Closing the Opportunity Gap
Closing the Opportunity Gap

Author: Prudence L. Carter

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2013-04-26

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 0199983003

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While the achievement gap has dominated policy discussions over the past two decades, relatively little attention has been paid to a gap even more at odds with American ideals: the opportunity gap. Opportunity and achievement, while inextricably connected, are very different goals. Every American will not go to college, but every American should be given a fair chance to be prepared for college. In communities across the U.S., children lack the crucial resources and opportunities, inside and outside of schools that they need if they are to reach their potential. Closing the Opportunity Gap offers accessible, research-based essays written by top experts who highlight the discrepancies that exist in our public schools, focusing on how policy decisions and life circumstances conspire to create the "opportunity gap" that leads inexorably to stark achievement gaps. They also describe sensible policies grounded in evidence that can restore and enhance opportunities. Moving beyond conventional academic discourse, Closing the Opportunity Gap will spark vital new conversations about what schools, parents, educators, and policymakers can and should do to give all children a fair chance to thrive.

Public Libraries and Their Communities
Public Libraries and Their Communities

Author: Kay Ann Cassell

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2021-04-02

Total Pages: 237

ISBN-13: 1538112698

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Public Libraries and Their Communities: An Introduction provide an overview of public librarianship today. It covers library organization, policy development, staffing, fiscal organization including funding sources and budgets, the legal framework, relationships with local and state governments, advocacy, services and service development for different age groups and for different groups of users, development of programming and outreach, collection development, promotion and marketing, and current issues and trends. In addition to context and concepts, the book uses many examples from both large and small public libraries to bring principles to life. Examples include real library policies, case studies, strategic planning, organization charts and library budgets. Many think that public libraries are not complicated to run.This book aims to show that public libraries are very complicated and require much skill on the part of the director, staff, and Board of Trustees to meet the needs of their local users.Advocacy and marketing have become important parts of the work of public libraries. Funding is always challenging so public libraries must constantly be making the local government and its citizens aware of the public library – its programs, collections, and services. This book's focus is on how public libraries reach beyond the walls of their buildings and touch the lives of their citizens.Meeting community interests and needs is essential for 21st century public libraries. For students the book offers discussion questions at the end of each chapter. These questions also provide discussion starters for public library staff development.

Partners in Literacy
Partners in Literacy

Author: Sondra Cuban

Publisher:

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13:

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Why have libraries and schoolsboth public institutions committed to community-based learningadopted new technologies in dramatically different ways? Exploring the differences in technology use between schools and libraries across the country, the authors describe ways that these two institutions can collaborate to improve teaching and learning while building communities. With a focus on literacy development, they investigate how new technologies are implemented and the lessons that institutions can learn from one another. Including case studies and surveys to illustrate concepts, the book discusses: The history and purposes of schools and libraries from the 1800s to the present; Leadership and staffing issues related to technology development; Differences in mission, structural approaches to literacy, and public expectations for schools and libraries; The uses of technology in both institutions to create stronger communities.

Innovative Solutions for Building Community in Academic Libraries
Innovative Solutions for Building Community in Academic Libraries

Author: Bonnand, Sheila

Publisher: IGI Global

Published: 2015-05-31

Total Pages: 399

ISBN-13: 1466683937

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The library has always been an essential part of the collegiate experience, providing students with access to knowledge and literature. However, as virtual services and online learning become more prominent within collegiate environments, the ways students conduct research and access resources has been altered. Innovative Solutions for Building Community in Academic Libraries examines new methods librarians use to engage both on-campus and online users in library services, taking into account the significant impacts of online learning on students’ interaction with library resources. Focusing on various outreach practices, techniques of literacy instruction, and the utilization of library spaces, this research-supported book is a pivotal reference source for distance educators, program planners, academics, and library professionals interested in new ways to attract users to library services.

Libraries for the National Education Goals
Libraries for the National Education Goals

Author: Barbara K. Stripling

Publisher: E R I C Clearinghouse on Information & Technology

Published: 1992

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13:

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Focusing on the major educational initiatives of our times--the National Education Goals outlined and endorsed in 1990 by the nation's governors, and President Bush's America 2000 strategy--this report reviews and summarizes information about the role of libraries in many different educational efforts designed to meet the national goals. It is argued that libraries can and must play a pivotal role in meeting these goals, including efforts to prepare students to cope with learning in an information age (resource-based learning), and to provide a national electronic network for students, teachers, administrators, and community members (the National Education and Research Network). This work provides direct evidence of the relationship between existing and developing library programs and the national education initiatives, citing specific examples whenever possible or appropriate. A separate chapter is devoted to each of the six goals to be reached by the year 2000. Within each chapter, information is presented for each of three spheres of influence defined in "Education Counts: An Indicator System To Monitor the Nation's Educational Health" (U.S. Department of Education, 1991)--learning and schools, social context, and national values. Within each sphere of influence, examples of ways in which libraries can contribute to meeting the goal are presented together with research findings, comments, and highlights of programs already involved in the types of activities related to a particular example, and sources of the information given are cited. A 15-item selected bibliography of sources on which this work is based concludes the report. (BBM)