identify and understand what stakeholders--teachers, administrators, parents, school and community leaders, and education associations--expect from school library programs to educate tomorrow's citizens. The project team gave presentations to four focus groups throughout the Commonwealth; during the focus group sessions stakeholders engaged with research and data about the impact of school library programs in Pennsylvania. The focus group members' feedback was sought to build awareness and support, and, through consensus-building activities, clarify which components of the school library program infrastructure they valued most. A formal external evaluation of the focus groups found that reaching out to stakeholders in an organized, purposeful way, and not in a crisis mode, garnered substantial support for school libraries and school librarians. Inviting stakeholders to learn about the research of the profession in a professional and inclusive environment allowed them to thoughtfully reflect on school libraries' value and become school library champions.

In an effort to address the lack of empirical knowledge about the school librarians' role in technology, the Institute for Museum and Library Services funded Project Leadership-in-Action (LIA) to study leadership practices of school librarians. This current grant project includes a survey of the technology integration practices of school librarians with National Board Certification. Survey results revealed that the 295 respondents work in well-resourced libraries with personnel assistance as well as numerous computers and devices. Respondents reported that they led school technology integration in many areas but also had areas in which to improve, such as providing services to special needs learners, building digital collections, participating in student assessment, and transferring their leadership success to professional and local communities. (Contains 1 table and 6 figures.)

In this study of the Accelerated Reader (AR) program, qualitative and quantitative analyses of the relationship between the implementation of AR and student motivation and extent of reading are drawn from data collected in three schools in Scotland and England. These schools represent low (Scotland, n=53), middle (Scotland, n=40), and high (England, n=55) levels of implementation of AR. Observation, structured interviews with students and teachers, videotaped student focus groups, a student survey on self-reported reading, examination of AR artifacts, and administration of the Motivation for Reading Questionnaire are used to gather data. Major findings reveal that: motivational style interacts with gender in relation to the competitive and social aspects of the AR program; the level of program implementation does not correlate with extent of reading; and management aspects of the program are not effectively utilized. Results suggest that school library media specialists can take a leadership role in implementing the program effectively. (Contains 4 tables.)

The Project LEAD program at the Florida State University (FSU) College of Information is designed to produce future school library media leaders. One requirement of the program is that the students join AASL and their state association, and attend their conferences. In 2007 a contingent of thirteen students from FSU, along with their mentor, doctoral candidate Daniella Smith, traveled to Reno for their first-ever AASL conference. In this article, they provide advice for newbies who are going to Charlotte.

According to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (2006), "Accomplished library media specialists are instructional leaders who forge greater opportunities for learners" (55). As one of the few school personnel responsible for all students, the media specialist can serve as a coordinator and an advocate. They can ensure equitable access to information and technology for students of varying abilities and learning styles. This can be accomplished by integrating information literacy into the curriculum through collaborating and sharing instruction with teachers and providing programming that benefits all students, and may also include keeping the media center open before and after school for disadvantaged students. In this article, the author talks about school library media specialists as effective school leaders and describes leadership qualities that a library media specialist may exhibit. Although a library media specialist possesses many leadership qualities and is ready and willing to serve as a leader, he/she also needs the support of the principal in order to truly function as one. The concept of school library media specialists as effective school leaders has taken on increased professional importance and visibility throughout the library profession. Some current examples are presented.

This 2002 staffing survey investigated personnel in school libraries in all 50 states. Topics include staffing shortages of certified library media specialists; recruitment efforts; certification processes; ratio between students and librarians; budget cuts; government role; and online graduate library science programs. (LRW)

Discussion of free voluntary reading focuses on a study that tracked students' reading progress in reading motivation programs in elementary and secondary schools. Topics include standardized test results for sixth graders; media center collections and circulation statistics; and correlation of total reading minutes and total reading score. (LRW)

Discusses the impending shortage of school librarians. Topics include state hiring mandates that don't require certified media specialists; certified library personnel shortages; staffing ratios; support staff; access to library education programs, including distance education via the Internet; and future concerns. (LRW)

Presents information on the different types of data projectors, to help librarians make a smart selection for their library. Describes multimedia projectors; document cameras; large-screen televisions, monitors, and flat panels; electronic whiteboards, and identifies uses, manufacturers, and prices. Notes three important ways that data projectors differ, and lists Web sites that can point to the products. Identifies related costs. (AEF)

Presents a discussion of the findings from reading-motivation research applied to computerized reading-management programs for elementary school students. Highlights include criticism of computerized reading management programs; intrinsic and extrinsic motivation; tangible and intangible rewards; methodological concerns for researchers; and further research needs. (Author/LRW)

Updates a 1994 report on school library staffing, highlighting states with the best and worst student/librarian ratios, states requiring full-time certified library media specialists, states with site-based management, states replacing librarians with technology specialists. Lists states requiring full-time specialists for elementary, middle/junior high, and high schools, regardless of size and with minimum enrollments. (PEN)

Work sampling is a research technique where workers are observed at random times and their activities recorded. Data are converted to percentages indicating the overall distribution of how time is spent in various categories. A background of work sampling, its history in libraries and the planning and implementation of a school library media study is discussed. (Author/AEF)

Examines Internet resources available for elementary school children and discusses why Internet access should be provided through school library media centers. Highlights include appropriate Web sites, a case study, equity of access, censorship, integrating Internet resources into the curriculum, Internet usage guidelines, and identification and evaluation of Internet resources. (LRW)

Describes results of a research study that used work sampling techniques to compare time spent by 9 high school library media specialists using automated circulation systems with 9 high school media specialists using nonautomated circulation systems in 14 task categories. Two responses to the research study are included. (26 references) (LRW)

Describes a study that was conducted to determine the proportions of time high school library media specialists with and without automated circulation systems spent in various work activity categories. Use of the work sampling technique to calculate percentages of time is explained, and results are discussed in relation to "Information Power." (LRW)

Curriculum design gurus Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, authors of "Understanding by Design," coined the term "backwards design." They recommend educators to begin with the question: What would we accept as evidence that students have attained the desired understandings and proficiencies--"before" proceeding to plan teaching and learning experiences? This focus on the end result also assists in forming concise, measurable, objectives that are inextricably linked to assessment. Once the objectives and assessments are in place, instruction and student activities can develop rather straightforwardly. In this article, the author provides insight and advice on information literacy assessment.

Discusses ways to evaluate school library media programs and how to demonstrate quality. Topics include how principals evaluate programs; sources of evaluative data; national, state, and local instruments; surveys and interviews; Colorado benchmarks; evaluating the use of electronic resources; and computer reporting options. (LRW)

Discusses criteria for evaluating school library information services. Highlights include types of services; physical facilities; library usage; circulation statistics; changes due to technology; fill rate, or the percentage of successful searches for library materials; OPAC (online public access catalog) reports; observation; and examining student work. (LRW)

Through use of two prepared surveys, Power Reader and Power Learner (from the Information Power Action Research Project by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Research and Statistics Committee), high school students can track their library skill growth during a research project and report and reflect on their reading accomplishments. Using surveys has resulted in positive attitudes toward the school library program. (AEF)

Presents a worksheet for evaluating Web pages that awards points for various categories including currency, content, authority, navigation, experience, multimedia, treatment, and access. (LRW)