Delaware School Libraries...Delaware School Libraries Master Plan Quality School Libraries = Higher...

DelawareSchoolLibraries

MasterPlanQualitySchoolLibraries=HigherStudentAchievement

August2016

Writtenby

BillWilson,HimmelandWilson,LibraryConsultantsChristopherKelly,InstituteforPublicAdministrationKellySherretz,InstituteforPublicAdministration

Withresearchassistancefrom

PublicAdministrationFellowsHeatherBrody,NicholasBrock,AnnieGould,AnnaKeleher,EmmaOdren,andRachelPleet

Withcontributionsfrom

EdFreel,InstituteforPublicAdministration

Preparedbythe

InstituteforPublicAdministrationSchoolofPublicPolicy&AdministrationCollegeofArts&SciencesUniversityofDelaware

Preparedforthe

DelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncil

Fundedbythe

DelawareDepartmentofState,DivisionofLibraries

i|D e l a w a r e S c h o o l L i b r a r i e s M a s t e r P l a n – A u g u s t 2 0 1 6

Preface & Acknowledgments

AstheDirectoroftheInstituteforPublicAdministrationattheUniversityofDelaware,Iampleasedtoprovidethisreport,DelawareSchoolLibrariesMasterPlan:QualitySchoolLibraries=HigherStudentAchievement,totheDelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncil.Inthe2013DelawareSchoolLibrariesAnnualReport,theDelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncilrequestedthedevelopmentofastatewidemasterplanforschoollibraries.Thisreportwascommissionedtofulfillthatrequest.

ThepurposeofthisreportistoserveastheguidingdocumentforDelaware’sschoollibraries.Itidentifiesthecharacteristicsofaqualityschoollibraryandexaminestheimpactthatonecanhaveonstudentlearningoutcomes.ThereportthenincludesananalysisonthecurrentqualityofDelaware’sschoollibrariesandprovidesrecommendationsinfourcategoriesthatwillleadtotheirimprovement.

TheInstituteforPublicAdministration(IPA)isgratefultoSecretaryofStateJeffreyW.BullockandtheDelawareDepartmentofState,DivisionofLibrariesforprovidingfundingsupportforthiswork.IPAisalsoappreciativeoftheguidanceprovidedbytheDelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncil,theDelawareAssociationofSchoolLibrarians,andthemanyinterview,survey,andfocus-groupparticipants.IwouldliketothankbothAnnieNormanandJohnMonahanforthecountlesshourstheyspentsupportingthisproject.IalsothankBillWilson,KellySherretz,ChristopherKelly,EdFreel,HeatherBrody,NicholasBrock,AnnieGould,AnnaKeleher,EmmaOdren,andRachelPleet,fortheirworkonthisreport.AdditionalthanksgotoIPAPolicySpecialistSarahPraggforformattingandeditingthereport.

IPAaddressesthepolicy,planning,andmanagementneedsofitspartnersthroughtheintegrationofappliedresearch,professionaldevelopment,andtheeducationoftomorrow’sleaders.ThisMasterPlanisanimportantpartofthiseffort,asqualityschoollibrariescanleadtoimprovedlearningoutcomesforallstudents,regardlessofraceorsocioeconomicstatus.

JeromeR.Lewis,Ph.D.Director,InstituteforPublicAdministration

ii|D e l a w a r e S c h o o l L i b r a r i e s M a s t e r P l a n – A u g u s t 2 0 1 6

Table of Contents

ExecutiveSummary................................................................................................................1TenRecommendationsforImprovingSchoolLibrariesinDelaware...........................................3

Introduction...........................................................................................................................4TheResearch:WhatPreviousResearchHasShown................................................................6EnglishLanguageArtsPerformance...........................................................................................7Reading.........................................................................................................................................7Writing..........................................................................................................................................8

OtherAreasofIncreasedPerformance......................................................................................8ResearchSkills...............................................................................................................................8Math&Science.............................................................................................................................9InformationLiteracySkills.............................................................................................................9GraduationRates..........................................................................................................................9

TheRequisites:FactorsThatImpactPerformance.................................................................11TheReality:FindingsFromtheDelawareStudy....................................................................12ProfessionalLibraryStaff.........................................................................................................13AccesstoResources................................................................................................................15CoordinationandDataCollection............................................................................................17

TheRecommendations.........................................................................................................19Introduction............................................................................................................................19Staffing........................................................................................................................................20ContentandAccess.....................................................................................................................21GovernanceandInfrastructure...................................................................................................22AssessmentandAccountability..................................................................................................24

Staffing...................................................................................................................................25ContentandAccess.................................................................................................................27GovernanceandInfrastructure................................................................................................30AssessmentandAccountability...............................................................................................33

MovingForward...................................................................................................................39AppendixA:LiteratureReview.............................................................................................40AppendixB:DelawareSchoolLibraryStudySurvey..............................................................74AppendixD:DelawareSchoolLibraryMediaSpecialistCertificationRequirements............102

1|D e l a w a r e S c h o o l L i b r a r i e s M a s t e r P l a n – A u g u s t 2 0 1 6

Executive Summary

Overthepasttwodecades,therelationshipbetweenthequalityofschoollibrariesandstudentperformancehasbeenthefocusofdozensofstate-levelstudies.Simplystated,thesestudiesconfirmthataccesstohigh-qualityschoollibraryservicesresultsinbetterstudentperformance.Thedeclarationusedinthetitleofthisreport,QualitySchoolLibraries=HigherStudentAchievement,isnotaspeculativestatement.Researchaffirmsthisequation.

Mostresearchindicatesthatthefollowingcharacteristicsofschoollibrariesleadtoimprovedlearningoutcomesforstudents:1

• Afull-timecertified/qualifiedlibrarianatthebuildinglevel• Adequatesupportstafftoenablethelibrariantoperformprofessionalduties• Adequateexpenditurefornewresourcestoensurestudentaccesstorecent,relevant

content• Highlevelofcollaborationbetweenlibrariansandteachersandlibrariansandstudents• Flexibleschedulingthatenablesthelibrariantointeractwithteachersandstudents• Accesstoup-to-datetechnologicalinfrastructureandonlineresources• Accesstoprofessionaldevelopmentandnetworkingopportunitiesforlibrarystaff

Unfortunately,schoollibrariesinDelawareare,ingeneral,understaffed,underfunded,andunequippedofup-to-datecollectionsandresources.Librariansthatdoworkinschools,inmanycases,areunabletocarryoutprofessionaldutiesbecausetheymustcompleteday-to-daytasksrelatedtolibrarymanagementandadditionalstaffing/instructionalassignments.Oftentimes,librariansareunabletoparticipateinprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitiesandtocollaboratewithteachersandstudentsduetotheirfixedschedules(FocusGroups,2015).ThecurrentstateofschoollibrariesinDelawareisdire,whichcreatesasituationwherestudentsareunabletoreceivethemeasurablebenefitsofqualityschoollibraries.

Ofevengreaterconcern,thequalitylibrarygapisgrowingratherthanshrinkingsothatequitableaccesstoresourcesandtechnologyisnotavailableforallstudentsinthestate.AcomparisonamongDelaware’sschooldistrictsshowsthatthe10districtsinwhichlessthan40percentofthestudentsarefromlow-incomehouseholdshaveadded13librarianssincethe2005–2006schoolyear.Theninedistrictsinwhichmorethan40percentofthestudentsfromlow-incomehouseholdshavecut16librarianssincethe2005–2006schoolyear(DelawareDistrictandSchoolProfiles).Delaware’sstudentsfromlow-incomehouseholds2arefacingreductionsintheservicesneededtoimprovetheirreading,writing,andcriticalthinkingskills.

1PleaseseeAppendixA:LiteratureReviewforadditionalinformationregardingthisbodyofresearch.2Low-income,asdefinedbytheDelawareDepartmentofEducation,meansthatastudentcanqualifyforFreeandReducedPriceLunch.


DisparityinNumberofLibrarianPositionsperDistrict

InDelaware,just37percentoffourth-graderswerejudgedproficientinreading(withanaveragescoreof224ona0–500pointscale)andonly31percentofeighth-gradersreachedorexceededtheproficientlevelinreading(scoring263outof500points).3

Giventhattherelationshipbetweenqualityschool-libraryservicesandstudentlearningandperformancehasbeendemonstratedinnumerousstudies,adoptingaholisticapproachtoimprovingthequalityofDelaware’sschoollibrariesthroughtargetedinvestmentsappearstobeprudent.Theresearchindicatesthatsuchaninvestmentwouldhaveapositiveimpactonallstudents,butthattheseinvestmentswouldbenefitat-riskstudentstoanevengreaterextent.4

Thefollowingreportisintentionallyresults-oriented.Itdemonstratesthatschoollibrarieshaveapositiveimpactonstudentlearning,offersanassessmentofthecurrentstatusofDelawareschoollibraries,andpresentsaseriesofrecommendationsthat,ifimplementedinaholisticway,wouldimprovestudentlearningandperformanceonstandardizedtestsinmultiplesubjectareas.

Tenrecommendationsareoffered.Theyaregroupedintofourcategories:

1. Staffing2. ContentandAccess3. GovernanceandInfrastructure4. AssessmentandAccountability

3TestresultsarefromtheNationalAssessmentofEducationalProgress(NAEP),knownas“TheNation’sReportCard”.Dataisfrom2014–2015.4PleaseseeAppendixA:LiteratureReviewforadditionalinformationregardingthisbodyofresearch.

66

5057

70

2005–2006 2015–2016

LibrarianPosiZonsinDelawareSchoolDistricts,comparing2005–2006to2015–2016schoolyears

Districtswithlessthan40%ofstudentsfromlow-incomehouseholds

Districtswithmorethan40%ofstudentsfromlow-incomehouseholds


Ten Recommendations for Improving School Libraries in Delaware

Staffing

1. Requireaschoollibrary,acertifiedlibrarian,andanappropriatelevelofsupportstaffineveryschool.

2. Seekfundingforandimplementapilotprojectinnineschoolstodeterminetheimpactthatqualityschoollibrarieshaveonstudentlearningoutcomes.

Content and Access

3. Expandstudentaccessto“e-content.”4. ExpandtheDelawareLibraryConsortiumtoincludeallschoollibraries.

Governance and Infrastructure

5. Establishspecificgovernanceresponsibilitiesforthecoordinationandoversightofschoollibraries.

6. Examineandaddresssystemicissuesthatinhibitthedevelopmentofhigh-qualityschoollibraryprograms.

7. LeverageEveryStudentSucceedsAct(ESSA)fundingtostrengthenschoollibraries.8. Implementflexibleschedulingforschoollibraries.

Assessment and Accountability

9. Designandimplementanongoingprogramofdatacollection,management,andassessmentforschoollibraries.

10. CreateaDelawareSchool-LibraryQualityIndextofacilitatethetrackingofstudentperformanceandinvestmentinschoollibraryservices.


Introduction

Overthepasttwodecades,therelationshipbetweenthequalityofschoollibrariesandstudentperformancehasbeenthefocusofdozensofstate-levelstudies,includingDelaware.Onecompendiumof“schoollibraryimpact”studies(Gretes,2013)identifiedmorethan60projectsin22statesandoneCanadianprovincethathadbeenconductedinthelast20years.Morerecentstudies,includingthosecarriedoutinSouthCarolina(Lance,Rodney,andSchwarz,2014)andWashingtonState(Coker,2015),takeintoaccounttheincreasinginfluenceofe-content.

School-libraryimpactresearchhasbeenconductedingeographicallylargeandsmallstates,somewithmajorurbancentersandothersthatarepredominantlyrural,locatedineveryregionofthecountry.Thesestudieshavebeenconductedoveranextendedperiodoftimeandhaveexaminedpopulationswithdiversedemographics.Avarietyofmethodologieshavebeenemployedincarryingouttheinvestigationsandanassortmentofdifferentquestionsofinterestrelatedtotheimpactofschoollibrariesonstudentlearninghavebeenexplored.

Therelationshipbetweenqualityschool-libraryserviceandstudentperformanceonstandardizedreadingtestshasbeenresearched,ashasthecorrelationbetweenexemplarylibrariesandgraduationrates.Studieshaveexploredtheimpactofschoollibrariesoncriticalthinkingskillsandstudentperformanceinscienceandmath.Manyofthestudieshaveemployedresearchdesignsthatcontrolledforfactorssuchasthedemographicsofthestudypopulation,overallperpupilexpenditures,percentageofstudentsfromlow-incomehouseholds,5andavarietyofothercharacteristicsthatindicatethedegreeofeconomicchallengefacingstudentpopulations.

Giventhediversityofstatesinvolvedandthevarietyofmethodologiesemployed,theextenttowhichthesestudiesarriveatverysimilarconclusionsisremarkable.Simplystated,accesstohigh-qualityschoollibraryservicesresultsinbetterstudentperformance.Thedeclarationusedasthetitleofthisreport,QualitySchoolLibraries=HigherStudentAchievement,isnotaspeculativestatement.Researchaffirmsthisequation.

However,attainingpositivestudent-learningoutcomesisnotassimpleasmaintaininganattractiveschool-libraryfacilityorevenfillingsuchafacilitywithup-to-date,relevantmaterialsandstate-of-the-arttechnology.Overandoveragain,theresearchdemonstratesthatthesinglefactormostcloselyassociatedwiththepositiveimpactofqualityschoollibrariesisafull-time,qualified/certifiedlibrarian/librarymediaspecialist.A2013compendiumentitledSchoolLibraryImpactStudies:AReviewofFindingsandGuidetoSources(Gretes,2013),citesnofewerthan20differentstudiesthatlinkhigherlibrarystaffingwithhigherreadingperformancesforelementary,middle,andhighschools.Severaladditionalstudiesconductedsince2013confirmtheearlierfindings(Lance,Schwarz,andRodney,SC2014;Coker,WA2015).

5Low-income,asdefinedbytheDelawareDepartmentofEducation,meansthatastudentcanqualifyforFreeandReducedPriceLunch.


Thestudiesalsoshowthatotherfactorsincludingflexiblescheduling,thelevelofinteractionbetweenthelibrarianandteachers,investmentinprintanddigitalresources,andaccesstotechnologicalresourcesalsocontributeinstatisticallysignificantwaystostudentachievement.Attainingpositiveresultsrequiresaholistic/systemicapproachtoprovidingqualityschool-libraryservices.

Thenextsectionsummarizesrelevantresearchsupportingtheroleofqualityschoollibrariesinstudentachievement.GreaterdetailregardingtheseandotherstudiescanbefoundinAppendixA:LiteratureReview.Theresearchsectionisfollowedbyareviewoffactorsthatimpactperformance,anassessmentofthecurrentconditionofDelaware’sschoollibraries,andrecommendationsforimprovementsthatwouldleadtohigherstudentachievement.


The Research: What Previous Research Has Shown

FewwouldchallengethesuppositionthatAmerica’sabilitytocompeteintheglobaleconomyiscloselylinkedtothenation’sabilitytoeducateitschildren.Yet,mostinternationalcomparisonsplacetheUnitedStates(U.S.)educationsysteminthemiddleofthepackamongdevelopednations(ProgramforInternationalStudentAssessment[PISA],2014).

OnelongitudinalmeasureofstudentachievementintheU.S.istheNationalAssessmentofEducationalProgress(NAEP).NAEPisacongressionallymandatedprojectadministeredbytheNationalCenterforEducationStatistics(NCES),withintheU.S.DepartmentofEducationandtheInstituteofEducationSciences(IES).NAEPhasassessedwhatstudentsknowandcandoinreading,writing,mathematics,andsciencesince1969.NAEP’sfindingsarereportedinapublicationreferredtoas“TheNation’sReportCard.”Thereportcardisupdatedbiennially;themostrecentdatawascollectedduringthe2014–15schoolyear.

The2015reportshowsnationalachievementlevelsinreadingholdingsteadycomparedto2013(thelastpreviousassessment)withmathachievementlevelsfallingslightlyinthesameperiod.Holdingsteadyinreadingmeansthatonly36percentoffourth-graders,34percentofeighth-graders,and37percentoftwelfth-graderswereproficientinreading.InDelaware,37percentoffourth-graderswerejudgedproficientwithanaveragescoreof224ona0–500pointscaleand31percentofeighth-gradersreachedorexceededtheproficientlevelscoring263outof500points.

TheNationalAssessmentGoverningBoard,whichoverseesNAEP,hassuggestedthattwelfth-gradestudentsscoring302oraboveontheNAEPreadingscalearelikelytopossesstheknowledge,skills,andabilitiesthatwouldmakethemacademicallypreparedforcollege.Nationally,only37percentoftwelfth-gradersscored302orhigherin2015.Many,ifnotthemajorityof,highschoolgraduatesarenotreadyforcollegeorfortheworkplacewithoutremedialassistance(PetrilliandFinn,2015).

Ameta-analysisof44studiescarriedoutbyDr.JimLindsaydocumentstherelationshipbetweenaccesstoprintmaterialsandeducationoutcomes.Theanalysisshowedthataccesstoprintmaterialshasthefollowingeffects:

• Improveschildren’sreadingperformance• Helpschildrenlearnthebasicsofreading• Causeschildrentoreadmoreandforlongerlengthsoftime• Producesimprovedattitudestowardreadingandlearningamongchildren(Lindsay,2010)

Bothanecdotalandempiricalevidencesuggeststhatchildreninmanyschoolsacrossthenationareseeingareductionratherthananincreaseintheiraccesstoreadingmaterials(Bridges,2013).Furthermore,evidencefromtheWashingtonStateSchoolLibraryImpactStudy(Coker,2015)suggests“studentswhoareleastlikelytohaveaccesstoaqualitylibraryaredisproportionatelymorelikelytofacepoverty.”Inotherwords,childrenwhoarealreadyathigherriskduetosocio-economicfactorsaremorelikelytoexperienceadeficitintheiraccesstoreadingmaterials(Lindsay,2010;Krashen,2012).


AstudybyNewYorkUniversity’sSteinhardtSchoolofCulture,Education,andHumanDevelopmentdocumentedtheexistenceof“bookdeserts”inpoorneighborhoodsandindicatedthat“accesstoprintresources…earlyonhasbothimmediateandlong-termeffectsonchildren’svocabulary,backgroundknowledge,andcomprehensionskills”(Neuman&Moland,2016).

Thefollowingoverviewofresearchsuggeststhattheimprovementofschoollibrarieswouldbeaprudentinvestmentandwouldgeneraterealgainsinstudentachievement.Theexamplesthatfollowareintentionallytakenfromthemostrecentstudiestoemphasizethefactthatschoollibrariesremainhighlyrelevantinthe21stcentury.

English Language Arts Performance

ArecentstatewidestudyinSouthCarolina(Lance,Rodney,andSchwarz,2014)validatestherelationshipbetweenqualityschoollibrariesandtestresultsforspecificEnglishLanguageArts(ELA)standards.ThestudyfoundahighcorrelationbetweenthepresenceofprofessionalschoollibrariansandtestresultsforthreeELAstandards—literarytext,informationaltext,andresearchaswellastwowritingstandards—contentandorganization.Thestudydeterminedthatthepositivelinkbetweenthepresenceofprofessionalschoollibrariansandtestresults“…couldnotbeexplainedawaybydemographicssuchasgender,race/ethnicity,disability,andsubsidizedorfreemealseligibility.”

TheSouthCarolinastudyaffirmsthefindingsofseveralotherstudies(includingstudiesinColoradoandPennsylvania)thatalsodocumenthigherstudentperformanceintheseareasinlibrarieswithfull-timeprofessionalstaff.

Reading

Multiplestudiesdocumentthestatisticallysignificantrelationshipbetweenschoolswithwell-staffedlibrariesandscoresonstandardizedreadingtests.Ina2013compendiumentitledSchoolLibraryImpactStudies:AReviewofFindingsandGuidetoSources(Gretes,2013),nofewerthan20differentstudiesarecitedthatlinkhigherlibrarystaffingwithhigherreadingperformancesforelementary,middle,andhighschools(AK2010;CA2008;CO2010;FL2003:IL2005;IN2010;IA2002;MA2010;MI2003;MN2004;MO2004;NC2003;NM;2002;NY2010;PA2000;ON2006/2009;OR2001;TX2001;WI2006).

A2012studyinColorado(Lance&Hofschire,2012)demonstratesthatgainsinreadingscoresarehighestwhenthereisafull-time“endorsed(certified)librarian”atthebuildinglevel.Thestudystatesthat“Researchfindingsonschoollibrariansandtheirassociationwithstudents’(reading)testscoresareconsistent:regardlessofhowrichorpooracommunityis,studentstendtoperformbetteronreadingtestswhere,andwhen,theirlibraryprogramsareinthehandsofendorsedlibrarians”(Lance&Hofschire,2012).

Furthermore,theresearchdemonstratesthattheinverseisalsotrue.LanceandHofschiredocumentedtheimpactoflibrarianlayoffsonfourth-gradereadingscoresbetween2004and2009.“Fewerlibrarianstranslatedtolowerperformance—oraslowerriseinscores—onstandardized


tests.”Thestudyalsofoundthat“19ofthe26statesthatgainedlibrarianssawanaverage2.2percentriseintheirNationalAssessmentofEducationProgress(NAEP)fourth-gradereadingscores”(Lance&Hofschire,2012).

Studentsatrisktendedtobeaffectedmorepositivelybytheadditionofschoollibrariansthanthegeneralstudentpopulationandtheseat-riskpopulationssufferedgreaterlosseswhenlibrarianswereeliminated(Lance&Hofschire,2012).

Writing

InarecentSouthCarolinastudy(Lance,Schwarz,andRodney,2014),allstudents,bothmaleandfemale,weremorelikelytoshowstrengthsandlesslikelytoshowweaknessesonthePalmettoAssessmentofStateStandards(PASS)Writingstandards—overallandonContentandOrganization—iftheirschoollibrarieswerestaffedbyatleastonefull-timelibrarianandatleastonefull-timeorpart-timeassistantthaniftheirlibrarieswerestaffedotherwise.Allstudentswere2percentlesslikelytoshowweaknessesonthePASSwritingstandardsifaqualifiedfull-timelibrarianwasonstaff.Allstudentswere2.1percentmorelikelytodemonstratestrengthsontheContentandOrganizationtestsifaqualifiedfull-timelibrarianwaspresentintheirschool.

AstudyconductedinPennsylvaniain2012entitledHowPennsylvaniaSchoolLibrariesPayOff:InvestmentsinStudentAchievementandAcademicStandards(Lance&Schwarz)foundthat“theimpactofschoollibrariesismorepronouncedproportionatelyforwritingthanreadingscores.”Studentswithaccesstoqualitylibraries(definedbymeasuresthatincludedacertifiedlibrarian,availabilityofsupportstaff,expendituresofatleast$11perstudentperyearfornewresources,collectionsofatleast12,000volumes,up-to-datetechnology,andflexiblescheduling),weretwo-to-five-timesmorelikelytoscore“advanced”onthePennsylvaniaSystemofSchoolAssessment(PSSA)readingandwritingteststhanstudentswhodidnothaveaccesstoqualitylibraries.

Other Areas of Increased Performance

GainsinstudentperformancearenotlimitedtoELA.TestresultsthatassesscriticalthinkingskillareasrelatedtoELAsuchasresearchandinformationliteracyarealsopositivelyimpactedbytheavailabilityofqualityschool-libraryservices.Althoughthecorrelationbetweenqualityschoollibrariesandperformanceinmathandsciencehasnotbeenstudiedasfrequently,severalstudiesshowgainsthatcannotbeexplainedbyotherfactors(Dow,Lakin,&Court,2012).Asidentifiedbythestudiesbelow,researchskills,informationliteracyskills,andevengraduationratesappeartobeimpactedbythepresenceofhigh-qualityschoollibraries.

Research Skills

TheSouthCarolinastudy(Lance,Schwarz,andRodney,2014)revealsthatthepresenceofatleastonefull-timelibrarianandafullorpart-timeassistantmadeasignificantdifferencein“exemplary”performanceintheresearchcomponentofthePalmettoAssessmentofStateStandards(PASS).Thepercentageofstudentsscoringatexemplarylevelswastwotothreepercenthigherinschoolswith


afullcomplementoflibrarystaffing.Thisgappersistedacrossmanycategoriesofstudentsincludingboysandgirls,Hispanicstudents,andlimitedEnglishlanguagestudents.

Math & Science

ResearchconductedinKansas(Dow,Lakin,&Court,2012)foundthatstudentsinschoolsthatmaintainedhigherandmorestablelibrarymediaspecialiststaffinghadhigherproficiencyratesasreportedinKansasAnnualYearlyProgressdata.Thehigherproficiencyrateswerenotlimitedtoreadingandwriting;scoreswerehigherinmathematics,science,andhistory/governmentaswell.Infact,theproficiencydifferencebetweenstudentsinschoolswithlibrarymediaspecialistsandwithoutlibrarymediaspecialistswasgreatestinmathematics.Furthermore,thisproficiencydifferencepersistedacrossthegradelevels(elementary,middle,andhighschool).

Information Literacy Skills

Researchexploringthecorrelationbetweenschoollibrariansandthedevelopmentofinformationliteracyskills(Schultz-Jones&Ledbetter,2009,2010)concludedthatschoollibrarians“candevelopandnurtureanoptimallearningenvironmentthatmakesapositiveandmeasurablecontributiontotheeducationalprocess.”Thesestudiesstresstheimportanceoflibrarian/teacherinteractionandpartnershipsinfacilitatingstudentlearning.Anothercompendiumofschool-libraryimpactstudiespreparedatMansfieldUniversity(Kachel,2013)citesstudieslinkinglibrarian/teacherinteractionandgainsinstudentlearningintheareasofinformationliteracyandtechnologyskills(Smith,2006;Klinger,2009).

Graduation Rates

TheWashingtonStateSchoolLibraryImpactStudyentitledCertifiedTeacherLibrarians,LibraryQualityandStudentAchievementinWashingtonStatePublicSchools(Coker,2015)developedameasurementtooltoassessstudentperformanceinrelationtoaholisticassessmentoflibraryquality.ThestudyappliedaLibraryQualityScale(LQS)toranklibrariesintofourcategories(lowlibraryquality,fair(-)libraryquality,fair(+)libraryquality,andhighlibraryquality)andthenexaminedstudentperformanceinrelationtoLQSrankings.TheLQScriteriaincludednineitemsthatreflectedstaffinglevelsandhoursofaccess,printandelectronicresources,accesstoup-to-datetechnology,andscheduling.

UsingtheLQSrankings,theCokerstudylookedatfive-yeargraduationratesinschoolsinthreecategories:

• Lessthan30%ofstudentseligibleforFreeorReducedPriceLunch(FRPL)• Between30%and50%ofstudentseligibleforFRPL• 50%orhigherstudentseligibleforFRPL

Whilethedifferenceingraduationratesinlowlibraryqualityschoolsandhighlibraryschoolsservingthelessthan30percentFRPLwassignificant(11%),thegapingraduationratesinlowlibraryqualityschoolsandhighlibraryschoolsservingthe50percentorhigherFRPLwasan


astounding36percent(43percentinschoolswithlowlibraryqualityand79percentinschoolswithhighlibraryquality).Again,qualityschoollibrariesappeartohavethegreatestimpactamongstudentswhofaceavarietyofsocio-economicchallenges.

