The School Library Media Specialist: Overview

Teacher librarians need a wide range of tools to make selection decisions.

The following websites listed on this page will be of interest to school library media specialists:

Journal-based Selection Tools
Website-based Selection Tools
Web Bookstores
Reader Advisory Sources
Cole Collection Bibliographic Aids
Library Supply Vendors
Publishers
Materials Jobbers
Collection Development Portals
Furniture Vendors

Journal-based Selection Tools

Book Links
http://www.ala.org/ala/...

Booklist
http://www.ala.org/ala/booklist/booklist.htm
Print-based with some online resources. Great lists of books

Horn Book
http://www.hbook.com/

Kirkus Reviews
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/kirkusreviews/index.jsp
Particularly good for high school level materials.

Library Journal
http://www.libraryjournal.com
Particularly good for high school level materials.

Library Media Connection
http://www.linworth.com/lmc.html
Reviews in all areas. Some reviews online.

Media and Methods
http://www.media-methods.com/
Electronic materials

New York Times Books Reviews
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/books/review/index.html

Publisher's Weekly
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Particularly good for high school level materials.

School Library Journal **
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/

School Library Journal's Multimedia Buyers’ Directory (2004)
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/ca436446

School Library Media Activities Monthly
http://www.schoollibrarymedia.com/

VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates Magazine)
http://www.voya.com/ and Kliatt http://hometown.aol.com/kliatt/ are other review sources.

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Website-based Selection Tools

ACHUKA
http://www.achuka.co.uk/
Children's reviews from the UK

The ALAN Review
http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ALAN/

Book Hive from Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County
http://www.bookhive.org/
Great site for book reviews

BookPage: America's Book Review
http://www.bookpage.com/
Contains book reviews distributed to bookstores and libraries.

BookReview.com
http://www.bookreview.com/

BookWire
http://www.bookwire.com/bookwire/

BookWorm Newsletter from Kidsread
http://www.kidsreads.com/
Book reviews

Carol Hurst
http://www.carolhurst.com/titles/allreviewed.html

Children’s Book Reviews by Peter Neumeyer from The National Parenting Center http://www.tnpc.com/36books.html

Children’s Books from About.com
http://childrensbooks.about.com/

Children’s Bookwatch from Midwest Book Review http://www.midwestbookreview.com/cbw/index.htm

Children’s Literature Web Guide (CLWG) http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/index.html

Education Review
http://edrev.asu.edu/index.html

Educational Media Reviews Online (video, DVD, and CD-ROM) http://libweb.lib.buffalo.edu/emro/search.html

Internet Bookwatch from Midwest Book Review http://www.midwestbookreview.com/ibw/index.htm

Literature Contemporary from About.com
http://contemporarylit.about.com/

MBR Bookwatch from Midwest Book Review http://www.midwestbookreview.com/mbw/index.htm

Midwest Book Review
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/

Multicultural Book Reviews http://www.isomedia.com/homes/jmele/homepage.html

Neverending Stories – Book Reviews http://www.neverendingstories.com/reviews.html

Notes from the Windowsill by Wendy E. Betts http://www.armory.com/~web/notes.html

Oyate
http://oyate.org/

Reviewers Bookwatch from Midwest Book Review (Volunteer reviewers) http://www.midwestbookreview.com/rbw/index.htm

School House Software Reviews http://www.worldvillage.com/wv/school/html/scholrev.htm

Small Press Bookwatch from Midwest Book Review http://www.midwestbookreview.com/sbw/index.htm

SuperKids Educational Software Review
http://www.superkids.com/

Teen Reads
http://www.teenreads.com/

Way Cool Software Reviews
http://www.ucc.uconn.edu/~wwwpcse/wcool2.html

World of Reading from Ann Arbor District Library
http://www.worldreading.org/

CNET - electronics
http://www.cnet.com/
Reviews of electronics such as digital cameras, video cameras, and computers.

New York Review of Books
http://www.nybooks.com/
Book reviews

Links Sites

BookSpot
http://www.bookspot.com/reviews/
Great place to locate links to book review sites for all ages.

Directory of Book Reviews on the Web from ACQWEB's
http://acqweb.library.vanderbilt.edu/acqweb/bookrev.html

Google Directory - Reviews and Criticism
http://directory.google.com/...
Links to the book reviews sites.

