Art. 1: Marta Sobieszek
The role and efficiency of a school librarian - the American example

The author points out to how the school librarians' role has changed over the past decades. A school library, initially a centre for storing educational material, has gradually become a place where active educational process develops, and library staff assumes the role of educators. The fundamental change happened in the eighties along with computerization which library staff had to incorporate into their work process. Consequently, school libraries have evolved into media centres. The author discusses a paper published in the eighties by the American Library Association, entitled: Information Power: Guidelines for School Library, with a definition of a school librarian as an information specialist, a teacher, and a consultant. Nowadays, it is the school librarian's mission to prepare and instruct the students and school staff to properly and efficiently access the world of information. The author presents statistics showing students achieving better results when provided with a well organized and efficiently run library.

Art. 2: Hanna Batorowska
Participants of post-diplomma programs (run by the Library and Scientific Information Institute of the Pedagogical Academy in Krakow) - as propagators of information technology

The article gives a description of post-diplomma programs prepared at and run by the Library Institute in Krakow whose purpose is to further educate and prepare teachers working in the field of information technology, in their respective environments. The author discusses agenda and goals of two courses: ‘Information Technology Course' and ‘Media, Reader and Library Education Course'. The first is destined for teachers who want to incorporate information technology into their personal research and work, as well as into instruction of their students, while the latter is for those who conduct their educational process within the scope of the program: ‘Reader and Media Education'. Both of the courses complement each other and their main purpose is to give the participants best tools possible, as well the know-how, required by today's world of information and technology.

Art. 3: Anna Krawczyk
Readers education in post-secondary schools

One of the products of the new, reformed schooling system in Poland is an inter-disciplinary integration. There are eight educational paths within its scope- one of them: ‘Reader and media education'. The author presents this particular path's educational goals, and underlines the essential role of the librarian in the process of its implementation. As well, all sorts of helpful sources pertaining to the research and preparation of material for teaching in post-secondary schools are pointed out.

Art. 4: Malgorzata Goralska
Printed book vs. e-book

The article discusses the differences and similarities of printed and electronic books. The main difference seems to be the appearance of the material - a defined look and shape of a printed book versus its computerized version - a a product very much dependent on the hardware and software. The only common denominator of the two is text - linear and organized in printed books. Computer technology and its rules have greatly influenced and changed mutual relations between the text and its order/appearance in a book. Computer technology uses hypertext which allows for the automatic connection of various parts of text, therefore, the appearance of the text depends solely on the user. Therefore, the author of the text agrees to a partnership of sorts with the reader (a reader is free to manipulate the text) and new type of reader's activity occurs. The author of the book produced in hypertext does not play a leading/guiding role as in the printed version; it is the reader who is compelled to make a choice and this, according to the author of the article, falls into the category of a ‘text consumption' rather than reading. One can easily notice the resulting opposition of methods employed for the reading of both printed and electronic text. The final differentiating element of the two types of text is the appearance of the page. A page of print always has the same format, shape and size, while electronic page's appearance can be altered by the reader. In closing, the author quotes J.D. Bolter's thesis about visual similarities of the electronic text and medieval, richly illustrated manuscripts.