The power of libraries
Here is a link to a story about the research on the effectiveness of school libraries when it comes to test scores:
http://www.wltx.com/story/news/education/2015/05/12/study-finds-the-quality-of-school-libraries-have-a-positive-impact-on-achievement-test-scores/27202395/
Here is the money quote for all school librarians to highlight and send on to supervisors and administrators:
"University of South Carolina Professor Dr. Karen Gavigan outlined the studies five areas of importance at a press conference Tuesday morning.
"The presence of librarians and library support staff, instructional collaboration between librarians and teachers, traditional and digital collections, library expenditures, and access to computers," she explained.
The study found that the schools which had these five components had better performance on the Palmetto Assessment of State Standards."
And for more of this research go here: http://keithcurrylance.com.
While test scores are important, school libraries and librarians can do much more than assist in testing: they can play an essential role in creating lifelong readers. Look at the writings of folks like Stephen Krashen to see more about the role of a collection and a certified librarian. It is even more important to keep this research at hand as more and more districts are opting to close libraries and eliminate librarians.
As someone who works in a department of library science, I have learned much about the role of school librarians. AASL (American Association of School Librarians) discusses 5 standards for excellence in librarianship. Take some time to read about standards here: http://www.ala.org/aasl/standards-guidelines. Unlike some OTHER standards, these might actually support readers and reading and books and librarianship.
One more tip, follow some librarians on Twitter and Facebook. If you need suggestions, just ask.
http://www.wltx.com/story/news/education/2015/05/12/study-finds-the-quality-of-school-libraries-have-a-positive-impact-on-achievement-test-scores/27202395/
Here is the money quote for all school librarians to highlight and send on to supervisors and administrators:
"University of South Carolina Professor Dr. Karen Gavigan outlined the studies five areas of importance at a press conference Tuesday morning.
"The presence of librarians and library support staff, instructional collaboration between librarians and teachers, traditional and digital collections, library expenditures, and access to computers," she explained.
The study found that the schools which had these five components had better performance on the Palmetto Assessment of State Standards."
And for more of this research go here: http://keithcurrylance.com.
While test scores are important, school libraries and librarians can do much more than assist in testing: they can play an essential role in creating lifelong readers. Look at the writings of folks like Stephen Krashen to see more about the role of a collection and a certified librarian. It is even more important to keep this research at hand as more and more districts are opting to close libraries and eliminate librarians.
As someone who works in a department of library science, I have learned much about the role of school librarians. AASL (American Association of School Librarians) discusses 5 standards for excellence in librarianship. Take some time to read about standards here: http://www.ala.org/aasl/standards-guidelines. Unlike some OTHER standards, these might actually support readers and reading and books and librarianship.
One more tip, follow some librarians on Twitter and Facebook. If you need suggestions, just ask.