The fact that much of learning occurs beyond school walls points to the need for a holistic approach to education. Such an approach involves planned cooperative links between family and the formal and informal learning environments that exist in the community. This monograph advocates such a holistic approach, discussing not only the value of informal learning for children, but also the role that school, home, institutions, and community groups may play in enhancing children's quality of life. The articles in the monograph are: (1) "Opportunities for Learning and Development in Multiple Settings" (Alice R. Galper); (2) "Toddler Story Hours, Poetry Concerts and Internet Access--Now Available at the Library" (Ann Carlson Weeks); (3) "The World at Their Fingertips: Children in Museums" (Mary K. Judd and James B. Kracht); (4) "Zoos Aren't What They Used To Be: They Are Better!" (Thomas N. Turner); (5) "Learning about Work: Extending Learning through an Ecological Approach" (Kevin J. Swick); (6) "Community Service Groups Enhance Learning" (Alicia I. Pagano); (7) "Oral History: Engaging Students in Community-based Learning" (Ceola Ross Baber and Mary W. Olson); (8) "Learning in Communities with Limited Resources" (Cynthia Szmanski Sunal, Lois M. Christensen and Dennis W. Sunal); (9) "Learning through Serving" (Joan Schine); (10) "Learning in Your Own Backyard" (Robert B. McDonald and R. Tim Nicosia); (11) "The Family as a Resource for Learning" (Carol Seefeldt and Kristin Denton); and (12) "Learning Options with Personal Computers: Now and in the Future" (Seven B. Silvern). (HTH)

A guidebook for hikers, bikers, and equestrians, Hiking from Portland to the Coast explores the many trails and logging roads that crisscross the northern portion of Oregon's Coast Range. Designed to showcase convenient "looped" routes, it also describes complete throughways connecting Portland to the coastal communities of Seaside and Tillamook. Each of the 30 trails described includes a backstory to help users appreciate the history and significance of the places through which they are traveling.

Primary documents can provide fascinating and engaging windows on history. Each volume in Greenhaven Press's Interpreting Primary Documents series is an anthology of primary sources on major events and developments in history. An in-depth introduction sets the stage by providing essential context. Each document is then preceded by an introduction that places it in its historical context. Guided reading questions assist the reader to interpret the document and to think critically about the topic at hand. Each anthology also includes an annotated table of contents, a thorough index, and a bibliography for further research. With its many valuable features, Greenhaven Press's Interpreting Primary Documents series assists students in exploring history while developing critical thinking and reading skills. Book jacket.

In December 2008, twentysomething Jill Grunenwald graduated with her master's degree in library science, ready to start living her dream of becoming a librarian. But the economy had a different idea. As the Great Recession reared its ugly head, jobs were scarce. After some searching, however, Jill was lucky enough to snag one of the few librarian gigs left in her home state of Ohio. The catch? The job was behind bars as the prison librarian at a men's minimum-security prison. Talk about baptism by fire.

Unsparing and important. . . . An informative, clearheaded and sobering book.—Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post (1999 Critic's Choice) Inner-city black America is often stereotyped as a place of random violence, but in fact, violence in the inner city is regulated through an informal but well-known code of the street. This unwritten set of rules—based largely on an individual's ability to command respect—is a powerful and pervasive form of etiquette, governing the way in which people learn to negotiate public spaces. Elijah Anderson's incisive book delineates the code and examines it as a response to the lack of jobs that pay a living wage, to the stigma of race, to rampant drug use, to alienation and lack of hope.