Submitted in partial completion of MEDT 6466 Fall 2011
f or Dr. Goldberg
By
Has Slone
Students learn 21st century learning skills through state-of-the-art school
library media programs that include:
1) a state-certified, full time, library media specialist in the building,
2) the availability of para-professional staff who undertake routine administrative tasks,
3) a library program that is based on flexible scheduling,
4) collaborative planning ,
5) an active instructional program of information literacy integrated into curriculum content,
and targeted towards learning curriculum content and skills;,
6) a school library that meets resource recommendations of 15-20 books per child,
7) professional development on information and technology literacies to the teaching
faculty,
8) a budget allocation of $12-$15 per student per year to ensure currency and vitality of the
information base,
9) a strong networked information technology infrastructure that facilitates access to and use
of information resources in an and out of school (Todd, 2005) .
1. Collaborating with students and other
members of the learning community .
2. Identifying links across student
information needs, curricular
content, learning outcomes, and a
wide variety of resources.
3. Providing leadership and expertise in acquiring and
evaluating information resources.
4. Modeling for students and others strategies for locating,
accessing, and evaluating information.
Let’s now consider middle/junior high schools. The school library
program variables that are statistically significant with MCAS test
scores at the middle school exhibit similarities to the other levels,
although there also are differences. The middle school program
should consider the following aspects of library offerings:
1. Hours of service, including after school service;
2. Books per pupil;
3. Number of periodicals, including periodical databases;
4. Expenditure per pupil for materials;
5. Library instruction program;
6. Participation in the regional library system; and
7. Parent volunteers, including PTO donations.
“School library media centers can contribute to
improved student achievement by
providing instructional materials aligned to the
curriculum;
by collaborating with teachers, administrators, and
parents;
and by extending their hours of operation beyond the
school day.”
Source: ”Close Up: NCLB—Improving Literacy through School Libraries,” NCLB The Achiever, September
15, 2004, Vol. 3, No 13.
SCHOOL LIBRARIES ARE CRITICAL FOR
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT.
Across the United States, research has shown that students
in schools with good school libraries learn more, get
better grades, and score higher on standardized test
scores than their peers in schools without libraries.
From Alaska to North Carolina, more than 60 studies have
shown clear evidence of this connection between student
achievement and the presence of school libraries with
qualified school library media specialists.
Why Care About School Libraries?
Because They Make A Difference!
“When effective school libraries are in
place, students do learn. 13,000
students can’t be wrong.”
Ross J. Todd, Carol C. Kuhlthau, and OELMA. Student Learning through Ohio School
Libraries, 2004. Retrieved from http://www.oelma.org/studentlearning/default.asp
1. Students exposed to print-rich environments are more
successful in school.
Evidence: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in
November 2007 provides evidence of a strong, positive link
between the amount of children's materials circulated by public
libraries and fourth-grade reading scores on the same agency's
(NAEP).... Of states ranking in the top half of all states on
reading scores, more than four-fifths (82 percent) ranked in the
top half on circulation of children's materials per capita…
Conversely, four out of five states (83 percent) in the bottom
half on reading scores also rank in the bottom half on children's
circulation (Lance and Marks 2008).
2. The School Library Media Program plays an
important role in helping students get an overall
conception of the information seeking process.
Evidence: Typically, responding middle school libraries
report 18 group visits per week, eight of which are for
information literacy instruction…
For middle schools that have more group visits, and
especially more group visits for information literacy
instruction, eighth-grade ISAT writing performance
averages more than 10 and almost nine percent,
respectively, better than for schools with libraries visited
less often (Lance, Rodney and Hamilton-Pennell 2005) .
 Formulating questions
 Organizing information
 Locating information
 Reading and thinking
 Exploring online resources
 Synthesizing ideas
 Judging information
 Building creative
quality
 Handling conflicting
information
presentations
 Evaluating personal
success
3. Interactions with SLMS aid children and teens in
becoming confident, competent, independent learners.
Evidence: Librarians and library programs appear to
positively influence students’ reading skills development
and test scores...[and l]ibrarians and library programs
appear to positively influence the development of students
reading interests (Small, Shanahan and Stasak, 2010).
 Startling idea from 100
years of research:
 When young people have
easy access to exciting
reading materials, they
read more!
 More reading equals
higher academic
achievement!
4. Students achieve more academically when their
teachers and school library media specialists plan and
deliver instruction collaboratively.
Evidence: At the middle school level, the percentage of
students with advanced reading scores was 12.6% higher
for schools with administrators who considered librarianteacher collaboration (in design and delivery of
instruction) essential (vs. less than essential) (Lance,
Rodney and Russell, 2007).
5. Students are more likely to be successful academically
if they have he benefit of a library media program with
