Library Media Programs Research Articles

A Reality Check: The Challenges of Implementing Information Power in School Library Media Programs

How well are school library media programs realizing the mission, objectives and challenges set by Information Power? Teacher-librarians are struggling to realize its ideals in less than ideal circumstances. To gain a broader understanding of their work and success, this paper studies 48 good library media programs in New England Region, U.S. using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to ensure the perceived success of participating programs in conforming to the national guidelines.

Power-up School Library Media Centers: New York Library Power

The National Library Power program, funded by the DeWitt Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund, was designed to create public elementary and middle school library programs that improve teaching and leaming. Using the school library media program as a catalyst for school reform, the Library Power program demonstrated how to change the role of the school librarian. During its eight-year grant period, New Visions for Public Schools' professional development program taught participants how to administer a collaboratively planned, flexible access library, and address issues such as management, collection development, and technology. The authors describe its features and its applicability to other school systems.

The United States National Library Power Program: Research, Evaluation and Implications for Professional Development and Library Education

The Library Power Program is a school improvement initiative of the DeWitt-Wallace Reader's Digest Fund that began in 1988. With a total investment exceeding US$45 million, Library Power is the largest nongovernmental funding for school library media programs in over 30 years. It operated in approximately 700 schools and served more than one million students. Library Power sought to create a national vision of public elementary and middle school library media programs through the instructional leadership of the library media specialist, and through partnerships within the district and with the community. An evaluation of the Library Power Program found that the Library Power initiative advanced the notion of a student-centered library media program in a learning community. It showed that given the right conditions, school library media programs can promote positive opportunities for excellence in teaching and learning.

The Impact of Technology on School Library Media Centers in Two Florida School Districts

In the last two decades technology has had a tremendous impact on school library media centers and personnel. The purposes of this study are to investigate the effects of technology on (1) school library media programs, (2) collections, (3) jobs of media personnel, and (4) student learning in media centers, and to determine if media staffing influences such effects. Twenty-- three media personnel in two Florida school districts with different media staffing procedures were administered open-ended questionnaires. In both districts technology had positive effects on provision of information resources in many formats to accommodate a variety of student learning styles, management of the media center, and creation of enthusiasm and interest in learning. It appeared that differences in district staffing and funding affected feelings about the impact of technology on jobs and the media collection.

The Potential of a Library Media Program on Reducing Recidivism Rates Among Juvenile Offenders

The Potential of a Library Media Program on Reducing Recidivism Rates Among Juvenile Offenders

Working Towards the Practical Integration of School Library Media Programs with Instruction of School Subjects:

Working Towards the Practical Integration of School Library Media Programs with Instruction of School Subjects:

Wykorzystanie oferty edukacyjnej biblioteki szkolnej przez nauczycieli przedmiotowych — wyniki sondażu

USE OF EDUCATIONAL RES OURCES OF SCHOOL LIBRARIES BY TEACHERS OF VARIOUS SUBJECTS — RESULTS OF A SURVEYThe author of the paper discusses cooperation between teachers of various subjects and school librarians. She stresses that from the point of view of developing information literacy, such cooperation translates into development of the pupils’ skills. She points to the recommendations of American librarian societies in this respect Information Power. Guidelines for School Library Media Programs and Information Power. Building partnerships for learning as well as Polish ministerial recommendations annex to Rozporządzenie Ministra Edukacji Narodowej z 27 sierpnia 2012 r. w sprawie podstawy programowej wychowania przedszkolnego oraz kształcenia ogólnego w poszczególnych typach szkół [Regulation of the Minister of National Education of 27 August 2012 on the core curriculum for kindergartens and general education in various types of schools]. At the same time the author’s analysis of the curricula for various subjects in Poland in the second half of the 20th century demonstrates that the problem was marginalised with the exception of Polish language curricula. The aim of the author’s study was to establish whether teachers of selected subjects used the potential of school libraries in line with the ministerial recommendations. In addition, the author was looking for a link between the type of the subject taught at school and use of educational resources of the school library. The author discusses the results of her diagnostic survey N=244. The statistical conclusions are based on the results of chisquared tests. The results show unequivocally that teachers of Polish are statistically more likely, than teachers of other subjects included in the study, to use the educational resources of the school library, to suggest that they should be expanded and to collaborate with the librarian.

디지털 시대의 학습과 정보 - 학습 코먼스로서 학교도서관 -

Although people seriously worry that paradox is a quiet crisis to our society as a whole and threatens our future generation, we need to reconsider how we utilize digital media for effective learning as we understand its characteristics and compare the differences among all formats of media that used for learning. The purpose of this study is to suggest and analyze school library media programs as Learning Commons by applying the relevant theories on information, learning, learning with media, and meaningful learning. The study assumes the importance of the school library media programs that manage rich Information in various formats in an educational system. The study provides theoretical grounds and insights to practitioners and researchers in the relevant field as they face the challenges in putting an emphasis of today`s school library media programs for student learning in digital age.

