Book on librarians and professional development receives national award

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Violet H. Harada, (808) 956-5814
Professor Emerita, Library and Information Science Program
Posted: Oct 1, 2013

Book cover
Book cover
Violet Harada
Violet Harada

Growing Schools: Librarians as Professional Developers, edited by Debbie Abilock, Kristin Fontichiaro and Violet Harada, has been selected as the “2013 Best Professional Guide for School or Youth Librarians” by Library Media Connection (LMC) and the American Reference Books Annual (ARBA).

Harada is a professor emerita in the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa's Library and Information Science Program, Department of Information and Computer Sciences. She received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Association of School Librarians in 2011. Her other recently published works from Libraries Unlimited include Assessing for Learning: Librarians and Teachers as Partners, 2nd edition (2010), and Librarians as Learning Specialists: Meeting the Learning Imperative for the 21st Century (2008).

This newly established award recognizes high-quality reference resources that support and encourage K-12 student learning and achievement. LMC and ARBA selected a panel of judges from their pool of well-regarded reviewers and editors to evaluate entries from publishers throughout the K-12 reference market. The edited volume is the first that directly addresses the role of the school librarian as a staff developer. Within the chapters, the authors share their stories as staff developers in a range of K-12 public and private institutions and universities across the U.S. and Canada.

ABC-CLIO/Libraries Unlimited published the award-winning book in 2012. It presents examples of school librarians leading professional development in numerous contexts and for diverse learning goals with remarkable success. It is intended for individual librarians looking to become professional development leaders and for district librarians in planning and implementing meaningful district-wide professional development.