Figure1:Five-YearGraduationRatesforSchoolswith50%orHigherQualifiedforFreeorReducedPriceLunch

79%

76%

69%

43%

HighLibraryQualityScale(LQS)Score

Fair(+)LQSScore

Fair(-)LQSScore

LowLQSScore


The Requisites: Factors That Impact Performance

Aswaspreviouslynoted,theextenttowhichschool-libraryimpactstudiesarriveatverysimilarconclusionsisremarkable.Thesamefactorsareidentifiedoverandoveragainasbeingcorrelatedwithstudentsuccess,andwhiletherearesomevariationsinfindings,itisthesimilarityratherthanthevariancethatisstriking.Researchindicatedthefollowingcharacteristicsmakeadifferenceinstudentlearning:

• Afull-timecertified/qualifiedlibrarianatthebuildinglevel6• Adequatesupportstafftoenablethelibrariantoperformprofessionalduties• Adequateexpenditurefornewresourcestoensurestudentaccesstorecent,relevant

content7• Highlevelofcollaborationbetweenlibrariansandteachersandlibrariansandstudents• Flexibleschedulingthatenablesthelibrariantointeractwithteachersandstudents• Accesstoup-to-datetechnologicalinfrastructureandonlineresources• Accesstoprofessionaldevelopmentandnetworkingopportunitiesforlibrarystaff

Whiletheresearchdemonstratesthatprofessionalstaffingisclearlythemostimportantofthefactorsintermsofstudentperformance,theschoollibrariesthatmakethemostdifferenceinstudentlearningarethoseinwhichallofthefactorscometogetherinaholisticway(Coker,2015).Inacknowledgementofthisfact,thisMasterPlanrecommendsaholisticapproachtothedevelopmentofqualitylibrariesandcreatesasystemforquantifying“qualitylibraries”thatwillfacilitateongoingassessmentofschool-libraryimpacts.

ThenextsectionpresentsdeficienciesthatcurrentlyexistinDelaware’sschoollibrariesaswellassometroublingtrendsthatdiminishtheeffectivenessofschoollibrariesandlibrarians.Therecommendationssectionofthereportprovidesawayforwardthat,ifimplemented,willgeneratepositiveoutcomes.

6SchoollibrariancertificationrequirementsarecodifiedinTitle14,Chapter1500,Section1580SchoolLibraryMediaSpecialistoftheDelawareAdministrativeCode.SeeAppendix.7Whatisdeemedanadequatedollaramounttomakeapositivedifferencerangesfrom$11perstudenttoover$15perstudent.


The Reality: Findings From the Delaware Study

AstudyofDelaware’sschoollibrariesconductedbyDr.RossJ.Toddin2004wasgenerallyoptimistic.ToddidentifiedanumberofchallengesfacingschoollibrariesintheFirstStatebutindicatedthat“Delawarehasthepotentialtobeidentifiednationallyasoneofthefirststatestoachievehighqualityschoollibraryservicesandprogramsandtoreachstate-basedandnationallydeterminedstandards.”Heciteddeficienciesthathecalled“shortcomingsintheprovisionofinfrastructure—resources,full-timestaffing,aswellasinstructionalopportunitiestoworkwithclassroomteachers.”Unfortunately,itappearsthatthesameshortcomingsstillexistin2016andthey,infact,havebecomeevenmorepronounced.

ThepositiveoutcomesenvisionedbyToddhavenotmaterialized,notbecausetheadviceinthereportwasflawed,butrather,becausetherecommendationsfromthereportwereneverimplemented.

Toddoutlinedasetofcharacteristicsthatparallelvirtuallyeverymajorstatewidestudyofschoollibrariesthathasbeencarriedoutsincetheyear2000.AmongthecharacteristicsidentifiedbyToddascontributingtostudentlearningoutcomeswere:

• Astate-certified,full-time,librarymediaspecialistinthebuilding;• Theavailabilityofpara-professionalstaffwhoundertakeroutineadministrativetasksand

freethelibrarymediaspecialisttoundertakeinstructionalinitiativesandreadingliteracyinitiatives;

• Alibraryprogramthatisbasedonflexibleschedulingsothatlibrarymediaspecialistsandclassroomteacherscanengageincollaborativeplanninganddeliveryofinformationliteracyinstruction;

• Aschoollibrarythatmeetsresourcerecommendationsof15to20booksperchild;• Abudgetallocationof$12to$15per-studentper-yeartoensurecurrencyandvitalityofthe

informationbase;• Astrong,networkedinformation-technologyinfrastructurethatfacilitatesaccesstoanduse

ofinformationresourcesinandoutoftheschool.

AnumberofmethodswereemployedincarryingoutthisstudytorevisitthestatusofDelaware’sschoollibrariesin2015–16.Theseeffortsincluded:

• Aweb-basedsurveydirectedtoallschool-librarystaffincludingcertifiedlibrarians,othercertifiedteachersactingasschoollibrarians,andparaprofessionalsworkingin(andsometimesmanaging)schoollibraries;

• Focusgroupswithschool-library/media-centerpersonnelheldinlocationsthroughoutthestate;

• Focusgroupswithschoolprincipals;and• Personalinterviewswithindividualsincludinglibrarians,principals,superintendents,and

otherswithspecialknowledgeofspecificprograms.


Followingisanoverviewofthefindingsoftheseinformation-gatheringefforts.Greaterdetailcanbefoundintheappendicestothisreport.

Professional Library Staff

Thepresenceofafull-time,well-qualified/certifiedlibrarianatthebuildinglevelisthefactormostcloselycorrelatedwithstudentsuccessinvirtuallyalloftheschool-libraryimpactstudies.ItisthereforevitallyimportanttoconsiderhowDelaware’sschoolsarefaringinthiscriticalarea.

WhenRossTodd’sstudywasreleasedin2005,thetotalenrollmentinDelaware’spublic,non-charterschoolswas115,816students.Adecadelater,thestudentpopulationhadgrownto123,127,anincreaseof6.3%.In2005,Delawareschooldistrictsreportedthattheyemployedatotalof123librarians.Bythe2015–16schoolyear,thatnumberhaddroppedto120.Atfirstglance,thisdropmayseemrelativelyinsignificant;however,acloserexaminationrevealssomeverytroublingtrends.Thestatewidepicturemasksamuchbleakersituationthatadverselyaffectsstudentsinsomedistricts.

In2005–2006,thestatewideratiooflibrarianstostudentswasonelibrarianforevery942students.By2015–16,theratiohadgrowntoonelibrarianforevery1,026students.Again,thisdisparityseemsrelativelysmall.Itisnotuntilwebegintoexaminenumbersatthedistrictlevelthatconsiderableinequityisrevealed.In2005–2006,thedistrictwiththebestlibrarian/studentratiohadonelibrarianforevery535students.In2005–2006,thedistrictwiththepoorestlibrarian/studentratiohadonelibrarianforevery2,131students.In2015–16,thedistrictwiththebestlibrarian/studentratiohadonelibrarianforevery579students(thisdistrictaddedfourlibrarianpositionsbetweenthe2014–15and2015–16schoolyears).Thelowestratioforthe2015–16schoolyearwasonelibrarianforevery5,170students.Itwouldseemclearthatthereisasignificantdisparitybetweentheschool-libraryservicesreceivedbyastudentinadistrictwithonelibrarianforevery579studentsandtheservicesreceivedbyastudentinadistrictwithonelibrarianforevery5,170students.

Figure2:DisparityinDelawarePublicSchoolDistrictsintheRatioofLibrarianstoStudents

EvenmorealarmingisthefactthatDelaware’sschoollibrariesappeartobeheadedinanincreasinglydiredirectioninregardtothenumberofschoolswithfull-time,certifiedlibrarians.AcomparisonamongDelaware’sschooldistrictsshowsthatthetendistrictsinwhichlessthan40

579

5,170

LowestLibrarian/StudentRaroDistrict

HighestLibrarian/StudentRaroDistrict


percentofthestudentsarefromlow-incomehouseholdshaveadded13librarianssincethe2005–2006schoolyear.Theninedistrictsinwhichmorethan40percentofthestudentsarefromlow-incomehouseholdshavecut16librarianssincethe2005–2006schoolyear.It’sworthnotingthatthedistrictwiththehighestpercentageofstudentsfromlow-incomehouseholdsinthestate,addedfourlibrarianpositionsbetween2014–15and2015–16.However,theoveralltrendindicatesthatDelaware’sat-riskstudentswhocouldbenefitthemostfromqualityschoollibrariesareinsteadfacingreductionsinserviceslikelytoimprovetheirperformanceinreading,writing,andcriticalthinking.

Figure3:DisparityinNumberofLibrarianPositionsperDistrict

Anotherconcernrelatestothequalificationsoflibrarystaff.AlthoughtheDelawareDistrictandSchoolProfilesreport120librarians,acloserexaminationrevealsthatnotalloftheindividualsfillingthesepositionsarecertifiedlibrarians.AccordingtorecordsfromtheDelawareAssociationofSchoolLibrarians,approximately110ofthelibrariansareeithercurrentlycertifiedorarequalifiedforcertification.Inmostotherinstances,para-professionalsoperateschoollibrariesandarereportedinthedistrictsstatisticsaslibrarians(2015).Thisissimplyoneofmanyareasinwhichalackofcentralizeddata-collectionaboutschoollibrarieshindersqualityanalysis.

Anadditionaltroublingtrendisanapparentgradualerosionofthetimelibrariansareabletospendcarryingouttheirprofessionalduties.Inputfromtheweb-basedsurvey,librarianfocusgroups,andlibrarianinterviewsindicatesthatmany,ifnotmostDelawareschoollibrariansareseverelylimitedintheamountoftimetheycanspendworkinginaprofessionalcapacitywithstudentsandteachers.Ofthe64librariansrespondingtotheweb-survey,60.9percentindicatedthattheyhaveotherinstructionaland/orstaffingresponsibilitiesbeyondthosedirectlyassociatedwiththeirjobdutiesinthelibrary/mediacenter.Thesedutiesrangefromservingastheschooltestcoordinatororaspecialeducationteachertodutiesmorecloselyalignedwiththelibrarysuchasactingasthebuildingtechnologistandteachingresearch-skillsclasses.

66

5057

70

2005–2006 2015–2016

LibrarianPosiZonsinDelawareSchoolDistricts,comparing2005–2006to2015–2016schoolyears

Districtswithlessthan40%ofstudentsfromlow-incomehouseholds

Districtswithmorethan40%ofstudentsfromlow-incomehouseholds


AddingtothiserosionisareporteddeclineinthenumberofsupportstaffworkinginDelaware’sschoollibraries.Only10ofthe68librariansrespondingsaidthatanyotherpaidstaffworkedintheirlibraries.Ofthese,fourlibrarieshadonlypart-timesupport.Consequently,manylibrariansreportedspendingasignificantportionoftheirtimeonclericaltasksrangingfromcheckingmaterialsinandout,re-shelvingbooks,andprocessingmaterials(attachingbookcovers,labels,etc.).Timespentcarryingoutclericaltasksdirectlyimpactstheamountofcollaborationwithteachersthatresearchdemonstrateshasapositiveimpactonstudentlearning.8

Severallibrarianswhoparticipatedinfocusgroupsraisedarelatedissueconcerningprofessionallearningcommunities(PLCs).AlthoughlibrariansareuniquelypositionedtoaddsignificantlytoPLCsascross-disciplinaryresources,librariansreportthattheirroleisoftenrelegatedtocoveringclasseswhileteachersparticipateinPLCmeetings.ArethinkingoftherolethatlibrariansmightplayinPLCswouldverylikelyyieldpositiveresults(Hughes-Hassel,Brasfield,andDupree,2012).

Librariansparticipatinginfocusgroupsandininterviewsalsoraisedconcernaboutunitcounts.Theyexpressedtheopinionthattheinclusionoflibrariansinthegeneralunitcountpitslibrariansagainstothervaluedandneededstaff.Theavailableresearchbuildsastrongcaseforamodelthatmandatesaleveloflibrarystaffingthatreflectsthesizeofthestudentpopulationratherthanplacinglibrariansincompetitionwithothereducatorsandsupportstaff.9

Finally,informationgatheredinfocusgroups,interviews,andinsessionswiththeDelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncilunderscorestheimportanceofongoingstaffdevelopmentforlibrarians.Theweb-basedsurveydocumentsthefactthatmostschoollibrariansinDelawareareworkinginisolationfromotherlibraryprofessionals.Delaware’scertificationprogramforlibrariansshouldbereviewedwithaneyetowardstrengtheningtheprofessionaldevelopmentcomponent.

Inshort,professionallibrarianpositionsarebeingcutdisproportionatelyindistrictsinwhichstudentscouldbenefitmostfromtheirservices.Furthermore,theeffectivenessofmanyofthelibrariansalreadyinplacehasbeendiminishedbecauseofalackofsupportstaffandbytheencroachmentofmanyotherdutiesthatreducetheamountoftimetheyareabletospendinteractingwithstudentsandteachers.

Access to Resources

Accesstoup-to-date,relevantresourcesproducesnumerouspositiveoutcomes(Lindsay,2010)including:

• Improvingchildren’sreadingperformance• Helpingchildrenlearnthebasicsofreading• Causingchildrentoreadmoreandforlongerlengthsoftime• Producingimprovedattitudestowardreadingandlearning

8PleaseseeAppendixA:LiteratureReviewforadditionalinformationregardingthisbodyofresearch.9PleaseseeAppendixA:LiteratureReviewforadditionalinformationregardingthisbodyofresearch.


However,itappearsthatthebooksandotherlearningresourcesofferedbyDelaware’sschoollibrarieshavedeclinedsincetheToddstudywasconductedmorethanadecadeago.Toddreportedanaveragecollectionsizeof11,500itemsandamedianbudgetallocationfornewmaterialsat“below$6,000”perschool.Theweb-surveyconductedin2015identifiedthemeanexpendituresfornewmaterials(purchasedwithtaxfunds)as$4,688andthatthemedianbudgetwas$3,000—halfoftheestimatedamountreportedintheToddstudy.

Althoughthesurveyfoundthataverageschoolcollectionshavegrownslightly(amedianof12,450items),onaverage,only460newitemswerebeingaddedtoeachschool’scollectionperyear(medianwasevenlowerat300).ThisisaveryclearindicationthatDelaware’sschool-librarycollectionsareoutdated.Atareplacementrateof460newitemsayear(3.7%ofthecollectionperyear),itwouldtakeroughly27yearsfortheentirecollectiontoturnover.

In2012–13,theDelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncilworkedwithFollett,thecurrentschool-librarycatalogvendor,toconductananalysisofprintcollections.TheresultsofthisanalysisappearedintheDelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncilAnnualReportfor2013.FollettreportedthattheaveragecopyrightdateoffictiontitlesinDelaware’sschool-librarycollectionswas1994andthattheaverageimprintdateofnon-fictionmaterialswas1993.Nearly90percent(89.97%)ofthematerialsinScienceTechnology,Engineering,andMath(STEM)categories(Dewey500s[Science]andDewey600s[AppliedSciences])weremorethan5yearsold.

TheToddstudyrecommendedanexpenditureof$12to$15perstudentperyearforthepurchaseonnewresources.However,thisrecommendationwasmademorethantenyearsagoanddoesnotaccountforinflationthathasoccurredoverthepastdecade.Currently,itisimpossibletoaccuratelyreporttotalexpendituresfornewlibraryresources.Forthemostpart,decisionsregardinglibrarymaterialsbudgetsarebeingmadeatthebuildingratherthanatthedistrictlevelandnocentralizedsystemofreportingtheseexpendituresisreadilyavailable(FocusGroups,2015).However,web-surveyresultssuggestthatthetotalexpenditurefornewmaterialsisintherangeof$800,000to$900,000.Thiswouldtranslateintobetween$6.50to$7.50perstudent.

TheSouthCarolinastudy(Lance,Rodney,andSchwarz,2014)indicatedthatexpendituresof$13.33ormoreperstudentwascorrelatedwithpositiveoutcomesintermsofstudentperformance.AnearlierstudyinPennsylvania(LanceandSchwarz,2012)foundthatexpendituresover$11.00perstudentmadeadifferenceinstudentperformance.Whileitisdifficulttodefineapreciseexpenditurerecommendation,thereisnoquestionthattheamountthatwouldcontributetodesiredresultsinstudentlearningisconsiderablymore,andprobablyclosertodouble,whatisbeingspentperstudentatthecurrenttime.

OneadvantagethatstudentsinDelawarehavethatisn’taffordedtoallchildreninthenationisaccesstohigh-qualityonlinedatabases.UDLib/SEARCHisaprogramthatworkstodeliverequitableaccesstoinformationresources.Thecontinuationofthisprogramisessential.Whileonlinedatabasesareanextremelyvaluableresearchtool,theyarenotareplacementforbook-lengthworks.Buildingonthismodelbyexpandingittoincludemorecurriculum-basede-contentoffersanopportunitytoincreaseaccesstoup-to-date,relevantcontentinawaythatensuresequityaswellasquality.


Thecurrentstatusofresourcesharingbetweenandamongschoolshasimprovedtoamodestextentoverthecourseofthepastdecade.Dr.Toddreportedthat40percentofschool-librarycatalogsweresearchableviatheInternet.Whilethatpercentagehasdoubled(80.9percentofsurveyparticipantsindicatedthattheirlibraryholdingswereavailableoutsidetheschoolbuilding),theoveralllevelofresourcesharingamongschoolsisstillverylow.Thisisdue,atleastinpart,toalackofareasonablequantityofup-to-datematerialsthatareinhighdemand(FocusGroups,2015).However,thelackofanetworkedonlineresourceforfindingandreservingmaterialsalsocontributestothissituation.ApilotprogramisunderwaytoincludealimitednumberofschoollibrariesintheDelawareLibraryCatalog.Thismayserveasamodelforthesharingofresourcesnotonlybetweenandamongschoollibrariesbutbetweenandamongschoolandpubliclibrariesaswell.

Coordination and Data Collection

Delawareschoollibrarieshavesufferedafatecommontomanyotherstatesinregardtostatelevelcoordination.Atonetime,manystateeducationdepartments,includingDelaware,hadindividuals(andoftenwholeunits)thatworkeddirectlywithschoollibrariestosupportandcoordinatetheirefforts.Overtimemanyofthesepositionsdisappeared.Makingmattersevenworse,havingadistrict-levelschool-librarycoordinatorusedtobecommon,butnowthesepositionshavenearlydisappeared.Inshort,bothstate-anddistrict-levelpersonnelsupportingschool-libraryserviceshaveevaporated.Schoollibrariansreportedthattheyoftenfeelasiftheyareoperatinginavacuum.ProfessionaldevelopmentandthebuildingofprofessionalnetworkshavelargelybeentheresultofpersonalinitiativeandvoluntaryactivitiesasopposedtobeingeffortssupportedbyeithertheStateorbyschooldistricts.

The“reconstitution”oftheDelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncilhasbeenonestepintherightdirectioninthataformalgovernmentalbodynowexiststhathasthemissionof“establishinganexemplaryschoollibraryprogram.”Inadditiontospearheadingthecurrentmasterplanprocess,thecouncilhasundertakensomedatacollectionandhasservedasapointofcontactandasanadvocateforschoollibrarieswithschooldistricts,schoolboards,thelegislature,andthepublic.ItiscriticalthattheCouncilbereauthorizedthroughExecutiveOrderunderthenextgovernor’sadministration.Unfortunately,nopaidstaffisassignedtothecouncilanditseffortshavelargelybeenundertakenasalaboroflovebyindividualswhocareaboutschoollibrariesandwhoareawareofthedifferencethattheycanmake.However,withoutformalstaffingsupport,thecouncil’sabilitiestoaffectchangewillbeextremelylimited.

Furthermore,theworkthatneedstobedoneisconsiderable.Inadditiontothesupportandcoordinationofschool-libraryprogramsfromthestatelevel,programstocollectandreportschool-librarystatisticshaveallbutdisappeared.Inthepast,somebasicinformationregardingschoollibrarieswasgatheredthroughtheNationalCenterforEducationalStatistics(NCES)SchoolsandStaffingSurvey(SASS).Whileincompleteinitsscope,SASSatleastprovidedsomebaselineinformationthatcouldbeusedforcomparativeandresearchanalysispurposes.However,SASShasnowbeenreplacedbytheNationalTeacherandPrincipalSurvey(NTPS).Unfortunately,theNTPSsurveycaptureslittlemorethanverificationofwhetherornotanindividualschoolhasalibrary.


Thisseverelylimitstheabilityofschools,schooldistricts,andstateeducationagenciestoassesstheimpactofinvestmentsinschoollibraries.Inshort,thebasictoolsneededtoassesstheimpactofschool-libraryprogramsonstudentperformancearelargelylacking.


The Recommendations

Introduction

Thedeclarationusedasthetitleofthisreport,QualitySchoolLibraries=HigherStudentAchievement,isnotaspeculativestatement.Researchaffirmsthisequation.ConsiderableevidencesuggeststhatDelawarewillattainmeasurablegainsinstudentperformanceifstrategicinvestmentsaremadeinimprovingthequalityoftheFirstState’sschoollibraries.Thefollowingrecommendationsareintendedtochartacoursethatwillenablethestatetorealizethesegains.

Itshouldbenotedthatseveraloftherecommendationsarenotnew,noraretheyrevolutionary.ThefindingsofthisMasterPlananditsrecommendationsareconsistentwiththosemadeinastudybyDr.RossToddwhenheexaminedDelaware’sschoollibrariesoveradecadeago.Therecommendationsarealsoconsistentwiththosemadeindozensofotherstatewidestudiesconductedacrossthenationsincetheyear2000.ThefactthatpotentialgainsoutlinedintheToddreport(andinmanyothers)havenotmaterializeddoesnotreflectpoorlyonthequalityoftherecommendations;rather,progresshasbeenimpededinDelaware(andmanyotherstates)becausegoodrecommendationswereneveractedupon.

Therecommendationsinthisreportareintentionallyresults-oriented.Therecommendationsproposemakingholisticchangesthattogetherwillyieldpositiveoutcomes.Therecommendationshavebeenorganizedintofourseparatecategories.Theyare:

• Staffing• Contentandaccess• Governanceandinfrastructure• Assessmentandaccountability

Researchshowsthatdifferentcomponentsoflibraryservicescontributetostudentsuccesstovaryingdegreesandthattheyimpactlearnersindifferentways.10Forexample,overall,full-timeprofessionalstaffingattheschoolbuildinglevelhasthegreatestimpactonperformanceonstandardizedteststhatassessreading,writing,andresearchskills.However,simpleaccesstoreadingmaterialsisalsocrucial.Severalstudies(Pribesh,2011;Krashen,2012)documentarelationshipbetweenpoorreadingtestscoresamongchildreninpovertyandlackofaccesstobooksintheirhomesandcommunities.Thisissuewasrecentlyunderscoredinthe“bookdesert”studythatlookedataccesstoprintresourcesinlow-incomeneighborhoods(Neuman&Moland,2016).

Ahighcorrelationhasalsobeenfoundbetweenstudentachievementandfactorssuchasthenatureandqualityofinteractionbetweenlibrarians,flexibleversusfixedschedulesandoverall

10PleaseseeAppendixA:LiteratureReviewforadditionalinformationregardingthisbodyofresearch.


expendituresonlibraryservices.11Anapproachthatimprovesthequalityofschoollibrariesinmultiplewaysismostlikelytogeneratepositiveresultsintermsofstudentlearningandperformance.

Abriefoverviewoftherecommendationsispresentedbelowfollowedbyadditionaldetailsregardingeachoftheproposedactions.

Staffing

Researchdemonstratesthatthepresenceofacertifiedprofessionallibrarianwithanappropriatelevelofsupportstaffingatthebuildinglevelisthecomponentoflibraryservicethatismosthighlycorrelatedwithstudentperformance.12Consequently,tworecommendationsaredirectedtowardachievingthegoalofhavingafullystaffedlibraryineachpublicelementary,middle,andhighschoolbuildinginthestate.Thefirstrecommendationinvolvesthedevelopmentoflegislationthatcodifiestherequirementforlibrariesineachschoolanddesignatesschoollibrariansandaccompanyingparaprofessionalsasadistinctcategorywithinthestate’sunitcountappropriationmodel.

Statefundingforthisinitiativewouldbeapproximately70percentofthetotalneededtoimplementtheeffort.Fullyimplementingtheprogramwouldrequirelocalschooldistrictsupportofapproximately30percent.Recognizingthatfullyreachingthisgoalwilllikelytakeaperiodoftime,thesecondrecommendationcallsforaprivately-funded“proof-of-concept”pilotprojectinvolvingnineschools(anelementaryschool,amiddleschool,andahighschoolineachcounty).Thepilotprojectwouldsupporttheimprovementofninelibrariesinfourcriticalareas(professionalstaffing,supportstaffing,acquisitionofnewmaterials,andimprovedaccesstoexistingresources)thatresearchdemonstratesproducesimprovedlearningoutcomesforstudents.Thepilotwouldenabletheparticipatingschoolstoachieveahighlevelonaschool-libraryqualityindexthatisbuiltaroundresearchfindings.Studentperformanceonspecificstandardizedtestsattheappropriategradelevelswouldthenbeusedtodemonstrateanddocumenttheimpactofqualityschoollibraries.

Recommendation 1: Require a School Library, a Certified Librarian, and an Appropriate Level of Support Staff in Every School

Delawareshouldimplementlegislationthatcodifiestherequirementforaschoollibraryineachschoolandprovidesacertifiedlibrarymediaspecialistandappropriatelevelofsupportstaffineveryelementary,middle,andhighschool.ThislegislationwouldbesimilartoHouseBillNo.152,whichwasintroducedinthe148thGeneralAssembly,butwould“scale”therequirementforcertifiedlibrarymediastaffandwouldaddsupportstaffbasedonanindividualschool’senrollmentlevel.Thelegislationwoulddesignateschoollibrarians,andappropriatelibrarysupportstaff,asadistinctcategorywithintheState’sunitcountappropriationmodeltoensurethateachschoolwillreceivesufficientStatefundingtohirethenumberofschoollibrariansandsupportstaffrecommendedintheSchool-LibraryQualityIndex(seeRecommendation#10).

11PleaseseeAppendixA:LiteratureReviewforadditionalinformationregardingthisbodyofresearch.12PleaseseeAppendixA:LiteratureReviewforadditionalinformationregardingthisbodyofresearch.


Recommendation 2: Seek Funding for and Implement a Pilot Project in Nine Schools to Determine the Impact that Quality School Libraries Have on Student Learning Outcomes

Delawareshouldseekcorporate/foundation/philanthropicfundingforapilotprojectdesignedtoserveasaproof-of-conceptofthecorrelationbetweenqualityschoollibrariesandstudentperformance.Thepilotshouldbeimplementedoverafive-yearperiodinnineschools(oneelementaryschool,onemiddleschool,andonehighschoolineachcounty.)Participantschoolswouldbefundedforfiveyearsatalevelthatwouldcoveranappropriatestaffingcomplement,fundingforlibraryresourcesattherecommendedlevelof$15perstudentandcostsassociatedwithparticipationofthelibraryintheDelawareLibraryCatalog.ThesepilotlibrarieswillbeconsideredQualitySchoolLibrarieswhentheyhaveachievedascoreofatleast90pointsontheSchool-LibraryQualityIndex.

Content and Access

Severalofthestudiesthatexplorethecorrelationofqualitylibrariesandstudentperformancehavefoundstatisticallysignificantrelationshipsbetweenthelevelofaccesstoreadingresourcesandstudentperformance(Krashen,2004,2012;Lindsay,2010).Thatthereisarelationshipbetweenaccesstoreadingmaterialsandtheabilityofchildrentoreadwouldseemintuitive.

Annualexpendituresfornewresources(print,non-printmedia,andonlineresources)areastrongindicatorofaccesstoresourcesthatactuallywillberead.Outdatedtitlesgetlittleuse(BaumbachandMiller,2006).Therelationshipbetweenexpendituresfornewmaterialsandstudentlearningisnotquiteasstrongastheprofessionallibrarian/studentlearningcorrelation,nevertheless,itisstatisticallysignificantandrepresentsakey,measurablecomponentinqualitylibraryservice(Kachel,2013).

Unfortunately,thereisatremendousdisparityinthequantityandqualityofresourcesavailabletoDelaware’sstudents.Studentsinschoolswithnolibrariesorwithlibrariesstockedwithoutdatedresources(indicatedbythefactthattheyspendlittleornothingfornewmaterialsorcontent)areatacleardisadvantagewhencomparedtochildreninschoolsthatinvestinnewresourcesonanongoingbasis.

Tworecommendationsseektoremedythisdisparity.ThefirstcallsfortheexpansionoftheUDLib/SEARCHprogramandDelawareDivisionofLibraries’e-bookprogramtoincreasetheaccesstoe-books.E-booksareanexcellentinvestment.DatafromtheDelawareDivisionofLibraries’e-bookprogram(2015)indicatesthat41percentoftheire-booksare“checkedout”atanygiventimecomparedtoarateofabout10percentfortypicalprintcollections.