Blurred Lines: The School Librarian and the Instructional Technology Specialist

Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs (AASL, 2009) charges school librarians “to play a leading role in weaving such skills throughout the curriculum so that all members of the school community are effective users of ideas and information” (p. 46). Providing leadership in technology integration for the purposes of learning is paramount and the responsibility for leading this movement to prepare learners for participating and succeeding in our global society is seemingly placed with school librarians. While school librarians were once the sole person responsible for technology in the schools, the proliferation of technology in education has resulted in the emergence and adaptation of roles and responsibilities, one such role being the instructional technology specialist. This article reports findings on how the presence of an instructional technology specialist can either enable or deter a school librarian enacting a leadership role in technology integration.

Minding the verge: Moderating webcasts and chat

Don W. Hamerly is the director, School Library Media Program, and assistant professor at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Dominican University. You can reach him at dhamerly dom.edu O nline instruction at institutions of higher education in the United States is burgeoning in the midst of a digital social media revolution. Since 2003, yearly reports from the Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) have charted the rapid uptake and increasing acceptance of online instruction by students, faculty and administrators. The Sloan-C and others report the expansion of online instruction sweepingly, in terms of administrative motivation, infrastructure investment, stakeholder acceptance, measures of success and delivery formats, occasionally via anecdotal examples of digital media applications used alone or in concert in specific educational contexts, but rarely in terms of the personal agency of instructors and students. A prevailing theme in these reports nevertheless reflects the current zeitgeist of what is alternately called the connected era, connected age or network society: increasingly accessible social and collaborative digital computing is changing the way people connect with one another and interact. New ways of connecting affect, among other things, the nature of interactions in online learning environments, but the systematic study of how instructors and students manage new ways of connecting lags behind the increased adoption of online instruction. As the number of and enrollment in online courses grow, and as the facilitators of online courses – administrators, instructors and information technology support staff – employ established and emerging social software applications and devices in online courses, opportunities continually arise to study how digital sociality is affecting online learning. When course instructors bring into a learning environment the kinds of digital social media that they and students use for socializing in their personal lives, what happens? How do students and instructors perceive the effects of digital social media on learning, and how do students and instructors manage their interactions when they use digital social media for online courses? These questions inspired a recent study of the use of combined webcasts and chat for instruction in an online course for undergraduates taught by graduate students at an iSchool.

Fixed or flexible schedule? Schedule impacts and school library circulation

Despite more than 15 years of research into the implementation of flexible access to school library media programs in the United States, few empirical studies exist that examine the relationship between access scheduling and school library media circulation. This quantitative study examines the relationship between types of school library schedules and circulation. Examination of end-of-year circulation statistics for fixed, flexible, and partially flexible elementary school library media centers in North Carolina and Virginia indicate that there was a significant and positive relationship between flexible scheduling and per-pupil book circulation in elementary schools in these two states.

From Research to Action in School Library Media Programs

The research on the school library media center program has been developed over a period of decades. School library media researchers over the years have used different strategies to achieve the goal of creating excellence in school library media programs. The degree to which that research has changed the building-level program, however, is questionable, and the amount of time that passes between proven strategies and implementation of those strategies is frustrating.

Getting to proficiency and beyond : Kentucky Library Media Centers’ progress on state standards and the relationship of library media program variables to student achievement

LIBRES Library and Information Science Research Electronic JournalrnVolume 18, Issue 1, March 2008

Is Your School Librarian ‘Highly Qualified’?

NOT LONG ago, was talking with an assistant principal who was gushing about school librarian. The principal said she just loved this librarian because all the kids liked her and she read such great stories. replied that a strong literacy program was very important to a successful school library media program. But what, inquired, was the librarian doing to collaborate with the classroom teachers to help them meet the state curriculum standards and to make AYP (adequate yearly progress)? The assistant principal just looked at me and then finally said, I had no idea the librarian could that! Not only can a school library media specialist do but librarians are in fact educated to do that. The national guidelines for school library media programs clearly establish that the goal of the school library media specialist is to provide an instructional program that helps students and faculty become efficient and effective users of information. Along with running the library at a technical level as the program administrator, the school library media specialist is also a teacher, an instructional partner, and an information specialist.(1) Indeed, most states require that, in order to become a certified school library media specialist, the candidate must be a licensed classroom teacher. Therefore, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), is lobbying to include school library media specialists as highly qualified teachers in the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind (NCLB).(2) HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHERS OR NOT? In the language of NCLB, a highly qualified teacher is one who has full State certification as a teacher (including certification obtained through alternative routes to certification) or passed the State teacher licensing examination, and holds a license to teach in such State.(3) All 50 states and the District of Columbia have certification requirements for school library media specialists.(4) While it may be true that a specific school or district opts not to hire certified school library media specialists, the fact remains that there is a certification requirement in each state. The licensed school library media specialist will be trained as a classroom teacher (by virtue of a bachelor's degree in education or via an alternative certification program) and as a specialist in the subject area of information literacy (by virtue of a graduate degree or credits in library and information science or in education). In addition, school library media specialists are among the 24 subject-area specializations eligible for national board certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. It certainly appears, then, that school library media specialists fit the NCLB definition of highly qualified teachers. WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT YOUR SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA SPECIALIST? Let's go back to the assistant principal in our story. This administrator was responsible for evaluating the school library media specialist. Every year the administrator gave the school library media specialist a stellar evaluation because the children liked going to the library media center and she read great stories. But as was clear from the assistant principal's statements, she truly did not know what the library media specialist was supposed to be doing. (For an example of what a school library media specialist can in an integrated program, see the sidebar, What Does an Integrated Program Look Like? on page 302.) In times of financial difficulties, it can seem that cutting the person who reads great stories makes a great deal of sense because it will save a lot of money. But let's see what the school library media specialist should be doing and then decide if cutting that position makes sense. As noted above, the school library media specialist is a program administrator. This means that, in addition to knowing how to maintain a functioning library, he or she knows which books and databases to buy to support the reading and research needs of both students and faculty members. …

