Brain Friendly School Libraries

Reviews / Votes

"Sykes, former library specialist turned principal offers an approach to library management and instruction that is based on neuroscience. Highlighted is the concept of the teacher-librarian who can use knowledge of brain research to create a more meaningful learning experience for students and staff. With information for librarians of elementary, middle, and high school, the book gives suggestions for activities that address a variety of learning styles. A list of resources and index are included." - Reference & Research Book News "[S]ykes' theory warrants attention....Recommended." - Christian Library Journal "Sykes's recommendations and examples are worth considering....Sykes's ideas should enter a professional development conversation." - Teacher Librarian "An intelligently written book about the role that the school library can play in exercising students' brains. Rooted in current findings on how the brain processes information, and acknowledging several educative models for learning and Information Power's standards for promoting information-literacy development, Sykes's book offers a vision that every school librarian should consider, if not embrace. The first part reviews what neuroscience tells us about learning. Contributing authors relate those findings to classroom planning, making them understandable to the layperson. Subsequent sections suggest components of the school library program that must be addressed including enriched, intellectual, and emotional environments. Further, readers are offered both theoretical and practical approaches to planning and creating these environments and sample lessons. This book will be a handy desk mate to every school librarian and should be a required text in all school media specialist programs." - School Library Journal "School librarians looking for new approaches to teaching and learning will find a wealth of information on brain research and its place in the school library in this book....This resource contains research that might come in handy for school librarians who need to justify improving their programs to administrators." - VOYA