Professional Reading Reviews

Volume 32, Number 1, October 2004

Ken Haycock

Thoughtful, in-depth reviews of the newest in professional resources for the school library. Includes brief reviews of new titles publisher Ken Haycock deems Worth a Look!

Grants for School Libraries.
Sylvia Hall-Ellis & Ann Jerabek

Leverage Your Library Program to Raise Test Scores: A Guide for Library Media Specialists, Principals, Teachers, and Parents.
Audrey Church

Honey, We Lost the Kids: Re-Thinking Childhood in the Multimedia Age.
Kathleen McDonnell

Authentic assessment, designing performance-based tasks.
Katherine Luongo-Orlando

The Horror Readers’ Advisory: The Librarian’s Guide to Vampires, Killer Tomatoes, and Haunted Houses.
Becky Siegel Spratford and Tammy Hennigh Clausen

Thinking Outside the Book: Alternatives for Today’s Teen Library Collections.
C. Allen Nichols

Plus: New titles worth a look

Grants for School Libraries.

Sylvia Hall-Ellis & Ann Jerabek

Reviewed by Barbara Weathers

Most of us are totally unfamiliar with grant writing. However, in the current world of cutbacks and diminishing funds, we have had to turn to writing grants to supplement our budgets. It is an intimidating process. However, this book, intended for school and small public libraries, is a sequential, highly detailed road map.

Beginning with an emphasis on the importance of a well-executed plan and a core group committed to funding the project, the authors list the five major steps for grant writing: grant seeking, proposal preparation, funding, evaluation and reporting. Emphasis is continually on adequate, thorough planning and attention to detail. Many checklists and worksheets are included to make certain that the user can follow the path.

There is even a chart of action verbs to help with writing the project narrative!

Budget planning, personnel, project evaluation, a glossary and an appendix that includes organization names and FAQ’s for grants, round out the book. Beyond that, there is a chapter on strategies to use if the grant fails! (Libraries Unlimited, 2003. $35.00. 208pp. 1-59158-079-X).

Bottom Line: Planning to write a grant? Keep this resource close at hand.

Leverage Your Library Program to Raise Test Scores: A Guide for Library Media Specialists, Principals, Teachers, and Parents.

Audrey Church

Reviewed by Michele Farquharson

A must have! This text not only provides valuable stats to help us be successful advocates but also shares the essential aspects for an exemplary school library program. Leverage your library program to raise test scores was designed to inform educators about the crucial role school libraries and teacher-librarians play in raising student achievement. Specific chapters are directed toward administrators, teachers and parents to show what can be expected from a strong program. In her review of the literature, Church refers to many studies that demonstrate the contribution of a strong school library program to improve academic achievement. However, she focuses on eight statewide studies and the Library Power program to suggest that the following eight elements should be present:

• a professionally trained, full-time teacher-librarian;
• adequate support staff;
• a strong collection (books, periodicals, and online databases and references) that meets the needs of the school’s instructional program;
• student access to library resources and information within and beyond the physical library space;
• a teacher-librarian who communicates and collaborates with teachers;
• a teacher-librarian who assists teachers in using information technology; and
• a teacher-librarian who teaches students information literacy skills.

Each of these attributes is examined in detail. (Linworth, 2003. $39.95. 123pp. 1-58683-120-8).

Bottom Line: Great advocacy tool.

Honey, We Lost the Kids: Re-Thinking Childhood in the Multimedia Age.

Kathleen McDonnell

Reviewed by Jo Ellen Misakian

Every generation seems to look somewhat askance at the next generation bursting forth upon society and back with nostalgia at the “good old days.” McDonnell attempts to dispel this notion as she takes us on a multigenerational voyage, from the Middle Ages to today. She examines issues and concerns each generation has faced as they grappled with becoming responsible adults.

The point is made that every generation has been fraught with seemingly insurmountable obstacles and challenges, and that despite the egregiously complex world in which we live, today is really not that different, at least in relation to how adults can assist youth make the transition into adulthood. McDonnell entreats the reader to maintain open communication lines as a means to help young people cope in this digital world where information—much of it harmful—is so readily available, where technology is pervasive, and freedom to make their own choices is often assumed to be a right.