a state-certified school library media specialist.
Evidence: An abundance of evidence strongly supports the
connection between student achievement and the presence
of school libraries with qualified school library media
specialists (Scholastic, 2008).
6. Students’ academic success is fostered by a wellfunded school library media program.
Evidence: Between the elementary and middle school
levels, there was a similar increase in the strength of
the relationship between library spending and writing
performance. Elementary schools that spend more on
their libraries average almost 10 percent higher
writing performance, and middle schools that invest
more in their libraries average almost 13 percent
higher writing levels (Lance, Rodney and HamiltonPennell, 2005).
7. Disadvantaged students have a better chance of succeeding
academically when they attend schools with strong library
media programs.
Evidence: Better-funded school library media programs help to
close the achievement gap for poor and minority students and
poor and crowded schools. There is a positive relationship
between total library expenditures in high schools and both
PSAE reading scores and ACT scores of eleventh-graders
persists, despite community income, per pupil spending, the
teacher-pupil ratio, and student’s race/ethnicity (Lance, Rodney
and Hamilton-Pennell, 2005).
 Students can link to the LMC remotely.
 Databases/electronic resources are available online.
 Computers are linked to the Internet.
 Information pushed beyond the LMC into classrooms and
into the home affects academic achievement.
 As quality information gets closer and closer to the elbow
of the learner, academic achievement is affected.
 The concern is extending this advantage to every
learner.
8. Students learn how to evaluate and use information –
not just how to find and access it – from school library
media specialists.
Evidence: The program gives students research and
information technology tools and skills that they can use
in all content areas. It develops their critical thinking
ability and opens their eyes to a wide range of resources
and information. It increases interest in reading and
excitement about learning (Smith and EGS Research &
Consulting ,2006).
9. Students and their teachers make more effective use of
the Internet and other digital resources after learning
about them from school library media specialists.
Evidence: Librarians and library programs appear to
positively influence students’ research-skills development
and motivation for research and inquiry, particularly in the
use of information technologies such as databases and the
Web. Principals often perceive their librarian as the
technology leader in the school. Librarians have an impact
on both teachers’ and students’ technology use (Small,
Shanahan and Stasak, 2010).
10. Students are more successful academically when their
teachers benefit from professional development
opportunities offered by their library media specialist
colleagues.
Evidence: Library media staff in the top performing middle
schools spent 25.4 percent more time providing staff
development to teachers or other staff than the 25 lowest
scoring schools (1.48 vs. 1.18 hours per week). Library staff in
the top high schools spent more time on … collaboration …
activities than library staff in the bottom schools. They are
particularly more active in providing staff development to
teachers and staff (1.31 vs. 0.35 hours per week) (Smith and
EGS Research & Consulting ,2006).
Philosophically, these studies are rooted in the Information Power
model espoused by the American Association of School Librarians
and the findings from six decades of research related to the impact of
school library media programs on academic achievement.
The latest edition of the American Association of School Librarians'
Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning (1998)
identifies three roles for school library media specialists (LMS).
1. In a learning and teaching role, the LMS advances the instructional
goals of the school.
2. As a provider of information access and delivery, the LMS develops
collections and services and facilitates their use.
3. And, as a program administrator, the LMS serves as the library
media center (LMC) manager as well as a school-wide advocate and
trainer for information literacy.
Be S-M-A-R-T about your school Library
1. Staff, stock, and fund your library to support your curriculum and
test preparation.
2. Meet regularly with your librarian.
3. Acknowledge your librarian as a school leader and as a master
teacher.
4. Reward your librarian and teachers for planning and teaching
cooperatively (collaboratively).
5. Take credit for making your library the keystone of your school’s
success and for empowering your librarian to do the job he or she
was trained to do.
The school management and the library/resource center staff must ensure that:
1. the library is well designed and equipped to serve the requirements of the
Diploma Program and that it encourages both student and staff use,
2. library staff have appropriate training in librarianship and that they maintain an
awareness of current thinking and new developments,
3. library staff have been consulted in assessing the needs of students and teachers
involved in the Diploma Program,
4. the collection of books, periodicals and reference materials meets the needs of the
Diploma Program, including all subjects, theory of knowledge and research for
extended essays,
5. there is an annual library budget that provides sufficiently for the maintenance
of, and additions to, the library’s collection and equipment,
6. a proportion of the library collection is devoted to books and periodicals for the
professional support and education of the teaching staff,
7. students and staff have access to documentation available through information
technology,
8. Internet access is available for reference purposes, in and out of school.
Alaska (2000)

