PALM Center

Last updated
PALM Center: Partnerships Advancing Library Media
Type Research Institute
Established2006
DirectorDr. Nancy Everhart
Academic staff
Dr. Marcia Mardis, Dr.Wayne Wiegand
Location, ,
Affiliations Florida State University, College of Communication and Information Learning Systems Institute, College of Education,
Website www.palmcenter.fsu.edu
FSU logo.png

The Partnerships Advancing Library Media (PALM) Center is a research institute at Florida State University (FSU) in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. The center was established as a joint effort of the FSU Learning Systems Institute, College of Communication and Information and the College of Education. The Center engages in research and evaluation focused on school librarians ranging from large-scale surveys and evaluation of program implementation, to case studies of school libraries. [1]

Contents

History

In January 2008, a new research institute, the Interdisciplinary Center for leadership, Technology Integration and Critical Literacies (I-CELTIC) was created as a cooperative Founding director Dr. Eliza T. Dresang said I-CELTIC's purpose was "to model and encourage innovative leadership practice and bring school libraries to the table along with all other disciplines". Dresang founded and managed the center along with CI faculty members Dr. Nancy Everhart, Dr. Wayne Wiegand, and College of Education faculty member Dr. J. Michael Spector. [2] [3] In June 2008 the name of I-CELTIC was changed to the PALM (Partnerships advancing Library Media) Center when Dr. Nancy Everhart became the Director following Dresang's departure to the University of Washington. Dr. Marcia Mardis became an Associate Director in January 2009.

The PALM Center is one of several centers under the jurisdiction of the Learning Systems Institute at Florida State University.

In May 2010, Dr. Everhart and Dr. Mardis were featured in the School Library Journal cover story, "Up, Up, and Away: How a group of researchers is reinventing school libraries". The article highlights their work on Project LEAD (Leaders Educated to Make a Difference), and several projects that the on which the PALM Center is currently working. [4] The article highlights the work of the PALM Center as well as two other school library research centers - CISSL (Center for International Scholarship in School Libraries at Rutgers University and the Center for Digital Literacy at Syracuse University.

Louis Shores Building, home of the College of Communication & Information ShoresBuilding.jpg
Louis Shores Building, home of the College of Communication & Information

Location

The PALM Center is part of the Florida State University College of Communication and Information.

The main office location is: School of Library & Information Studies, 008 Louis Shores Building, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306 [5]

Mission statement

The Center's Mission Statement was established shortly after its founding. "The Center will conduct nationally and internationally-recognized interdisciplinary research at the intersection of transformational leadership, technology integration and critical literacies - adding value and modeling practices that create positive differences in youth and adult learning outcomes." [6]

Research

Since its founding, the PALM Center has garnered over 6 million dollars in research grant funding.

Learning Systems Institute Projects

iCPALMS

A Portal for Standards-based Instruction [ permanent dead link ] [7] - The Integrated Curriculum Planning and Learning Management System (iCPALMS) will provide a widget-based portal pathway into content, services, professional development, research and dissemination that will result in a scalable, sustainable infrastructure to support individual and collaborative standards-driven instructional planning with K-12 resources from the National Science Digital Library. Funded by the National Science Foundation, this grant is a collaboration of two LSI centers, the PALM Center and The Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, along with key partners ($2.5 million). [8]

Palm Center Projects

Leadership in Action - A three-year study (August 2008 to March 2013) of school librarians’ leadership in technology integration funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. ($754,000). [9]

Project LEAD - This initiative, which ran from August 2005 to July 2008, was composed of two projects that resulted in a leadership curriculum for school librarians. The curriculum, based on the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, was implemented with 30 teacher-leaders. Continuing research is being conducted on graduates’ leadership. The project was funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services ($2.2 million). [10]

Digital Library to School Libraries (DL2SL) - A three-year study of the development, deployment and implementation of push technology and professional development for the integration of digital learning objects into online catalog software and learning experiences funded by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). For more information, read the project profile on the IMLS website ($401,000). [11]

