THROUGH THE LENS OF NEW SCHOOL LIBRARIANS
The application of standards to delivering excellence to the profession
Barbara Schultz-Jones, PhDToby FaberJan Reed
IASL & SLAQ, Brisbane QLD Australia
Agenda
Background Method Results Discussion Implications Questions
IASL & SLAQ, Brisbane QLD Australia 2
Background
School library certification program online Students from Texas, other states, other
countries Program focuses on practitioner skills and
orientation to standards (AASL, state, etc.)
Examining the perceptions of graduating professionals
Perceptions of professional priorities as they consider the application of professional standards to the role of school librarian
IASL & SLAQ, Brisbane QLD Australia
Method
Electronic copies of 2 written assessments
39 graduating school librarians Summer and fall semesters of 2009
1st assessment Research paper discussing the top 3 trends or
issues, from their perspective, facing school librarians today as they apply school library standards
2nd assessment Track the postings of LM_Net listserv and
identify the top 3 issues of concern posted by contributing school librarians.
IASL & SLAQ, Brisbane QLD Australia
Method Student identification removed from the
papers Assignments were coded according to the
semester and the assignment LM01-LM23 TRSUM01 – TRSUM16 TRFAL01 - TRFAL14
3 coders examined each, individually Unit of analysis: issue Coding an iterative process among the coders Nvivo content analysis software Final list of 16 issuesIASL & SLAQ, Brisbane QLD
Australia
Results1. Advocacy2. Classification (organizing by genre)3. Collaboration (with teachers & administrators)4. Copyright5. Diversity of multicultural literature collection6. International Baccalaureate (IB) program7. Inquiry based learning8. Intellectual freedom (censorship/filtering)9. Information literacy10. Funding or budget 11. Library management12. Reading recommendations13. Role of the school librarian14. Scheduling (fixed or flexible)15. Space usage in the library16. Technology, including web 2.0
IASL & SLAQ, Brisbane QLD Australia
(alphabetically)
Results1. Technology, including web 2.02. Funding3. Copyright4. Information literacy5. Role of the school librarian6. Advocacy7. Collaboration8. Intellectual freedom (censorship/filtering)9. Classification of resources10. Reading recommendations 11. Multicultural literature collection12. Scheduling13. Space usage14. Inquiry based learning15. Library management16. International Baccalaureate (IB) program
IASL & SLAQ, Brisbane QLD Australia
(Ranked, all sources)
Results
1. Technology, including web 2.02. Funding3. Information literacy4. Collaboration5. Advocacy6. Intellectual freedom (censorship/filtering)7. Role of the school librarian8. Multicultural literature collection9. Copyright10. Library management11. Reading recommendations12. Scheduling
IASL & SLAQ, Brisbane QLD Australia
(Ranked, summer 2009)
Results
1. Technology, including web 2.02. Funding3. Advocacy4. Role of the school librarian5. Scheduling6. Intellectual freedom (censorship/filtering)7. Information literacy8. Inquiry based learning9. Multicultural literature10. Space11. Copyright12. International Baccalaureate program
IASL & SLAQ, Brisbane QLD Australia
(Ranked, fall 2009)
Results
1. Technology, including web 2.02. Copyright3. Classification of resources4. Information literacy5. Reading recommendations6. Role of the school librarian7. Collaboration8. Funding9. Space10. Multicultural literature11. Library management12. Scheduling
IASL & SLAQ, Brisbane QLD Australia
(Ranked, listserv)
Results Advocacy Classifying fiction
Collaboration Copyright Diverse collection IB program Inquiry
Intellectual freedom
Information literacy
Funding Library management Reading
Role Scheduling Space
Technology
IASL & SLAQ, Brisbane QLD Australia
ResultsDominant themes: Meeting the challenges of a rapidly changing information landscape
Sense of urgency Leadership role inherent in the shifting dynamics of
the school environment Student learning
Implications for learning using inquiry process Meeting the needs of students and teachers Where are the standards??!!
Issues were discussed in relation to standards (AASL)IASL & SLAQ, Brisbane QLD
Australia
Discussion Technology dominates Web 2.0 Expanding instructional skills Need to stay up-to-date Familiarity and comfort level Which ones to purchase Availability to students Assisting teachers with tools Recognition that a technology rich
environment is conducive to learningIASL & SLAQ, Brisbane QLD
Australia
Discussion
“What library services will suffer because money is spent on technology?”
IASL & SLAQ, Brisbane QLD Australia
Discussion Funding: “there are two factors that influence how
school library programs are run – budgets and standards”
“when librarians are filling a fundraising role it takes away time to devote to students”
IASL & SLAQ, Brisbane QLD Australia
Discussion
Information Literacy: Recurring issue: Acquiring and using the
skills to access and evaluate resources Missing: the ways to do so Issue identified for students Not a skill issue for librarians
IASL & SLAQ, Brisbane QLD Australia
Discussion
Inquiry based learning:
“Todd Effect” Ross Todd fall 2009 Stirring call to action
Impact: significant
IASL & SLAQ, Brisbane QLD Australia
Implications
“the advent of new technologies has made the job of librarians more relevant and essential than ever” Multiplicity of responsibilities Creativity challenge LIS education challenge
IASL & SLAQ, Brisbane QLD Australia
Implications
Listserv Encourage conversations Practitioner focus Research infrequent Lacking as a vehicle for research interaction Ongoing professional development
IASL & SLAQ, Brisbane QLD Australia
Future FocusIASL & SLAQ, Brisbane QLD
Australia
IASL & SLAQ, Brisbane QLD Australia
??Questions??
Contact Information
Barbara A. Schultz-Jones, Ph.D.Assistant Professor, Director, School Library ProgramDepartment of Library and Information SciencesCollege of Information, University of North Texas1155 Union Circle 311068, Denton, Texas 76203-5017Office: 940-369-8081Fax: [email protected]