Michael Sullivan (3) (1967–)

Education/professional development. Summarizes what Leonard Sax (Why Gender Matters) and others have written and makes practical suggestions for addressing the issues. The book is short and easy to "take and run"; I would recommend to all teachers/librarians/parents concerned.

Favorite ideas: "Literary Lunch" (pp 51-55) - have librarians/teachers/principals/male role models read aloud to kids during lunch period (signups in advance); coordinate with school librarians/school staff/community members

NF booklists: pp 68, 82-85, 97(Navy/Marines)… (plus d'informations)

Fundamentals of Children's Services is an essential title in my personal / professional library. Work in a school library is, at its core, library service to children (as well as service to school staff and parents as members of the school community). The value of Michael Sullivan's book is that it covers a lot of ground: principles of effective services, service to different types of customers, collection development, "weeding" outdated materials, effective cataloging, and more. It's written from the perspective of a person who works in a public library, but most of the information is just as applicable to school-library work as well. As a bonus, the book also gave me ideas about how I might make it easier for my public-library counterparts to assist my library's customers. This is a book that I'll refer to often as an aspiring Youth Services Librarian.… (plus d'informations)

Addreses the issue of reaching out to boys who lose interest in reading and how a female-dominated profession can appropriately meet boys' information and entertainment needs. In their earliest years, boys' environments are dominated by women and they have few chances to see men modeling active, responsible roles so there is a frustration of figuring out one's male place in the world. Boys are more physical, active and logical they learn differently from girls; and they are more dependent on structure in their learning styles. Boys are more likely to read non-fiction, sports or action fiction, edgy comedy, fantasy and science fiction. They also engage in "nonlinear reading" more often (magazines, newspapers, comic books etc). Discusses genres, programming ideas, storytelling and booktalk styles aimed at boys.… (plus d'informations)

Author and librarian Michael Sullivan presents his take on readers’ advisory for boys, including an introduction to books for boys and tips on indirect readers’ advisory, how to booktalk for boys, and how to conduct the readers’ advisory interview. Most of the book is devoted to lists of example booktalks, recommended titles by genre and age, and read-alikes, including a helpful, “If your first thought is…” section with suggestions to replace outdated titles. An index is included. Sullivan has a lot of experience recommending books for boys, however he does stick strongly to traditional masculine gender expression in his recommendations. Those looking to recommend books for boys which fall outside the typical traits of “boy” books will need to look elsewhere for this information. Still, the book lists and booktalks provided make this a valuable resource for librarians seeking to raise their comfort level with readers’ advisory for boys. Recommended.… (plus d'informations)