I'm going to let teachers in on a little secret. One of your best allies in top-notch instruction is your school librarian.

However, it always amazes me how many teachers fail to think of the librarian as a teaching partner.  Continue reading...

There's a new campaign to boost awareness of U.S. public libraries that goes by the curious name, "Geek the Library." I'm all for the campaign's stated mission of improving public perceptions of libraries by championing their importance to local communities. But what really fascinates me is the way they're using geek as a transitive verb to mean "be geekily enthusiastic about." I guess you could say I geek innovative uses of the word geek.  Continue reading...

The British Library is hosting a fascinating exhibition, "Evolving English: One Language, Many Voices," exploring the history of the English language in all its diversity. Think you know your Anglo-linguistics? Try the "Evolving English" online quiz here.

Last week, members of the Special Libraries Association were asked to vote on a radical renaming of their organization: it was proposed that the SLA become the Association for Strategic Knowledge Professionals, or ASKPro. The contentious wrangling over the proposal revealed deep ambivalence about the words library and librarian in the digital age. We asked Stan Friedman, senior research librarian for Condé Nast Publications, for some insights into the terminological debate.  Continue reading...

As part of its series on "The Future of Reading," the New York Times reports on how school librarians must now be Internet experts. Read it here.

The New York Public Library's blog is actually a compendium of the many blogs written by its staff, covering a host of curious topics from feathered hats to Julia Child! Check it out here.