ThesecondrecommendationrecognizesthatDelaware’staxpayersarealreadyinvestinginawidevarietyoflibrarymaterialsinschoolandpubliclibraries.ByincludingschoollibrariesintheDelawareLibraryCatalog(whichalreadyincludestheholdingsofallpubliclibrariesandsomeacademiccollections),allchildrenandadultsinDelawarewouldgainimprovedaccesstoawealthofresources.Participationinthesharedcatalogwouldalsofacilitatethesharingofmaterials


betweenschoolsinthesamedistrict,amongdistrictsinthestateandbetweenschoolsandpubliclibraries.WhileitwouldbepossibletomarginallyimproveresourcesharingthroughthecreationofasharedFollett“Destiny”system(mostschoolsinDelawarecurrentlyuselocalversionsofthissystem),theDLCsolutionoffersgreaterpossibilitiesforexpansionasaprimaryinformationsourceinadditiontobeingafindingandresourcesharingtool.ParticipationintheDLCwouldalsoaddresstheseriousissuesthatexistinregardtoequityofaccesstoresources.

Recommendation 3: Expand Student Access to “E-Content”

DelawareshouldexpandonitssuccessfulgrouplicensingeffortsrepresentedbyUDLib/SEARCHprogramthroughtheUniversityofDelaware’sMorrisLibraryande-booklicensingonbehalfofallDelawareresidentsfacilitatedthroughtheDelawareDivisionofLibrariestoincreasestudentaccesstoadditionalonlineanddownloadablee-content,especiallye-books.TheUDLib/SEARCHmodelalreadyensuresequitablestudentaccesstoanoutstandingsetofresearchandstudytools.Expandingtheprogrambyprovidingstatewidefundingforcurriculum-relatede-bookswouldaddressaseriousdisparityinthequalityandquantityofothereducationalresourcesthatcurrentlyexists.TheprogramwouldbecoordinatedandadministeredasanextensionofUDLib/Search.ExpandingtheDelawareDivisionofLibraries’e-bookprogramtoincludemoretitlesforchildrenwouldprovideenhancedaccesstogeneralreadingmaterialsforallStateresidentsincludingstudentsandteachers.

Recommendation 4: Expand the Delaware Library Consortium to Include all School Libraries

TheDelawareLibraryCatalog,providedthroughtheDelawareLibraryConsortium,offersresidentsoftheFirstStatesingle-searchaccesstotheholdingsofeverypubliclibraryinthestate.TheholdingsofallDelawareschoollibrariesshouldalsobereflectedintheDelawareLibraryCatalog.Thiswouldresultinmoreefficientstudentaccesstovaluablelibraryandinformationresourcesaswellasthemoreefficientuseofthestateandlocaltaxdollarsthatarecurrentlyspenttopurchaselibrarymaterials.Studentswouldlikelymakegreateruseofpubliclibrarymaterialsaswellbecauseasinglesearchwouldenablethemtofindrelevantresourceswherevertheyexistinthestate.Finally,theinclusionofschoollibrariesintheDelawareLibraryCatalogwouldalsostrengthentheconceptofalifelonglearningcontinuuminvolvingschoolsandpubliclibrariesandmoveDelawaretowardthe“seamlessinformationlandscape”envisionedinthe2004Toddstudy.


Theeffectivenessofexistingschoollibrarieshasbeenhamperedinanumberofdifferentways.Mostschoollibrarianscurrentlyoperateinavacuumwithlittlecoordinateddirectionandwithlimitedopportunitiestoinnovateandcollaboratewithintheirschools,withintheirdistrictsandwithinthestate.Schooldistrictsarelargelyunawareofresourcesheldbyotherneighboringdistrictsandthereisalackofaneffectiveresourcessharingsystem.Creatingagovernanceframeworkandaresourcesharinginfrastructurewouldenableschoollibrariestomaximizethevalueofstaffandothereducationallibraryresourcesthatarepurchasedwithtaxpayerdollarsbyexpandingthepotentialaudienceforeveryitempurchased.


Becausethereareanumberofdistinctfactorsthatcontributetothissituation,avarietyofrecommendationsareoffered.Recommendation4(thattheDelawareLibraryConsortium(DLC)beexpandedtoincludeallschoollibraries)iscloselytiedtotheGovernanceandInfrastructurerecommendations.Infact,arobustsharedintegratedlibrarysystemispartoftheoverallinfrastructurethatisneeded.WhileitwouldbepossibletomarginallyimproveresourcesharingthroughthecreationofasharedFollett“Destiny”system,theDLCsolutionoffersgreaterpossibilitiesforexpansionasaprimaryinformationsourceinadditiontobeingafindingandresourcesharingtool.

However,creatingalinkedsystemofschoollibrarieswillrequiremorecoordinationthaniscurrentlyinplace.ItwouldrequirethecreationofpositionswithintheDelawareDepartmentofEducationandDivisionofLibrariestocoordinate,support,andoverseeschoollibraries.Themanagementofschoollibrariesandhiringdecisionsregardinglibrarystaffwouldstillremainatthelocalandschooldistrictlevels.Thepointofincreasedcoordinationisnotcontrol,rather,itisdesignedtoachievegreaterefficiencyandeffectivenessoflimitedresources.Statewidecoordinationwouldprovideprofessionalsupporttoschoollibrariansandwouldofferadvicetolocaladministratorswhenrequested.

AsecondGovernanceandInfrastructurerecommendationcallsforthereviewofadministrativerulesandstructuralmechanismsthattendtomakeschoollibrariestargetsforcutsandreductionstocreateanewmodelthatprovidesincentivesratherthandisincentivestodistrictstosupportqualitylibraries.

Athirdrecommendationidentifieschangesinafederalprogram(thetransitionfromtheElementaryandSecondarySchoolAct[ESEA]totheEveryStudentSucceedsActof2015[ESSA])thatmayprovideopportunitiestousefederalfundstoimproveschool-libraryservices.Thefinalrecommendationinthiscategoryurgestheadoptionofaflexibleschedulingmodelinschools.Thisrecommendationstemsfromthefactthatresearchdemonstratesthatlibrarian/teachercollaborationisvastlyimprovedunderthismodel.Collaborationbetweenlibrariansandteachersinactivitiesrangingfromparticipationinprofessionallearningcommunitiestoco-teachinghasbeenidentifiedasanimportantfactorinthelinkbetweenqualitylibrariesandstudentlearning(Lance,Rodney,andSchwarz,2010).

Recommendation 5: Establish Specific Governance Responsibilities for the Coordination and Oversight of School Libraries

SpecificresponsibilitiesforthecoordinationofoversightofDelaware’sschoollibrariesshouldbecodifiedandimplemented.Toensurecoordinationandcooperationbetweenschoolandpubliclibrariesinthefurtherdevelopmentofacontinuumoflifelonglearning,someoftheseresponsibilitiesshouldbegiventotheDelawareDepartmentofEducation,whileotherresponsibilitiesshouldresideintheDivisionofLibraries.


Recommendation 6: Examine and Address Systemic Issues that Inhibit the Development of High-Quality School-Library Programs

Theimportanceofhavingahigh-qualityschoollibrarystaffedbyacertifiedlibrarianineveryschoolcannotbeoverstated.Adequatestaffing,sufficientqualityresources,andasupportiveadministrativecultureareallcriticalcomponentsthatallowschoollibrariestoserveasacatalystforimprovinglearningoutcomesforallstudentsregardlessofsocioeconomicstatus.Unfortunately,severalissuessuchastheabsenceofadesignatedfundingsourceforstaffandmaterials,insufficientmechanismsfortheevaluationoflibrarians,andalackofunderstandingregardingtheimpactthathigh-qualityschool-libraryprogramscanhaveonstudentshindertheirdevelopmentandperformance.Theseissuesmustbeexaminedinfurtherdetail,andsolutionsshouldbedevelopedtoaddressthem.

Recommendation 7: Leverage Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Funding to Strengthen School Libraries

DelawareshouldtakeadvantageoftheEveryStudentSucceedsActof2015tostrengthenitsschoollibrariesinspecific,targetedways.ThereauthorizationoftheElementaryandSecondaryEducationAct(ESEA)astheEveryStudentSucceedsActof2015placesagreateremphasisonschoollibrariesandprovidesopportunitiesforleveragingfederalfundstoenhancestudentlearningthroughtheimprovementofDelaware’sschoollibraries.

Recommendation 8: Implement Flexible Scheduling for School Libraries

Delawareschoollibrariansshouldworkwiththeirschoolanddistrictadministrationstowardtheimplementationofaflexibleschedulingmodelforlibrariesinallschools.Researchindicatesthatthequalityofinteractionbetweenlibrariansandteachersisgreatlyenhancedwhenlibraryservicesareoperatingwithinaflexibleschedulingenvironment.Schoolsshouldbeencouragedtoimplementflexibleschedulingoratleasttoestablishahybridoffixed/flexiblescheduling.


ThediscontinuationofthecollectionofstatisticaldataonschoollibrariesthroughtheFederalSchoolsandStaffingSurvey(SASS)leavesDelawareandtherestofthenationwithadearthofbasicreliabledataaboutschoollibraries.ThisunfortunatesituationlimitsthedegreetowhichDelawarecantracktheimpactofitsschoollibraries.ThelackofdesignatedstaffintheDepartmentofEducationwithresponsibilitiesforschoollibrariesmakesthesituationevenworsesincetheStateisnotcurrentlyinthepositiontofillthisinformation/statisticsgatheringandanalysisgap.Furthermore,theresearchdemonstratesthatgainsinstudentperformancerequiremorethansimplytheexistenceofaschoollibrary.Qualityschoollibrariesmakeadifference.Theresearchclearlyidentifiesthefactorsthat,together,constitutequality.13

Tworecommendationsrevolvearoundassessmentandaccountability.Thefirstcallsforthecollectionofabasicsetofdatafromschoollibrariesonanongoingbasis.Thesecond

13PleaseseeAppendixA:LiteratureReviewforadditionalinformationregardingthisbodyofresearch.


recommendationcreatesaneffectivemechanismthatwouldusethedatathatarecollectedtoevaluatelibrariesbasedonaschool-libraryqualityindex.School-libraryqualityindexratingsandstandardizedtestscorescanthenbeappliedtoassessprogressinstudentlearninginrelationtolibraryquality.

Recommendation 9: Design and implement an ongoing program of data collection, management, and assessment for school libraries

Delawareshoulddesignandimplementitsownongoingassessment/datacollection/datamanagementefforttodocumentthegainsresultingfromadditionalinvestmentinthestate’sschoollibraries.Thedearthofqualitycomparativedataregardingschoollibrariesmakesassessmentdifficult,andinsomeinstances,impossible.Datacollectionshouldbelimitedtoasmallsetofessentialdatawithspecificapplicationtomeasuringtheimpactofqualitylibraryservicesonstudentperformance.

Recommendation 10: Create a Delaware School-Library Quality Index to Facilitate the Tracking of Student Performance and Investment in School-Library Services

Delawareshouldimplementa“School-LibraryQualityIndex”thatusesthedatacollectedastheresultofRecommendation9.Thisindexwouldcreatearatingofschool-libraryservicesthatwouldbeusedinconcertwithstandardizedtestingresultstomeasuretheimpactthatspecific,targetedinvestmentsinschoollibrarieshaveonstudentperformance.

Followingisamorein-depthlookateachoftherecommendations.

Staffing

Recommendation 1: Require a School Library, a Certified Librarian, and an Appropriate Level of Support Staff in Every School

Delawareshouldimplementlegislationthatcodifiestherequirementforaschoollibraryineachschoolandprovidesacertifiedlibrarymediaspecialistandappropriatelevelofsupportstaffineveryelementary,middle,andhighschool.ThislegislationwouldbesimilartoHouseBillNo.152,whichwasintroducedinthe148thGeneralAssembly,butwould“scale”therequirementforcertifiedlibrarymediastaffandwouldaddsupportstaffbasedonanindividualschool’senrollmentlevel.Thelegislationwoulddesignateschoollibrarians,andappropriatelibrarysupportstaff,asadistinctcategorywithintheState’sunitcountappropriationmodeltoensurethateachschoolwillreceivesufficientStatefundingtohirethenumberofschoollibrariansandsupportstaffrecommendedintheSchool-LibraryQualityIndex(seeRecommendation#10).

NewlegislationshouldbedraftedthatencompassesthestaffingrecommendationsoutlinedintheSchool-LibraryQualityIndex.ThislegislationwoulddifferfromHouseBillNo.152,introducedinthe148thGeneralAssembly,inthatitwouldrequireeachschoolbuildingtohavealibraryandwouldcallforbothaspecificnumberofcertifiedlibrarymediaspecialistsandparaprofessionalsupportstaffbasedonthesizeofthestudentenrollmentineachschool.Itwouldintegrateschoollibrarians,andaccompanyingparaprofessionals,asadistinctgroupwithintheState’sunit-countappropriation


model(Title14,Chapter17,StateAppropriations).DoingsoensuresthedevelopmentofadedicatedfundingsourcefromtheStatetosupportthesalaryandbenefitsofschoollibrariansandaccompanyingparaprofessionals.Therecommendednumberofstaffreflectsresearchthatdemonstratesastrongcorrelationbetweenschoollibrarystaffingandstudentperformance.14

Statefundingforthisinitiativewouldbeapproximately70percentofthetotalneededtoimplementtheeffort.Fullyimplementingtheprogramwouldrequirelocalschooldistrictsupportofapproximately30percent.

Followingaretherecommendedlevelsforcertifiedlibrarymediaspecialistsandsupportstaff:

Table1:CertifiedLibraryMediaSpecialist

Enrollment CertifiedLibraryMediaSpecialistTarget

0–299 .5Full-TimeEquivalent

300–999 1.0Full-TimeEquivalent

1,000–1,599 1.5Full-TimeEquivalent

1,600orhigher 2.0Full-TimeEquivalent

Table2:LibrarySupportStaff/Para-Professional

Enrollment LibrarySupportStaff/Para-professionalTarget





Ideally,theproposedlegislation,oradditionalcompanionlegislation,wouldalsoaddresstheissueofper-pupilexpendituresfornewlibraryresourcesbyestablishingincentivestoreachspecifictargets.TargetlevelsforthiselementshouldalsobebasedontherecommendationsfoundintheSchool-LibraryQualityIndex.Anexpendituretargetof$15perstudent(adjustedannuallytoreflectinflation)istheultimategoal.

Recommendation 2: Seek Funding for and Implement a Pilot Project in Nine Schools to Determine the Impact that Quality School Libraries Have on Student Learning Outcomes

Delawareshouldseekcorporate/foundation/philanthropicfundingforapilotprojectdesignedtoserveasaproof-of-conceptofthecorrelationbetweenqualityschoollibrariesandstudentperformance.Thepilotshouldbeimplementedoverafive-yearperiodinnineschools(oneelementaryschool,onemiddleschool,andonehighschoolineachcounty.)Participantschools 14PleaseseeAppendixA:LiteratureReviewforadditionalinformationregardingthisbodyofresearch.


wouldbefundedforfiveyearsatalevelthatwouldcoveranappropriatestaffingcomplement,fundingforlibraryresourcesattherecommendedlevelof$15perstudentandcostsassociatedwithparticipationofthelibraryintheDelawareLibraryCatalog.ThesepilotlibrarieswillbeconsideredQualitySchoolLibrarieswhentheyhaveachievedascoreofatleast90pointsontheSchool-LibraryQualityIndex.

AstrongDelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncil(DSLC)isessentialinmakingthisandotherinitiativesareality.ExistingvacanciesonthecouncilneedtobefilledtoensuretheeffectivenessofDSLC.DSLCshouldworktomakesurethatDelawareansarefullyawareofthebenefitsofstrongschoollibraries.Furthermore,DSLCshouldworkwiththeDepartmentofEducation,theDelawareDivisionofLibraries,withschoolsuperintendents,legislators,andotherinterestedpartiestodevelopthepilotprojecttoreachatleast90pointsontheSchool-LibraryQualityIndex.

SchoolsselectedtoparticipateshouldrepresentthediversityofDelaware’sschoolsinregardtosocio-economicfactorsandcurrentstudentperformanceonstandardizedtests.Baselinedataandongoingprogressdata(usingtheSchool-LibraryQualityIndexandtestscoresonspecificstandardizedtestsapplicabletoagivengrade-level/school)wouldbetrackedforthedurationoftheprojecttodeterminetheimpactoftheimprovedlibraryservicesonstudentperformance.AmechanismforgraduallyshiftingthecostoftheprogramfromsoftfundingtoStateandlocalschooldistrictfundingcouldbebuiltintothepiloteffort.

Inadditiontoseekingthefundingnecessarytosupporttheon-siteprograms,fundsshouldbeincludedinthepilotprogramfortheongoingassessmentprocessandstaffdevelopmentrelatedtothepilotprojectforlibrarians,librarysupportstaff,teachers,andprincipals.

Content and Access

Recommendation 3: Expand Student Access to “E-Content”

DelawareshouldexpandonitssuccessfulgrouplicensingeffortsrepresentedbyUDLib/SEARCHprogramande-booklicensingonbehalfofallDelawareresidentsfacilitatedthroughtheDelawareDivisionofLibrariestoincreasestudentaccesstoadditionalonlineanddownloadablee-content,especiallye-books.TheUDLib/SEARCHmodelalreadyensuresequitablestudentaccesstoanoutstandingsetofresearchandstudytools.Expandingtheprogrambyprovidingstatewidefundingforcurriculum-relatede-bookswouldaddressaseriousdisparityinthequalityandquantityofothereducationalresourcesthatcurrentlyexists.TheprogramwouldbecoordinatedandadministeredasanextensionofUDLib/Search.ExpandingtheDelawareDivisionofLibraries’e-bookprogramtoincludemoretitlesforchildrenwouldprovideenhancedaccesstogeneralreadingmaterialsforallStateresidentsincludingstudentsandteachers.

TheUDLib/SEARCHprogramisessentialinlevelingtheplayingfieldforallDelawarestudents.WhiletherearetremendousdisparitiesinregardtoaccesstoqualitycollectionsofprintmaterialsinDelaware’sschoollibraries,allpublicK–12studentsaswellasthestudentsinamajorityofprivateschoolstudentsinDelawarehaveequalaccesstoawidearrayofhigh-qualitydatabasessuchascriticalreferencematerialsandfull-textjournalarticles.State-levelfundingfortheseresources


enablesDelawaretoprovideabaselineofimportanteducational/curriculum-relatedcontentinthemostcosteffectivewaypossible.

WhileUDLib/SEARCHoffersawealthofdatabases,thecurrentfundinglevelfortheprogramallowsforthelicensingofaverylimitednumberofe-books.HarnessingtheUniversityofDelaware’sexpertiseandthelicensinginfrastructurethatisalreadyin-placethroughUDLib/SEARCHcouldgoalongwaytowardimprovingthedepthandbreadthoflibraryandinformationresourcesavailabletoeverychildinDelaware.Theinvestmentof$350,000incurriculum-relatede-contentlicensingthatwouldbesharedamongallpublicschoolshasthepotentialforatremendousreturnoninvestment.Aproratedamountofthistotalexpenditurewouldbeincludedwhencalculatingtheper-studentexpenditurefactoratthebuildinglevel.

AnexpansionoftheDelawareDivisionofLibraries’e-bookeffortswouldalsobenefitstudentsbyprovidingallstateresidents,includingschoolchildrenwithadditionalreadingmaterials.Theseitemswouldbeavailabletoall.Anexpenditureofanadditional$250,000isrecommended.Thishybridlicensingapproach(curriculum-relatedmaterialsthroughUDLib/SEARCHandenrichmentmaterialsthroughtheDivisionofLibraries)isdesignedtomaximizetheState’spurchasingpower.Licensingthatislimitedtostudents(aswellasteachers,schooladministratorsandparents)islesscostlythanlicensingcurriculum-relatedmaterialsforallstateresidents(manyofwhomwouldnotusethecurriculum-basedresources).

ItshouldbenotedthatthedatainfrastructureofDelaware’sschoolsmustbeupgradedtoensurethatallstudentsinDelawareareabletoaccesstheresourcesprovidedbythisexpansionofelectronicdatabasesandcontent.AccordingtoSenateConcurrentResolution22(Delaware,2015)theState“currentlypaysfor10megabytesofbandwidthtoschools,whichfallswellbelowtherecommendedamounttosupporttheinternetneedsofthestudentpopulation.”Improvingthebandwidthavailabletoeachschoolwillallowstudentstoaccesstheseadditionalresourcesquickly,whilealsoensuringthatthedatainfrastructurewillnotbeoverburdened.

Recommendation 4: Expand the Delaware Library Consortium to Include all School Libraries

TheDelawareLibraryCatalog,providedthroughtheDelawareLibraryConsortium(DLC),offersresidentsoftheFirstStatesingle-searchaccesstotheholdingsofeverypubliclibraryinthestate.TheholdingsofallDelawareschoollibrariesshouldalsobereflectedintheDelawareLibraryCatalog.ThiswouldresultinmoreefficientstudentaccesstovaluablelibraryandinformationresourcesaswellasthemoreefficientuseoftheStateandlocaltaxdollarsthatarecurrentlyspenttopurchaselibrarymaterials.Studentswouldlikelymakegreateruseofpubliclibrarymaterialsaswellbecauseasinglesearchwouldenablethemtofindrelevantresourceswherevertheyexistinthestate.Finally,theinclusionofschoollibrariesintheDelawareLibraryCatalogwouldalsostrengthentheconceptofalifelonglearningcontinuuminvolvingschoolsandpubliclibrariesandmoveDelawaretowardthe“seamlessinformationlandscape”envisionedinthe2004Toddstudy.

ParticipationofallschoollibrariesintheexistingDLC,whichalreadyincludesallpublicandsomeacademiclibraries,wouldstreamlinestudentandteacheraccesstoawealthofmaterialsinlibraries


throughoutthestate.ParticipationintheDelawareLibraryCatalogwouldgreatlyexpandthediversityofmaterialsavailable,wouldsimplifyinterlibraryloan,andwouldofferstudentsandteachersafamiliarinterfaceforsearchingforresourcesinschool,athome,andintheircommunitylibraries.

Participationofschoollibrarieswouldalsofacilitatecoordinatedcollectiondevelopmentbothwithinandacrossdistricts.StudentsandteacherswouldalsohaveeasieraccesstootherresourcessuchasLibGuides,e-booksthroughtheDelawareDivisionofLibraries,andthe“AskaLibrarian”virtualreferenceprogram.Whiletheseservicesarecurrentlyavailabletostudentsandteachers,theywouldbemorelikelytousethemiftheywereusingthesameentryportalintheschoolsthatisavailableathomeandintheirpubliclibrary.

HavingallschoolsasparticipantsintheDLCcouldalsoprovidegreaterimpetustoextendtheDelawareLibraryCatalogbeyonditsexistingprimaryfunctionofservingasafindingtool.MakingtheDelawareLibraryCatalogaprimarysourceofdirectlyaccessibleresources(suchasdirectaccesstoonlinedatabasesanddownloadablecontentfromcatalogsearches)wouldgreatlybenefitallstateresidentsinadditiontoenrichingtheresourcesavailabletostudentsandteachers.Collaborationwithpubliclibrariesoncollection,development,andmanagementwouldenableschoollibrarianstospendmoretimeandattentiononcollaborationwithteachersandfulfillingstudents’needs.

ThedevelopmentofthisunifiedlibraryplatformwillfulfillakeyrecommendationoftheAspenInstitute’sRisingtotheChallenge:Re-EnvisioningPublicLibraries(2014)report.Thisreportcalledforthecreationof“adigitalpubliclibrarymodel[that]wouldhaveasingleinterface—oratmostafew—thatallowsexistingonlinelibrarycatalogstobefullyintegratedwithnewones.Itwillprovideasinglepointofaccesstoalltitles,takingtheburdenofbothtechnologyandarchivingoffindividuallibraries”(Garmer,2014).

Finally,inclusionofschoollibrariesintheDLCwouldeasethedatacollectionburdenonschoollibrariansbyprovidingcentralized“live-data”regardingnumberofholdings,recencyofmaterialsbysubject/topicandcirculationactivity.Thiswouldalsoassistschoollibrariansinrefiningtheircollectiondevelopmentpracticesbymakingvaluablereal-timeinformationavailabletothem.

Therehasbeensomediscussionofcreatingastatewideschool-librarycatalog/resourcesharingsystembyexpandingontheFollett“Destiny”school-librarymanagementsystem.Thiswouldclearlybeanimprovementoverthestatusquo;however,expandingtheDLCtoincludeschoollibrarieswouldaccomplishallthatastatewidedestinysystemwouldaccomplishandwould,inaddition,linkschoollibrarieswithpubliclibraryresourcesandprovideasharedportalforthedeliveryofinformationalandeducationalcontent.



Recommendation 5: Establish Specific Governance Responsibilities for the Coordination and Oversight of School Libraries

SpecificresponsibilitiesforthecoordinationofoversightofDelaware’sschoollibrariesshouldbecodifiedandimplemented.Toensurecoordinationandcooperationbetweenschoolandpubliclibrariesinthefurtherdevelopmentofacontinuumoflifelonglearning,someoftheseresponsibilitiesshouldbegiventotheDelawareDepartmentofEducation,whileotherresponsibilitiesshouldresideintheDivisionofLibraries.

Atthepresenttime,thehealthandstatusofschoollibrariesislargelydeterminedatthedistrictandschoolbuildinglevel.Whilesomeaspectsofthislocalcontrolarecertainlypositive,thelackofcoordinationandoversightatthestatelevelhasresultedininequitiesandanunevennessinstudentaccesstoanessentialelementinpositivelearningoutcomes.State-levelcoordinationofschool-libraryserviceswouldalsoassistlocaladministratorsandlibrariansbyincreasingawarenessofemergingtrends,bestpractices,andsupplementalfundingopportunities.

Werecommendthatafull-timepositionbeestablishedwithintheDelawareDepartmentofEducationtoserveasthecoordinatorofschool-libraryprograms.Thepositionshouldbefilledbyacertifiedlibrarymediaspecialistwithfirst-handexperienceinschoollibraries.Dutiesofthepositionwouldincludeplanningprograms,conductingassessments,andcoordinatingstaffdevelopmentforschoollibraries.Thecoordinatorofschool-libraryprogramswouldalsoprovideassistanceandguidancetoschoolsandschooldistrictstoensurethatbestpracticesandnewandemergingtrendsinschool-libraryserviceareincorporatedintotheassessmentoflibrarystaff.

Theschool-librarycoordinatorwouldoverseethecollectionandanalysisofrelevantstatisticsandwouldreportannuallyonthestatusofschoollibrariesasitrelatestostudentperformance.TheDepartmentofEducationpositionwouldalsobeinvolvedinstatewideplanningrelatedtotheimprovementofschool-libraryservicesincoordinationwiththeDelawareDivisionofLibraries,wouldidentifypotentialsourcesofgrantstosupportschool-libraryinitiatives,wouldcoordinatestaffdevelopmentopportunitiesforschool-librarypersonnel,andwouldcoordinatethedevelopmentandmaintenanceofweb-contentrelatedtobest-practicesinschoollibraries.Theschool-librarycoordinatorwouldalsofacilitatestrategicplanningforlibraryservicesincoordination/cooperationwithDelawareDivisionofLibrariesstaffinvolvedinstrategicplanningforpubliclibraries.Finally,thepersoninthispositionwouldstafftheDelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncil.

Ideally,eachschooldistrictwouldalsoemployalibrary/mediacoordinatortooverseeschool-libraryimprovementatthedistrictlevel.Thedistrictlibrary/mediacoordinatoror,ifsuchaspositiondoesnotexist,onelibrarianineachdistrictshouldbedesignatedtoactasthedistrict’sliaisonwiththeDepartmentofEducation’sschool-librarycoordinator.