Teacher Tap: Software Reviews
http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic3.htm

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Web Bookstores

Amazon
http://www.amazon.com
Focus is on selling, but contains excerpts from professional reviews

Barnes and Noble
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/
Focus is on selling, but contains excerpts from professional reviews

Powells
http://www.powells.com/
Focus is on selling, but contains excerpts from professional reviews. Powell's is also a good source for used/out-of-print texts.

Librarians (section) at Scholastic
http://www.scholastic.com/librarians/

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Reader Advisory Sources

BookBrowser: A Guide for Avid Readers from Barnes and Noble
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/bookbrowser/

Bookreporter
http://www.bookreporter.com/

Cluelass
http://www.cluelass.com

Free Booknotes
http://www.freebooknotes.com

The Internet Public Library's Online Literary Criticism Collection
http://www.ipl.org/ref/litcrit

Literary Criticism from eduScapes 42eXplore
http://42explore.com/litcrit.htm

Mysterious Homepage from Clueless.com
http://www.cluelass.com/MystHome/

The Online Books Page
http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books

PAL: Perspectives in American Literature by Paul P. Reuben http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/HOME.HTM

Reading Group Choices Site for Book Discussion Reading Guides
http://www.readinggroupchoices.com/

What's Next Database (Kent District Library, MI)
http://www.kdl.org/libcat/whatsnext.asp
Helps you search adult fiction in series -- two or more books linked by character(s), settings, or other common traits.

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Core Collection Bibliographic Aids

Print Materials Directories & Guides

Bowker
http://www.bowker.com/
The U.S. ISBN Agency; publisher of reference and reporting products and services.

Bowker’s Books in Print
http://www.booksinprint.com/bip/ and
http://www.patronbooksinprint.com/bowker/
Web-based bibliographic resource for professionals.

Demco Periodicals Subscription Service
http://www.demco.com/...122004213044

EBSCO Information Services
http://www.ebsco.com/
Print and electronic journal subscription services, research database development and production, online access to more than 100 databases and thousands of e-journals, and e-commerce book procurement.

HW Wilson
http://www.hwwilson.com/
Selection /Collection Development Tools:
Children’s Catalog
http://www.hwwilson.com/print/childcat.htm
Middle and Junior High School Library Catalog
http://www.hwwilson.com/print/mjhscat.htm
Senior High School Library Catalog
http://www.hwwilson.com/print/srhscat.htm

Nonprint Materials Directories & Guides

DocuSeek Film & Video Finder
http://www.docuseek.com/
DocuSeek is a search site for independent documentary, social issue, and educational videos available in the U.S. and Canada.

NICEM Film and Video Finder from National Information Center for Educational Media
http://www.nicem.com/
Subscription database: Comprehensive collection of information about educational nonprint materials; database contains over 440,000 bibliographic records, representing 640,000 items of nonprint materials that cover all subject areas, are intended for all age levels, and are disseminated in all formats of media.
Note: Library School Initiative http://www.nicem.com/trialedu.htm
Students who are currently enrolled in a library and information science course are allowed two weeks of free access per semester to the Film and Video Finder Online. The instructor should call us (via our parent company, Access Innovations) at 1-800-926-8328 and leave the following information in order to receive a username and password for distribution to the students.

The Video Source Book
http://www.galegroup.com/...

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Library Supply Vendors

Brodart
http://www.shopbrodart.com/

Demco
http://www.demco.com/

Gaylord
http://www.gaylord.com/

Highsmith
http://www.highsmith.com/

The Library Store
http://www.thelibrarystore.com/

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Publishers

American Library Association Online Store
http://www.alastore.ala.org/

Dorling Kindersley Publishing Inc.
http://us.dk.com/

Thomson Gale (Thomson Gale)
http://www.galegroup.com/

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Jobbers

Baker & Taylor
http://www.btol.com/

Blackwell’s
http://www.blackwell.com/

Bookazine Company
http://www.bookazine.com/

Bound To Stay Bound Books
http://www.btsb.com/

Brodart
http://www.brodart.com/

Follett Library Services
http://www.titlewave.com/

Ingram Library Services, Inc.
http://www.ingramlibrary.com/

Midwest Library Service
http://www.midwestls.com/

Perma-Bound
http://www.perma-bound.com/

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Collection Development Portals

AcqWeb
http://acqweb.library.vanderbilt.edu/
Gathering place for librarians and other professionals interested in acquisitions and collection development.

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