Lance, Keith Curry, et. al. (1999). Information Empowered: The

School Librarian as an Agent of Academic Achievement in Alaska

Schools. Anchorage: AK: Alaska State Library.
http://www.library.state.ak.us/pdf/anc/infoemxs.pdf
Illinois (2005)

How Powerful Libraries Make Powerful Learners
Indiana (2007)

California (2008)
How Students, Teachers, and Principals Benefit from Strong School
Libraries: the Indiana Study
Haves, Halves, and Have-Nots: School Libraries and Student
Achievement in California
Colorado Studies

School Librarians Continue to Help Students Achieve
Standards: The Third Colorado Study (2010) [aka CO3] Full
Report Fast Facts: Endorsed Librarian Positions & Library Staff
Links to Achievement
Iowa (2002)

Michigan (2003)



How School Librarians Help Kids Achieve Standards: The
Second Colorado Study (2000) Executive
Summary Brochure PowerPoint Presentation Order the
Full Report: In Colorado Outside Colorado
Impact of School Library Media Centers on Academic
Achievement: 1993 Colorado Study Order Full Report Florida
(2003)
Making the Grade: The Status of School Library Media Centers
in FL and How They Contribute to Student Achievement
Idaho (2009)

How Idaho Librarians, Teachers, and Administrators
Collaborate for Student Success

Making the Connection: Quality School Library Media Programs
Impact Academic Achievement in Iowa.
Massachusetts (2000)


MCAS and School Libraries: Making the
Connection Website Symposium Program
The Impact of MI School Librarians on Academic Achievement
Minnesota (2002 & 2004)

Check it out! Results from the School Library Media Census

Missouri (2003)

Show Me Connection: How School Library Media Center Services
Impact Student Achievement, 2002-2003 Full Report PowerPoint
Presentation
New Mexico (2002)

How School Libraries Improve Outcomes for Children:
The NM Study
New York (2007- 08)

Press Release New York State’s School Libraries and
Library Media Specialists: An Impact Study Preliminary
Report
Oregon (2002)

OR School Librarians Collaborate to Improve Academic
Achievement Website Executive
Summary Brochure PowerPoint Presentation
Pennsylvania (2000)

Measuring Up to Standards: The Impact of School
Libraries & Information Literacy in PA Schools Full
Report Questionnaire Sample Schools and
Districts Brochure
North Carolina (2003)

An Essential Connection: How Quality School Library
Media Programs Improve Student Achievement in NC
Texas (2001)

TX School Libraries: Standards, Resources, Services, and
Students' Performance Website Full Report
Ohio (2004)

Student Learning through Ohio School Libraries: The OH
Research Study
Ontario (2006 - updated 2009)

School Libraries & Student Achievement in Ontario
Wisconsin (2006)

Student Learning Through WI School Library Media
Centers Final Library Media Survey Report Final
Teacher-Student Survey Report Final Case Study
Report

2011

2006

The Impact of Library Media Specialists on Students and
How It Is Valued by Administrators and Teachers:
Findings from the Latest Studies in Colorado and Idaho.
TechTrends

School Libraries Work! Scholastic Library Publishing

Student Achievement and the School Library Media
Program

Facts at a Glance Study suggests province should provide
more trained teacher-librarians for Ontario schools
Queen's News Centre

Students at New York Life Revitalizing High School
Libraries Sites Talk About Why Their Library Media
Centers "Rock"! Adolescents Read!, January

2004

Your School Library Media Program and No Child Left
Behind - American Association of School Librarians
Locking up a World of Ideas: Closing libraries puts
schools' core at risk - SFGate.com,

March 28 Delaware School District Gets Flexible - School
Library Journal, January

School Library Impact Studies Project
A summary of the studies done by students in the School
Library & Information Technologies Graduate Program at
Mansfield University of Pennsylvania and published on
the web in February 2011. School Library & Information
Technologies Graduate Program

2007

The Sower: Interview with Keith Curry Lance School
Library Journal
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2005
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Heart of the School - District Administration, January

2003
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2001
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The Essential Link: The School Librarian Bolsters Achievement
by Reaching Out to Teachers and Students
NW Education Magazine,

Proof of the Power: Recent Research on the Impact of School
Library Media Programs on the Academic Achievement of U.S.
Public School Students - ERIC Digests, October

Fall Libraries Boost Student Learning School Library Journal,
July

Proof of the Power: Quality Library Media Programs Affect
Academic Achievement - MultiMedia Schools, September

Book Value: New research shows a strong connection between
healthy school libraries and student achievement. Today's
Parent, March
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2000

Strong Media Centers Boost Test Scores - Eschool news,
August

Strong Libraries Improve Student Achievement - Education
World, July

Findings: Library Science - Teacher Magazine, May

Strong Library Media Programs Help Students Learn More and
Achieve Higher Test Scores Dick and Jane Go to the Head of
the Class School Library Journal Online, April
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The Impact of School Library Media Centers on Academic
Achievement - ERIC Digests

2002
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Library Technology Raises Test Scores, Too - School Library
Journal, December
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Why Should Principals Support School Libraries? - ERIC
Digests, November
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Study on Libraries and Test Scores - Colorado Public Radio,
July
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