Itisalsocriticaltoensurethatschoollibrariesaresupportedinwaysthatleverageothertaxpayerresourcestoadvancestudentlearning.Consequently,werecommendthatanadditionalpositionbeestablishedwithintheDelawareDivisionofLibraries.Thispositionwouldcoordinateschool


participationintheDelawareLibraryConsortium,wouldcooperatewiththeUDLib/SEARCHprograminregardtoe-contentlicensing,andwouldserveasaliaisonbetweenschoolandpubliclibraries.ThispositionwouldalsofacilitatestrategicplanningforpubliclibrariesincoordinationwiththeDepartmentofEducation’sschool-librarycoordinatorwhowouldbechargedwithstrategicplanningresponsibilitiesforschoollibraries.

Recommendation 6: Examine and Address Systemic Issues that Inhibit the Development of High-Quality School-Library Programs

Theimportanceofhavingahigh-qualityschoollibrarystaffedbyacertifiedlibrarianineveryschoolcannotbeoverstated.Adequatestaffing,sufficientqualityresources,andasupportiveadministrativecultureareallcriticalcomponentsthatallowschoollibrariestoserveasacatalystforimprovinglearningoutcomesforallstudents,regardlessofsocioeconomicstatus.Unfortunately,severalissuessuchastheabsenceofadesignatedfundingsourceforstaffandmaterials,insufficientmechanismsfortheevaluationoflibrarians,andalackofunderstandingregardingtheimpactthathigh-qualityschool-libraryprogramscanhaveonstudentshindertheirdevelopmentandperformance.Theseissuesmustbeexaminedinfurtherdetail,andsolutionsshouldbedevelopedtoaddressthem.

Currentlyfunding(Title14,Chapter17StateAppropriations)forschoollibrariansisbasedentirelyonthediscretionofschoolanddistrictadministrators,creatingasituationwherethereisacompetitionforlimitedfundingbetweenlibrariansandothervaluablespecialtypositions/services.Asdiscussedthroughoutthisreport,librariansserveavitalrolebypromotingreading,enhancingcommunicationskills,andprovidingaccesstoawealthofinformationandtechnologytoallstudents.Recommendation1isdesignedtoensurethateveryschoolwillhaveaccesstothisvaluableresourcedespitecompetitionforfunding.

Moremustbedonetodevelopanadministrativecultureattheschoolanddistrictlevelthatissupportiveoflibraries.Doingsowillrequireenhancedadvocacyeffortsbyschoollibrariansandstakeholdersthatshowcasehowtheactivities/programsofschoollibrariescanaddressthepressingissuesofpubliceducationinDelawaretoday,suchasimprovinglearningoutcomesandaccesstoresourcesforstudentsthatarelivinginpovertyandassistingwiththeintegrationofEnglishlanguagelearnersintotheclassroom.Linkingschool-libraryprogramstothesepressingissueswillenhancetheirvaluetoschool/districtadministrators,andcanleadtothedevelopmentofasupportiveadministrativeculture,whichwillallowthemtoeffectivelycompeteforfundingthatisprovidedatthediscretionofschoolanddistrictleadership.

Thequalityoflibraryresourcesinmanyschoolsacrossthestateisalsosufferingduetoinsufficientfunding.Toensurethatallstudentshaveaccesstorelevant,up-to-date,high-qualityresources,legislationmustbeproposedthataddressestheissueofperpupilexpendituresfornewlibraryresourcesbyestablishingincentivestoreachspecifictargets.TargetlevelsforthiselementshouldalsobebasedontherecommendationsfoundintheSchool-LibraryQualityIndex.Anexpendituretargetof$15perstudent(adjustedannuallytoreflectinflation)istheultimategoal.


Themechanismscurrentlyinplacetoevaluatetheperformanceofschoollibrariansmustbeenhancedtoensurethatconstructivefeedbackisprovidedtostaff.Acrossthestate,thereisalackofaunifiedunderstandingoftheroleoftheschoollibrarianandthemetricsthatmustbeusedtoevaluateperformance.Insomeinstances,theyareevaluatedasteachers,andinothers,theyareassessedasspecialists.Thislackofaunifiedperformanceappraisalhinderstheprofessionaldevelopmentofstaffandforcesadministratorstobasedecisionsoffofincompleteinformation.Severalprincipalsreportedthattheperformanceappraisalprocessforlibrariansisdifficultduetothelackofaclearunderstandingofthelibrarian'srole.Developingastatewidejobdescriptionforschoollibrarians,alongwiththemetricsthatshouldbeusedtodetermineperformance,shouldbeassignedtotheDepartmentofEducation.Routinizedproceduresmustbeestablished,andqualifiedevaluatorsmustbetrained.

Recommendation 7: Leverage Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Funding to Strengthen School Libraries

DelawareshouldtakeadvantageoftheEveryStudentSucceedsActof2015(ESSA)tostrengthenitsschoollibrariesinspecific,targetedways.ThereauthorizationoftheElementaryandSecondaryEducationAct(ESEA)astheESSAplacesagreateremphasisonschoollibrariesandprovidesopportunitiesforleveragingfederalfundstoenhancestudentlearningthroughtheimprovementofDelaware’sschoollibraries.

TheDelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncilshouldpartnerwiththeDepartmentofEducationandtheDivisionofLibrariestodeterminehowfederalfundingthroughESSAcanbeusedtosupportarenewedemphasisonthequalityofschoollibraries.SchoollibrariesaremoreprominentlymentionedinESSAthantheywereinESEA.WhilespecificusesofESSAfundingwilldependonotheruses,ataminimum,thefollowingareasshouldbeexploredingreaterdepth.

TitleI,PartAfundsmightbeusedtosupportplanningactivitiesatthestateanddistrictlevels.TitleII,PartAfundscouldconceivablybeusedtosupportlibrarystaffdevelopmentandprogrammingactivities.

TitleII,PartB,Subpart2mightbeusedtoencourageandenhancelibrarian/teachercollaborationinactivitiesrelatedtoliteracy.TitleII,PartB,Subpart2,Section2226couldbeusedtosupportspecificinnovativeliteracyinitiativesaimedatlow-incomecommunities.Finally,TitleIV,PartAblockgrantfundscouldbeusedforavarietyofeffortsrelatedtolibraries.

Recommendation 8: Implement Flexible Scheduling for School Libraries

Delawareschoollibrariesshouldworkwiththeirlocaladministrationstowardtheimplementationofaflexibleschedulingmodelforalllibraries.Researchindicatesthatthequalityofinteractionbetweenlibrariansandteachersisgreatlyenhancedwhenlibraryservicesareoperatingwithinaflexibleschedulingenvironment.Schoolsshouldbeencouragedandincentivizedtoimplementflexibleschedulingoratleasttoestablishahybridoffixed/flexiblescheduling.

Researchdemonstratesthatoperatingunderaflexibleversusfixedschedulehasagreatimpactonthedegreetowhichlibrariansandteachershaveanopportunitytocollaborateandthedegreeto


whichstudentsareabletoparticipateinactivitiesdirectlyrelatedtotheirdevelopmentofcriticalthinkingskills(Lance,Rodney,andRussel,2007).

Thedecisiontoimplementfixedorflexibleschedulesistypicallymadeatthebuildinglevelandoftenishighlyintertwinedwithahostofotherschedulingdecisionsrelatedtoteachersandotherstaff.Movingawayfromthefixedframeworkandtowardtheflexibleframeworkmayrequireanincrementalchange.Thischangeisunlikelytocomeunlessallpartiesareawareofthesignificantbenefitsofthechange.Acombinationofstepsmayhelpthetransition.

Pilotprojectsshouldprovideanopportunitytodocumentthebenefitsoftheflexiblemodel.TheinclusionoffixedversusflexibleintheSchool-LibraryQualityIndexmayalsoencouragemovementfromfixedtoatleastahybridapproach.Thedisseminationofthisreportamonglegislators,schoolboardmembers,districtadministrators,principals,andteachersandtheschedulingofwebinarsandotheropportunitiestobuildanunderstandingofthebenefitsofadoptingaflexiblemodelisalsoimportant.Educationanddemonstrationarethekeystochangeinthisarea.


Recommendation 9: Design and implement an ongoing program of data collection, management, and assessment for school libraries

Delawareshoulddesignandimplementitsownongoingassessment/datacollection/datamanagementefforttodocumentthegainsresultingfromadditionalinvestmentinthestate’sschoollibraries.Thedearthofqualitycomparativedataregardingschoollibrariesmakesassessmentdifficult,andinsomeinstances,impossible.Datacollectionshouldbelimitedtoasmallsetofessentialdatawithspecificapplicationtomeasuringtheimpactofqualitylibraryservicesonstudentperformance.

Inthepast,somebasicinformationregardingschoollibrarieswascollectedthroughtheNationalCenterforEducationalStatistics(NCES)SchoolsandStaffingSurvey(SASS).Whileincompleteinitsscope,SASSatleastprovidedsomebaselineinformationthatcouldbeusedforcomparativeandresearchanalysispurposes.However,SASShasnowbeenreplacedbytheNationalTeacherandPrincipalSurvey(NTPS).Unfortunately,theNTPSsurveycaptureslittlemorethanverificationofwhetherornotanindividualschoolhasalibrary.Thisseverelylimitstheabilityofschools,schooldistricts,andstateeducationagenciestoassesstheimpactofinvestmentsinschoollibraries.

Werecommendthedevelopmentandimplementationofadata-collectiontoolthatwouldbeadministeredeachyear.Toavoidaddingaconsiderableburdenonlibrarianswhoareoftenalreadyoverextended,datacollectionshouldbehighlytargeted.Itshouldincludeinformationidentifyingtheschool,thedataelementsincludedintheDelawareSchool-LibraryQualityIndex(seeRecommendation4)andonlyafewothersrelevanttotheongoingassessmentofthecorrelationbetweenschool-libraryqualityandstudentperformance.


Initiallistofdataelementstobecollectedinclude:

• Librarianon-site(buildinglevel)• Statusofcertificationoflibrarian• Numberofhoursperweekthelibrarianspendsonlibrary-relatedfunctions• Paraprofessional/librarysupportstaffon-site(buildinglevel)• Numberofhoursperweektheparaprofessionalspendsonlibrary-relatedfunctions• Totallibraryexpendituresbyrevenuesource(State,district,grant,other)• Totalexpendituresfornewmaterials(includesprint,non-print/media,e-content)by

revenuesource• Numberofnewitemsaddedtothelibrarycollectionduringthepreviousyear(tracked

throughparticipationintheDelawareLibraryCatalog)• Totallibrarycollectionsize(numberofitems,numberofe-booksavailable,etc.)(tracked

throughparticipationintheDelawareLibraryCatalog)• Averagenumberofqualitylibrarian/teacherinteractionsperweek(co-teaching,

participationwithteachersinPLCs,etc.)• Averagenumberoflibrarian/studentinteractionsperweek(includingstructuredclassvisits,

butdoesnotincludestudy-halltypecontacts)• Libraryaccessforstudentsandteachers(fixedschedule,fixed/flexiblemix,flexible

schedule)• Numberofcomputersand/ortabletsavailabletostudentsinthelibrary• Totalnumberofitemscirculated(trackedthroughparticipationintheDelawareLibrary

Catalog)• Numberofitemscirculatedbysubjectarea(trackedthroughparticipationinthe

DelawareLibraryCatalog)

Specificdefinitionsofeachdataelement,appropriatemeasurementtechniques(appropriatenessofsamplingversusactualcount,etc.)wouldbeoutlinedinanassessmenttoolguideandwouldbeasharedresponsibilityoftheDelawareDepartmentofEducationandtheDivisionofLibraries.TrainingincollectingandreportingthedatawouldbeprovidedbytheDepartmentofEducation’sschool-librarycoordinator.ItshouldalsobenotedthattheparticipationofallschoollibrariesintheDelawareLibraryConsortiumwouldallowforthereal-timecapturingofseveralofthedataelementsandwouldofferthetrackingofmaterialusagebytopic/subject.Thiswouldmakevaluableinformationavailableineffortsdirectedatcreatingalifelongcontinuumoflearninginvolvingschoolandpubliclibraries.

Recommendation 10: Create a Delaware School-Library Quality Index to Facilitate the Tracking of Student Performance and Investment in School-Library Services

Delawareshouldimplementa“School-LibraryQualityIndex”thatusesthedatacollectedastheresultofRecommendation9.Thisindexwouldcreatearatingofschool-libraryservicesthatwouldbeusedinconcertwithstandardizedtestingresultstomeasuretheimpactthatspecific,targetedinvestmentsinschoollibrarieshaveonstudentperformance.


Aswasnotedatthebeginningofthisreport,attainingpositivestudentlearningoutcomesisnotassimpleasmaintaininganattractiveschool-libraryfacilityorevenfillingsuchafacilitywithup-to-date,relevantmaterialsandstate-of-thearttechnology.Areliablemeasurementoflibraryqualitymustbeavailabletoaccuratelymeasurethecorrelationbetweentheprovisionofqualityofschoollibrariesandstudentperformance.

Werecommendtheadoptionofa“School-LibraryQualityIndex”thatquantifiesthedegreeofexcellence.Theindexwoulduseratingsonavarietyofdataelementstoachieveascoreforeachlibraryrangingfrom0to100.Theweightingofeachdataelementisrelatedtotheimportanceofthevariouselementsidentifiedinpreviousresearch.Consequently,thelargestnumberofpointsisrelatedtotheprovisionofacertifiedlibrarymediaspecialistandlibrarysupportstaff.Otherpointsareallocatedforexpendituresperstudentfornewresources(print,non-print/media,andonlineanddownloadablecontent),newitemsaddedtothelibrarycollectionperstudent,librarycollectionsizeperstudent,numberoflibrarian/studentinteractions,numberoflibrarian/teacherinteractions,flexibleversusfixedscheduling,andtheavailabilityoftechnologicalresourcessuchascomputersandtabletsinthelibrary.

Table3:CertifiedLibraryMediaSpecialist(35points)

Enrollment CertifiedLibraryMediaSpecialistTarget


300–999 1.0Full-TimeEquivalent


1,600orhigher 2.0Full-TimeEquivalent• 35pointsforreachingtheappropriatelibrarymediaspecialist(LMS)target• 10pointsforreachingtargetone-levelbelowrecommendation

Table4:LibrarySupportStaff/Para-Professional(10points)

Enrollment LibrarySupportStaff/Para-professionalTarget





• 10pointsforreachingtheappropriatelibrarysupportstaff/para-professionaltargetinadditiontoreachingLMStargetlevel

• 5pointsforreachingtargetone-levelbelowrecommendation


Table5:ExpendituresperStudentforNewAcquisitions/Resources(10points)

PerStudentExpenditure Points

$0.00-$0.99 0points

$1.00-$2.99 1point

$3.00-$4.99 2points

$5.00-$6.99 3points

$7.00-$8.99 4points

$9.00-$10.99 5points

$11.00-$12.99 6points

$13.00-$14.99 8points

$15.00orhigher 10points

Table6:NewItemsAddedtoLibraryCollectionperStudentperYear(5points)

ItemsAddedperstudent Points

0.00–0.99/student 0points

1.00–1.99/student 1point




5.00ormore/student 5points

Table7:CollectionSizeperStudent(5points)

ItemsperStudent Points

0.00–9.99itemsperstudent 0points

10.00–14.99itemsperstudent 1point




30ormoreitemsperstudent 5points


Table8:Librarian/StudentInteraction(10points)

Group(Classroom)VisitsperWeek Points

0.00–1.99qualityclassroomvisitsperweek 0points

2.00–3.99qualityclassroomvisitsperweek 1point









20ormorequalityclassroomvisitsperweek 10points

A“quality”classroomvisitinvolvesmorethansimplythepresenceofaclassintheschool-libraryfacilityfor“studyhall”purposes.Aqualityvisitwouldincludeinstructionintheusageoflibraryresourcesorpersonalinteractionbetweenthelibrarianandindividualstudentsorgroupsofstudentsrelatedtofinding,evaluating,andusinginformationresources.Visitsofthelibrariantoclassrooms(asopposedtostudentsvisitingthelibraryfacility)couldbecountedasqualityclassroomvisitsifinstructionisprovidedthatrelatestotheeffectiveuseoflibraryservicesandresources.

Table9:Librarian/TeacherInteraction(10points)

ContractsperWeek Points

0.00–0.99qualitycontactsperweek 0points





20ormorequalitycontactsperweek 10points

Co-teachinginvolvementandparticipationinProfessionalLearningCommunities(PLCs)meetingswouldqualifyasaqualitylibrarian/teacherinteractionaswouldindividualmeetingswithteacherstoidentifyappropriateresourcesforstudents,planco-teachingactivities,andconferencestoidentifyresourcesthatmightbeacquiredtosupportaparticularcurriculum.Librariansshouldbeinvolvedinthedevelopmentoftheseguidelinesandcollectionofdatamightbeaperiodicsamplingratherthananongoingcount.


Table10:FixedVersusFlexibleSchedule(10points)

ScheduleType Points

Fixed 0points

CombinationFixed/FlexibleSchedule 5points

FlexibleSchedule 10points

Table11:TechnologyResourcesAvailabilityattheBuildingLevelperStudent(5points)

Computers/TabletsAvailableperStudent Points

0.00–0.99computers/tabletsperstudent 0points

1.00–2.99computers/tabletsperstudent 1point



5.0-9.99computers/tabletsperstudent 4points

1ormorecomputers/tabletsperstudent 5points


Moving Forward

“Promotethen,asanobjectofprimaryimportance,institutionsforthegeneraldiffusionofknowledge.Inproportionasthestructureofagovernmentgivesforcetopublicopinion,itisessentialthatpublicopinionshouldbeenlightened.”GeorgeWashington,1796

AsthisMasterPlan,accompanyingliteraturereview,andvastbodyofresearchknownasthe“impactstudies”haveshown,qualityschoollibrariescanhaveasignificantimpactonstudentachievementinavarietyofacademicsubjects.Allstudents,regardlessofrace,geographiclocation,andsocioeconomicstatus,experiencethesepositiveimpacts.TheMasterPlan’srecommendations,whichhavebeendevelopedthroughextensiveresearchandfieldwork,aredesignedtodevelopaholisticsystemthatleadstohigh-qualityschoollibrariesstatewide.Theyaddressareasincludingstaffing,accessandcontent,governanceandinfrastructure,andassessmentandaccountability.Adoptingtherecommendationsineachofthesecategoriesiscriticalbecausethey,asawhole,willleadtothedevelopmentofarobustandresponsiveinfrastructurethatwillallowschoollibrariestoflourishacrossthestate.

Whiletheimplementationoftheserecommendationswillrequireanextensiveallocationoffinancialandhumanresources,theanticipatedoutcomesclearlyjustifytheexpectedeffort.High-qualityschoollibrarieswillnotonlyleadtoimprovedlearningoutcomesforallstudents,butwillalsoleadtothenurturingoflife-longlearnersthatareabletoappropriatelyanalyzeandsynthesizeinformationfromavarietyofsources.Theselife-longlearnerswilleventuallybeDelaware’sleadersandresidents,therefore,itiscriticalforthestate’seconomicandsocietalwell-beingthatallstudentsreceivethebenefitsprovidedbyhigh-qualityschoollibraries.

Ultimately,investmentinthedevelopmentofhigh-qualityschoollibrariesenhancesstudentlearningandperformancebyprovidingstudentswiththeresourcesandguidancetheyneedtosucceed.Providingadequateaccesstotimely,appropriatelearningresourcesandprofessionaldirectioninhowtofind,evaluate,andnavigatetheconfusinguniverseofinformationandmisinformationwillbuildessentialresearchandcriticalthinkingskillsthatwillservestudentswellbothinschoolandintheworkplace.


Appendix A: Literature Review

Introduction

ThefollowingdocumentisacompilationoffindingsfromtheresearchusedtodeveloptheDelawareSchoolLibrariesMasterPlan:QualitySchoolLibraries=HigherStudentAchievementanditsaccompanyingrecommendations.Thisliteraturereviewencompassestopicsincludingthecharacteristicsofqualityschoollibrariesandhowtheyimpactstudentperformance,theroleoftheschoollibrarian,librarytechnology,andthedevelopmentofpartnershipsbetweenschoolandpubliclibraries.Literaturecoveredinthisreviewincludesnumerousschoollibraryimpactstudiesandrelevantjournalarticlesandpublications.

Quality School Libraries

Aqualityschoollibrarycanbethecoreoftheschool,ahubwherelearningflourishes.Itshouldbetransformativeandleadtoimprovedstudentperformance.AccordingtotheDelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncil’sAnnualReport(2013),aqualitylibraryhasthefollowingcharacteristics:

• Sufficientfunding• Acurrentandfullcollection• Currenttechnologyandstaffwiththeabilitytouseitcorrectly• Afull-timecertifiedlibrarian• Integrationintotheschoolcurriculumthatsupportsliteracyandstudentachievement• Flexiblescheduling

Thissectionwillfocusonthesecharacteristicsandtheiridealcorrespondinggoals,alongwiththeimpactthatachievingthesegoalscanhaveonstudentperformance.Itwillalsoincludebestpracticesrelatedtotheenvironmentandphysicalfeaturesofthelibrarytoprovidedecision-makerswithanideaofwhataqualitylibrarylookslike,andthecharacteristicsthatitexhibits.

Funding

Sufficientandstablefundingisoneofthemostimportantcharacteristicsofaqualityschoollibrary.Multiplelibraryimpactstudieshavefoundthathigherexpendituresperstudentandoveralllibraryspendingcorrelateswithhighertestscores.Accordingtoa2000studyofPennsylvaniaschoollibraries(Lance,Rodney,Pennel-Hamilton,2000),“higherachievingschoolsoftenspendtwiceasmuch—ormore—ontheirschoollibraryprogramsaslowerachievingschools”(Gretes,2013).

Withoutadequatefunding,librariescannotbesufficientlystaffedorhaveup-to-datecollectionsandtechnology.AccordingtoTheSchoolLibraryJournal's2014SpendingSurvey:SavvyLibrariansAreDoingMorewithLess,manylibrariesonlyfunctionbecauseschoollibrariansarewillingtoutilizetheirownresourcestosupporttheirinsufficientbudgets(Barack,2014).In2007,anaverageof$11,015wasspentnationallybyschoollibrariesoninformationresources,whichincludeprint


andnon-printmaterials,licenseddatabases,andothermethodstoaccesselectronicinformation(Davis,2009).

In2004,overhalfofDelaware’sschoollibrarieshadannualbudgetallocationsbelow$6,000(ToddR.J.,2005).TheDelawareSchoolLibrarySurvey(2004)describesahigh-qualityschoollibraryashavingbudgetallocationsof$12to$15perstudentoninformationresources(ToddR.J.,2005).ThiscomparesfavorablywithAmericanLibraryAssociationdatafrom2008thatshows$12asthenationalaverageforper-studentexpendituresoninformationresources.However,itshouldbenotedthatthedataalsoshowsthat$12wasonlytwo-thirdsthecostofafictiontitle($17.26)andone-thirdthecostofanon-fictiontitleatthattime($27.04)(Davis,2009).

In2011,theCommonwealthofPennsylvaniaproducedtheGuidelinesforSchoolLibraryProgramsthatprovidesquantitativeinputsandoutputstoguideperformance.Theguidelinesarebasedonresultsfrompreviousstudiesinthestatethatdemonstratedthepositiveimpactthatschoollibrariescanhaveonstudenttestscores.Inordertoproducetheseimprovedlearningoutcomesforstudents,schoollibrariesneedsufficientbudgets.Forthistobeachieved,accordingtothestudy,thetotalexpendituresperstudentmustbe$41inanelementaryschoollibrary,$45inamiddleschoollibrary,and$50inahighschoollibrary(OfficeofCommonwealthLibraries,2011).Thereportdividedthesetotalexpendituresperstudentintoprint,audiovisual,andelectronicresourcesbudgets.

Collection

Acurrentcollectionisoneofthekeyattributesofaqualityschoollibrary.Robustcollectionscaninspireapassionforreadinginstudentsandprovidethemwithaccesstoawealthofinformationinavarietyofsubjects(OfficeofCommonwealthLibraries,2011).Withoutup-to-dateresources,librariescannotprovidestudentswithadequateaccesstoinformation.Forinstance,ifSTEMbooksareolderthan5yearsold,theywillnolongerprovidestudentswiththemostrecentfindingsintheirsubjectmatter(DelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncil,2013).Accordingtothe2013AnnualReportbytheDelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncil,only29,998of299,169STEMbooks(10.3percent)inthe167participatingschoolsinDelawaremetthisstandard.AgeofresourcesisnotonlyimportantforSTEMbooks,butforallcollectionmaterials.In2013,ofthe2,154,929itemsin169Delawareschools,theaverageyearofpublicationwas1994.

Robust,timelycollectionsareacrucialcomponentofschoollibrariesthatcanincreaselearningoutcomesforallstudents.Ina2012impactstudyinPennsylvania(LanceandSchwarz,2012),theresearchteamfoundthatfor“BlackandHispanicstudents,accesstomorethan12,000librarybooksmorethandoublestheirchancesofobtaining‘Advanced’Writingscoresandcutstheirriskof‘BelowBasic’Writingscoresinhalf”(Kachel,2013).Thesefindingsshowthatalibrarywitharobustcollectioncanhaveasignificantimpactonimprovingwritingscoresandclosingtheachievementgapforminoritystudents.

TheStandardsforSchoolLibraryMediaCenters:DelawarePublicSchools(2002)statesthatinordertofunctionproperly,alibrarycollectionshouldhave15currentlyusefulvolumesperstudent.(DelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncil,2013).In2004,Delaware’saverageofusefulbooksperstudent


was12.56anddatafromtheDelawareSchoolLibrarySurveyshowsthat37percentofschoollibrariesdidnotmeettheminimumresourcerecommendation(ToddR.J.,2005).TheCommonwealthofPennsylvaniastatesthattheminimumvolumesperstudentshouldbe15inmiddleandhighschoolsand20inelementaryschools,whiletheidealamountis20inmiddleandhighschoolsand25inelementaryschools(OfficeofCommonwealthLibraries,2011)

Inthedigitalage,e-books,e-readers,andtabletsareexpandingtheirpresenceinschoollibraries.In2014,66percentofschoolsnationwideofferede-books.Themediannumberofe-booksremainsatalow189titlesperschoolcomparedto11,300printbooks,butschoollibrariansexpecte-bookspendingasapercentageoftheirtotalmaterialsbudgettoquadrupleinthenextfiveyears(Sun,2014).Qualityschoollibrariesarerecognizingthisdigitalshiftandallocatingmoreresourcestoelectronicmaterials.

TheSchoolLibraryJournalconductedasurveyin2014,whichexaminedhowschoollibrarianswereattemptingtokeepup-to-datecollectionswiththeirshrinkingbudgets.Accordingtothesurvey,theadoptionofdigitaltoolsandcontentwereamongthemostimportantprioritiesoftheschoollibrarianseveniftheirbudgetdidnotsupportit.Forty-sixpercentofelementaryschoollibrariansreportedthatdigitalusewasup,and60percentreportedthatprintusewasdown.Atthemiddleschoollevel,45percentreportedthatdigitalusewasup,and60percentreportedthatprintusewasdown.Ofthehighschoollibrarians,46percentreportedthatdigitalusewasup,and59percentrespondedthatprintusewasdown.The43percentofrespondentsthatpurchasede-booksin2012–2013spentanaverageof$1,100onthistypeofcontent,and34percentoftheserespondentsexpectedtospendmoreone-booksinthefuture(Barack,2014).

E-booksrefertodigitizedversionsofprintbooksandtextbooks.Theyareoftenformattedforandaccessedonspecializede-readers,butmanyarealsoavailableondesktopcomputers,laptops,andsmartphones.E-booksprovideseveraladvantagesforstudentsandschoolscomparedtotraditionalprintbooks.Digitalresourcesareavailableeverydayoftheyearandatalltimesofday,whileprintresourcesareonlyaccessibleforstudentsduringlimitedlibraryhours,unlesstheyarecheckedoutandtakenhome.Whene-booksaremadeavailableonsmartphones,theyareespeciallyconvenientforstudentsandthereisanecdotalevidencethattheyinspirestudentstoreadmorefictionontheirowntime(Nelson,2012).E-booksarealsogenerallycheaperthanprintbooks(Davidson&Carliner,2013),sostudentscangainaccesstoawiderbreadthofresourcesinlibrariesthatallocatefundingtoe-bookpurchases.Whilelibrarymediacentersestimatedthattheyspentamedianof$402one-booksin2013−2014,20percentoflibrariesmanagedtospendnomoneyone-books,acquiringtheminsteadthroughstate,district,orconsortiummembership(Sun,2014).

