School Librarians Impact Stduents Achievement

¶ … SCHOOL LIBRARIANS IMPACT STDUENTS ACHIEVEMENT AND IMPROVE READING?

The work of Houston (2007) "Measuring Up: Achievement of 'Beyond Proficiency' Standards in School Library Media Centers Across Kentucky" states that the Kentucky Department of Education published its standard for establishment of a library media program and as well included are goals for such programs. Media specialists across the state of Kentucky are stated to have been "making the case to their administrations and site-based councils for the resources to fully implement the standards necessary for quality school media centers staffed by certified media specialists..." (Houston, 2007) It is related that in the response to the primary question posed by this study or that of how media library centers measure up on standards in the Beyond Proficiency document the results of the survey are stated to "provide a mixed answer." (Houston, 2007)

The work of Collier (2007) entitled: "School Librarians that Rock: Librarians' Powerful Impact on Literacy Development: Reflections of Teacher Candidates" states that as a classroom teacher for 28 years that Collier has seldom had students return to inform her that what she did in the classroom made a difference in their lives and while she had received "the occasional note or card and a few personal visits, she always wished that she knew more. Collier writes that she wants library media specialists to know the impact they have had on students. Collier states that pre-service teachers "come into their undergraduate coursework unaware of the various unconscious beliefs and assumptions about teaching and learning and the impact of those teacher beliefs on future classroom practices." (Collier, 2007)

According to Collier assist the future teachers in becoming aware of "their unconscious beliefs through narrative inquiry promote the self-reflection about the forces in their own background that have positively and negatively influenced their literacy development." (Collier, 2007) Autobiographies have been used by teacher educators for promotion of reflection and investigation of "embedded belief systems." (Collier, 2007) Collier concludes by stating that many "individuals and forces impact the development of our future teachers. These impacting factors play a role in how they see themselves interacting within the educational system." (Collier, 2007) Stated as one of the roles at the university is exploration of these influences and analysis of the "positive and negative impacts" as well as fostering building "on the positive and exposing the negative." (Collier, 2007)

The work of Lance (2002) entitled: "How School Librarians Leave No Child Behind: The Impact of School Library Media Programs on Academic Achievement of U.S. Public School Students" states that the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was signed into law on January 8, 2002 which updated the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) mandates as well as standards-based testing at the state level in addition to supporting strategies that are research-based for bring about improvement in the academic achievement of students.

The work of Lance (2001) entitled: "Proof of the Power: Quality Library Media Programs Affect Academic Achievement" states that four statewide studies on the impact of school library media programs on the academic achievement of U.S. public school students have been completed and specifically those are:

(1) Information Empowered: The School Librarian as an Agent of Academic Achievement in Alaska;

(2) Measuring up to Standards: The Impact of School Library Programs Information Literacy in Pennsylvania Schools;

(3) How Librarians Help Kids Achieve Standards, the Second Colorado Study; and (4) Good Schools Have School Librarians: Oregon School Librarians Collaborate to Improve Academic Achievement. (Lance, 2001)

These studies are philosophically rooted "in the 'Information Power' model of the American Association of School Librarians" in addition to the findings from more than six decades of research in relation to the impact of school library media on student's academic achievement. There are stated to be three roles identified for school library media specialists in the latest edition of "Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning" (1998) which are those as follows:

(1) In a learning and teaching role, library media specialists advance the instructional goals of the school;'

(2) As providers of information access and delivery, library media specialists advance the instructional goals of the school; and (3) As program administrators, library media specialists serve as library media center managers as well as school-wide advocates and trainers for information literacy. (Lance, 2001)

Lance relates that there have been approximately 75 studies over the past fifty years on the impact of school library media programs on the academic achievement of students. These studies are stated to indicate that students perform better academically where the library media specialist:

(1) is part of a planning and teaching team with the classroom;

(2) Teaches information literacy; and (3) Provides one-to-one tutoring for students in need. (Lance, 2001)

Lance additionally states that "one of the most consistent strands of research on this topic is evidenced by studied that demonstrate the value of" those as follows:

(1) quality collections of books and other materials selected to support the curriculum;

(2) State-of-the-art technology that is integrated into the learning / teaching processes; and (3) Cooperation between school and other types of libraries, especially public libraries. (Lance, 2001)

Stated as a key role of the library media specialist and one that has only been the focus of research for about the last decade is program administration since in today's schools "library media specialists are not only managers of the library media center but also advocates for information literacy with the principal, at faculty meetings, and in standards and curriculum committee meetings." (Lance, 2001) Library media specialists are further stated to be "trainers who provide in-service programs for teachers on resource-based learning, integrating information literacy into the curriculum and getting the most out of technology, as well as teaching students." (Lance, 2001) Lance (2001) states that in order for the library media specialist to be a successful advocate for information literacy the library media specialist must:

(1) have support staff who free them from the library media center to participate in important meetings;

(2) win and keep the support of the principal; and (3) manage networked technology; and (4) raise funds successfully (Lance, 2001)

Following three new school library surveys in which Lance reported having surveyed school library media programs at the building level on various topics common to all three studies were:

(1) staffing levels;

(2) staff activities;

(3) collection;

(4) size;

(5) usage statistics; and (6) available technology. (Lance, 2001)

Lance (2001) reports that successful types of library media predictors were those listed as follows:

(1) Library Media Program Development; additional data on collections and expenditures were predictive of reading scores in both Pennsylvania and Colorado.

(2) Staff Activities -- Levels of student performance were related in three states to "the extent to which library media staff engaged in particular activities related to the teaching of information literacy and to the exercise of leadership, collaboration and technology.