A school library (or a school library media center) 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."[1] A school library media center "uses all types of media... is automated, and utilizes the Internet [as well as books] for information gathering."[2] 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."[3]
Researchers have demonstrated that school libraries have a positive impact on student achievement through the more than 60 studies that have been conducted in 19 U.S. states and one Canadian province. The major finding of these studies was that students with access to a well-supported school library media program with a qualified school library media specialist, scored higher on reading assessments regardless of their socio-economic statuses. In addition, a study conducted in Ohio[4] revealed that 99.4% of students surveyed believed that their school librarians and school library media programs helped them succeed in school. A report that reported similar conclusions was compiled by Michele Lonsdale in Australia in 2003.[5]
History of school libraries
Library services to schools have evolved since the late 1800s from public or state library book wagons to informal classroom collections to what we know today.[6][7] The later part of the 19th century marked the beginning of the modern American library movement with the creation of the American Library Association (ALA) in 1876 by a group of librarians led by Melvil Dewey. At these beginning stages of development, the school libraries were primarily made up of small collections with the school librarian playing primarily a clerical role.
Dewey wrote that "a broad conception at the end of the century of the work of the schools is simply this, to teach the children to think accurately, with strength and with speed. If it is in the school that they get their start, then where do they get their education?"[8]
1920 marked the first effort by the library and education communities to evaluate school libraries with the publication of the Certain Report,[9] which provided the first yardstick for evaluating school libraries.
By the 1950s, 40% of schools indicated the presence of classroom collections. Around 18% reported having centralized libraries. City schools reported 48%, and rural schools reported 12%.[7] School libraries experienced another major push following the launch of Sputnik in 1957, which forced the United States to re-evaluate its priorities for math and science education. NDEA was a response to Sputnik and Title III of NDEA provided financial assistance for strengthening science, mathematics, and modern foreign language.[10] As a result, the 1960s were one of the greatest periods of growth and development for school libraries due to an increased flow of money and support from the private sector and public funding for education. Most notable during this time was the Knapp School Libraries Project[11] which established model school library media centers across the country. Hundreds of new school libraries were expanded and renovated during this time.
Most recently, school libraries have been defined by two major guidelines documents: Information Power (1988)[12] and Information Power II (1998).[13]
In 1999 the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) published the globally important Unesco School library Manifesto, which states: "The school library provides information and ideas that are fundamental to functioning successfully in today’s information and knowledge-based society. The school library equips students with life-long learning skills and develops the imagination, enabling them to live as responsible citizens" (para. 1).
The purpose of the school library
Inside a school library.
School library media centers in the 21st century can, and should be, hubs for increased student achievement and positive focused school reform. —Kathleen D. Smith [14]
The school library exists to provide a range of learning opportunities for both large and small groups as well as individuals with a focus on intellectual content, information literacy, and the learner.[15] In addition to classroom visits with collaborating teachers, the school library also serves as a learning space for students to do independent work, use computers, access the internet, use equipment and research materials; to host special events such as author visits and book clubs; and for tutoring and testing.
School libraries function as a central location for all of the information available, and a school librarian functions as the literary map to the resources and materials found within the library.[16]
A school library functions as an opportunity for educators to work with librarians in support of a resource center for the students to be able to safely access the internet for both school work and interacting with each other. In her article, "Tag! You're It!": Playing on the Digital Playground, De las Casas discusses how today's youth is much more comfortable with technology than ever before, and believes that “We need to advocate for regulations and laws that support education of young people rather than simply limiting their access to the Web.”[17]
The school library media center program is a collaborative venture in which school library media specialists, teachers, and administrators work together to provide opportunities for the social, cultural, and educational growth of students. Activities that are part of the school library media program can take place in the school library media center, the laboratory classroom, through the school, and via the school library's online resources.[18]
In Australia school libraries have played a major role in the success of Reading Challenge programs initiated and funded by various State Governments.
The Premier's Reading Challenge in South Australia, launched by Premier Mike Rann (2002 to 2011) has one of the highest participation rates in the world for reading challenges. It has been embraced by more than 95% of public, private and religious schools.[19]
The school library collection
School libraries are similar to public libraries in that they contain books, films, recorded sound, periodicals, realia, and digital media. These items are not only for the education, enjoyment, and entertainment of all members of the school community, but also to enhance and expand the school's curriculum.
