The School Librarian's Guide to (Almost) Everything

School librarians juggle roles as leaders, educators, and advocates, facing challenges that arise unexpectedly. This reference offers succinct, timely advice on nearly 100 topics—from AI and job interviews to dynamic shelving and strategic planning—organized alphabetically with practical tips and visuals. Because school librarians assume so many roles—leader, advocate, instructional partner, teacher, information specialist, and program administrator—their responsibilities vary widely. It’s impossible to be an expert in everything related to the job, especially when some issues or tasks might only pop up a few times a year. A handy reference tool serving up wisdom on nearly one hundred topics related to school libraries, bestselling author Madigan’s book provides to-the-point answers on many of the most common questions and conundrums faced by today’s school librarians. Packed with current advice based on AASL Standards, Common Beliefs, and ALA/AASL Position Statements, inside its pages you’ll discover overviews, answers, tips, and how-to steps on such topics as AI, job interviews, yearly plans, soft censorship, dynamic shelving, closing the library, social emotional learning, reluctant readers, strategic planning, and many more; easy-to-find information organized alphabetically and notated with cross-references, encouraging you to dip in and out as needed; succinct entries with supporting images and tables for quick guidance; and suggested sources for further exploration, all carefully vetted for quality and usefulness. This book will become your go-to reference for answering quick questions about daily practice and your first stop when diving deeper into key issues.