Althoughstudieshavefoundthatelementaryschoolstudentsperformedequallywellwhenusinge-booksversusprinttextbooks,therearesomedrawbackstotheuseofe-books.Somestudentshavefoundthatthereadabilityofe-booksislowerandstrugglewiththebasicfunctionsofe-bookssuchashighlighting(Davidson&Carliner,2013).Readingfromascreentakestwentytothirtypercentlongerthanreadingfrompaper,hasbeenfoundtocausemorestressandrequiremoreeffort,andcanmakeithardertorememberwhathasbeenread(Marcum,2012).Whilee-booksaregenerallycheaperthanprintbooks,theyrequireexpensivetechnology,likecomputersande-readers,to


access.Ifstudentsdonothavethesetechnologiesathome,oriflicensingagreementsonlyallowaccesstodigitalresourceswithintheschool,itmaybedifficultforstudentstoaccessdigitalresourcesoutsideofschoolhours.

Duetoadvancesintechnology,databasesarenowreadilyavailableforstudentstoaccessinschoollibrarieswiththeguidanceoflibrarians.Databasesaresearchableonlinecompilationsofpublishedworksthatstudentscanuseforresearch(EnochPrattFreeLibrary).Theyareavailablefromarangeofpublishingcompaniesandsomearedirectedtowardspecificagegroupsanddisciplineswhileothersaremoregeneral(Michaelson,2014).Schoollibrariesobtainaccesstodatabasesfortheirstudentsbypurchasingsubscriptions.InDelaware,K–12publicschoolshaveaccesstoUDLib/Search,acollectionofdatabasesthatprovideonlinemagazines,journals,encyclopedias,andeducationalactivities(AboutUDLib/Search,2015).WhileaccesstotheUDLib/Searchdatabasesandtechnicalassistance/trainingarefreeforschoolsthatparticipate,theStatecontributessignificantfundingeachyeartopayforlicensingfees,personnel,andotheroperatingcosts.ThenumberofUDLib/Searchsearchesmadeeachyeargenerallyincreases,showingthatpublicschoolsareusingthedatabases(Miller,2015).

Itisoftentheresponsibilityoflibrarianstochoosedatabasesthatbothfittheneedsoftheirstudentsandareaccessible(Michaelson,2014).Furthermore,studentsmustalsobetaughtproperuseofdatabases.StudentstodayprefertousegeneralsearchengineslikeGoogletofindinformation.Zimmerman(2012)arguesthatmoststudentsreverttousingGooglebecause,“Theyfindthattheschoolstheyattendprovideaccesstoalotofdata,butitisatthecostoflearningahighlydevelopedmethodofsearching.Thisisnotanobstacletoatrainedlibrarian,butitisalargeobstacletoanuntrainedstudent.”Librarianscantrainstudentsintheuseofdatabasesandensuretheyhavetheskillstotakefulladvantageoftheonlineresourcesthatalibraryoffers.

Technology and Information Literacy

Inthe21stcentury,qualityschoollibrariesmustprovideup-to-datetechnology.Moreover,qualityschoollibrariesmustalsoemploycertifiedlibrarianswiththeknowledgeandskillstoutilizetechnologyandteachotherstohowtodoso.AccordingtotheNationalBoardforProfessionalTeachingStandards(NBPTS),withcurrenttechnology,librariescanfurthertheirroleasthehubsofschoolcommunities(LibraryMediaStandards,2012).Onelibrarianunderlinedtheimportanceoftechnologybystating,“Hereweareinacomputererawheretheamountofinformationisdoublingeverycoupleofmonths.Thekidsneedmorehelpthaneverbeforetolocateinformationandtoapplyitandanalyzeit.It’sjustamazingtomethatwere[sic]notseeingitasmorebeneficialthaneverbefore”(Pascopella,2005).The21stcenturyschoollibraryplaystwovitalroles:1)providingaccesstotechnologyand2)promotinginformationliteracy.

ProvidingAccesstoTechnologySchoollibrariesplayavitalroleingivingstudentsaccesstotechnology,becausemanystudentsdonothaveaccesstotheseresourcesathomeorintheircommunitiesoutsideofschoolhours.AccordingtothePewResearchCenter,asofSeptember2013,70percentofadultAmericanshadbroadbandaccessathome,butonly52percentofadultAmericansthatmadelessthan$30,000a


yearhadaccesstothisservice(ZickuhrandSmith,2013).Thesedatashowthatasignificantportionofthepopulationstilldoesnothaveaccesstohigh-speedinternetathome,whichcanmakecompletingclassworkoutsideofschooldifficultforstudentswhocannotefficientlyacquireinformationonline.AstudyconductedbytheNewYorkComprehensiveCenterin2011cametotheconclusionthat“schoollibrariesareimportantinsupportingthedevelopmentof21stcenturyskills,includingthosethatrequiretechnologicalliteracy.Thedigitaldividethatmanyat-riskstudentsfacecanbealleviatedwiththeresourcesandtechnologicalinstructionschoollibrariesoffer”(NewYorkComprehensiveCenter,2011).Notonlydoschoollibrariesprovideaccesstotechnology,buttheyalsoprovidestudentswiththeopportunitytolearnhowtouseiteffectivelyandresponsiblythroughtheguidanceofprofessionallytrainedschoollibrarians.

Accordingtoa2006studyconductedonDelaware’sschoollibraries,“themosthelpfuldimensionsofschoollibraries,asperceivedbybothstudentsandfaculty,centeronthecentralplaceofinformationtechnologyinaccessinginformationandusingthetechnologytoenablestudentstocompletetheirschoolwork”(ToddandHeindstrom,2006).Surveyresultsshowedthat88.9percentofstudentsfoundthatcomputersprovidedintheschoollibrarywereatleastalittlehelpfulwithregardstoimprovingtheirabilitytocompleteschoolassignments,while94.1percentfoundthatcomputerslocatedinschoollibrarieswereatleastalittlehelpfulinassistingthemwithacquiringinformationlocatedbothinsideandoutsideschoollibraries.15

PromotingInformationLiteracyInadditiontoprovidingDelaware’sstudentswithaccesstotechnology,schoollibrariesalsoimprovetheinformationliteracyofmanystudents.Forinstance,94.2percentofstudentsrespondedthattheschoollibrarywasatleastalittlehelpfulinteachingthemthedifferentstepsinvolvedinacquiringandusinginformation,while90.3percentbelievedthatitwasatleastalittlehelpfulinassistingthemwithfindingdifferentopinionsabouttopicsofinterest(ToddandHeindstrom,2006).Schoollibrariesalsoprovidesomestudentswithassistanceindeterminingthecriticalinformationprovidedbysources,with91.7percentstatingthattheschoollibrarywasatleastalittlehelpfulinguidingtheminidentifyingthemostimportantthingsinthesourcestheyreview,while87.6percentfoundthattheschoollibrarywasatleastalittlehelpfulinteachingthemto“bemorecarefulaboutinformation[theyfound]ontheinternet”(ToddandHeindstrom,2006).Nearly92percentofstudentsmentionedthattheschoollibrarywasatleastalittlehelpfulbyassistingthemindeterminingthequalityofinformationtheyfound.

ImpactstudiesconductedinNewMexico(Lance,Rodney,andHamilton-Pennell,2002),Wisconsin(Smith,2006),NewJersey(Todd,Gordon,andLu,2010),andWashington(Coker,2015)alsoshowedthepositiveimpactthatschoollibrariescanhaveonstudentlearningoutcomesthroughtheprovisionoftechnologyandlessonsrelatedtoinformationliteracy.OneofthekeyfindingsintheNewMexicostudywasthat“middleschoolswiththehighestNewMexicoAchievementAssessmentProgram(NMAAP)languageartsscoresweretwiceaslikelyasthelowest-scoringschoolstoprovideaccesstolicenseddatabasesviaaschoollibrarynetwork”(Scholastic,2015).IntheWisconsinstudy,researchersfoundthat“elementaryschoolswithmorecomputersand

15Thisincludesthefollowingfourresponses:mosthelpful,quitehelpful,somehelp,andalittlehelp.


technologyequipmentmadeupthetop25schoolswithhighestWCKE[WisconsinConceptsandKnowledgeExamination]scoresinreadingandlanguagearts”(Kachel,2013),andthat“studentsvaluedmostthelibrarymediaspecialist’shelpinteachinguniqueskillsnotcoveredintheclassroom—especiallyinformation,communication,andtechnologyskillsessentialforstudentsinthe21stcentury”(Scholastic,2015).

ThestudyinNewJerseywentintodetailonhowschoollibrariansinthestate“madekeycontributionstostudentsuccess”inareassuchas:masteringofinformationliteracycompetencies,developingfamiliarityoftheresearchprocess,modelingethicaluseofinformation,andnurturingresponsibleuseoftechnology(Todd,Gordon,andLu,2010).Meanwhile,theresearchteaminWashingtonfoundthat“studentswhoattendschoolswithon-staffcertifiedteacher-librarians(CTLs)havemoreequitableaccesstotechnologicallyadvancedandaccessiblelibraryfacilities…greateraccesstodatabasesandresourcesforlongertimesduringtheschoolday…[thatareoften]accessibleoutsidetheschoolaswell…[and]aremorelikelytobetaughtinformationtechnologyskillsandtechnologyfluencyskills”(Scholastic,2015).ThesefindingsarealsosupportedbytheresearchofDr.BarbaraSchultz-JonesandDr.CynthiaLedbetter,twoscholarsinthefieldoflibraryandinformationscience,who,afterexaminingthecorrelationbetweenschoollibrariansandtheirimpactonstudents’informationliteracyskills,concludedthatschoollibrarians“candevelopandnurtureanoptimallearningenvironmentthatmakesapositiveandmeasurablecontributiontotheeducationalprocess”(Schultz-JonesandLedbetter,2009,2010).Multiplestudiesshowthatschoollibrariescanplayasignificantroleinprovidingstudentswithaccesstotechnology,whilealsocreatinganenvironmentwheretheycanlearnhowtouseitinaneffectiveandresponsiblemanner.

InTexas,schoollibrarieshavestandardsthatfollowtheNBPSTrecommendations,andthus,theTexasAdministrativeCode(updatedin2011)encouragestheuseoftechnologyinschoollibrariesasamethodofaccessing,evaluating,anddisseminatinginformation(SchoolLibraryPrograms:StandardsandGuidelinesforTexas,2005).Accordingtothestandards,aqualityschoollibraryshould:

• Providestudentsandstaffwithcampus-wideandremoteaccesstoelectroniclibraryresourcesthroughalibrary-designedportal.

• Provideaweb-deliveredonlinepublic-accesslibrarycataloginthelibrary,campus-wide,andremotely.

• Provideoneadministrativecomputerperlibrarystaffmember.• Providetwocomputersdedicatedtocirculationandonecomputerdedicatedtoteacher

use.• Facilitatethefullintegrationoftechnology,includingmultimediaandthewebintothe

curriculumandinstruction.• Employarepresentativetoserveontheschooltechnologycommittee,helpdevelopthe

schooltechnologyplan,andprovideinputinthedevelopmentofthedistricttechnologyplan.


• Employalibrarianthatactivelyandsystematicallytrainsstudentsandstaffintheuseoflocal,statewide,ornationalconsortiatechnologyinitiatives,includingstatewideinterlibraryloan,ifapplicable.

Pennsylvaniaalsoprovidesstandardsforschoollibrariesrelatedtotechnology.Thestateguidelinesrecommendthatschoollibrarieshaveinternetcapabilityaswellas35computersperlibraryortwo-thirdsofitsseatingcapacity,whicheverisgreater(OfficeofCommonwealthLibraries,2011).

Staffing

Themajorityofstudiesfocusingonevaluatingtheimpactthatschoollibrarieshaveonstudentlearningoutcomesgointodetailontheimportanceofafull-time,state-certifiedlibrarianincultivatingaqualityschoollibrary.Certifiedlibrarianshavebeenfoundtobooststudentachievement,specificallyreadingscoresandliteracyrates.Aproperlystaffedlibraryhasevenbeenlinkedtobetterattitudestowardreading(Klinger,2009).

Oneofthecriticalfunctionsofaschoollibraryistoelevatetheimportanceofreadinginschoolbyprovidingstudentswithboththeopportunityandencouragementtoread.AccordingtoScholastic’sKidsandFamilyReadingReport:5thEdition,asurveyof2,558parentsandchildren,14percentofchildren“read[forfun]athomeandschoolequally,and14[percent]saytheyreadforfunmostlyinschool”(Scholastic,2014).Readingforfuninschoolisevenmoreprevalentamonglow-incomestudents.Ofstudents(ages6to17)fromfamiliesthatmakelessthan$35,000ayear,19percentreadforfunprimarilyinschooland41percentreadingforfunaboutthesameamountoftimeinschoolandathome.Formorethanhalfofstudents(52%),independentreadingintheclassroomisconsideredapositiveexperiencewith34percentmentioningthatitis“oneof[their]favoritepartsoftheschoolday”and31percentstatingthattheywishedtheywoulddoitmoreoften(Scholastic,2014).

Theschoollibraryisakeycomponentinprovidingthesestudentswiththeopportunitytoreadbecause,accordingtothesurvey,77percentofchildrenages6to11and58percentofchildrenages12to17foundthebookstheyreadforfunatthelibrary.Resultsfroma2010ScholasticandBillandMelindaGatesFoundationsurveyof25,452K–12publicschoolteachersalsosupportthisfinding.Init,83percentofteachersstatedthattheirstudentsgotthebookstheyusedforindependentreadingfromtheschoollibrarymostoften(ScholasticandBillandMelindaGatesFoundation,2010).

TheresultsfromtheseScholasticsurveysshowthatformanyschool-agechildren,particularlythosefromlow-incomehouseholds,theschoolenvironmentiswheretheywillfindaccesstobooksandengageinasignificantamountoftheirreading.Findingsfroma2006studyinDelaware,whichincludedasurveyof5,773studentsfrom13elementaryandhighschools,showedthattheschoollibrarycanbehelpfultostudents’“generalreadinginterests.”Surveyresultsshowedthat88.1percentofstudentsagreedthattheschoollibraryhelpedatleastalittle16whenitcametoprovidingthemassistanceinfindingstoriesthattheylike.Approximately83percentofstudents

16Thisincludesthefollowingfourresponses:mosthelpful,quitehelpful,somehelp,andalittlehelp.


agreedthattheschoollibrarywasatleastalittlehelpfulinprovidingthemassistanceinreadingmore,while81.3percentagreedthatitwasatleastalittlehelpfulinassistingthemwithbecomingabetterreader(ToddandHeinstrom,2006).Theimportanceofthelibraryincultivatingaloveofreadingwasalsoevidentina2006studyofover800elementaryschoolsconductedinOntariothatfoundthat“schoolswithteacher-librarianscouldbeexpectedtohavereadingenjoymentscoresthatwere8percentilepointshigherthanaverage”(Queen’sUniversityandPeopleforEducation,2006).Thesefindingsshowthatschoollibrariesareacriticalcomponentofastudent’seducationalexperience,particularlyiftheyarefromalow-incomehousehold,becausetheyprovidethemwithaccesstobooksandtheencouragementtoread.

ArecentstudybyNewYorkUniversity’sSteinhardtSchoolofCulture,Education,andHumanDevelopmenthighlightedthisissuebydocumentingtheexistenceof“bookdeserts”inlow-income,urbanareasacrossthecounty.Thestudyindicatedthat“accesstoprintresources…earlyonhasbothimmediateandlong-termeffectsonchildren’svocabulary,backgroundknowledge,andcomprehensionskills”(NeumanandMoland,2016).Ameta-analysisof44studiesconductedbyDr.JimLindsayfoundasimilarrelationshipbetweenaccesstoprintmaterialsandstudentlearningoutcomes.Positiveeffectsprovidedbyprintmaterialsinclude(Lindsay,2010):

• Improveschildren’sreadingperformance• Helpschildrenlearnthebasicsofreading• Causeschildrentoreadmoreandforlongerlengthsoftime• Producesimprovedattitudestowardreadingandlearningamongchildren

Thesepositivelearningoutcomescaneventuallymanifestthemselvesinimprovedscoresonstandardizedtestsbystudents.Ananalysisontheimpactofschoollibrarianlayoffsinrelationtofourth-gradereadingscorescollectedbytheNationalCenterforEducationStatisticsbetween2004and2009conductedbyKeithCurryLanceandLindaHofschireshowedthat“regardlessofwhethertherewerefewerclassroomteachersschoolwide,studentsinstatesthatlostlibrarianstendedtohavelowerreadingscores—orhadaslowerriseonstandardizedtests—thanthoseinstatesthatgainedlibrarians”(LanceandHofschire,2011).Infact,theresearchers“foundthat19ofthe26statesthatgainedlibrarianssawanaverage2.2percentriseintheirNationalAssessmentofEducationalProgress(NAEP)fourth-gradereadingscores…[while]9ofthe24statesthatlostlibrarianshada1percentrise”(LanceandHofschire,2011).Theauthorsnotedthatwhilethesechangesmayseeminsignificant,“minorshiftsarequitemeaningfulsincetheretendstobelittleoverallchangewithfourth-gradeNAEPreadingscoresovertime”(LanceandHofschire,2011).Significantpositiveimpactsonreadingscoreswerealsofoundforlow-income,Hispanic,Black,andEnglishlanguagelearnerstudents.


FigureA:PercentChangeinFourth-GradeNAEPTestScores,2004-2005to2008-2009

Source:Lance,K.andHofschireL.,(2011,September).SomethingtoShoutAbout:NewResearchShowsthatMoreLibrariansMeansHigherReadingScores.TheSchoolLibraryJournal.Theresultsfromthisanalysisaresimilartotheonesfoundintheschoollibraryimpactstudiesconductedin25statesandOntario(Scholastic,2015).Accordingtoananalysisofthesestudies17completedin2013,thisbodyofresearchconfirmsthat“qualityschoollibraryprogramswithfull-time,certifiedlibrariansandlibrarysupportstaffareindicativeofandcriticaltostudentachievement”(Kachel,2013).Thisanalysisincludesachartdetailing35particularschoollibrarycharacteristicsthatwereproventohavea“positiveassociationwithstudentachievement”andthestudywhereeachassociationwasfound.Librarycharacteristicsfallunderthefollowingcategories:staffing/availability,instruction/informationliteracycurriculum,professionaldevelopment/training,collaboration/cooperation,electronicnetworkingandtechnology,collectionsandresources,usage,andfunding/budget.

Forinstance,findingsfromanimpactstudyconductedinColoradoin2010(Francis,Lance,andLietzau,2010)includedthatelementaryschoolswithatleastonefull-timeendorsed(statecertified)schoollibrarianhad4to5percentmorethird,fourth,andfifthgradestudentsscoringproficientoradvancedinreadingonstandardizedteststhanelementaryschoolsthatdidnot(Scholastic,2015).Inthisstudy,itwasalsofoundthatschoolswithatleastonefull-timeendorsedschoollibrarianhad2to3percentlessthird,fourth,andfifthgradestudentswithunsatisfactoryscoresonstandardizedtests(Francis,Lance,andLietzau,2010).InalaterimpactstudyconductedinColoradoitwasfoundthatschoollibrariesstaffedonlybyassistants,asopposedtohavingacertifiedschoollibrarian,had

17FindingsfromastudyconductedinSouthCarolinaandoneinWashingtonwerenotincludedintheanalysisbecausetheyhadnotyetbeenreleased.

1%1.2%

2.3%

0.9%

-1.4%

1.5%

2%

2.8%

1.7%

0.5% 0.5%

1.8%

0.2%

-2.8%-3%

-2%

-1%

0%

1%

2%

3%

AllStudents PoorStudents BlackStudents HispanicStudents

Allstates

Statesthatgainedlibrarians

Statesthatlostlibrarians

Englishlanguagelearners


noinfluenceoverstudentreadingscores(LanceandHofschire,2012).TheseresultsaresimilartothefindingsofastudyconductedinFloridain2002(Baumbach)whereitwasdiscoveredthatelementaryschoolsthathadlibrariesstaffedforatleast60hoursperweekhada9percentimprovementintestscoresoverthosethatdidnot,whilemiddleschoolsthatfitthiscriterionhada3.3percentimprovement.Highschoolsthatmetthiscriterionhada22.2percentimprovementintestscores(Scholastic,2015).

ArecentstudyconductedinSouthCarolina(Lance,Rodney,andSchwarz,2014)alsosupportsthefindingsthatschoollibrarieshaveapositiveimpactonstudentstandardizedtestscoresinreadingandwriting.ThestudyfoundthattherewasahighcorrelationbetweenthepresenceofprofessionalschoollibrariansandstudenttestscoresforthreeEnglishLanguageArtsstandardsincludingliterarytext,informationaltext,andresearch.Inparticular,schoolsthathadatleastonefull-timelibrarianandafull-timeorpart-timeassistanthad2to3percentmorestudentsreceiving“exemplary”scoresontheresearchsectionofthePalmettoAssessmentofStateStandards(PASS).Studentsatschoolswithatleastonequalified,full-timelibrarianandonefull-timeorpart-timeassistantwere2percentlesslikelytoshowweaknessesonthewritingsectionofthePASSassessmentandwere2.1percentmorelikelytoshowstrengthsoncontentandorganizationcomponentsofthetest.Findingsfromthestudy“couldnotbeexplainedawaybydemographicssuchasgender,race/ethnicity,disability,andsubsidizedorfreemealseligibility.”

ThreerecentimpactstudiesconductedinPennsylvania(LanceandSchwarz,2012),Washington(Coker,2015),andKansas(Dow,Lakin,andCourt,2012)cametosimilarconclusions.InthePennsylvaniastudy,theresearchteamconcludedthat“studentsinwell-supported,resourced,andstaffedschoollibrariesachieveahigherlevelofacademicsuccess…”andthat“Black,Hispanic,andstudentswithdisabilitiesorwhowereeconomicallydisadvantagedbenefittedproportionallymorethanstudentsingeneral…”meaningthat“staffinglibrarieswithcertifiedlibrarianscanhelpclosetheachievementgapsamongthemostvulnerablelearners”(Scholastic,2015).Specifically,inschoolsthathadafull-timecertifiedlibrarian,2.5percentmorestudentsscoredadvancedinwritingonstandardizedtests,onaverage,thaninschoolsthatdidnothaveafull-timecertifiedlibrarian.Thisbenefitnearlydoubledwhensupportstaffassistedlibrariansintheschoollibrary.(Kachel,2013).

ResultsfromthestudyconductedinWashington,whichexamined1,486K–12publicschools,showedsimilarpositiveresults,revealingthat“studentswhoattendschoolswithCTLs[certifiedteacherlibrarians]andqualitylibraryfacilitiesperformbetteronstandardizedtestsandarefarmorelikelytograduate.FacilitieswithCTLshadan85%five-yeargraduationrate,versus79%forthosewithout”(Scholastic,2015).FindingsfromtheKansasstudyincludedthatschoolswithhigherandmorestablestaffinglevelsinschoollibrarieshadstudentswithhigherproficiencyratesinreading,writing,mathematics,science,andhistory/governmentasmeasuredintheKansasAnnualYearlyProgressdata(Dow,Lakin,andCourt,2012).Theseresultswerefoundacrossallgradelevels,andmathematicswasthesubjectwiththegreatestdifferenceinproficiencyratesbetweenschoolswithatleastonelibrarianandoneswithout.


Infact,someelectedofficialsinDelawarefoundtheneedforacertifiedlibrarianineveryschoolsovitalthattheydraftedHouseBill152,sponsoredbyRepresentativePaulBaumbachandSenatorDavidSokola.HouseBill152requiresthattherebeatleastonelibrarymediaspecialistineveryelementary,middle,andhighschoolinthestate(DelawareGeneralAssembly,2015).Theneedforthisbillisunderscoredbyitgarneringbi-partisansupport.

Accordingtothe2004DelawareSchoolLibrarySurvey,itisimportantthatpara-professionalstaffdonotreplaceschoollibrarians,butinsteadoffersupportbyundertaking“routineadministrativetasksand[freeing]thelibrarymediaspecialisttoundertakeinstructionalinitiativesandreadingliteracyinitiatives”(ToddR.J.,2005).ThelackofsupportstaffinDelawarehasforcedcertifiedlibrarianstoreservetimeforadministrativetasksinsteadofdevelopingprogramsthatwillincreasestudentachievement.In2004,Delawarehadpara-educatorsemployedin60percentofschoollibraries,with54percentofelementaryschoollibrarieshavingnopara-educatorsupport,andonly22percentofschoollibrarieshavingfull-timesupportstaff(ToddR.J.,2005).

Connection with School

Librariansshouldhaveacentralroleinsupportingclassroomlearning.Aseducators,librarianshaveabroadbaseofknowledgeandcanhelpotherteacherslocateresourcesthatenhancelearningactivitiesforstudents.However,researchfindsthatcollaborationamonglibrariansandclassroomteachersisnotasextensiveasitcouldbe.

Promotingcollaborationbetweenlibrariansandeducatorsispossiblethroughadministrativesupport.Forinstance,inOntario,aprincipalinaschoolwithaqualitylibrarystrivedtostrengthentherelationsbetweenclassroomteachersandlibrarians.Toachievethisgoal,theprincipalrequiredeachteachertopartnerwiththelibrarianonceperyeartoco-developandco-teachalessonthatalignedwiththecurriculum(Klinger,2009).

Findingsfromschool-libraryimpactstudieshaveshownthebenefitsthatflexibleschedulingandcollaborationbetweenteachersandschoollibrarianscanbring.Forinstance,ina2005impactstudycompletedinIllinois(Lance,Rodney,andHamilton-Pennel,2005),theresearchteamfoundthatinhighschoolseleventh-gradeACTscores“werehighestwhentherewasahighdegreeoftruecollaborationbetweenlibrarymediaspecialistsandclassroomteachersinawidespectrumofactivities”(Scholastic,2015).Itwasalsofoundthat“elementaryschoolswithmoreflexiblyscheduledlibrariesperformed10%betterinreadingand11%betterinwritingontheISATtestsoffifth-gradersthanschoolswithlessflexiblyscheduledlibraries”(Kachel,2013).SimilarfindingsweredetailedinanimpactstudyconductedinIndiana(Lance,Rodney,andRussel,2007),wheretheresearchteamfoundthat“acrossgradelevels,Indianastudentstendedtoperformbetteronstatetestswhereprincipalsvaluedteacher-librarymediaspecialistcollaboration,supportedflexiblelibraryscheduling,metregularlywiththelibrarymediaspecialist,andhadthelibrarymediaspecialistserveonkeyschoolcommittees”(Scholastic,2015).Thefindingsofthesestudiesshowthataschoollibraryprogram,anddynamiclibrarian,thatareintegratedintotheschoolcurriculumanddecision-makingprocessescanhaveasignificantpositiveimpactonstudentperformance.


Physical Environment

Ina2005study,AppoquiniminkSchoolDistrictdescribedtheirqualitylibrariesasthecenteroftheschool(Pascopella,2005).Similarly,oneschoolinOntariowithamodellibrarydescribedtheroomasneartheschooloffice,withcozycorners,colorful,welldecorated,andevenholdingapiano(Klinger,2009).TheSchoolLibraryMediaQuarterlypublishedanarticlethataddressedadditionalelementsthataqualityschoollibraryshouldhave.Primarily,itshouldbeawarm,welcomingplace.Thistypeofatmospherecanbecreatedthroughpaintorwithaccentcolorsinpostersordisplayboards.Carpetingisalsorecommendedasitcontrolsnoiseandappealstochildrenasaplacetorelax.Ifwall-to-wallcarpetingistooexpensive,schoollibrariescanalsopurchasearearugstoprovideasimilareffectforstudents(Doll,1992).

