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Describes the Pathways to Knowledge model for helping students achieve information literacy in library media programs. Discusses the searcher's thinking, information search or seeking, and instructional strategies; information skills; the six stages in the model, including appreciation, presearch, search, interpretation, communication, and evaluation; and general and specific strategies for each stage. (LRW)

With the advent of No Child Left Behind, Adequate Yearly Progress, and school budget cuts, school librarians have had to become more data driven than ever before. Thinking in terms of student learning and achievement has brought about an interest in evidence-based practice (EBP). In this article, the authors discuss three steps to understanding the workings of EBP: (1) Know the research that demonstrates how school libraries affect learning, (2) Mesh this knowledge with wisdom to build student learning, and (3) Work with the school library to collect evidence that shows one made a difference.

When parents help kids with their homework or get involved in an assignment, they're doing more than showing an interest in their children's education--they're helping them succeed. And since everyone knows that well-equipped school libraries make a huge difference in student achievement, there's a real need to make parents aware of the media center's valuable resources. In this article, the authors feature INFOhio, a state-funded virtual library that provides K-12 students, parents, and teachers with a wide range of educational resources for all subject areas. The authors created a toolkit for promoting INFOhio resources to parents. (Contains 5 online resources.)

This article provides an overview of the "Student Learning Through Ohio School Libraries: The Ohio Research Study," which was undertaken from October 2002 through December 2003. The study involved 39 effective school libraries across Ohio; the participants included 13,123 students in grades 3 to 12 and 879 faculty. The study was expected to: provide statewide data on best practices and promising practices in school librarianship; encourage continual improvement in effective library services that support academic content; provide a framework for dialog among parents' communities, school boards, administrators, school librarians, and teachers on the value of effective school libraries; and confirm for school librarians that their role and school libraries affect student achievement and lifelong learning. In Ohio, when this study was conducted, public school districts received ratings based on their proficiency scores, attendance levels, and graduation rates. It was determined that only excellent and effective schools with school libraries staffed by licensed library media specialists would qualify as participants in the study. INSET: Selection Criteria.