Effective School Librarianship

These volumes provide a series of informative interviews with school/teacher librarians practicing in different parts of the world. The 2-volume set showcases the resilience, creativity, and best practices from successful school librarians from Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and North and South America. The librarians interviewed come from all different schools and schools systems, from a tiny recently built school library in a rural village in Africa to an ultra-modern library in Sweden.

Featuring 37 interviews with successful school librarians from across the globe, the volumes let us hear the stories from countries around the world. They tell about their creative and innovative school library projects, their unconventional reading programs, and their best practices and experiences in addressing the challenges of supporting basic literacy. A wide selection of methodologies and approaches are discussed, offering a global ?voyage? through topics important in school librarianship. The 2-volume set also addresses recent advancements in information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the shift toward inquiry-based learning that impacts school libraries worldwide.

The books are packed with information that can be used by school librarians, teachers, school administrators and others in a variety of ways. Readers can borrow best practices from the experiences presented in the book, and the volumes can also serve as a strong voice for practicing school librarians and the profession, through expanding the opportunities for professional sharing in the international school library community.

“The resounding value of this two volume work is in the rich stories it contains. . . .  Every story in the two volumes is important, timely, and valuable. This is a unique and powerful work sure not only to benefit working school librarians in expanding their view of what is possible in their practice and providing ideas of how to maximize any situation, it is also a direct contribution to research and education in school librarianship because it captures in-depth scenarios of professional decision making, advocacy building, and learner support that have heretofore been uncollected. . . . . I highly recommend this outstanding work and commend the editors and contributors for sharing it to further strengthen the international school librarian community.”

—IASL Newsletter, October 18, 2018. Review by Marcia A. Mardis, Associate Professor, School Of Information, Florida State University, Co-Editor, School Libraries Worldwide

“Having worked as a school librarian, many of the answers given [in the interviews] really resonated with my personal experience. . . . A valuable source book for researchers of library and information or educational systems. I learnt about the educational systems in places such as Iceland, Zimbabwe, Croatia and Vietnam. I found out which countries have specialised higher education library schools, or teach library and information studies in universities. . . . A useful contribution to add to information sources about school libraries and school and children’s librarianship . . . Can be used as a springboard to inform further research, or to provide evidence for the development of the role of a school librarian or library. I believe that they are an especially valuable resource for any college, university or department that teaches information and library studies because it gives examples of the role of librarians in the real world.”

—Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, Reviewed by Dr Marianne Bamkin, Research Fellow Birmingham City University, UK

"Fascinating reading . . . The authors have collected interviews from school librarians throughout the world. Some of these people work under very difficult circumstances. Interviewees have mentioned a multitude of "secrets" of their successful work. . . . It is my hope that, after reading this book, educators, teachers, and librarians and also members of the general public will have a better understanding of school librarianship across the world and that they will be inspired to cooperate with each other in many different ways, assisting those who desperately need help and support. This would be in the best interest of the children whom they serve and relates to their duty of care as educators."

—From the Foreword by Dr. Helen Boelens, International school library researcher and consultant; Former Chair, IASL Research SIG, The Netherlands

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"Filled with inspiring stories told by highly motivated and competent school librarians . . . One of the best platforms currently available for professional sharing amongst school librarians on an international scale, since it contains alternative points of view from school librarians who are practicing in many different parts of the world. . . . The value of this book lies in the fact that it provides the readers with an overview of many up-to-date practices that are carried out by school librarians working in a great variety of sociocultural, political, and educational contexts."

—From the Foreword by Daisuke Okada, Assistant Professor, Yasuda Women’s University, Japan

"VERDICT: Highly recommended for librarians interested in professional development and for academics who conduct research about the profession. . . . Remember the invigorating jolt of knowledge and enthusiasm that you got when you first attended a professional conference? The benefit of interacting with practicing librarians is invaluable. This international team of authors offer that same exchange of ideas in a two-volume work of interviews with librarians on five different continents, who discuss what inspires them, their challenges, and where they find success. The book describes the status of the profession in these countries, the qualifications for being a librarian, and the role the library plays in the contributors’ schools; readers will find it especially fascinating to compare typical days, extra duty assignments, budgets, collections, and more. The interview transcripts are followed by color pictures of the librarian and the library."

—School Library Journal, Reviewed by Laura Fields Eason, Danville High School, KY, Jul 31, 2019

“Must read for not only all school librarians but also everyone with the best interest in the effective education of their children. The blend of experience, knowledge and skill sets that these authors bring together to arrange the ideas in this book makes the book unique indeed in its value. . . . The way the book is put together with interesting quotes, supported with relevant images to corroborate examples makes it easy, and absolutely fascinating to read by all people from all contexts across the globe. Whether you want to be effective and successful in the school library profession or you want to achieve progress in teaching children how to read and learn, this book will give you some guidance with successful professional practices.”

— Journal Of The Australian Library And Information Association, Review by Eric Boamah, Open Polytechnic of New Zealand. Read the complete review here: https://doi.org/10.1080/24750158.2019.1685432