Modernlibrariesareusedasmeetingareasforstudentsandthusneedtohaveplentyofcollaborativespaces.InacasestudyofVancouverPublicSchools,DigitalPromise501(c)(3)foundthatmodernlibraryspacesshouldbeopenandflexible,withmoveablefurniturethatcancreateavarietyoflayouts.Thisallowsstudentstoarrangethemselvesintodifferentgroupsandworkeffectivelywitheachother(DigitalPromise).Anonlinesurveythatreceivedhundredsofstudentresponsesfromacrossthegloberevealedthatstudentsprefer“student-friendly”librariestothetraditionallibraryatmosphere,evenifthatmeansthatspacesarelouderandmessier(Fingal,2014).

Thedevelopmentoftechnologyhascreatednewneedsforlibraryspaces.Accordingtothe2004DelawareSchoolLibrarySurvey,morelibrarymediaspecialistsregarded“space”asapriorityfortheirlibrarymediacentersthananyotherresponse(ToddR.J.,2005).Onetraditionalfunctionofalibraryistoprovidedesktopcomputersforclasses.Onestudyfoundthatstudentsandteachersbothpreferroomswith“peripheral”layouts,whichreferstoasetupinwhichcomputerandworkstationsarearrangedaroundtheedgesoftheroomwithscreensfacinginwards.The“peripheral”layoutallowsforeasymovementandcollaborationbetweenstudentsandalsoallowsteachersandlibrarianstomonitorstudents’workandensurethatstudentsarestayingon-task(Brush&Hew,2007).Librariescanalsosavemoneybyusinglaptopswithwirelessconnectionsinordertosavebuildingandmaintenancecostsofthecomputerlaboratories(Russell,Bebell,&Higgins).Libraryspacesshouldadapttonewtechnologybybeingflexibleandoptimizedforstudentcollaborationandtheuseofpersonalelectronicsanddigitalresources.

Summary of Quality School Library Research

AliteraturereviewcompletedbyGretesResearchServicesonbehalfoftheHarryandJeanetteWeinbergFoundationsummarizedthefindingspresentedbytheschool-libraryimpactstudiesassuch:

Universalfindingsfrommorethan60impactstudiesconductedin22statesconcludethatschoolswithawell-equippedlibrary,staffedbyafull-time,certifiedlibrarianandappropriatestaffcontributesignificantlytogainsinstudentlearning.Highqualityschoollibrariesnotonlyhelpstudentsreadmore,butalsohelpthemlearnhowtouseandprocessinformationbetterandperformbetteronachievementtests.Levelsoflibraryfunding,


staffinglevels,collectionsizeandrange,andtheinstructionalroleofthelibrarianallhaveadirectimpactonstudentachievement.(Gretes,2013)

Overall,thecommonthemeofthisbodyofresearchisthatanadequatelystaffedandsupportedschoollibrarycanhaveasignificantpositiveimpactontheeducationalexperienceofstudents,whichcanthenberealizedthroughimprovedstandardizedtestscores.Schoollibrariesareanintegralcomponentofastudent’seducationalexperienceandnumerousstudieshaveshownthattheirservicescanleadtoimprovedlearningoutcomesforindividualsfromallbackgrounds(Gretes,2013).Byprovidingallstudentswithaccesstobooksandtechnology,implementingprogramsfocusedonencouragingreading,andpromotinginformationliteracy,schoollibrariesarehelpingtopreparestudentsforsuccessinthe21stcentury.

The Role of the School Librarian

K–12schoollibrariansareanintegralpartofschoolcommunitiesandcanleadtoimprovedstudentlearningoutcomes.Schoollibrarians’successiscontingentuponvariousenablersandbarriersthattheyfaceintheircareers.Oneofthemostsignificantfactorsthathaschangedtheroleofschoollibrariansistheadvancementoftechnology.Inthisdigitalage,librarianshavethepotentialtoleadintechnologyintegrationbyteachingbothstudentsandothereducatorshowtechnologycanpositivelyimpactacademicgrowth.Whiletechnologicalcompetenciesarebecomingincreasinglyimportant,librariansmustalsopreserveanddemonstratethetraditionallibrarianskillsofteachingstudentshowtobecriticalthinkersandinspiringthemtobelifelongreadersandlearners.Schoollibrarianscanmakeaninvaluableimpactonentirelearningcommunitiesandstudents.Schoollibrarianshavedemonstratedtheimportanceoftheirroles,andtheycancontinuetopositivelyimpacteducationsystemsacrossthenationiftheyreceiveadequatesupportfromdecision-makers.

Thefollowingsectionwillexaminetherolethattheschoollibrarianplaysintheschoolcommunity.Itwillbeginwithanexaminationoftheprocessthatschoollibrariansmustgothroughtoreceivetheircredentials,andthencontinuewithadescriptionofpotentialenablersandbarrierstoschoollibrariansuccess.Moderntechnology’sinfluenceonchangingtheroleoftheschoollibrarianisthendescribed.Thesectionthenconcludeswithananalysisoftheroleofthelibrarianwithregardstotechnologyintegrationandtheirimpactwithintheschoolcommunityonbothstaffandstudents.

American Library Association and American Association of School Librarians Standards and Competencies for School Librarian Programs

Beforeindividualscanacquirethetitleof“schoollibrarian,”theymustobtaintheappropriateprofessionaldegreessupportedbyboththeAmericanLibraryAssociation(ALA)andtheAmericanAssociationofSchoolLibrarians(AASL).TheALAisanonprofitorganizationthatendorseslibraryeducationinternationally,andtheAASListheonlynationalmembershiporganizationthatisfocusedontheprofessionalismofschoollibrariansandtheschoollibrarycommunity(AmericanLibraryAssociation[ALA],2015a).Whilebothorganizationshaveestablished“schoollibrarian”astheofficialprofessionaltitle,“schoollibrarymediaspecialist,”“teacherlibrarian,”“media


coordinator,”and“libraryinformationspecialist”areallacceptablenamesfortheprofession(NationalCouncilforAccreditationofTeacherEducation[NCATE],2010).

AccordingtotheAmericanLibraryAssociation,K–12schoollibrariansneedamaster’sdegreeastheirfirstprofessionaldegree,buttheymaydosothroughoneoftwotracks.Thefirsttrackisearningamaster’sdegreefromaprogramaccreditedbytheALA,whichcanbepursuedincollegesanduniversitiesacrosstheUnitedStates,Canada,andPuertoRico.DegreenamesincludeMasterofLibraryScience(MLS),MasterofArts,MasterofLibrarianship,MasterofLibraryandInformationStudies(MLIS),andMasterofScience(ALA,2015a).Thesecondtracktoreceiveamaster’sdegreefortheschoollibrarianprofessionistoearnamaster’sdegreewithaspecialtyinschoollibrarianshipfromaprogramrecognizedbytheAASLinaneducationalunitaccreditedbytheCouncilfortheAccreditationofEducatorPreparation(CAEP)(ALA,2015a).InDelaware,certificationrequirementsforSchoolLibraryMediaSpecialistsareincludedinTitle14,Chapter15,Section1580oftheAdministrativeCode(refertoAppendixD).

Standards and Competencies

AccordingtotheALA/AASLStandardsforInitialPreparationofSchoolLibrarians,therearefivecorecompetenciesthatallschoollibrariansmustmeet.First,schoollibrariansmustteachfortheultimatepurposeoflearning,consideringallstudentsandothermembersofthelearningcommunity.Throughthisstandard,candidatesacknowledgeandsupportstudents’diverselearningstylesandtheirphysicalandintellectualabilitiesandneeds.Theyareeducatedonthestagesofhumangrowthanddevelopment,andtheyunderstandthatvariousculturescaninfluencelearning.Further,candidatesexchangebestpracticesofteachingandlearningwithothereducatorstoinstillcollaborativepartnershipsontheprinciplesofeducation.Thisstandardalsorecognizestheimportanceoftechnologyintegrationasameansofcreativeteachingforadiversebodyofstudents(NCATE,2010).

Thesecondstandardthatschoollibrariansmustmeetrelatestotheimportanceofreadingandliteracy.Throughthisstandard,candidatesdevelopcollectionsofliteratureandselectinformationmaterials,inprintandelectronicformats,suitedforchildrenandyoungadultsbasedonvaryingreadinglevelsandcultural,social,andlinguisticneeds.Theysupportreadingforpersonalgrowth,lifelonglearning,andenjoymentthroughthiscompetency(NCATE,2010).

Informationandknowledgeformthebasisofthethirdcompetency.Schoollibrariansmustbeknowledgeableofthevariousphysical,digital,andvirtualcollectionsofresourcesandservicesthataremadeavailabletothediverselearningcommunity(NCATE,2010).

Thefourthcompetencyemphasizesadvocacyandleadership.Tomaximizestudentlearningandachievement,schoollibrarianshelpfacilitatethecollaborationbetweenteachers,administrators,librarians,andmembersofthecommunity.Dynamicschoollibraryprogramsthriveasschoollibrariansleadprofessionaldevelopmentworkshopsforothersdedicatedtotheimportanceofeducation(NCATE,2010).


Throughprogrammanagementandadministration,whichshapethefifthcompetency,schoollibrariansareexpectedtoplan,implement,andcontinuouslyevaluateschoollibraryprogramsandservicesaccordingtotheethicsandprinciplesoftheirprogrammission(NCATE,2010).

Enablers and Barriers to School Librarians’ Success in Four Domains

Onceschoollibrariansearntheappropriatedegree(s)anddemonstrateaproficiencyinmeetingallfivecompetencies,theirsuccess,orlackthereof,stemsfromanumberofenablersandbarriers.LynnF.ZinnconductedextensiveresearchonteacherleadershipandpublishedthefindingsthroughtheAmericanEducationalResearchAssociationin1997.BasedonZinn’sresearch,domainsthatimpactlibrarians’achievementincludesocialrelationships,institutionalstructures,personalconsiderationsandcommitments,andintellectualandpsychologicalcharacteristics(Johnston,2012).ExamplesofenablersandbarriersaredetailedbelowinTable1.

Table1:EnablersandBarriersinFourDomains

FourDomainsImpactingLibrarians’Achievement ExamplesofEnablers ExamplesofBarriers

1. PeopleandInterpersonalRelationships

Maintainingpersonalsupportsystematwork

Havingpositiveworkingrelationshipswithschooladministrators,teachers,andprincipal

Lackingpersonalsupportsystem

Lackingpositiveworkingrelationshipsandlackingprofessionalrespect

2. InstitutionalStructures Receivingnecessaryresources,suchasfunding,personnel,time,andtechnology

Understandingclearlydefinedroledefinitions

Lackingresources,suchashavinginsufficienttimetocompletetasks

Lackingroledefinitionsfrombroadly-andill-definedleadershiprolesandresponsibilities

3. PersonalConsiderationsandCommitments

Continuinggoodhealthandwellness

Gainingsupportfromfamilyandfriends

Havingpersonalhealthissues

Lackingsupportfromfamilyandfriends

4. IntellectualandPsychologicalCharacteristics

Possessingintellectualcuriosity,enjoymentoflearning,andprofessionalgrowth

Perceivingabilitytomakeadifferenceinthelivesofstudentsandteachers

Lackingintellectualcuriosity,enjoymentoflearning,andprofessionalgrowth

Havingfeelingsofdiscouragementandfrustration


Most Frequently Reported Enablers and Barriers

In2009,ThePALMCenterconductedTheSchoolLibraryMediaSpecialistandTechnologyIntegrationSurvey(Johnston,2012).Throughthisstudy,schoollibrariansidentifiedwhichenablersmostcontributedtotheirsuccessfulcareers.Thehighestrankingenableridentified,withafrequencyofjustover9.5percentwashavingasupportiveprincipal(Johnston,2012);amongotherthings,librarians’positiverelationshipwiththeirsuperiorinstillsasenseofmutualtrust,confidence,andmotivationthatgenerateshighachievementintechnologyintegration.Inthesamestudy9.5percentofparticipantsstatedthatopportunitiestogainaleadershiproleandassumemoreresponsibilitiesledtotheirsuccess.Theymentionedthattheirroleasaschoollibrarianhasbecomemorefulfillingthroughbothdesigningstaff-developmentworkshopsandservingonleadership,technology,andcurriculumcommitteesinschoolsandatthedistrictlevel(Johnston,2012).Accordingtothestudy,anequallyimportantenablerforschoollibrariansisthedesiretomakeadifferenceforstudentsandteachers(Johnston,2012);whenlibrariansembracemorally-basedmotivationstohelpothers,theybelievethattheyperformbetterintheirdesignatedrolewithintheirschoolcommunities.Otherfrequentlyreportedenablersfromthestudyincludethefollowing:professionaldevelopmentopportunities,senseofobligationtogetinvolved,commitmenttocontinualprofessionalgrowth,expertise,collaborativeteachers,professionalorganizations,andpersonalbeliefsandvalues(Johnston,2012).

InthesamePALMCenterstudy,schoollibrariansidentifiedthecorebarrierstotheirsuccess.Withafrequencyofnearly25.5percent,timewastheleadingbarrieridentified(Johnston,2012).Numerousschoollibrariansfeltthatwithmoretimetheycouldbetterinvestintheirpartnershipswithothereducators,enhancetheirrelationshipswithstudents,implementmoredesiredlibraryprograms,andbecomemoreknowledgeableontechnologyintegrationforteachingpurposes.Theyreportedthat,sincetoomuchtimeisspentonshelvingbooks,checkingbooksinandout,andcompletingpaperwork,thereisnotenoughtimetodevotetomoreconstructivetasks(Johnston,2012).Whileopportunitiestogainleadershipandtoundertakemoreresponsibilitieshavejointlysurfacedasanenabler,manyschoollibrariansalsorecognizethelackoftheseopportunitiesasamajorbarrier;theybelievethatexclusionfromtheseenrichingopportunitiesoftenhindersgrowth.“Unsupportiveprincipal”wasalsoidentifiedasabarrier,whichcorrespondswiththeaforementionedenablerofasupportiveprincipal(Johnston,2012).Otherkeybarriersthatschoollibrarians’mentionedincludedlackoffunding,inadequatestaffing,competitiveinstructionaltechnologists,aclimateofcompetitionwiththedistricttechnologydepartment,technologyresources,uncollaborativeteachers,andafixedschedule(Johnston,2012).

Digital Age Shifts Librarians’ Role

Technology,asacrucialelementofteachingandlearning,hassignificantlytransformededucationinthe21stcentury.Bothinandoutsideoftheclassroom,studentsareabletoutilizetechnologytoolsandresourcestoobtaininformationquickly,analyzeandsynthesizeit,andthenpresentitinaprofessionalmanner(Johnston,2012).Onceindividualsinsocietyunderstandhowtousetechnology,theymustthenadoptanewmindsetthatsupportstechnology’sroleinstimulating


morecreativityandmeaninginwhatisdone(Kuhlthau,2010).Thechanginginformationlandscapehasredefinedtheroleofschoollibrarians,givingthemnewopportunitiesforleadership;fromthefamiliaritywithelectronicdatabasestothecreationofpresentationsusingPowerPoint,librarianshaveanenormouspotentialtoleadintechnologyintegration(Johnston,2012).

Bringingtabletapplicationsande-booksintoaschoollibrarycreatesnewrolesforschoollibrarians.First,itrequiresthatlibrarianscurateapplicationofferingsforelementaryschoolstudents.Veryfeweducationappsarequality;appsneedtobeevaluatedforuserinterfacesandothercharacteristics.Childrenmayexperiencefrustrationandboredomunlesstheappisattherightlevelofdifficulty(Neumann&Neumann,2013).

E-booklibrariesalsoneedtobecarefullycuratedandorganized.Inadditiontopurchasingmaterialsthatarespecificallyneededforstudentsinaparticularschool,librariescanexpandtheresourcesavailabletostudentsbyparticipatingincooperativepurchasingagreementsandconsortia(AmericanAssociationofSchoolLibrarians[AASL],2013).Librariansalsoneedtodeterminewhethertheywillbuyaccesstosubscriptionservices,andifsowhichoneswillbestfittheirschool’sneedsandbudget.Importantly,schoollibrariesshouldhaveacomprehensiveandeasy-to-usecatalogueofresources.Afterall,spendingonelectronicresourcesisonlyjustifiediftheresourcesareactuallyusedbythestudents.Printmaterialsanddigitalmaterialsshouldbeintegratedinthecataloguesostudentscanfindtheinformationtheyarelookingforregardlessofitsformat.Tofurtherencourageuseofdigitalresources,librariesshouldmakesurethatstudent-owneddevicesareacceptedonschoolnetworkssothatlibrary-owneddigitalresourcescanbeviewedonwhateverdeviceastudentprefers(AASL,2013).In2013–14,nearly75percentofschoolmediacentersreportedthatstudentsaccessedlibrarye-booksonstudent-owneddevices(Sun,2014).

Beyondprovidingdigitalresources,librariesshouldtakeresponsibilityforteachingstudentshowtoeffectivelyusethem.Inadditiontocuratingtabletapplicationsinelementaryschools,librariesneedtoprovidescaffolding—encouragementforstudentstouseappscorrectlyandcreatively,andmodelingtheiruse(Neumann&Neumann,2013).Inlibrariesthatprovidee-books,librariansshouldhelpstudentswithcommonchallengesrelatedtotheiruse,includingreadability,highlighting,andaccessibility.InaNewYorkStatesurvey,74percentoflibrarymediaspecialistsprovidedguidancetostudentsintheuseofdigitalresourcesatleastonceperweek(Gretes,2013).

Ultimately,theroleofaschoollibrarianentailsoptimizingtheadvantagesofe-booksandtabletapplicationswhilemitigatingtheirdrawbacksthroughcuratingonlineresourcesandeducatingstudentsontheiruse.

Librarians’ Potential to Lead in Technology Integration

Withintheirschoolcommunities,schoollibrariansplayapivotalroleinhelpingtointegratetechnologyintostudents’educationalandprofessionaldevelopment.Librarians’academicbackgroundandtechnologicalexpertisegivethemgreatpotentialtolead.Best-practicelibrarymediaprogramsthriveinschoolswhereschoollibrariansactasinnovators,informationagents,andtechnologyintegrationleaders(Johnston,2012).Theyhavebroadknowledgeinlocatingand


evaluatinginformationusingextensiveresourcesinthelibrary,ontheinternet,inelectronicdatabases,andinthecommunity(Kuhlthau,2010).

Researchfindingspointtotheroleofthelibrarianasatechnologyleaderinschools.Notonlydoschoollibrariansdirectlyimpactstudentsthroughtheirleadership,buttheycanalsoprovideandsupporttechnologytrainingforteachers,othercolleagues,administrators,andparents;asleadingtechnologyfacilitators,librarianscanadministerprofessionaldevelopmentinareasrelatedtoinstructionalandtechnologyresourcestotheentirelearningcommunity(ISTE,n.d.).Technologyinclassroomsisonlyeffectiveifteachersarewelltrainedonitsuse.Librarianscanactivelycoachteachersonhowtousethetechnologyintheirclassroomsandserveasaresourceforanyadditionalhelpthatteachersmayneed(DigitalPromise).Asexpertsintechnology,librarianscanprovidetechnicalsupportforeducationalprograms,IWBs,andspecialWiFinetworksforstudent-owneddevicesinclassrooms.

Furthermore,librarianscanberesourcesforstudentsusingtechnologyintheclassroomandlibrary.Responsibilitiesofthemodernlibrarianoftenincludeteachingin-classlessonsandteachingresearchskillsdirectlytostudents(DigitalPromise).Outsideofformalclasstime,librariansshouldbeavailabletohelpmatchstudents’needsandinterestswithappropriateresources(Rosen,2014).

Havingendlessaccesstodigitalinformationresourcesforthewholelearningcommunityhelpsstudentstoimprovetheirlearningandremainacademicallyengaged(AASL,2010).TeachingtoreflectallISTENETSstandards,whichhelptomeasureproficiencyfortechnology’sintegrationintoeducation,schoollibrarianscaneducatestudentsonawide-rangeoflocal,state,andnationalcurriculum,technologystandards,andinformationliteracy(ISTE,n.d.).Thiseducationismeanttobothdevelopinformationskillsvitaltousingtechnologyasatoolforcurrentlearning,whilealsohelpingstudentsinthefuture“…toactively,safely,andethicallyparticipateinthedigitalculture”(Johnston,2012).Aseducatorswithasecurebackgroundintechnology,schoollibrarianshavearesponsibilitytohelppreparestudentsastheymoveforwardintotheirfuturecareers.

Concerns with Technology Integration

Althoughschoollibrarianshaveauniquepotentialtoleadintechnologyintegration,numerouseducatorsandcommunitymembershaveunfortunatelyneglectedtorecognizethispotential.Schoolcommunitiesarenotfullyutilizinglibrariansinthiscapacity,andasaresultlibrariansareunsurehowtotakeontheirnewroles(Johnston,2012).Manyfeelthattheyaretooinexperiencedinemergingtechnologies,suchassocial-networkingsites,blogs,wikis,andpodcasts,andthattheymustacquiretheappropriateknowledgepriortointegratingtechnologyintotheirstudents’education.Further,accordingtotheresearchofHughes-HassellandHanson-Baldauf,whenaskedhowtheyprefertolearntouseandapplytechnologytools,schoollibrarianspredominantlychosemethodsthatindicated“self-motivationandawillingnesstolearntechnologyontheirowntimetodeveloptheirexpertise”(Johnston,2012,p.22).Ifschoollibrarianshadmoretimetothemselves,manyofthemwouldpotentiallytakeadvantageofthisself-educatingapproach.

Besidestime,adequatefundingisanessentialenablertoschoollibrarians’success.Fundinginthisareaisusedforhardware,software,subscriptiondatabases,onlinetools,andotherdigital


resourcestosupportresearchandinquiry-basedlearning(ISTE,n.d.).Toaccountforconcernsrelatedtopurchasinge-contentandtechnology,budgetsandtheprocessesusedtodevelopthemneedtoevolvetobettersupportlibrarytechnology.AccordingtoAASL,traditionalpurchaseorderproceduresareoutdatedandnotsuitedtodigitalpurchases.Librariansneednewprocessestopayfordigitallibrarymaterials,suchase-booksandsubscriptionservices.Theprocessshouldbequickenoughforlibrarianstokeepconstantlyevolvingdigitalresourcesup-to-dateandflexibleenoughforlibrarianstobuynewresourcesastheyaredeveloped.Theyalsoneedcontinuousfundingfromschoolstoupdatedigitalcontentandtechnology(AmericanAssociationofSchoolLibrarians,2013).Itisimperativethatlibrarybudgetsarepreparedforthenewcostsoflibrarytechnologyandthatschoolsplanforthechangesinfundingneeds.

Further,thereareconcernsrelatedtothescopeofschoollibrarians’technologyintegrationinvolvement.Comparedtoleadingintechnologyrelatedactivitieswithintheirschoolbuildings,schoollibrarianshaveadmittedlyreportedmuchlowerlevelsofsuchinvolvementindistrict-widepolicymakingandinformationsharingwithpeersandcommunitymembers(Johnston,2012).

Impact Within the School Community

Althoughthecurrentdigitalagepresentsnovelleadershipopportunitiesforschoollibrarians,librariansmustcontinuetoalsoleadinthemoretraditional,non-technologicalcapacitiestoachievethefundamentalmissionandfulfilltheroleofschoollibrarian.Withintheschoolcommunity,theycancooperatewithparentsandcollaboratecloselywithteacherstodesignprogramsandconstructanenvironmentthatisconducivetoimprovedstudentlearningoutcomes.Schoollibrarianscanalsoserveonschoolimprovement,curriculum,andplanningcommitteesasinstructionalleaders(ISTE,n.d.).Insomecases,theyadditionallyserveontheirschools’decision-makingteamsandshareexpertisebypresentingatfaculty,parent,andschoolboardmeetings(AASL,2010).Schoollibrarianssometimesalsosuperviseandevaluatetheirsupportstaff,whichmayincludeeducationalassistants,computereducationassistants,studentassistants,andvolunteers.Alongwithengaginginin-personcommunication,schoollibrarianscanalsoplayaroleinmaintainingfrequentcommunicationtostakeholdersthroughaschoollibrarywebsite,parentnewsletters,emailexchanges,video/audiostreamingandpodcasts,andmore(AASL,2010).

Direct Influence on Students

Beyondtheclassroom,librarianshelptoempowerstudentstobecomebettercriticalthinkers,skillfulresearchers,ethicalusersofinformation,andenthusiasticreaders(AASL,2010).However,believingthatschoollibrariansplayatrivialroleinstudentachievement,severalschooldistrictshavecutfundingfornon-classroomteachingpositions(ISTE,n.d.).Thesedecisionsruncountertoevidenceindicatingthatcertifiedschoollibrariansandstronglibraryprogramsenhancepre-K–12students’successthroughouttheiracademiccareers(ISTE,n.d.).Forexample,accordingtoa2011studyusingdatafromtheNationalCenterforEducationStatistics,“...statesthatgainedlibrariansfrom2004–2005to2008–2009—suchasNewJersey,TennesseeandWyoming—showedsignificantlygreaterimprovementsinfourthgradereadingscoresthanstatesthatlostlibrarians,likeArizona,Massachusetts,andMichigan”(Kachel,2015).


Statefundingcuts,though,haveheavilyimpactedlibrarians’presenceinschools.Overadecade,Ohiohaslostmorethansevenhundredschoollibrarypositions,whileCaliforniaretainstheworstratio—1-to-7,000librarians-to-students—ofanystateinthenation(Kachel,2015).Onemainreasonwhystatesarechoosingtodismisslibrariansandschoollibraryprogramsisbecausetheylegallycan.Insomestates,suchasPennsylvania,schoolsarenotevenrequiredtohavelibraries.Whilelibrariesarerequiredinprisons,barberandcosmetologyschools,andnursingprograms,theyareoptionalinpublicschools(Kachel,2015).Publicschoolshavetightbudgetsandmustfaceatoughacademicdecisionandunfortunatetradeoff;theymustdecidewhethertheywanttoterminatetheemploymentofteachers,whospendthemajorityoftheirtimewithstudentsintheclassroom,ortheemploymentoflibrarians,whoareoftenperceivedtobesupportstafftotheclassroomteachers(Santos,2011).

Althoughtechnologicaladvancementshavechangedthelandscapeofpublicschoolsandschoollibraries,librariansstillplayamajorroleinboththedigitalandnon-digitalcapacities.Throughcollectionandmaintenanceofmiscellaneousdigitalandprintedmaterialsandliteratureofvariousgenres,librariansexposestudentstoadiversearrayofperspectivesinavarietyoftopicsacrossmultipledisciplines.Theyinstillinstudentsthevaluesofbuildingonpriorknowledgewhilealsohelpingthemtoconstructnewknowledge(AASL,2010).

Accordingtotheideaofguidedinquiry,sometimesathirdmember,suchasateacherspecializinginmusic,reading,orart,contributestooptimalstudentlearning(Kuhlthau,2010).Thethree-membercoreteamcomposedofaclassroomteacher,schoollibrarian,andteacherspecialistprovideasynergeticapproachtovariousareasoflearning.Whenstudentslearnaboutinformationliteracy,socialskills,curriculumcontent,literacycompetence,andeventheprocessesoflearningthroughthecollectiveeffortoftheseeducators,theyabsorbknowledgethroughamuchmoreenrichinglearningexperience(Kuhlthau,2010).Schoollibrariansarecoremembersoftheseteams.Whiletheymayleadparticularlyinareasoftechnologyintegration,librarianscanalsocontributesignificantlytotheadvancementofstudenteducationalachievementinnon-technologicalcapacities.

Schoollibrariansalsohavetheresponsibilitytofullyunderstandthecopyrightandlicensingpoliciesthatprotectintellectualpropertyinthelibrary(AASL,2010).Theymustrelaytheirknowledgeoffairusetostudentssothatthey,too,canproperlymanagetheiruseofbothelectronicandnon-digitalsources.Alongwithoverseeinglibraryresourceuseandmanagement,insomecases,librarianscanalsosupervisepersonnelandfacilitiesforthedevelopmentandimplementationoflibraryprograms(AASL,2010).Theseandotherresponsibilitieshelpschoollibrariansexerciseeffectivemanagementprinciplesforstudents’bestinterests.