Successfully Teaching Educators about Primary Sources - Funded by a grant by the Library of Congress, this project focuses on the design, implementation and assessment of a collaborative model for professional development that focuses on integrating the Library’s over 16 million primary sources into the curriculum. The project is a collaborative effort of the University of Central Florida College of Education, the Florida Association for Media in Education, the Florida Association of Supervisors of Media, the Florida Department of State’s Division of Library and Information Services, the PALM Center and school districts throughout Florida. The goal is to provide professional development resources, reproducible lesson plans and K-12 teaching materials that further the work of the Library of Congress’ Teaching with Primary Sources initiative. The project runs from September 2010 to June 2012 ($300,000). [12]

Publications

From District to Desktop: Making the Most of Broadband in Florida, a white paper published by the PALM Center, discusses the important issues relating to broadband, the ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) and school library media centers in Florida. The White Paper notes that the dramatic increase in Internet use in schools in more than 10 years since the adoption of the federal E-rate connectivity assistance program has resulted in many positive educational benefits, some of which are improved student achievement, attendance, and graduation rates, as well as decreased dropout rates. But “if all students are to realize these outcomes, equitable high-speed Internet and broadband access is critical.” [13] [14]

From Paper to Pixel: Digital Textbooks in Schools explores "all types of digital textbooks and weigh[s] the benefits and drawbacks of each format for schools. We examine the advantages and challenges of the growing use of digital textbooks and make recommendations for school librarians’ roles in the digital textbook implementation process."

Other Activities

School Libraries Worldwide - SLW is an international research journal about school librarianship co-edited and managed by PALM Center director Dr. Nancy Everhart and Dr. Marcia Mardis. [15]

Related Research Articles

Florida State University Public university in Tallahassee, Florida

Florida State University is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the state of Florida.

Librarian Profession

A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users.

Fayetteville State University Public HBCU in Fayetteville, North Carolina, United States

Fayetteville State University (FSU) is a public historically black university in Fayetteville, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina System and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

Michael Gorman is a British-born librarian, library scholar and editor/writer on library issues noted for his traditional views. During his tenure as president of the American Library Association (ALA), he was vocal in his opinions on a range of subjects, notably technology and education. He currently lives in the Chicago area with his wife, Anne Reuland, an academic administrator at Loyola University.

School library Library within a school

A school library is a library within a school where students, staff, and often, parents of a public or private school have access to a variety of resources. The goal of the school library media center is to ensure that all members of the school community have equitable access "to books and reading, to information, and to information technology." A school library media center "uses all types of media... is automated, and utilizes the Internet [as well as books] for information gathering." School libraries are distinct from public libraries because they serve as "learner-oriented laboratories which support, extend, and individualize the school's curriculum... A school library serves as the center and coordinating agency for all material used in the school."

Transliteracy Ability to use diverse techniques to collaborate across different social groups

Transliteracy is "a fluidity of movement across a range of technologies, media and contexts". It is an ability to use diverse techniques to collaborate across different social groups.

The FAMU-FSU College of Engineering is the joint college of engineering of Florida A&M University and Florida State University. The College of Engineering was established as a joint program serving two universities in Tallahassee, Florida: The Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, which received recognition from the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in 2010 for ranking number one as the institution of origin for African Americans earning Doctorates in Natural Science and Engineering; and, Florida State University which has gained worldwide recognition for its extensive graduate and research programs. The college is located less than three miles from either university.

James G. Neal

James G. Neal is an American librarian, library administrator, and a prominent figure in American and international library associations.

Library science Multidisciplinary field

Library science is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, and other areas to libraries; the collection, organization, preservation, and dissemination of information resources; and the political economy of information. Martin Schrettinger, a Bavarian librarian, coined the discipline within his work (1808–1828) Versuch eines vollständigen Lehrbuchs der Bibliothek-Wissenschaft oder Anleitung zur vollkommenen Geschäftsführung eines Bibliothekars. Rather than classifying information based on nature-oriented elements, as was previously done in his Bavarian library, Schrettinger organized books in alphabetical order. The first American school for library science was founded by Melvil Dewey at Columbia University in 1887.

Eliza Timberlake Dresang was an American professor of Library Science who studied fundamental changes in children's literature because of digital format. Dresang was the Beverly Cleary Professor in Children and Youth Services at the University of Washington Information School. She died on April 21, 2014 in Seattle.

