Information Services for Secondary Schools - (Libraries Unlimited Professional Guides in School Librarians) (Hardcover)

About the Book

This comprehensive, practical, and up-to-date guide will help the preservice and in-service library media specialist to develop an information services program to meet the changing curricular needs of high schools and to integrate information access and usage skills into the total school curriculum. Dana McDougald, head library media specialist of the Cedar Shoals High School Learning Resources Center, which received the 1993/94 Margaret Alexander Edwards Award from the ALA for its outstanding information services program, and Melvin Bowie, a specialist in training preservice media specialists, share their expertise and years of practical experience in this guide. It brings together information sources that are commonly used in secondary schools, including electronic resources, and proposes an effective model for services that should be provided by the media specialist. In addition, the authors offer guidelines for the development of a basic reference collection that is stable enough, and eclectic enough, to support the high school curriculum.

Chapter one provides practical suggestions for planning with teachers to ensure that students are given many opportunities to learn how to access and use information as an integral part of their coursework and in their personal and career development. Chapter two presents guidelines for selection of an effective print reference collection, recommends essential reference sources for a comprehensive high school, and discusses selection policies for instructional materials. Chapter three discusses selection of a library automation system to meet staff and student needs and the systems available from specific vendors. Chapter four discusses the use of CD-ROM technology, online services, and the Internet, and offers guidelines for selecting valuable electronic resources and services for the media center. Chapter five offers models and project ideas for integrating information skills into the curriculum and short lessons on the Internet. The final chapter offers models for developing an effective information services program and for evaluating the information service provided.

Book Synopsis

This comprehensive, practical, and up-to-date guide will help the preservice and in-service library media specialist to develop an information services program to meet the changing curricular needs of high schools and to integrate information access and usage skills into the total school curriculum. Dana McDougald, head library media specialist of the Cedar Shoals High School Learning Resources Center, which received the 1993/94 Margaret Alexander Edwards Award from the ALA for its outstanding information services program, and Melvin Bowie, a specialist in training preservice media specialists, share their expertise and years of practical experience in this guide. It brings together information sources that are commonly used in secondary schools, including electronic resources, and proposes an effective model for services that should be provided by the media specialist. In addition, the authors offer guidelines for the development of a basic reference collection that is stable enough, and eclectic enough, to support the high school curriculum.

Chapter one provides practical suggestions for planning with teachers to ensure that students are given many opportunities to learn how to access and use information as an integral part of their coursework and in their personal and career development. Chapter two presents guidelines for selection of an effective print reference collection, recommends essential reference sources for a comprehensive high school, and discusses selection policies for instructional materials. Chapter three discusses selection of a library automation system to meet staff and student needs and the systems available from specific vendors. Chapter four discusses the use of CD-ROM technology, online services, and the Internet, and offers guidelines for selecting valuable electronic resources and services for the media center. Chapter five offers models and project ideas for integrating information skills into the curriculum and short lessons on the Internet. The final chapter offers models for developing an effective information services program and for evaluating the information service provided.

Review Quotes

"The work is most useful to any person who wishes to help high school students become sophisticated and discerning users of information....I recommend this item...particularly [to] those interested in providing a service to users and equipping student for life...""-Orana

?[A] solid, up-to-date introduction to the basic elements of information services at the secondary level. The scholarly approach and multiple research citations are best suited for use as a text for information technology and library media programs. The clear definitions, comprehensive coverage, and practical applications will also be helpful to curriculum designers and policy makers.... definitely recommended for its intended audience of library media students and practicing professionals.?-The Book Report

?The work is most useful to any person who wishes to help high school students become sophisticated and discerning users of information....I recommend this item...particularly [to] those interested in providing a service to users and equipping student for life..."?-Orana

"ÝA¨ solid, up-to-date introduction to the basic elements of information services at the secondary level. The scholarly approach and multiple research citations are best suited for use as a text for information technology and library media programs. The clear definitions, comprehensive coverage, and practical applications will also be helpful to curriculum designers and policy makers.... definitely recommended for its intended audience of library media students and practicing professionals."-The Book Report

"[A] solid, up-to-date introduction to the basic elements of information services at the secondary level. The scholarly approach and multiple research citations are best suited for use as a text for information technology and library media programs. The clear definitions, comprehensive coverage, and practical applications will also be helpful to curriculum designers and policy makers.... definitely recommended for its intended audience of library media students and practicing professionals."-The Book Report

About the Author

DANA McDOUGALD is Lead Media Specialist in the Learning Resources Center of Cedar Shoals High School in Athens, Georgia, which was the recipient of the 1993/94 Margaret Alexander Edwards Award from the ALA for its outstanding information services program. She is a contributor to School Library Media Annual and writes a regular review column for Library Talk. Since 1983, she has reviewed hundreds of books and nonprint materials for School Library Journal, Library Journal, and The Book Report. She received her doctorate in education from the University of Georgia.

MELVIN BOWIE is Associate Professor of Instructional Technology at the University of Georgia. She has worked as both a school library media specialist and a reference librarian. She is a 1988 recipient of the Carroll Preston Baber Research Grant from the ALA. She is the author of over 25 scholarly publications and numerous technical reports and has made more than 30 scholarly presentations at conferences and seminars. She currently serves as a program evaluator for the State of Georgia Professional Standards Commission.