Although this is a very interesting read, an index, a table of contents, a thorough bibliography and more brutal editing would have made it a much stronger work. (Second Story, 2001. $19.95. 191 pp. 1-896764-37-1).

Bottom line: Interesting argument but poorly prepared.

Authentic assessment, designing performance-based tasks.

Katherine Luongo-Orlando

Reviewed by Violet H. Harada

The author provides both a framework for performance-based assessment and numerous classroom examples of how teachers can measure students’ skills in problem solving and critical thinking. She begins with a quick overview of the purpose and rationale for assessment in today’s schools, differentiates between assessment and evaluation, and succinctly outlines methods to develop performance-based measures.

Luongo-Orlando, an elementary school teacher and author of A project approach to language learning, presents three units centered on themes in literature, types of communities and the influences of advertising and media. In each area, she incorporates actual models of rubrics, graphic organizers, K-W-L charts, questionnaires and logs that might be used to assess student performance.

To reach the ultimate goal of nurturing self-guided, independent learners, Luongo-Orlando emphasizes the value of involving students in self-assessment and reflection. While written for classroom teachers, the principles, instructional processes, and assessment models presented in this book can easily be modified for instruction in library media centers. The practitioner-friendly organization and layout of the text should make this a popular and timely addition to any school’s professional library. (Pembroke, 2003. $18.95. 128 pp. 1-55138-152-4).

Bottom Line: Practical – the what, why and how of performance-based assessment.

The Horror Readers’ Advisory: The Librarian’s Guide to Vampires, Killer Tomatoes, and Haunted Houses.

Becky Siegel Spratford and Tammy Hennigh Clausen

Reviewed by Kenley Neufeld

This sixth in a series of readers’ advisory books is the right book for any novice or experienced horror reader who needs to buy, read or recommend horror fiction.

For TLs who are not even sure what horror means or have never read a horror title, the first two chapters provide the necessary background to the genre of horror literature and how to match horror novels with readers.

The hundreds of titles included are arranged by topic or you can use the index to find a specific title or author. Topics range from “The Classics” and “Maniacs and Other Monsters” to “Splatterpunk or Extreme Horror.” Each entry includes a one-paragraph summary. The writing is clear, understandable, and just personal enough to know it is written by a horror fan. Unfortunately, specific titles do not include recommendations with regard to younger readers. This may be a major drawback for the school librarian, but the book is short and easy enough to read that it may provide the information to guide you to the right title.

The concluding chapters provide additional horror resources as well as ideas for marketing your horror collection. The appendix that details “The Big Three”—Stephen King, Dean Koontz and Anne Rice—is a great resource. ( ALA Editions, 2004. $36.00. 176 pp. 0-8389-0871-3).

Bottom Line: Vampires and werewolves are just the beginning for your horror collection.

Thinking Outside the Book: Alternatives for Today’s Teen Library Collections.

C. Allen Nichols

Reviewed by Kenley Neufeld

This fourth title in a series for young adult librarians exposes seven non-book collections for your library. Each chapter is written by a different public library young adult librarian. The non-book collections included are zines, graphic novels and comic books, audiobooks, music, video, Internet and games. Though you may never have considered some of these formats for your library, the argument to include them is strong. Each chapter provides background on the format, why you should include it, cataloging and marketing suggestions and additional resources, including recommended titles. Though the index is brief, the table of contents is very detailed and allows for easy access into the section of most interest.

The writing and format are clear despite nine different authors and slightly different features included in each chapter. Throughout the book are boxes that highlight key ideas and themes for easy reference. If your library is considering any of the above formats, this book will point you in the right direction for ideas and resources. If you need ideas for increasing young adult library usage, then this book can get you off to a good start with non-book collections. (Libraries Unlimited, 2004. $34.00. 189 pp. 1-59158-059-5).

Bottom Line: From comics to games, expand your collection and increase library use.