Louis Shores was a librarian who worked for the promotion of the library as the center of all learning, in both public and academic institutions. Shores was recognized for his integration of audiovisual materials into library collections. He was named one of the “100 of the most important leaders we had in the 20th century” by American Libraries, and the impact of his vision can be seen today in libraries across the country.

E-Science librarianship refers to a role for librarians in e-Science.

The Florida State University College of Communication and Information, located in Tallahassee, Florida, was created in a merger of the Florida State University College of Information with FSU's College of Communication on July 1, 2009. The merged College of Communication & Information includes three schools:

Alice G. Smith Lecture

The Alice G. Smith Lecture, established in 1989, is sponsored by the University of South Florida, School of Information. The lecture is an annual recognition of a scholar or author whose achievements have been instrumental in the development of librarianship or information studies. The lecture series honors the memory of the School's first director, Alice Gullen Smith, known for her work with youth and bibliotherapy. The Lecture Fund was created with the purpose of memorializing the visionary work of Dr. Smith, who was central to the School's first accreditation by the American Library Association in 1975. Florida Library Association archivist, Bernadette Storck has provided an oral history of the development of libraries in Tampa, Florida that details the contributions of Dr. Smith including her establishment of the Tampa Book Fair that encouraged thousands of children to foster a love for books and reading

The Association of Caribbean University, Research and Institutional Libraries (ACURIL) is a Caribbean library organization founded in 1969. It is based in the José M. Lázaro Library of the University of Puerto Rico.

Kathleen de la Peña McCook American librarian

Kathleen de la Peña McCook is a library scholar, librarian, and activist. Much of her work centers around social justice, human rights, First Amendment issues, and the freedom of information.

Alma Dawson American scholar of librarianship

Alma Dawson is an American scholar of librarianship. She retired as Russell B. Long Professor at the School of Library & Information Science, Louisiana State University in 2014 and was awarded Emeritus status in 2015. In 2019 Dr. Dawson was honored with the Essae Martha Culver Distinguished Service Award from the Louisiana Library Association which honors a librarian whose professional service and achievements, whose leadership in Louisiana association work, and whose lifetime accomplishments in a field of librarianship within the state merit recognition of particular value to Louisiana librarianship.

The Department of Information Studies is a department of the UCL Faculty of Arts and Humanities.

John Carlo Bertot is a professor and co-director of the Information Policy & Access Center at the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland, where he is also Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs.

University of South Florida Tampa Library

The University of South Florida Tampa Library is the main research library for the University of South Florida. Housing over 1.3 million books, academic journals and electronic resources, including 52,000 e-journal subscriptions, 443,000 e-books, and over 800 databases, the library has more than 2 million visitors each year. The library offers tutoring and writing services, laptops, a career resource center, and course reserves. The facility houses several special and digital collections, including literature, oral histories, photographs, artifacts, and the university archives. The current Dean of USF Libraries is Todd Chavez.

References

  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-12-27. Retrieved 2012-01-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. http://news.cci.fsu.edu/slis-news/college-launches-interdisciplinary-i-celtic-research-institute/ College launches interdisciplinary I-CELTIC research institute
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-06-10. Retrieved 2012-02-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. School Library Journal: Up, Up, and Away: How a group of researchers is reinventing school libraries
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-05-11. Retrieved 2012-03-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-03-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-03-25. Retrieved 2012-03-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ICPALMS: All About It
  9. Palm Center Projects Archived 2012-05-11 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Florida State / School of Library & Information Studies / Graduate Program / Special Programs / Project LEAD Archived 2012-06-26 at the Wayback Machine
  11. Digital Libraries to School Libraries
  12. UCF's My Research
  13. http://news.cci.fsu.edu/slis-news/two-white-papers-by-everhart-and-mardis-included-in-nsf-database/ Two white papers by Everhart and Mardis included in NSF database
  14. http://www.docstoc.com/docs/111699741/From-Paper-to-Pixel-Digital-Textbooks-and-Florida-Schools-_2010_ From Paper to Pixel Digital Textbooks and Florida Schools _2010_
  15. School Libraries Online: International Association of School Librarianship (IASL): School Libraries Worldwide Archived 2007-07-17 at the Wayback Machine