Educators and school librarians today are facing new challenges that go well beyond the traditional expectation of teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic. These challenges take many forms. Many students enter the educational system lacking the necessary social, emotional, and academic prerequisites to be successful. Educational settings are becoming more diverse with students from varying cultural backgrounds and with disparate learning abilities. In addition, federal laws are demanding increasingly higher standards and accountability of the teaching profession. With such enormous societal impediments, it is essential that school personnel today find approaches that are relevant to each student's unique needs.