Budget
Budget is a critical component of building a school library collection. It is important to utilize those funds for the best interest of the school community.[20]
Staffing of the school library
In many schools, school libraries are staffed by librarians, teacher-librarians, or school library media specialists or media coordinators who hold a specific library science degree. In some jurisdictions, school librarians are required to have specific certification and/or a teaching certificate.[21]
The school librarian supplies children with educational books (Russia, 1959)
The school librarian performs four leadership main roles: teacher, instructional partner, information specialist, and program administrator. In the teacher role, the school librarian develops and implements curricula relating to information literacy and inquiry. School librarians may read to children, assist them in selecting books, and assist with schoolwork. Many school librarians also teach technology skills to students, such as keyboarding and Microsoft and Google applications. Some school librarians see classes on a "flexible schedule". A flexible schedule means that rather than having students come to the library for instruction at a fixed time every week, the classroom teacher schedules library time when library skills or materials are needed as part of the classroom learning experience.
Students, from Robbinsdale Middle School (RMS) (Minnesota 2019) use an OPAC terminal to search for books, ebooks, and databases.
In the instructional partner role, school librarians collaborate with classroom teachers to create independent learners by fostering students' research, information literacy, technology, and critical thinking skills.
As information specialists, school librarians develop a resource base for the school by using the curriculum and student interests to identify and obtain library materials, organize and maintain the library collection in order to promote independent reading and lifelong learning. Materials in the library collection can be located using an Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC). Often these catalogs are web-based from which students can gain access both at school and from home.
This role also encompasses many activities relating to technology including the integration of resources in a variety of formats: periodical databases; Web sites; digital video segments; podcasts; blog and wiki content; digital images; virtual classrooms, etc. School librarians are often responsible for audio-visual equipment and are sometimes in charge of school computers and computer networks.
Many school librarians also perform clerical duties. They handle the circulating and cataloging of materials, facilitate interlibrary loans, shelve materials, perform inventory, etc.
School librarian with card files (Minnesota, 1974) Photo for historical perspective. Most school libraries use a computer based electronic catalog for holdings and search functions and no longer use card catalogs.
↑ Todd, R., Kuhlthau, C., & OELMA. (2014). Student Learning through Ohio School Libraries: The Ohio Research Study. Available online at: "OELMA Student Learning". Archived from the original on 2004-08-29. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
↑ Dewey, M. (1920). What a library should be and what it can do. In A. E. Bostwick (Ed.). The library and society: Classics of American librarianship (pp. 75-78). New York: H.W. Wilson.
↑ Charles C. Certain Committee. (1986). Standard library organization and equipment for secondary schools of different sizes. In Melvil M. Bowie (Comp.), Historic Documents of school libraries (pp.34-51). Littleton, CO: Hi Willow Research and Publishing. (Original work published 1920, Chicago: American Library Association)
↑ Michie, Joan S., et al. "Fifty Years of Supporting Children's Learning: A History of Public School Libraries and Federal Legislation from 1953 to 2000. NCES 2005-311." (March 1, 2005): ERIC, EBSCOhost (accessed March 1, 2018).
↑ Boardman, Edna (September–October 1994). "The Knapp School Libraries Project: The Best $1,130,000 Ever Spent on School Libraries". Book Report. 13 (2): 17–19. ISSN0731-4388. ERIC # EJ489785.
↑ American Association of School Librarians & Association for Educational Communications and Technology. (1988). Information power: Guidelines for school library media programs. Chicago: American Library Association.
↑ American Association of School Librarians & Association for Educational Communications and Technology. (1998). Information power: Building partnerships for learning. Chicago: American Library Association.
↑ Smith, K. (2002). "Building Student Learning Through School Libraries." Statement delivered at the White House Conference on School Libraries, available from: "IMLS - News & Events - Conferences". Archived from the original on 2008-09-16. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
↑ Felmley, D. (2010). How far should courses in normal schools and teachers’ colleges seek to acquaint all teachers with the ways of organizing and using school libraries?. Journal of Proceedings and Addresses of the Forty-Sixth Annual Meeting Held at Cleveland, Ohio, 1087-1095. doi:10.1037/e597422010-207
↑ De las Casas, D. (2010). “Tag! you're it!”: playing on the digital playground. Knowledge Quest, 39(1), 80-82.
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.
The Association of College and Research Libraries defines information literacy as a "set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning". In the United Kingdom, the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals' definition also makes reference to knowing both "when" and "why" information is needed.
A teacher-librarian or school librarian or school library media specialist (SLMS) is a certified librarian who also has training in teaching.
Educational technology is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, "EdTech," it often refers to the industry of companies that create educational technology. In EdTech Inc.: Selling, Automating and Globalizing Higher Education in the Digital Age, Tanner Mirrlees and Shahid Alvi (2019) argue "EdTech is no exception to industry ownership and market rules" and "define the EdTech industries as all the privately owned companies currently involved in the financing, production and distribution of commercial hardware, software, cultural goods, services and platforms for the educational market with the goal of turning a profit. Many of these companies are US-based and rapidly expanding into educational markets across North America, and increasingly growing all over the world."
