Creating and Managing the Full-Service Homework Center. By Cindy Mediavilla. Chicago: ALA, 2018. 172 p. Paper $54.00 (ISBN 978-0-8389-1618-6).

This updated edition of Mediavilla’s Creating the Full-Service Homework Center in Your Library shares ideas, policies, budgeting, and assessment suggestions for homework help services for young people. The text is divided into short chapters full of both well-documented research and sensible practical examples of homework centers in action. “Talking Points” scattered throughout offer workable tips on employing the provided suggestions and share examples of successful implementations. The book begins with a discussion of reasons to open a homework center. While some children need serious academic help, some simply need a safe place to spend their after-school time, and others just need some positive interaction with an elder. Whatever the reasons for launching a homework help center, readers can find funding ideas, collaboration suggestions for schools and other institutions, and information about additional research. Especially informative is the chapter on program security, user expectations, and rules of conduct. From background checks on volunteers to how best to word a list of rules, this short-but-essential chapter covers heavy topics in a positive manner.

Information about electronic resources, like Tutor.com and Brainfuse, and the inclusion of suggestions for evaluation, enhance the book’s breadth and depth. Abundant back matter includes staff manual samples, boilerplate guidelines, assessment tools, and even model volunteer applications. Behavior management schemes, including explicit scripting for implementation, further enrich the appendixes. Leading the ample appendix section is an overview of ten “Model Homework Programs,” each including contact information for the people running the programs. Urban centers like Boston, Chicago, and Minneapolis-St. Paul are covered, along with suburban and rural areas in California, Ohio, and elsewhere. Overall, this volume is perfect both for organizations exploring the possibility of a homework center and for libraries looking to refresh existing programs.—Deidre Winterhalter, Digital Learning Coordinator, Oak Park Public Library, Oak Park, Illinois