Patricia A. MessnerRecensioni

This book, designed for the novice helper in the library takes a group of picture books and provides very explicit instructions for what to say and what to do with an activity to promote learning. It is not about storytelling, but teaching. Parent helpers and library support personnel can use such a book, but after reading and doing several, the adult catches on to the technique and cause the picture books available in the library rather than order the ones in a book list such as this. As the teacher librarian is coteaching alongside the classroom teacher, the idea for inserting literacy and background knowledge into a thematic unit does make some sense, but fund storytelling, and encouraging the children to use their background knowledge to create their own stories is a direction this type of activity should take.

If you are looking for a quick guide to operate a 1980 style school library, this is the book for you. Little has changed with the professional squarely in charge of a room filled with books and the librarian teaching classes and keeping order in the place. It is really a guide for the many paraprofessionals who are now running tight ship libraries concentrating on the storate and retrieval of books. Perhaps it is reflective of the new real school library as professionals find their box stuffed with pink slips. Not our cup of tea. Not our hopes and dreams for the young people of this nation who are now faced with having to compete globally. Pass this one by.

The first major clue about the contents of this book is the cover. Here we have a picture of a bunch of book stacks and empty chairs and tables. Ah, the perfect early 20th century unused library! Then we encounter the first sentence of the introduction: “Managing all students in the library is a challenge because of the perceived difference between the library and the classroom.” And then comes the section on discipline and, of course the tough rules to enforce. Then one looks at the table of contents: we are to manage students, circulation, volunteers, computers, stations, work areas, storage, and professional materials. That’s it. This title should be changed to: Basic Library Management for Paraprofessionals. The book reinforces the major stereotypes of professionals who spend the bulk of their time managing a warehouse of stuff. So many schools are settling for a cheaper body in that book storage and circulation space that is breathing its last dying breath. Not a title for anyone interested in the 21st century Learning Commons.

And basic it is. For instance, the computer section takes into consideration the “rules” of computer use, but has next to nothing on collaborative work or lesson planning and the use of state and national standards. Trite in its management commentary, this will appeal only to the most basic of a teacher librarian. Not recommended.

Paraprofessionals can handle many of the former professional talks in the learning commons in order to free up the teacher librarian to devote most of their time collaborating, co-teaching and workding in the experimental leaning center. Thus this collection of easy strategies such as creating a star for each book read and posting it on a bulletin board, to a volunteer and paraprofessional. Several years worth of ideas for elementary schools have been collected here.

For those “trapped” in fixed scheduling and who feel they must use the time of the children to deliver some type of literature experience coupled with information literacy, our authors present one lesson per month using a picture book for each of the grades K through three. Here are the information literacy topics treated for the school year: orientation to the library, arrangement of the library, reading enrichment, understanding information, online catalog, and two months spent on information on the Internet. Each lesson has some sort of worksheet and quick project complete with patterns. If the children are going to be exposed to such activities disconnected with the curriculum in the classroom, we recommend that such “fun” projects be guided by a paraprofessional or a volunteer. The lessons here are simple enough for either adult to work through and enjoy with the children. As for the professional, we recommend that you spend the time you would on these types of activities connecting yourself into the curriculum to further the learning that teachers are very concerned about. Not recommended for the professional teacher librarian.