Transcript Top 10 Roles of School Librarians Who Impact Academic

School Librarians and
Student Performance
Elizabeth Lee Queen’s University
adapted from Keith Curry Lance
Library Research Service
Colorado State Library &
University of Denver
Outline
A school librarian’s job description
 Research on the impact of school
librarians on academic achievement
 What we know from this research, or
5 roles for empowering school librarians
 Uses of the 5 roles

A Librarian’s Job Description
(from a recent e-mail)
I…
 Order and catalog books
 Check books in and out
 Re-shelve books
 Tend library computers
 Teach keyboarding
 Chair the book fair
Is Anything Missing?

What activities that you associate with a
school librarian were not on that list?

What activities that are on that list do you
not associate with a school librarian?
An empowered and empowering
school librarian is
a school leader
a program administrator
an information navigator
a technology facilitator
a collaborative teacher and learner
The Research That Backs It Up
Since 2000
 At least 5 teams of researchers
 More than 12 U.S. states
 Data on over 4,000 schools—all levels, all
sizes—and their communities
 Building-level summary test scores
representing over 1 million students

Key Research Findings

Links between
 Academic
achievement (represented by scores
on standards-based state tests of reading/
language arts skills) and
 library staffing levels, librarian activities,
collection size, technology integration, library
usage

Schools with stronger school library
programs average 10-20% higher test
scores
More Findings …


Controlling for key school and community
differences, library still explains 3-8% of test
score variation
Poverty explains away other school and
community differences—like the teacher-pupil
ratio, per pupil spending, and parents’
education—but not the impact of school libraries
What Works: Research about Teaching and
Learning through the School's Library
Resource Centre, Ken Haycock 1993

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Development of research and study skills is most
effective when integrated with classroom
instruction and partnered by teacher and teacherlibrarian.
Students learn best when units of study
emphasize both subject matter and information
seeking and use together.
Units are best when co-planned and coimplemented with teacher-librarian and teacher.
The Power of Reading, S. Krashen, 2004

Voluntary reading is the best predictor of reading
comprehension, vocabulary growth, spelling,
grammar, and writing style.

Access to school libraries results in more
voluntary reading.

Teacher-librarian makes a difference in amount
of voluntary reading.

Larger collection and long hours increase
circulation and amount read.
Keith Curry Lance,Research 1993-2003

Reading scores increase when: information
literacy (IL) integrated with curriculum; IL taught by
teacher-librarian; networked computers with
databases and Internet in library and classroom.

Students perform better when library staff actively
involved with curriculum.

Students with higher standardized test scores
come from well-staffed libraries with larger
collections, regardless of socio-economic factors.
Donna Baumbach
The Florida Study: Making the Grade, 2003
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Students performed 20% higher or better on
state reading tests where schools had:
a teacher-librarian
existing IL curriculum
school website
large book collection and many magazines.
See http://www.sunlink.ucf.edu/makingthegrade/
for the complete study.
Ross Todd and Carol Kuhlthau
Ohio Study: Student Learning Through Ohio
School Libraries, 2004

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99.4% of students in grades 3 - 12 believe school
libraries and their services help them become better
learners.
88.5% of those surveyed said the library helps them
get better grades on assignments and projects
Students and educators alike believe that school
libraries are key to learning.
See http://www.oelma.org/studentlearning/ for the
complete study.
Secret to a Strong
School Library Program

An Empowered—and Empowering—
School Librarian
What does that mean? …

Let’s talk about the 5 roles of a school
librarian…
A school librarian is a
school leader
Someone who has the education, training
and credentials required to be a leader in
the job
 Someone who regularly…

 meets
with the principal,
 attends faculty meetings,
 serves on key committees, and
 meets with other library staff
A school librarian is a
program administrator

An effective manager of a school library
program that is adequately staffed,
stocked, and funded
 Requires
planning, budgeting, reporting, and
evaluation

Someone who works with students and
teachers on a flexible schedule
 Requires
support staff
A school librarian is an
information navigator
A selector of print, non-print, and
electronic resources that support the
school’s curriculum and the provincial
standards
 Someone who teaches others how to be
information literate—i.e., to recognize an
information need and to locate, evaluate,
and apply information in critical thinking to
solve a problem

A school librarian is a
technology facilitator
Someone who selects licensed databases
and identifies authoritative free websites
 Someone who bridges gaps between
students and teachers, online information,
and curriculum and instruction

A school librarian is a
collaborative teacher and learner
A teacher of students who collaborates
with classroom teachers in design and
delivery of instruction
 A teacher of other teachers who creates
more self-reliant users of information
resources and technology
 A colleague who attends local library staff
meetings and provincial and national
conferences regularly

Once more …
An empowered and empowering
school librarian is …

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

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a school leader
a program administrator
an information navigator
a technology facilitator
a collaborative teacher and learner
How Does Your School Stack Up?
Is your school librarian empowered by the
administration to perform these 5 roles?
 Does your school librarian empower other
teachers and students to succeed?
 What more can your school do to enable
its librarian to perform all 5 roles?

Uses of 5 Roles for Empowering
School Librarians

Setting school goals

Establishing a teaching-learning environment
(a climate of collaboration, the value of
information literacy skills)

Writing the librarian’s job description

Hiring a new librarian

“Growing your own” librarian, or cultivating
leadership and excellence

Planning and budgeting for the library program

Establishing performance expectations of the
librarian

Evaluating the library and librarian (if it’s broken,
don’t throw it away; fix it!)

Continuing education for current library staff

In-service training for all school staff
For more information…

Toronto District School Board. (2004). Improving
Student Achievement@your library: School
library handbook for Administrators. Toronto:
Toronto District School Board. (Canadian)

Ken Haycock. What Works: Research about
Teaching and Learning through the School's
Library Resource Centre, 1993. (Canadian)
Visit http://www.LRS.org/impact.asp

Michele Lonsdale. 2004. Impact of School
Libraries on Student Achievement: A
Review of the Research, 2003
School Libraries Work! Scholastic Library
Publishing,
See
http://www.scholasticlibrary.com/download/s
lw_04.pdf