Strong School Library Media Programs Make a Difference in Academic Achievement

1
Strong School Library Media Programs Make a
Difference in Academic Achievement
2
Gaver Study, 1963

• Academic achievement is higher when
• There is a centralized library in the school.
• The library collection is large and easily
  accessible.

3
Lance Study Finding,1993

• Academic Achievement was higher in Colorado
  schools when
• There was a professional library media specialist
• The library media specialist collaborated with
  teachers to build exciting units of instruction
• The library collection was very large

4
Three Major Studies933 Schools, published 2000

• Alaska - 211 schools, Grades 4, 8, 11
• Pennsylvania - 435 schools, grades 5, 8, 11
• Colorado - 200 schools, grades 4, 7

5
The 21st Century Library Media Center

• Consists of a quality information-rich
  environment
• Books
• Multimedia resources
• Databases
• Electronic periodical collections
• Quality Internet sites

6
The New Library Media Center

• Is available in the LMC,
• In the classroom, and
• On beyond into the Home.
• Is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

7
Library Media Center Programs

• Build capable and avid readers
• Teach every learner to become effective users of
  ideas and information
• Partner with teachers to create exciting learning
  experiences
• Prepare learners to compete in the information age

8
Strong Library Media Programs

• A competent library media professional
• The human interface
• Paraprofessional staff
• Organization/service functions
• Technical staff
• Technology support for the school

9
Strong Library Media Specialists

• Collaborate with teachers to build quality
  learning experiences
• Teach information literacy (finding, using, and
  communicating information effectively)
• Promote reading

10
Lance Findings in Two States

• Pennsylvania (2000) 435 schools
• Colorado (2000) 200 schools

11
Comparison of Top 25 Scoring Schools with Lowest
25 Scoring

• Staffing in Pennsylvania
• Professional staff hours/week
• 5h grade 34.31 vs. 29.36 17 difference
• 8th grade 38.40 vs. 37.63 2 difference
• 11th grade 45.06 vs. 43.25 4 difference
• Support staff hours/week
• 5th grade 25.92 vs. 12.48 108 difference
• 8th grade 30.30 vs. 15.80 92 difference
• 11th grade 49.57 vs. 19.28 157 difference

12
Conclusion in Pennsylvania

• Support staff was the key difference between
  strong and weak library media programs.
• That is, professionals alone cannot make a major
  difference because of the load of clerical and
  technical work.

13
Finding in Colorado

• Total library media staff hours/100 students
• 4th grade 14.57 vs. 9.38 56 difference
• 7th grade 13.00 vs. 10.72 21 difference

14
Conclusion for Colorado

• The total LMC staff size contributes to academic
  achievement.

15
Second, Invest in Materials and Technology

• Create a quality information-rich and
  technology-rich environment easily accessible by
  students and teachers.

16
Two Other Study Findings

• Done by Krashen (1993), McQuillan (1998)
• Strong library media programs make a difference
  in academic achievement.
• An impact was made on learners who read more from
  large library media center collections.

17
Research Findings

• Rich curriculum-centered collections boost
  learning.
• Information technology delivering information to
  the desktop of the learner enhances learning.

18
Todays LMC Collections include

• Quality Internet sites
• Electronic periodicals
• Databases
• Attractive information books
• Multimedia collections
• Materials meeting special needs
• Materials of high quality

19
Conclusion

• Quality collections are expensive, but they earn
  their way by boosting achievement.

20
Results of the total investment

• Scores can be expected to be 10-20 higher than
  in schools without this emphasis.

21
Results are not explained by

• Teacher/pupil ratio
• Teacher characteristics (education, experience,
  salaries)
• Student characteristics (poverty, race/ethnicity)
• Community demographics (educational attainment,
  poverty, ethnicity)