Summary of the Role and Impact of the School Librarian

Inavarietyofdifferentcapacities,schoollibrarianspositivelyimpactstudents,teachers,andentirelearningcommunities.Amongotherthings,havingasupportiveprincipalenablesthelibrariantosucceedintheirroles.Havinganinsufficientamountoftimetoimplementeffectivelibraryprogrammingisoftenconsideredtobetheleadingbarriertosuccess.Theadoptionofe-books,


databases,tabletapplications,andotherinnovativeclassroomtechnologieshavecreatednewrolesforlibrarianstofulfill.However,withsufficientresources,librarianscansucceedinbothtechnologyintegrationandinpracticingmoretraditionallibrarianroles.Schoolsthatchoosetocutfundingfromlibraries,whetherbychoiceorduetotightfinancialconstraints,unfortunatelydismissmanyoftheopportunitiesforstudentacademicgrowth.Theroleoftheschoollibrarianisoftheutmostimportance,anditshouldnotbeoverlooked.

School and Public Library Partnerships

Thecurrenteconomicclimate,andcorrespondingbudgetshortfalls,threatenscollections,staff,andprogramminginalllibraries.Increasingthecollaborationbetweenschoolandpubliclibrariescanleadtoenhancedstudentandcommunitylearningoutcomes.Despiteservingsimilarpopulations,historically,publicandschoollibrarieshaveoperatedasseparateentities.Someofthetrendsstillremaintruetoday.A2012surveyof559publiclibrariansconductedbytheSchoolLibraryJournalfoundthatonly30percentofrespondentscollaboratedwith“localschoolstocoordinatebookpurchasestosupportthecurriculum”andonly9percent“workeddirectlywithschoollibrariansandteachers”onhomeworkassignments(GirmscheidandMiller,2012).Emphasisoncollaborationexemplifiestheevolutionofschoolcurriculumreformandlibrarianship.Inaninformation-richsociety,improvedcollaborationwillgreatlyenhancethequalityofeducationandservicesofferedtothecommunityat-large.

Developing Partnerships

Collaborativerelationshipsdonotdevelopovernight.Thedevelopmentofsustainablepartnershipsreliesonthecapabilitiesoflibrariestoserveascentersforintergenerationallearningforfamiliesresidinginlocalandneighboringcommunities.Initiatingcontactcanbeassimpleasaschoollibrarianstoppingintoapubliclibraryandformallymeetingthestafftherebeforeadministrativelyseekingaformalpartnership.AsillustratedinNatalieZiarnik’sbookSchoolandPublicLibraries:DevelopingaNaturalAlliance,thesectiontofollowlaysoutfoundationalguidelinesthatcanassistinlaunchingaproductiveandcollaborativepartnership.Ziarnik’sworkidentifiesthreekeyprinciplesthatschoollibrarianscanutilizetobridgethepublic-andschool-librarydivide:


Table2:ThreeKeyPrinciplestoBridgingthePublic-andSchool-LibraryDivide

ArrangingaVisit SustainingtheConnection ContinuingContact

Createalistofpotentialattendees/collaborators.

Findatimethatisconvenientforbothschoolandpubliclibrarians.

Distributepacketsofinformationregardingyourlibraryorschool.

Duringthevisit,offeraninformaltourofyourfacility.

Becomeacquaintedwitheachcolleague’sschedule.

Considerwhichpartsofthecollaborativeeffortwillmakeefficientuseofresourcesandexpertise.

Bepracticalandmaintainlevelexpectations.Collaborativeeffortsshouldfitwithinthemissionsofinvolvedinstitutions.

Establishamonthlynewsletterofrelevantresourcesandongoinginstitutionalevents.

Maintainregularinteractiontoensurebetterserviceforstudents.

Establishsummerreadingprogramstokeeptheschoolandpubliclibraryconnectedthroughoutthesummer.

Source:Ziarnik, N. (2003). School and Public Libraries: Developing the Natural Alliance. American Library Associations. Chicago, IL

Successfulcommunicativeoutreacheffortsassistinestablishingproductiverelationships.Takinganinformalapproach,schoollibrariansshoulddiscusstheanticipatedbenefitsofestablishedpartnershipswithadministrationbeforecontactingpotentialcollaborators.Additionally,identifyingapointofcontact,understandingthetargetpopulation,andoutliningpotentialcollaborativeareasshouldbeexploredpriortothisengagement.Recognizingthepopulationtheseinstitutionsserveandtheservicestheyofferhelpsintheconstructionofaformalrelationship.Initiatingcontactcantakeplacethroughanumberofdifferentavenues(email,telephone,physicalvisits)dependingonthepubliclibrarian’savailability.Emailsdetailingcurrentendeavors,upcomingevents,andotherinitiativesestablishaformalcommunicationtrail.Informationgleanedfromreceivednotificationsmaysparkfutureinterestincollaborativeopportunities.Fromthepubliclibrary’sperspective,internalconsultationamongstaffregardingservicescurrentlyprovidedtolocalschoolscanclarifyareaswhereadditionalsupporteffortscanbedirected.

Managing Partnerships

Publicandschoollibrarypartnershipsplayanintegralroleinaddressingtheneedsofallstudentlearners.Whilepreliminaryoutreachmeasureswereidentifiedintheprevioussection,smallinitialcollaborativepartnershipscanhelpin“establishingabasiccooperativerelationshipbetweenschoolandpubliclibraries”(Squires,2009).Takingonsubstantialprojectsintheearlystagesofthepartnershipcanleadtodisastrousresults,butestablishinganon-goingandconsistentdialoguebetweenlibrariescanaccomplishnoteworthyprojectswithminimaleffort.Thisshared-approachtoeducationbetweenschoolandpubliclibrariesreallocatesresourcestocomplementstudents’curriculumandliteracyneeds.


Thedevelopmentofsustainablecollaborativeeffortsisdependentonthepromotionofavailablelibraryresources.Publicandschoollibrariesshouldperiodicallyshareinformationregardingupcomingevents,programs,andservicesinanefforttoidentifyareaswherecollaborationcanbebeneficial.Throughthepostingofinformativeflyersinlocalschools,advertisementofmonthlyevents,ordevelopmentofaninternalnewsletter,studentsandfamiliescanbeprovidedtheopportunitytolearnmoreaboutdailylibraryhappenings.Althoughtheoverallsuccessofeventscanbehardtopredict,schoollibrariescanincentivizeparticipationinjoint-venturesbyofferingextracreditforaparticularassignment.

Coordinatingschoolcurriculumwithlibraryprogramscanprovideadditionalsupportforstudentsthroughtheutilizationofavailableresources.AsnotedbyLindaWunderlin,mediaspecialistatNewHavenMiddleSchoolinIndiana:

Whenwehaveaprojecttopicgoingon,Isendanemailtomycontactatthelocalpubliclibrary.Sheputstogetheracollection,sothatwhenthekidscomelooking,theyaredirectedtothealreadypulledcollection.(Squires,2009)

Providingthepubliclibrarywithadequatetimetoalign,plan,andpromoteeventstothelargercommunityisvitalinthesuccessofcollaborativeinitiatives.Similarly,establishingahomeworkclubwithinthelocallibrarycanprovideanencouragingspaceforlearning.ExamplessuchastheTallTreeInitiativeinWestchesterCounty,N.Y.,wherestudentsreceivedhomeworkassistancefromteachersemployedpart-timebythelibrary,enrichestheeducationallearningenvironmentforchildren(Rosenberg,1998).Areasfacingbudgetconstraintscanactivelyrecruitcommunityvolunteersandsupporttocarryoutsimilarefforts.

Resource Sharing

Librariansmaintainasignificantroleinsuccessfulresourcesharingbetweenpublicandschoollibraries.Resourcesharing,asdescribedbyAllenKent,entails:

Amodeofoperationwherebylibraryfunctionsaresharedincommonbyanumberoflibraries.Thegoalsaretoprovideapositiveneteffect:(a)onthelibraryuserintermsofaccesstomorematerialsorservices,and/or(b)onthelibrarybudgetintermsofcost,ormuchmoreservicesatlesscostthanifundertakenindividually.(Kent,1978)

Morerecently,theavailabilityofdatainthe“InformationRevolution”hasforcedlibrariestoundertakeinnovativestrategiesaimedatincreasingtheaccessstudentshavetoavarietyofdatabasesandonlineresources.Establishedthroughaconsortiumofnetworks,resourcesharingcentralizesthelocationandavailabilityofliteraturematerialsbyreducingcommunicationgapsbetweenlibrariesandcostsbyincreasingpurchasingpower.Resourcesharingservices,whichincludetheInterlibraryLoan(ILL),bookexchanges,andonlineshared-catalog,allowforthephysicalandvirtualsharingofrequestedmaterials.

Continuouslydevelopingwaystobetterservetheiraudience,suchinitiativesprovidean“Easywaytoexpandtheresourcesoftheschoollibrarymediacenterwithlittleeffort,andincreasecirculationofthepubliclibrary’scollection”(Fitzgibbons,2000).Moreover,technologicaladvancementshave


expandedlibrarynetworksbeyondthewallsthatpreviouslyconfinedthem.Ruralareas,withlimitedaccesstopubliclibrarybranches,arenowabletoutilizeonlinedatabases,catalogues,ande-collectionsthroughthevirtuallinkageofpublicandcollegiatelibraryinstitutions.Librariesnowpossessaccesstomoreresourcesthanpreviouslyavailable,whileminimizingtheinformationcostassociatedwithdeliveryoflibraryservicesinpreparationofforecastedbudgetconstraints.

Collaboration in Practice: Denver Public Library and the Denver Public Schools

Collaborationassistsinbothhelpingexpandthetypesofprogramslibrariesprovideandmodernizingtheiravailablecollections.Collaborativeeffortstoenhancethedistrict-wideeducationalgoalsbetweentheDenverPublicLibrary(DPL)andtheDenverPublicSchools(DPS)officiallybeganwiththeattainmentofa$262,306LibraryServicesandTechnologyAct(LSTA)grantin2007(ColoradoStateLibrary,2007).Duringatwo-yearperiod,schoollibrarians,mediaspecialists,andteachers“formedprofessionallearningcommunities”tobetterinformandsharetheirinsightregardinghowtobetterservetheneedsoftheirstudents(ColoradoStateLibrary,2007).Recognizingthat34percentofDenver’sK–12studentsareEnglishlanguagelearners,schoollibrariespartneredwithlocalnonprofitstoensurethatyoungchildrencouldhaveaccesstoanumberofculturallyrelevantexperiencesbyprovidingfreeadmissiontovenuessuchastheDenverBotanicalGardensandtheColoradoBallet(Murvosh,2013).Inaddition,thiscollaborationledtothecreationoftheMyDenverCard,incooperationwithUnitedHealthcare,whichservesasbothalibrarycardandrecreationpasstoanumberofongoingeventsyear-round(CityandCountyofDenver,2015).Despitethegrantsconclusionin2009,thecityhascontinuedtosupportsimilarinitiatives.

Limitless Libraries: The Nashville Public Library and Metro Nashville Public Schools

Lookingforwaystobetterleveragethecity’sresources,NashvilleMayorKarlDeanrecommendedaformalpartnershipbetweentheNashvillePublicLibrary(NPL)andMetroNashvillePublicSchools(MNPS)calledLimitlessLibraries.Thecollaborativeprogram,establishedin2009,has“helpedmodernizeandexpandschoolcollectionsbyweedingoutoutdatedbooksandbyusingthecity’spurchasingpowertoefficientlyacquirenewmaterial”(Bengel,2013).Today,LimitlessLibrariesserves81,000publicstudentsthroughoutall128MNPSschools.NPLandMNPSworktogetherincoordinatingbookpurchases,assessingcurrentcollections,andalleviatingthedigitaldivide,inanareawhere90percentofthedistrict’sstudentsareeligibleforfreeandreducedpricelunch.

AreportcommissionedbytheStateofTennesseetoanalyzehowstudentsuseandbenefitfromLimitlessLibrariesproducedthefollowingfindings(Lance,Rodney,andSchwarz,2013):

• SincetheimplementationofLimitlessLibraries,circulationattheschoolshasincreased79percent.

• Today,thereare28,007RegisteredLimitlessLibrariesUsers,ofwhich,nearly43percentofthosestudentshadneverhadalibrarycardbefore.


• Usersweremorelikelythannon-userstobesuccessfulinmeetingthestate’stestedacademicstandards.

Theprogramalsoledtonearly$271,000inestimatedsavingsduetodiscountsnegotiatedwithvendors(UrbanLibrariesCouncil,2016).Suchfindingsconfirmtheimportanceofcollaborativeinitiativesinbothexpandingaccessandincreasingtheutilizationoflibraryresources.ThesuccessofLimitlessLibraryparticipantsinmeetingthestateacademicstandardsbyincreasingthenumberofqualityitemsperstudentsignifiestheusefulnessofdynamicpartnerships(Bengel,2014).

Summary of Developing and Managing Partnerships

Thissectionoutlinedthetoolsneededtocreate,develop,andmaintainpartnershipsbetweenschoolandpubliclibraries.Collaborationcanonlyoccurwhenbothpartiesseethevalueinworkingtogethertoachieveacommongoal.Craftingtimelinestocarryoutsuchinitiativeswillassistin achievingdesiredoutcomes.Recognizingthepotentialchallengesinincreasingcooperativeefforts,aninternaldiscussionwithschooladministrationandleadershipshouldbeconductedpriortoformallyengagingwithpotentialcollaborators.Schoolandpubliclibrariesmustrealizethattheyarenotcompetitors,butrather,membersofthesameteam.Establishingamutuallybeneficialpartnershipcansignificantlyimprovetheeffectivenesswithwhichstudentsareserved—leadingtoimprovedlearningoutcomes(Ziarnik,2003).

Conclusion

Inclosing,theresearchprovidedconveysacompellingargumentofthepositiveimpactthatqualityschoollibrariesandcertifiedlibrarianscanhaveonstudentlearningoutcomes.Thisliteraturereviewincludesacomprehensiveexaminationofthecharacteristicsofqualityschoollibrariesandhowtheyimpactstudentperformance;theroleoftheschoollibrarian;librarytechnology;andthedevelopmentofpartnershipsbetweenschoolandpubliclibraries.Astheresearchhasshown,improvedlearningoutcomesfromstudentscanonlyberealizedifadequatesupportisprovidedtoschoollibraries.Providingthissupportgivesstudentsaccesstoaninfiniteamountofinformation,alongwiththeguidanceandencouragementoftrainedschoollibrarians.


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Marcum,E.(2012,November).TheCognitiveDisadvantagesofE-Books.AALLSpectrum,pp.26-27.

McGill-Franzen,A.,&Allington,R.(2001).LostSummers:ForSomeChildren,FewBooksandFewOpportunitiestoRead.TheCenterforSummerLearningatJohnsHopkinsUniversity.Baltimore,MD

Michaelson,E.(2014,April10).StellarDatabases:SLJReaders’FavoritesandOtherEssentialElectronicResources.RetrievedOct2015,fromTheDigitalShift:http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2014/04/metadata/stellar-databases-slj-readers-favorites-essential-electronic-resources/

Miller,L.(2015,December).OfficeoftheViceProvost,UniversityofDelaware.(A.Keleher,Interviewer)

Murvosh,M.(2013).PartnersinSuccess:Whenschoolandpubliclibrariansjoinforces,kidswin.SchoolLibraryJournal.NewYork,NY

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Appendix B: Delaware School Library Study Survey

Delaware School Library Study Survey 2015

Pleaseselectyourschooldistrict.Value Percent Count

Appoquinimink 10.0% 7

Brandywine 10.0% 7

CaesarRodney 4.3% 3

CapeHenlopen 2.9% 2

Capital 5.7% 4

Christina 8.6% 6

Colonial 4.3% 3

Delmar 1.4% 1

IndianRiver 5.7% 4

LakeForest 2.9% 2

Laurel 2.9% 2

Milford 4.3% 3

NCCVotech 4.3% 3

POLYTECH 1.4% 1

RedClay 12.9% 9

Seaford 2.9% 2

Smyrna 2.9% 2

SussexTech 1.4% 1

Woodbridge 2.9% 2

CharterSchools 8.6% 6

Total 70

Ifyouselected"CharterSchool"or"Other,”pleasespecify.Response Count

AcademyofDoverCharter 1

CampusCommunityCharterSchool 1

CharterSchool 1

MOTCharter 1

OdysseyCharterSchool 1

SussexAcademy 1

Total 6


Pleaseindicatethelibrary/schoollibrarymediacenterinwhichyouwork.Response Count

AlexisI.duPontHighSchool 1

AlfredG.WatersMiddle 1

AppoquiniminkHighSchool 1

BayardMiddleSchool 1

BrandywineHighSchool 1

BrickMillElementary 1

BunkerHillElementary 1

CabCallowaySchooloftheArts 1

ConradSchoolsofScience 1

DelcastleVocational-TechnicalHighSchool 2

DelmarMiddleandSeniorHighSchools 1

Donot-amtheheadofschool-donothaveLibrary/Informationbutgettingreadytohire

1

FairviewElementary 1

FirstStateMontessoriAcademyCharterSchool 1

GeorgetownElementary 1

GeorgetownMiddleSchool 1

GunningBedfordMiddleSchool 1

H.B.duPontMiddleSchool 2

HanbyElementary 1

HeritageElementary 1

IndianRiverHighSchool 1

JohnBassettMoore 1

JonesElementarySchool 1

KathleenH.WilburElementary 1

LakeForestHighSchool 1

LancashireElementary 1

LewisElementary 1

LombardyElementarySchoolLibrary 1

LordBaltimoreElementary 1

MOTCharter 1

MayB.LeasureElementarySchool 1

MilfordCentralAcademy 2

MiltonElementary 1

MispillionElementary 1


Response Count

MountPleasantHighSchool 1

NellieStokesElementarySchool 1

NewarkHighSchool 1

NorthDoverElementarySchool 1

NorthLaurelElementary 2

OdysseyCharterSchool 1

OldStateElementary 1

PolytechHighSchool 1

PostlethwaitMiddleSchool 1

RichardsonParkElementary 1

RobertS.GallaherElementarySchool 1

SeafordMiddleSchool 1

SilverLakeElementary 2

SmyrnaMiddleSchool 1

SpringerMiddleSchool 1

StGeorgesTechnicalHighSchool 1

TalleyMiddleSchool 1

WBSimpson 1

WestSeafordElementarySchool 1

WTChipmanMiddleSchool 1

WelchElementary 1

WilliamHenryMiddleSchool 1

WilliamPennHighSchool 1

WoodbridgeHighSchool 2

BrandywineSpringsElementarySchool 1

DownesElementarySchool 1

Shue-MedillMiddleSchool 1

Total 67

Pleaseenterthename(s)ofanyadditionalschoolsinwhichyouworkinalibrarycapacity.Response Count

ClaytonIntermediateSchool 1

DunbarElementary 1

TheCharterSchoolofWilmington(housedinthesamebuildingasCabCalloway)

1

Total 3


Pleaseindicatethegradelevelsservedbythelibrary/mediacenterinwhichyouwork.Response Count

Pre-Kindergarten–5 1

Kindergarten–4 2

Kindergarten–5 15

Kindergarten–6 1

Kindergarten–8 4

1–5 9

2–4 2

5–6 2

5–8 1

5–12 1

6–8 13

6–12 3

7–8 1

9–12 13

9–12&LifeSkills 1

Total 69

Pleaseindicatethegradelevelsservedbythelibraries/mediacentersintheadditionalschoolorschoolsinwhichyouworkinalibrarycapacity.Response Count

5–6 1

9–12 2

K–1 2

Total 5


Pleaseindicateyourjobtitle.Response Count

CTETeacher,MediaSpecialist 1

ElementarySchoolLibrarian 1

HeadofSchool 3

Librarian 22

Librarian(Secondary) 1

Librarian/MediaSpecialist 1

Librarian/TechnologyEducator 1

Librarian/TechnologyTeacherandGiftedandTalentedTeacher

1

LibraryManager 1

LibraryMediaSpecialist 18

LibraryMediaSpecialist/SpecialEdTeacher 1

LibraryMediaSpecialist/TechnologyTeacher 1

Library/InformationSpecialist 1

Para-Professional 1

Para-Librarian 3

SchoolLibrarian 6

SchoolLibrarian/ContentChairofLibrary/MediaChristinaSchoolDistrict

1

SchoolLibraryMediaSpecialist 2

SecondaryLibrarian 1

Technology/LibraryTeacher 1

Total 68

Pleaseindicateyoureducationalbackgroundbycheckingalllevelsofeducationyouhavecompleted. Value Percent Count

AssociateDegree 4.4% 3

Bachelor'sDegree 50.0% 34

Master'sDegree 88.2% 60

Doctorate 5.9% 4

Othergraduatelevelstudy 30.9% 21

Total 68


AreyouacertifiedschoollibrarianintheStateofDelaware?

Value Percent Count

Yes 82.6% 57

No 13.0% 9

Other 4.4% 3

Total 69

Ifyouanswered"Other"above,pleasespecifyinthetextboxprovidedbelow.Response Count

CurrentlypursuingdegreeinLMS 1

IhavecompletedmycourseworkandthetranscriptandothermaterialsarebeingsubmittedtoDOEandDistrict

1

CertifiedinNJ;DEcertexpiredin2014.Iretiredin2012anddidn'tthinkIwouldbeneedingcertificationrenewal.

1

Total 3

Yes82.6%

No13%

Other4.4%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%


Howlonghaveyoubeenworkingatthislibrary/mediacenter?

Value Percent Count

Lessthan1year 10.6% 7

1–3years 25.8% 17

4–6years 21.2% 14

7–10years 21.2% 14

Morethan10years 21.2% 14

Total 66

Doyouhaveotherinstructionaland/orstaffingresponsibilitiesbeyondthosedirectlyassociatedwithyourjobdutiesinthelibrary/mediacenter?

Value Percent Count

Yes 60.9% 39

No 39.1% 25

Total 64

Lessthan1year10.6%

1–3years25.8%

4–6years21.2%

7–10years21.2%

Morethan10years21.2%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Yes60.9%

No39.1%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%


If"Yes,"pleasespecifyotherduties/responsibilities.Response CountCoverstudentsinRTIgroupsandforteachersmeetinginPLCgroups. 1

Full-timeCTEteacher.LibraryresponsibilitiesarehandledmostlyasEPER. 1

HomeworkClub,LunchDuty,DismissalDuty 1

Iamassignedfour90-minuteIndependentStudyclasseseveryday. 1

Iamresponsibleforfour90-minuteindependentstudyclasses. 1

Iteachskillsto10thgraders 1

Lobbyduty,lunchduty,plccoverage,classroomcoverage,substitute 1

Lunchduty,busduty 1

Morningannouncements,recessduty,materialsmanagement 1

Morningbusdutiesandwalkkidstotheirparentsatpickup. 1

PLCcoverage.AMCarrider/walkerdutyPM 1

SchoolTestCoordinator 1

SpecialEducationteacher 1

Startingnextschoolyear2015-2016,firstperiodeverydayteachresearchskillsclass. 1

StateTestingAdministrator 1

Wehavenolibrarymediacenter 1

Willbeteachingsomeclasses 1

Yearbook,DataPLC's 1

Actassubstitutewhenschoolcan’tfillallpositions. 1

Testadministrator 1

Co-TechnologyCoordinator,PBSCommittee,lunchdutyhallwayduty,busduty,studentmentor,technologytrainer

1

CoveringPLCtimesforteacherswithouthavingaccesstothosemeetings.Sevenlunchdutiesatoneschoolandoneattheother.Busduty,breakfastdutytwiceatoneschool.

1

Iamthebuildingtechnologistformyschool,Iamthedistrictcontentchairoflibrary/mediafortheDistrictandIdoafternoonpickupdutyeverydayforourstudents.

1

Teachlibraryscienceclassesdaily,cafeteriadutydaily,morningandafternoonduties,scheduleandmaintainfourlaptopcartsandthreeiPadcarts,schedulethreecomputerlabs,teachthreeRTIreadingclassesperweek,teachtwo"activityperiods"perweek.NextyearIamscheduledwithafullteachingload(6classesperday)inadditiontotheresponsibilitieslistedabove.

1

Iteachfive6thgradelibrary/researchclasseseachday.WeareonanA/Bschedule,givingmeatotalof10gradedclasses.

1

CafeteriaDutyduringopenblockeachweekBusDutyeverydayatwhicheverschoolIamassigned.YearBookPBSTeamWellnessTeam

1

IsubstituteforthefrontofficesecretarywhensheisoutandIhavebeenaskedtocover/subinclassrooms

1

CoverageforProfessionalLearningCommunities6classperiodsforweekthatareadditionaltotheregularlyscheduledlibraryvisitsforeachclassineachgrade(30classes)

1


Response CountScorekeeper&FieldJudgeforBasketballandTrack/FieldEvents,TeachEconomicsinAdultEdDept.,XSch.Dist.-9thyearAlso,DECertifiedin:SocialStudies(6-12)-HighlyQualified(PRAXISII-rankedtop15%inU.S.)English(6-12)-HighlyQualifiedLibrarian/MediaSpecialist-(K–12)-HighlyQualified

1

Eachyearmyadditionaldutiesvarydependingupontheneedsoftheschool.ThisyearIwasscheduledtocoveraclassfor90minutesofPLCtimeonceperweek.

1

ImakesurethatthestudentscompletetheirCareerCruisingStudentSuccessplan.Ischeduleallthecomputerlabs.

1

Wecurrentlyhaveavolunteerlibrarianasthefundsarenotavailabletohireafulltimelibrary/mediaspecialistthisyear.

1

Coverageforteachersformeetings,beforeandafterschoolduties,webpagemaintenance,LeadershipTeam,DistrictTechnologyandInnovationTeam

1

Teacherofgiftedpull-outprogram(grades3-4,3hoursperweek)Screeningforgiftedprogram(primarily2ndgrade,duringlibraryinstructionaltime)Teacheroftechnologyclasses(gradesK–4,9classesor13.75hoursperweek)Breakfastdutyeachmorning

1

Iamalsothegiftedandtalentedteacheraswellasthetechnologyteacher.Otherdutiesincludehallwayduty,breakfastduty,morninggymduty

1

AdministerAcceleratedReaderprogrambymonitoringstudentgoalsandgrowthandprovideincentivesforthosewhomeetgoals.MorningandAfternoonAnnouncements.Arrivaldutydaily,lunchdutyweekly.School-widereadingchallengeswithrewardstoencourageliteracy.GuysReadinitiativetoincreasemalereading.Providereadingandmathinterventiontogrades2and5.Hostauthorvisits

1

Ialsomanagetechnologyinstructionandinventory,whichsomewouldargueispartofbeingaschoollibrarian.

1

Supervisingkeyboardingclasses,turningoncomputerinlabsnotattachedtothelibrary,coveringteachers'classesdailysotheycanattendgradelevelmeetings

1

CollegeandCareer-setupallcollegevisitstoschool,inchargeofthewebsiteandfordisseminatinginformationaboutcollegevisits,summerprograms,andscholarships.TestCoordinatorforthebuilding,inchargeofsettingupalltestingschedules,security,teachertrainings,andmakingsureallstudentscompletetherequiredtests.ThetestsincludeSTARELA&Math,SmarterELAandMath,DCASScience,EOCUSHistory,andAltDCAS.DistrictadministratorforFollettDestinyLibrarySystemBuildingadministratorforiSafeInternetSafetyProgram

1

Teachingremedialreadingandfornextyearalsoteachingmultiplelevelsofcreativewriting.thischangehappenedthisyear(gettingacoupleclasses)andnextyearmyschedulewillbesplitevenmorewithhalflibrary/halfELA.