School Library Impact Studies and School Library Media Programs in the United States

Since 1993, studies in the United States and Canada have reported a positive relationship between strong school library media programs and student achievement. These studies have been seen as useful tools for promoting the need for school library media programs and full time school library media specialists in K-12 schools if the information is disseminated to the decision makers in schools, districts, and government, such as school administrators, school board members, and local and federal legislators. This study was conducted to see how the information about school library impact studies was disseminated to decisions makers and whether that dissemination process has been effective.

A Preliminary Proposal for the Development of a Distance Education Lubrary Media Endorsement Program at Central Washington University

In Washington State, there are currently six higher education institutions which offer state-approved library media endorsement programs for certified K-12 teachers. Due to population and geo graphical factors, our institution, Central Washington University, finds it difficult to attract K-12 teachers during non-summer months. Currently, our library media program is only offered during the summer months. Consequently, we lose a lot of the potential market of those unavailable during the summers. With the growing demand for library media specialists throughout Washington K-12 school districts, the timing may not be better in developing and implementing a fully distance education (DE) model for our library media program available year-round. Through our State's K-20 high-speed, highbandwidth Education Network, we can connect remotely to 475 public education sites throughout Washington. This paper represents a preliminary proposal examining and discussing the feasibility of creating a DE library media program for Central Washington University.

School Libraries Play an Active, Transformational Role in Student Learning and Achievement

School Libraries Play an Active, Transformational Role in Student Learning and Achievement

Library media program implementation and student achievement

This study examines possible factors related to school library programs that correlate with student academic achievement. Analyzing library programs as a system, the investigator adapted the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) principles for library media programs in conjunction with standardized tests. For the population examined (60 southern California schools), the measure that correlated most closely with library program principles was standardized reading scores. Specifically, the degree to which information access/delivery principles were implemented correlates significantly with student reading scores. The study results identified key indicators within the library program that impact student academic achievement: access to high-quality library facilities and resources, and collaborative planning with professional library staff.

학교도서관과 교육과정의 통합 전략에 관한 연구

본 연구는 학교도서관과 학교의 교육과정을 통합할 수 있는 전략을 제도적 관점에서 고찰하였다. 한국과 일본 그리고 미국의 초<TEX>$\cdot$</TEX> 중등학교 교육과정에서 학교도서관에 관한 사항을 어떻게 규정하고 있는가를 비교<TEX>$\cdot$</TEX> 분석함으로써 우리나라의 국가 수준 교육과정에 반영해야 할 학교도서관 요소를 제안하였다. 국가 수준의 교육과정에 학교도서관 관련 사항을 반영하기 위한 전략으로서 도서관활용수업의 제도화, 독서교육과 정보활용교육 시간의 확보, 독서교육과 정보활용교육의 범위와 계열 설정, 탄력적 시간표 운영 등을 제안하였다. This paper investigates the integration strategies of school library into school's curriculum from a institutional point of view. For this purpose, this study compares and analyze the role and relationship of school library media program to school's curriculum in Korea, U.S., Japan. Basing on the comparative result, it proposed the school library relation element that must include in national level curriculum in Korea. To the element which it proposes it includes the compulsion assignment of school library assisted instruction. the time allocation of reading and information literacy instruction, the scope and sequence of information literacy instruction, the flexible schedule.

The Principal's Support of Classroom Teacher-Media Specialist Collaboration

This project was designed to determine how well the principal supports collaboration in exemplary media program schools in Georgia from the viewpoints of media specialists, classroom teachers, and principals. A pilot study was conducted to develop a survey instrument that could be used as the foundation for the exemplary school media program study. Collaboration is well covered in the literature, but information about principals and their influence on collaboration is eginning to be a discussion of concern. The purpose of the descriptive survey study was to determine the existing situation regarding how supportive principals are for collaboration to occur between classroom teachers and media specialists in chools where the media programs are considered exemplary. A questionnaire was mailed to principals, teachers, and media specialists in 12 schools designated as having exemplary school library media programs in Georgia by the State Department of Education. The findings for the study supported the researchers' expectations that media specialists and classroom teachers in exemplary school library media program schools receive support from the principal for collaboration. The assumption of the study was that principals in schools that are considered to have exemplary media programs provide support for collaboration for classroom teachers and media specialists.