About Dr. Jami Jones

I began working in libraries while still in high school. I am the former director of two public libraries. I have worked in state libraries and school libraries. I am presently an assistant professor at East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, in the School of Library Science and Instructional Technology. In addition, I am an adjunct instructor of educational media at Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale.

I regularly teach graduate-level courses in collection development and young adult literature. These courses are online and taken by students from many different states.

I was always interested in bibliotherapy. However, the death of a young woman in June 2001 caused me to seriously reconsider the role of books and librarians to help teens cope with their issues and challenges. This website, The Amanda Award and Helping Teens Cope are my professional and personal contributions to ensure that adults, communities, and this society embrace the African proverb, It takes a village to raise a child.

Ph.D in Information Science, February 1995, Nova Southeastern University, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Master's in Library Science ,August 1975, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland.

Bachelor of Arts , May 1974, Mills College, Oakland, California.

National Board Certification for Professional Teaching Standards in Early Childhood through Young Adult/Library Media, November 22, 2002

Jones, J. (2004) Teens are from mars: To best serve youth, librarians must understand them developmentally. In Teen Talk. School Library Journal, 50(10) 41.

Jones, J. (2004) Media madness: With TV and the Internet available 24/7, can libraries compete? In Teen Talk. School Library Journal, 50 (8) 32.

Jones, J. (2004) Through the Eyes of the Otter and His Friends. In Caution! Books at Work. Knowledge Quest, 32 (5) 41-43.

Jones, J. (2004). Beyond the straight and narrow: Librarians can give teens the support they need. In Teen Talk. School Library Journal, 50 (5) 45.

Jones, J. (2004). Come Together: School and public librarians need to join forces for kids' sake. In Teen Talk. School Library Journal, 50 (3) 45.

Jones, J. (2004). Beyond books: What can we do to help troubled teens cope? In Teen Talk. School Library Journal, 50 (1) 37.

Jones, J. (2004). Whether fact or fiction, mentoring counts. In Caution! Books at Work. Knowledge Quest, 32(3) 44-45.

Jones, J. (2003). Character and somebodiness: Teaching Dr. King through Dr. Seuss. In Caution! Books at Work. Knowledge Quest, 32(2) 43-44.

Jones, J. (2003). Helping teens cope: Resources for school media specialists and other youth workers. Linworth: Worthington, OH.

Jones, J. (2003). Saving kids from despair. School Library Journal, 49 (8) 46-49.

Jones, J. (2003, March 3). My turn: Now I know too much to turn away. Newsweek, 12.

Jones, J. (2003). Creating effective teen programs. Florida Media Quarterly, 28(2) 18-19, 21.

Jones, J. (2003). I build resiliency. LMC: Library Media Connection 21(4) 48-49.

Jones, J. (2003). I build resiliency: The role of the school media specialist. School Libraries Worldwide 9 (2) 90-9.

Jones, J. (2002). The 2002 Amanda Award. Florida Media Quarterly, 28(1) 4-5.

Jones, J. (2002). Media specialists can make a difference in the lives of teens. Florida Media Quarterly, 27(3) 15-17.

Biles, J. L. (1995). Activities of state library agencies in the southeastern United States in the continuing education of professional public librarians. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Nova Southeastern University, Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

Biles, J. L. and Kneedler, W. (1992). On-line in Arizona: A directory of dial access services. Phoenix, AZ: Department of Library, Archives and Public Records, State of Arizona.

Biles, J.L. (1984). Programming in a rural public library. New Jersey Libraries, 17 (4) 2, 15-18.

Jones, J. (2003). The Big6: Helping teens develop resiliency. The Big6. http://www.big6.com.

Jones, J. (2003). Interactive booktalking: The new millennium way to reach teens. Novelist database: http://www.epnet.com.

Jones, J. (ongoing) Building Resiliency. AskDrJami.org from http://www.askdrjami.org

Jones, J. (ongoing) Issues. AskDrJami.org from http://www.askdrjami.org

Adolescence 101

• Tampa Bay, FL, Library Consortium, January 13, 2003
• Southwest Florida Library Network, February 11, 2003
• Tampa Bay, FL, Library Consortium, April 14, 2003
• SOLINET, June 8, 2003
• Northeast Florida Library Conference, November 17, 2003
• Mississippi Children's Librarians Conference, November 4, 2003
• Northeast Florida Library Network, November 17, 2003
• Alabama Public Library Service, February 23, 2004

Helping with Books: The Value of Bibliotherapy

• SOLINET, September 29, 2003
• Southwest Florida Library Network, June 3, 2004

Resiliency 101

• Resiliency 101 for Educators, Canterbury School, Ft. Myers, FL, November 17, 2004
• Resiliency 101 for Parents, Canterbury School, Ft. Myers, FL, November 18, 2004

Conference Presentations

• Resiliency: Hope, choice and self-determination for children, families and communities (Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health) - Washington, D.C. December 11, 2004. The incredible gift of resiliency: Know your power. A plenary session about the power of resiliency.
• Resiliency: Hope, choice and self-determination for children, families and communities (Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health) - Washington, D.C. December 11, 2004. Resiliency and teens: You can bounce back! A presentation for teens about ways to build resilience.
• FAME 04 (Florida Association for Media in Education), November 4, 2004. From High School Book Clubs to Public Library Renovation. A presentation with Marilyn Norris, Collier County Public Library, Naples, FL about collaboration between school and public librarians.
• AASL 03 (American Association of School Librarians), October 24, 2003. Helping Teens Cope. A presentation about ways librarians can impact teen development.
• FAME 02 (Florida Association for Media in Education), October 25, 2002. Amanda's Story. A presentation about the Amanda Award, resiliency, and young adult literature.
• FETC 00 (Florida Educational Technology Conference), October 15, 2000. This is a technology model that really works! A technology model to teach students to develop portfolios and presentations.
• FAME 99 (Florida Association for Media in Education), November 3, 1999. It's never too late to catch the reading bug. A presentation about integrating technology to promote reading at the secondary level.
• FETC 98 (Florida Educational Technology Conference), March 6, 1998. Creating the web class. A presentation about integrating the Internet into social studies. A web site developed by Dr. Jones that contains curriculum, student work, and original communications from a local Holocaust survivor was developed to support the study of the Holocaust.
• FAME 97 (Florida Association for Media in Education), November 14, 1997. Creating the web class. See above.
• CTECH Conference, Collier County's educational technology conference, April 26, 1997. Hard hats for all: Construction in the classroom. A presentation about integrating the Internet and web sites into the curriculum.

Inquiries? Please contact Dr. Jami Jones