Author Archives

Former school library media specialist. Reviewer. Online instructor for Old Dominion University and University of North Carolina at Greensboro in the school library program.

• Explore How to Strengthen Your School’s Reading Culture in the May/June 2020 Issue

  By Karen Perry on 05/04/2020 • ( 0 )

  

  Reading is so important. It is a life skill that children must master to have success in the world. As author Mary Pope Osborne has said, “Reading is the basic springboard for learning. And books provide the liftoff. They are… Read More ›

• Fun @ #aasl17: Author Concurrent Sessions

  By Karen Perry on 10/04/2017 • ( 0 )

  

  One of the best things about conferences is that you have the opportunity to meet some of your favorite authors and get up close and personal. This year’s AASL National Conference will fulfill all your author groupie dreams with a… Read More ›

• In Support of Battle of the Books

  By Karen Perry on 04/06/2017 • ( 4 )

  

  I love Battle of the Books. Some people criticize this competition as just a memorization exercise. Some say children just guess and don’t read the books. No program is perfect, but I think there is fantastic value in Battle of… Read More ›

• More, Please! Open Letter to Publishers

  By Karen Perry on 10/05/2016 • ( 1 )

  

  Open letter to publishers Publishers try to bring us books that we want to read and to buy. We have asked for more diverse titles and they have tried. The recent uptick in titles by and about minority group characters… Read More ›

• Collection Analysis? Walk the Shelves

  By Karen Perry on 07/08/2016 • ( 3 )

  

  These days you can get a fully automated analysis of your collection with a buying list to fill in the holes and purchase replacements for titles that should be weeded. But it is not the same as that personal look…. Read More ›

• Collection Development Plans

  By Karen Perry on 07/01/2016 • ( 1 )

  

  Here at the end of the traditional school year it is appropriate to look back and evaluate where you have been and where you want to go in developing your school library’s collection. This means examining your collection development plan…. Read More ›

• Eyes Wide Open, Selecting More Diverse Materials

  By Karen Perry on 05/12/2016 • ( 0 )

  

  Let’s be honest: You buy what you yourself like to read. Those big fat fantasy books about courageous females rather than the less well-written football stories or street “drama.” Or you collect those precious picture books with the gossamer fairy… Read More ›

• Collection Development: The Want List

  By Karen Perry on 04/06/2016 • ( 0 )

  

  Sometimes we have a hard time categorizing our wants versus our needs in a school library. Put dollar signs in our eyes and the sky is the limit, we think. Until it happens. It’s spring, the time of year when… Read More ›

• Collection Development: Choosing Nonfiction

  By Karen Perry on 03/01/2016 • ( 0 )

  

  While your teachers are working to teach students to distinguish nonfiction from fiction, to recognize nonfiction text features, and to comprehend nonfiction texts, you can support their efforts by purchasing quality nonfiction books. Specifically, you should buy excellent nonfiction books… Read More ›