Journals

As a district we subscribe to many teacher librarian journals. The great thing is that it is a reasonable way for all the TL's in our district to remain current. The challenging news is that with each TL having a journal for up to two weeks, if you are near the end of the list you may not see it until 10-12 months after it came out.

Here are some of my favourites. I like Feliciter because of its Canadian content and focus on Canadian librarians and teacher librarians. Put out by the Canadian Library Association, the Feliciter offers a very a variety of regular columns, what the CLA is doing with advocay and professional development and issues. Each edition is based on a theme. The edition coming in late August 'Emerging //Technologies in Libraries//.' VOYA is a magazine that rarely makes the rounds of elementary schools as it is geared toward educators who work with 12-18 year olds. I was first introduced to this edgey publication when taking the Intellectual freedom and social responsibility course with Toni Samek and Dianne Oberg. With such rich discussion on intellectual freedom it was wonderful to see a magazine dedicated to youth, advocacy, intellectual freedom and equal access. I was subbing for a highschool TL a few years ago and saw her stack of VOYA magazines. After borrowing them I was hooked. They offer realistic stories and reviews by teens, great columns including 'Get With the program' talking about outreach programs for teens. After reading a few issues, I was hooked and have added my name to the rotation list.

Horn book magazine is one of the best journals for book reviews. It is packed full in interesting, thought provoking reviews and is a great way to stay current with award winning books. Although this magazine won't primarily relate to my inquiry topic, it will add to my professional development in that by keeping current on great titles, I will be able to inform and engage students more readily.

The Teacher Librarian Journal is the best overall journal offering a variety of topics specifically for teacher librarians. Whether its updated technology information, the latest research or a great lesson idea, the TL journal is the best all round journal for our profession.

I would also like to inquire about magazines on poverty and/or inner city schools.

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