1

Maintaining/deliveringlaptopcartsLunchdutydailyMorningandafternoonhalldutyClothesclosetdutySchedulingschoolcomputerlabs(3)andlaptopcarts(3)5"ActivityBlocks"perweek-3RTIblocks

1

Total 41


Withhowmanyschoolfacultydoyouworkdirectlyinanaverageday?Response Count

0 2

1 4

2 3

3 1

4 1

5 16

6 3

8 3

10 8

12 3

15 3

20 5

25 1

30 1

40 4

50 3

120 1

Total 62 Librarian/Faculty Interaction

MeanNumberofDailyInteractionswithOtherFaculty 14.33perdayMedianNumberofDailyInteractionswithOtherFaculty 8.00perday

Inwhatcapacityorcapacitiesdoyoutypicallyworkwithfaculty?(Pleasecheckallthatapply.) Value Percent Count

Identifyingexistingresources(alreadyowned/licensed)thatsupportthecurriculum 89.4% 59

Identifyingnewresources(notalreadyowned/licensed)thatsupportthecurriculum 68.2% 45Helpingfacultyimprovetheirsearching/researchskills 51.5% 34Planningotherservices/initiativesthatenhancestudentlearning 78.8% 52Other(Pleasespecify.) 37.9% 25

Total 66


Ifyouanswered"other"above,pleasespecifyinthetextboxprovidedbelow.Response Count

Assistingotherteacherswithstudents 1

Assistingwithtechnology,testing,planning,software,etc. 1

Co-teaching;Helpwithtechnologyissues,textbookissues,aplethoraofotherquestions 1

Collaborativeresearchprojects,bookclubs 1

Handleallthetechnology,laminating. 1

Helpfacultycompleteprofessionaldevelopmentassignedbythedistrict. 1

IcoverTeacherprepperiodswithafixedschedule 1

Idon'tworkwithotherfacultymembers 1

LifeSkillsclassweekly. 1

Planningandimplementingcurriculumsuchasresearchprojectsandliteraturecircles. 1

PlanninginstructionalunitsalignedtotheCCSS 1

Teachinformationliteracyskillsandcriticalinquiry 1

TeamTeachingintheclassroom. 1

Technologysupport 1

Troubleshootingtechnologyissues.Supportingintegrationoftechnologyandinstruction. 1

Planninginstructionalactivitiesforstaff. 1

Schedulinglabs/cartstechnologytroubleshootingco-teaching 1

Checkingbooksinandoutfortheirclasses,gatheringbooksonsubjectstheyareworkingon,goingtothepubliclibrary(closeby)topickupandreturnbooksIhavegottenforthemfromthatlibrary

1

AsTestingCoordinatorsinceSpringbreakIdealwithaminimumof25facultyadayfortestingissues.IntheFallwithcollegevisits,usually18aday.

1

Icoverclassroomteachers'planningperiods.Iamoneofthe5"specialclasses"inourelementaryschools.

1

CollaboratingonlessonstoensuremeaningfulnessandrelevancytostudentsAdministeringSTAR/ARpasswords,reports,etc.RegisteringfacultyforEbooksubscription

1

Icollaboratewithteachersandco-teachwiththemonlessons.Ialsoteachalotoftechnologytobothstudentsandteachers.

1

Helpingwithprintersandtechtheycan'tfigureouthelpingwithtestingortestadministration 1

Iworkwiththeteacherandstudentswhocomeintothelibraryonadailybasis.Theteachervariesfromdaytoday.

1

HallMonitors,CommunityMentors,ADMStaff.Deliveringbookcartservices.CoachingStaff,Custodians

1


Response Count

Iamtheonetheycalloniftheirclassroomcomputersarenotworking,ItakecareofSmartBoardproblems,Iamabuildinghugger(studentsatriskearnbonustimewithmeiftheyhavehadagoodday),Ihelppreparestudentlaptopsforstatetestingandrepairlaptops,Imaintainthebuildinghumorwall,fixthelaminatorwhenitjams,andIamabuildingmentorforfirstyearteachersiftheyhavequestionsorproblems.

1

Total 26

Withhowmanystudentsdoyouworkdirectlyinanaverageday?Response Count

30 1

40 1

50 3

60 1

65 2

70 3

75 1

90 1

95 1

100 13

105 1

120 1

125 4

130 1

140 1

150 8

165 1

180 1

190 1

200 7

205 1

250 3

300 2

350 1

1000 1

Total 61


Librarian/Student Interaction

MeanNumberofDailyInteractionswithStudents 151perdayMedianNumberofDailyInteractionswithStudents 125perday

Inwhatcapacityorcapacitiesdoyoutypicallyworkwithstudents?(Pleasecheckallthatapply.)Value Percent Count

Assistingstudentsinusingonlineresources 84.9% 56

Assistingstudentsinusingprintmaterials 80.3% 53

Teachinginformationliteracyskills 75.8% 50

Teachingbasiclibraryand/orresearchskills 83.3% 55

Checkingphysicalmaterialsinandout 95.5% 63

Other(Pleasespecify.) 33.3% 22

Total 66


Assiststudentsinfindingappropriatebookstoreadforpleasure 1

AssistingthemwithproblemswithPowerPoint,Word,Prezi,GoogleDocs,andprinting. 1

Bibliotherapist,makerspaceoverseer,therapist/friend,etc. 1

Encouragingaloveoflearningandliterature 1

Helpwithwordprocessingandprinting 1

Helpingwithstudentpublishing/printing;photographyforschoolneeds;yearbookinterviews

1

Ihelpstudentinawidevarietyofways.Iteachalotoftechnologyskills. 1

PAWSandbookclub(literacy)andprinting/proofreading 1

Reader'sAdvisorySupervisingstudentlibraryaides 1

Teachingaclass. 1

Technologyandtypingskills. 1

Assistingstudentwithresearchskills 1

Completingprojects,printing.joborcareersearches,collegeprep.personalneeds. 1

Coverageofregularclassrooms 1

Lunchgroupinmyroom,RTI, 1

Researchprojectsthataredesignedinconjunctiontothecurriculum 1

TeachingreadingRTIoractivityperiodslunchgroups 1

Teachingtechnologyskills-usingWordandExcel,howtosetupemail,savingandfindingdocuments,editingpapers,listeningtostudentsinacounselingcapacity,collegeandcareerguidance

1


Response Count

AssistHallMonitorduringClassTransitions&Arrival/DismissalEPERwithBasketball&Track/FieldEventsOccasionallyCoveraClassforShortTime

1

Technologyissues,publishingofwork,Reader'sAdvisory,answeringquestionspertainingtoEVERYTHING

1

Ihaveanopenlibraryprograminthemorningbeforeclassesstart,Iseestudentsduringafterschoolpickuptime,andIhelpoutwithstudentsathighriskinmybuilding.Ialsoteachalockedscheduleof6eachday.

1

Teachingstudentstousetechnology;Assistingstudentsinusingtechnology;AssistingstudentsinEnglishLanguageartsskills;Assistingstudentsinre-shelvingbooks;

1

Ispendtimewithstudentsdoingspecialprojects.IalsohaveaschoolgardenthatIorganizedandcareforwithstudents.Ispendmentoringtimewithstudentsandeatlunchwithstudentsatleast2-3timesaweek.Iorganizedanopportunityforthe4thand5thgraderstoreadtokindergartenstudents.Iranaread-a-thonandraisedmoneyforHeiferInternational.IgiveawayRIFbooks3timesayear.IorganizedamonthworthofactivitiesforILove-to-ReadMonthincludingspecialguestauthorstotalktothestudentsaboutthewriting,publishingandillustratingaspectsofwritingbooks.IhadtheNewCastleCountyLibraryintalkingtoparentsandstudentsabouttheSummerReadingprogramandgivingthemLibraryCardApplications.Iorganizedandhelp80familiesinneedatChristmas.

1

Assistingwithbookselection,helpingthemwiththeirperformanceandchoicesfortheirreadingprogramcomponentoftheirELAgrade.

1

Total 24

Howmanycertifiedlibrarymediaspecialistsareemployedinthelibrary/mediacenterinwhichyouwork?Response Count

0 11

1 54

2 1

Total 66

Whatisthetotalnumberofhoursperweek(duringtheschoolyear)workedbycertifiedlibrary/mediaspecialistsinthelibrary/mediacenterinwhichyouwork?Response Count

0 8

7.5 3

20 1

22 1

32 1


Response Count

35 8

37 2

37.5 12

40 24

42 1

43 1

45 1

45-55 1

50 1

Total 65

Howmanyotherpaidstaffmembersareemployedinthelibrary/mediacenterinwhichyouwork?Response Count

0 58

.5 1

1 8

3 1

Total 68

Whatisthetotalnumberofhoursperweek(duringtheschoolyear)workedbyotherstaffmembersinthelibrary/mediacenterinwhichyouwork?Response Count

0 47

2 1

20 1

30 2

35 1

36 1

37.5 2

40 2

60 1

Total 58


Approximatelyhowmanyphysicalitems(booksandmedia/non-print)areinthecollectionofthelibrary/mediacenterinwhichyouwork?Response Count

1,500 1

2,000 3

4,000 1

5,400 1

6,000 1

6,500 1

6,700 1

8,000 2

8,150 1

8,500 1

9,000 1

9,600 1

9,800 1

9,874 1

10,000 5

10,100 1

10,734 1

11,000 3

11,641 1

12,000 3

12,267 1

12,400 1

12,500 2

13,000 5

14,000 3

14,500 1

14,537 1

15,000 5

16,000 3

16,500 1

16,503 1

17,000 2


Response Count

20,000 3

20,716 1

21,000 1

25,000 1

29,000 1

40,000 1

45,000 1

Total 66 Collection Size

MeanCollectionSize 13,256MedianCollectionSize 12,450

Approximatelyhowmanynewitemswereaddedtothecollectionofthelibrary/mediacenterinwhichyouworkduringthepastacademicyear?Response Count

0 2

25 1

50 1

60 1

75 1

80 1

100 7

110 1

150 2

180 1

200 5

207 1

225 1

250 4

300 6

350 1

400 4

420 1


Response Count

450 1

500 10

525 1

600 2

700 2

800 1

1,000 2

1,182 1

1,200 2

1,223 1

2,000 1

4,000 1

Total 66 Items Added Previous Year

MeanNumberofItemsAdded 460MedianNumberofItemsAdded 300

Excludinggiftsandotherdonationsthroughparents'organizationsandpromotions,howmuchwasallocatedforthepurchaseofnewmaterialsforthecollectionofthelibrary/mediacenterinwhichyouworkduringthepastacademicyear?Response Count

$0 6

$2 1

$300 1

$1,000 3

$1,200 2

$1,350 1

$1,500 3

$1,675 1

$1,763 1

$2,000 8

$2,200 1

$2,500 2


$3,000 4

$3,428 1

$3,500 2

$3,632 1

$4,000 2

$5,000 2

$5,500 1

$6,000 3

$6,200 1

$6,500 1

$7,000 1

$8,000 4

$8,321 1

$9,000 1

$9,200 1

$10,000 3

$16,000 2

$24,400 1

$25,000 1

Total 63 Budgeted Allocation For New Library Materials

MeanBudgetedAmountforNewMaterials $4,688MedianBudgetedAmountforNewMaterials $3,000

HowmanyInternetaccessiblecomputersareavailableforstudentuseinthelibrary/mediacenterinwhichyouwork?Response Count

0 1

1 1

10 1

11 2

12 5

13 1

14 2

16 2


Response Count

18 1

2 2

20 1

220 1

23 1

24 1

25 1

26 1

28 1

3 1

30 9

32 4

33 1

34 1

35 1

4 5

5 2

54 1

55 1

58 1

59 1

6 7

64 1

8 3

87 1

9 1

90 1

Total 67

IsWi-Fiavailabletostudentsinthelibrary/mediacenterinwhichyouwork?Value Percent Count

Yes 64.7% 44

No 35.3% 24

Total 68


Whichofthefollowingbestdescribeslibrary/mediacenteravailabilityforstudentusewithlibrary/mediacenterstaffpresent?

Value Percent Count

Fixedschedule(classesatregularlyscheduledtimes) 40.9% 27

Modifiedfixedschedulewhichprovidessomeopenaccessinadditiontoclasses

16.7% 11

Openaccessthroughouttheschoolday(flexibleschedule) 25.8% 17

Openaccessincludingextendedhoursoutsideoftheschoolday 12.1% 8


Total 66


Exceptduringtesting-thenfixed 1

Extendedhoursasrequestedbystudents,byappointment 1

Openaccessexceptwhenwearetesting 1

Byappointment:(w/teacher)classvisits,(w/oteacher)smallgroups;individualswithpassfromteacher.

1

Myscheduleismostlyflexible,howeverIamscheduledforone90-minutesessiononceperweektocoverteacher'sPLCtime.

1

Fixedschedule40.90%

Modifiedfixedschedule

16.70%

Flexibleschedule25.80%

Openaccess12.10%

Other4.60%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%


Aretheholdingsofthelibrary/mediacenterinwhichyouworkrepresentedinanautomatedcatalogavailableoutsidetheschoolbuilding?Value Percent Count

Yes 80.9% 55

No 19.1% 13

Total 68

Arethematerialsinthelibrary/mediacenterinwhichyouworksharedbetween/amongotherlibraries/mediacenterswithinyourschooldistrict? Value Percent Count

Yes 70.6% 48

No 29.4% 20

Total 68

Haveyoucollaboratedwithpubliclibrariesinyourareainthepast?

Value Percent Count

Yes 42.7% 29

No 57.4% 39

Total 68

Yes42.7%

No57.4%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%


Ifyouanswered"Yes"above,inwhichofthefollowingwayshaveyoucollaborated?Value Percent Count

Technologyandcomputereducation 10.5% 4

Socialsciences 0.0% 0

Languageeducation 5.3% 2

STEM/STEAMprograms 5.3% 2

Literacyandreadingprograms 68.4% 26

Artsandrecreationprograms 2.6% 1

Historyandgeographyrelatededucation 0.0% 0

Financialeducation 0.0% 0


WehaveNOTworkedwithpubliclibrariesinthepast 21.1% 8

Total 38


BookdonationstoourLibrary-referralsbyourLibrarytoNCCLibraries 1

Representativeatourbookfairfamilynight;info.onsummerreadingprogram 1

Sharinginformationonprogramsandsummerreading 1

Borrowingbooksfromthem 1

Fieldtriptothepubliclibrary 1

Wehaveaskedpubliclibrariestocometoourfamilyeventstoissuelibrarycardsand/orinformation

1

Total 6


Appendix C: Interview Questions

Delaware School Libraries Master Plan Interview Questions for Building Level Administrators (Principals, Assistant Principals, etc.)

Welcome and Introductions

• Participantsandfacilitators• Thanktheparticipantsfortheirwillingnesstocome• Anyadministrativedetails

Purpose of the Focus Group

YouarebeinginvitedtoparticipateinaresearchprojectthatwillassistinthecreationofamasterplanforDelawareschoollibraries.ThepurposeofthisstudyistogatherinformationaboutschoollibrariesfromschooladministratorstohelpinformthecreationofmasterplanforDelawareschoollibraries.Thisplanwillcreateavisionthatwillinformsolutionsforthedevelopmentofstate-of-the-artschoollibrariesinDelaware.ThisworkisbeingdonewiththeDelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncil,withsupportfromtheDelawareDepartmentofStateandtheDepartmentofEducation.Youwillbeoneofapproximately100participants.

Therearenoriskstoyourparticipationandtheremayisnodirectbenefittoyou.However,yourparticipationisanopportunitytoshareyourexperiences,beliefs,andopinions.Furthermore,yourparticipationwillenableustobetterunderstandtheroleofschoollibraries.

Wewilltakespecialstepstoprotectyourprivacy.Yourresponseswillbeaccessibleonlytotheresearcherteamonthisproject.Aftertheinterview,identifyinginformation(names,schools)willberemovedtoensureyourparticipationwillremainconfidential.Alldatawillbestoredinapasswordprotectedfolderencryptedfilesand/orinlockedfilingcabinet.Thestoreddatawillbedestroyedthreeyearsaftertheconclusionoftheproject.Theresearchteamwillmakeeveryefforttokeepallresearchrecordsthatidentifyyouconfidential.Thefindingsofthisresearchmaybepresentedorpublished.Ifthishappens,noinformationthatgivesyournameorotherdetailswillbeshared.

Takingpartinthisresearchstudyisentirelyvoluntary.Youdonothavetoparticipateinthisresearch.Ifyouchoosetotakepart,youhavetherighttostopatanytime.Ifyoudecidenottoparticipateorifyoudecidetostoptakingpartintheresearchatalaterdate,therewillbenopenaltyorlossofbenefitstowhichyouareotherwiseentitled.Yourdecisiontostopparticipation,ornottoparticipate,willnotinfluencecurrentorfuturerelationshipswiththeUniversityofDelaware.


Ifyouhaveanyquestionsaboutthisstudy,pleasecontactthePrincipalInvestigator,KellySherretz,at(302)831-4271orkscollon@udel.edu.Ifyouhaveanyquestionsorconcernsaboutyourrightsasaresearchparticipant,youmaycontacttheUniversityofDelawareInstitutionalReviewBoardathsrb-research@udel.eduor(302)831-2137.

1) Pleaseprovideaquickovervieworlibrary/mediacenterservicesavailableinyourschoolbuilding.[Size(incomparisontoanaverageclassroom),staffing,budget,etc.](Ifnoschoollibrary/mediacenterisprovidedinthebuildinginquestion,posethefollowingquestionsinaprospectivefashionsuchasaskingwhatroleschoollibrariesSHOULDplayasopposedtoDOtheyplayintheirbuilding.)

2) Schoollibraries/mediacentersserveavarietyofdifferentrolesdependingonthegradelevelstheyserve,availabilityofotherinterrelatedservicesinadistrictanddistrictpriorities.Whatdoyoubelievearethemajorrolesthatschoollibraries/mediacentersplayinyourschool?

3) Budgetallocationsforschoollibraries/mediacentershavebeendecreasinginmanydistrictsthroughoutthenation.Overthepastfiveyears,hasfundingfortheschoollibraries/mediacenterinyourbuildingIncreased,decreased,orremainedlevel?Whatwouldyousayistheprimaryreasonormajorreasonsforchangesintheamountallocatedforlibrary/mediacenterpurposes?

4) Schoollibrarians/mediacenterpersonnelperformavarietyofdifferentfunctions.Lookatthiscard(handthemacardwiththefollowingitemslisted)

a. ReadingMotivatorb. Readers’Advisor/ContentAdvisorc. InstructionalResourcesManagerd. TechnologyInstructore. InformationLiteracyCoachf. In-serviceTrainingProvider(forfaculty)g. Co-Teacherh. Teacheri. Curriculumdevelopmentpartner

Which,ifany,oftheroleslistedaretheprimaryrolesfulfilledbylibrarians/mediacenterpersonnelinyourschool?Whichdoyouthinkisthemostimportantinyourschool?Whatotherroleorrolesdoschoollibrary/mediacenterstafffulfillinyourschool?

5) Areyouresponsibleforconductingformalobservationsand/orforperforminganannualperformanceevaluationofcertifiedschoollibrariansandotherlibrarystaff?Ifyes,whatcriteriaareappliedthatspecificallyreflectlibrary-relateddutiesandresponsibilities?


6) Avarietyofstatewidestudieshaveshownahighcorrelationbetweenhighqualityschoollibraries/mediacentersandperformanceonstandardizedreadingtestsevenwhendifferencesrelatedtosocio-economicfactorsandoverallfundingarecontrolled.Towhatextentdoyoubelievethateducationaloutcomesarecurrentlybeingfactoredintodecisionsrelatedtotheschoollibrary/mediacenterinyourschool?

7) Whatotherservicesorprogramsexistinyourschoolthatsubstantiallycontributetoacademicsuccessinreadingand/orinformationliteracy?

Delaware School Libraries Master Plan Interview Questions for School Librarians/Media Center Staff

Welcome and introductions

• Participantsandfacilitators• Thanktheparticipantsfortheirwillingnesstocome• Anyadministrativedetails

Purpose of the Focus Group

YouarebeinginvitedtoparticipateinaresearchprojectthatwillassistinthecreationofamasterplanforDelawareschoollibraries.ThepurposeofthisstudyistogatherinformationaboutschoollibrariesfromschoollibrarianstohelpinformthecreationofmasterplanforDelawareschoollibraries.Thisplanwillcreateavisionthatwillinformsolutionsforthedevelopmentofstate-of-the-artschoollibrariesinDelaware.ThisworkisbeingdonewiththeDelawareSchoolLibrariesCouncil,withsupportfromtheDelawareDepartmentofStateandtheDepartmentofEducation.Youwillbeoneofapproximately100participants.

Therearenoriskstoyourparticipationandtheremayisnodirectbenefittoyou.However,yourparticipationisanopportunitytoshareyourexperiences,beliefs,andopinions.Furthermore,yourparticipationwillenableustobetterunderstandtheroleofschoollibraries.

Wewilltakespecialstepstoprotectyourprivacy.Yourresponseswillbeaccessibleonlytotheresearcherteamonthisproject.Aftertheinterview,identifyinginformation(names,schools)willberemovedtoensureyourparticipationwillremainconfidential.Alldatawillbestoredinapasswordprotectedfolderencryptedfilesand/orinlockedfilingcabinet.Thestoreddatawillbedestroyedthreeyearsaftertheconclusionoftheproject.Theresearchteamwillmakeeveryefforttokeepallresearchrecordsthatidentifyyouconfidential.Thefindingsofthisresearchmaybepresentedorpublished.Ifthishappens,noinformationthatgivesyournameorotherdetailswillbeshared.

Takingpartinthisresearchstudyisentirelyvoluntary.Youdonothavetoparticipateinthisresearch.Ifyouchoosetotakepart,youhavetherighttostopatanytime.Ifyoudecidenotto


participateorifyoudecidetostoptakingpartintheresearchatalaterdate,therewillbenopenaltyorlossofbenefitstowhichyouareotherwiseentitled.Yourdecisiontostopparticipation,ornottoparticipate,willnotinfluencecurrentorfuturerelationshipswiththeUniversityofDelaware.

Ifyouhaveanyquestionsaboutthisstudy,pleasecontactthePrincipalInvestigator,KellySherretz,at(302)831-4271orkscollon@udel.edu.Ifyouhaveanyquestionsorconcernsaboutyourrightsasaresearchparticipant,youmaycontacttheUniversityofDelawareInstitutionalReviewBoardathsrb-research@udel.eduor(302)831-2137.

1) Pleaseprovideaquickovervieworlibrary/mediacenterservicesavailableinyourschoolbuilding.[Collectionsize,facilitysize(incomparisontoanaverageclassroom),staffing,budget,etc.]

2) Schoollibraries/mediacentersserveavarietyofdifferentrolesdependingonthegradelevelstheyserve,availabilityofotherinterrelatedservicesinadistrictanddistrictpriorities.Whatdoyoubelievearethemajorrolesthatyourschoollibrary/mediacenterplaysinyourschool?WhatroleorrolesdoyouthinkitSHOULDbeplaying?

3) Budgetallocationsforschoollibraries/mediacentershavebeendecreasinginmanydistrictsthroughoutthenation.Overthepastfiveyears,hasfundingforyourschoollibrary/mediacenterIncreased,decreased,orremainedlevel?Whatwouldyousayistheprimaryreasonormajorreasonsforchangesintheamountallocatedforlibrary/mediacenterpurposes?

4) Schoollibrarians/mediacenterpersonnelperformavarietyofdifferentfunctions.Lookatthiscard(handthemacardwiththefollowingitemslisted)

a. ReadingMotivatorb. Readers’Advisor/ContentAdvisorc. InstructionalResourcesManagerd. TechnologyInstructore. InformationLiteracyCoachf. In-serviceTrainingProvider(forfaculty)g. Co-Teacherh. Teacheri. Curriculumdevelopmentpartner

Which,ifany,oftheroleslisteddoyoucurrentlyfulfill?Whichisthemostimportantinyourschoolgiventhemake-upofyourstudentbodyandotherservicesthatareavailableinyourbuilding/district?Whatotherroleorrolesdoyoucurrentlyfulfillinyourschool?

5) Avarietyofstatewidestudieshaveshownahighcorrelationbetweenhighqualityschoollibraries/mediacentersandperformanceonstandardizedreadingtestsevenwhendifferencesrelatedtosocio-economicfactorsandoverallfundingarecontrolled.Towhat


extentdoyoubelievethatyourdistrict/schoolboardhasconsiderededucationaloutcomesindecisionsthathaveaffectedtheschoollibrary/mediacenterinyourschool?

6) Discusstheexistinglevelofinteractionthatyouhavewithteachersinyourschool.Doyouthinkthatthefacultyperceivesyouasa“teachingpartner”intheschool?

7) Doyouserveonkeyschoolcommitteesthatmakedecisionsregardingissuessuchascurriculum,neweducationalinitiatives,grantapplications,etc.?Describeyourroleonthesecommittees.

8) Howwouldyoucharacterizeyourroleinregardtointegratingtechnologyintothecurriculum?Wouldyoucharacterizeyourroleas:

a. Leadershiproleb. Substantivesupportrolec. Generalsupportroled. Peripheralrole

Giveexamplesofyourinvolvementinintegratingtechnologyintothecurriculum.

9) Howwouldyoucharacterizeyourroleinimpartinginformationliteracyskillstostudents?Yourroleinimpartingtheseskillstoteachers?

10) Whatdoyoubelievearethemajorfactorsthatimpactyourabilitytoofferthehighestqualityschoollibraryserviceinyourbuilding?Arethesefactorsthesameordifferentonthedistrictlevel?Ifthefactorsaredifferent,pleaseprovideexamples.

11) Whatelsedoyouthinkweneedtoknowtounderstandthestatusandroleofthelibrary/mediacenterinyourschool?


Appendix D: Delaware School Library Media Specialist Certification Requirements

Source:http://regulations.delaware.gov/AdminCode/title14/1500/1580.shtml

1580 School Library Media Specialist

1.0 Content

1.1ThisregulationshallapplytotheissuanceofaStandardCertificate,pursuantto14Del.C.§1220(a),forSchoolLibraryMediaSpecialist.ThiscertificationisrequiredforgradesKto12.

1.2Exceptasotherwiseprovided,therequirementssetforthin14DEAdmin.Code1505StandardCertificate,includinganysubsequentamendmentorrevisionthereto,areincorporatedhereinbyreference.

2.0 Definitions

2.1Thedefinitionssetforthin14DEAdmin.Code1505StandardCertificate,includinganysubsequentamendmentorrevisionthereto,areincorporatedhereinbyreference.

3.0 Standard Certificate

3.1Inaccordancewith14Del.C.§1220(a),theDepartmentshallissueaStandardCertificateasaSchoolLibraryMediaSpecialisttoaneducatorwhohasmetthefollowing:

3.1.1HoldsavalidDelawareInitial,Continuing,orAdvancedLicenseorStandardorProfessionalStatusCertificateissuedbytheDepartmentpriortoAugust31,2003;and,

3.1.2Hasmettherequirementsassetforthin14DEAdmin.Code1505StandardCertificate,includinganysubsequentamendmentorrevisionthereto;and

3.1.3Hassatisfiedtheadditionalrequirementsinthisregulation.

4.0 Additional Requirements

Aneducatorshallalsomeetthefollowing:

4.1Hassatisfiedatleastoneofthefollowingadditionalrequirements:

4.1.1HoldsaMastersorDoctoraldegreefromaregionallyaccreditedcollegeoruniversityinanAmericanLibraryAssociationapprovedprograminSchoolLibraryMedia;or

4.1.2HoldsaMastersorDoctoraldegreefromaregionallyaccreditedcollegeoruniversityinanyarea;and


4.1.2.1HascompletedaDepartmentapprovedSchoolLibraryMediaprogramwhichmeetsAmericanLibraryAssociationStandards.

7DEReg.632(11/1/03)

Renumberedeffective6/1/07-seeConversionTable

12DEReg.1206(03/01/09)

The University of Delaware is a non-discriminatory, equal opportunity, and affirmative action institution.See www.udel.edu/aboutus/legalnotices.html for detailed policy information.

Institute for Public AdministrationSchool of Public Policy & Administration

College of Arts & SciencesUniversity of Delaware

180 Graham Hall University of Delaware Newark, DE 19716-7380

phone: 302-831-8971 e-mail: [email protected] fax: 302-831-3488

www.ipa.udel.edu

The University of Delaware’s Institute for Public Administration (IPA) addresses the policy, planning,and management needs of its partners through the integration of applied research, professionaldevelopment, and the education of tomorrow’s leaders.

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