Technology integration is defined as the use of technology to enhance and support the educational environment. Technology integration in the classroom can also support classroom instruction by creating opportunities for students to complete assignments on the computer rather than with normal pencil and paper. In a larger sense, technology integration can also refer to the use of an integration platform and application programming interface (API) in the management of a school, to integrate disparate SaaS applications, databases, and programs used by an educational institution so that their data can be shared in real-time across all systems on campus, thus supporting students' education by improving data quality and access for faculty and staff.
"Curriculum integration with the use of technology involves the infusion of technology as a tool to enhance the learning in a content area or multidisciplinary setting... Effective technology integration is achieved when students can select technology tools to help them obtain information on time, analyze and synthesize it, and present it professionally to an authentic audience. Technology should become an integral part of how the classroom functions—as accessible as all other classroom tools. The focus in each lesson or unit is the curriculum outcome, not the technology."
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an educational framework based on research in the learning sciences, including cognitive neuroscience, that guides the development of flexible learning environments and learning spaces that can accommodate individual learning differences.
English-language learner is a term used in some English-speaking countries such as the United States and Canada to describe a person who is learning the English language and has a native language that is not English. Some educational advocates, especially in the United States, classify these students as non-native English speakers or emergent bilinguals. Various other terms are also used to refer to students who are not proficient in English, such as English as a second language (ESL), English as an additional language (EAL), limited English proficient (LEP), culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD), non-native English speaker, bilingual students, heritage language, emergent bilingual, and language-minority students. The legal term that is used in federal legislation is 'limited English proficient'. The instruction and assessment of students, their cultural background, and the attitudes of classroom teachers towards ELLs have all been found to be factors in the achievement of these students. Several methods have been suggested to effectively teach ELLs, including integrating their home cultures into the classroom, involving them in language-appropriate content-area instruction early on, and integrating literature into their learning programs.
An academic library is a library that is attached to a higher education institution and serves two complementary purposes: to support the curriculum and the research of the university faculty and students. It is unknown how many academic libraries there are worldwide. An academic and research portal maintained by UNESCO links to 3,785 libraries. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there are an estimated 3,700 academic libraries in the United States. In the past, the material for class readings, intended to supplement lectures as prescribed by the instructor, has been called reserves. Previously before the electronic appliances became available, the reserves were supplied as actual books or as photocopies of appropriate journal articles. Modern academic libraries generally also provide access to electronic resources.
Library instruction, also called bibliographic instruction, user education and library orientation, consists of "instructional programs designed to teach library users how to locate the information they need quickly and effectively. [It] usually covers the library's system of organizing materials, the structure of the literature of the field, research methodologies appropriate to the academic discipline, and specific resources and finding tools " It prepares individuals to make immediate and lifelong use of information effectively by teaching the concepts and logic of information access and evaluation, and by fostering information independence and critical thinking. Above all they are aimed at equipping library users with skills to locate library sources and use them effectively to satisfy their information needs.
A special library is a library that provides specialized information resources on a particular subject, serves a specialized and limited clientele, and delivers specialized services to that clientele. Special libraries include corporate libraries, government libraries, law libraries, medical libraries, museum libraries, news libraries. Special libraries also exist within academic institutions. These libraries are included as special libraries because they are often funded separately from the rest of the university and they serve a targeted group of users.
Open Learning Exchange Nepal is a non-government social organization working to increase access to education through the integration of technology. Founded in 2007, the organization aims to increase the quality of education through the creation of open-source digital learning activities combined with teacher training.
Susan Neuman is an educator, researcher, and education policy-maker in early childhood and literacy development. In 2013, she became Professor of Early Childhood and Literacy Education, and Chair of the Department of Teaching and Learning at NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.
A sighted child who is reading at a basic level should be able to understand common words and answer simple questions about the information presented. They should also have enough fluency to get through the material in a timely manner. Over the course of a child's education, these foundations are built on to teach higher levels of math, science, and comprehension skills. Children who are blind not only have the education disadvantage of not being able to see: they also miss out on the very fundamental parts of early and advanced education if not provided with the necessary tools.
Teachinghistory.org, also known as the National History Education Clearinghouse (NHEC), is a website that provides educational resources for the study of U.S. history.
Computers in the classroom include any digital technology used to enhance, supplement, or replace a traditional educational curriculum with computer science education. As computers have become more accessible, inexpensive, and powerful, the demand for this technology has increased, leading to more frequent use of computer resources within classes, and a decrease in the student-to-computer ratio within schools.
Nazarbayev University (NU) is an autonomous research university in Astana, Kazakhstan. It was founded by the former President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev in June 2010. It is an English-medium institution, with an international faculty and staff.
Learning commons, also known as scholars' commons, information commons or digital commons, are learning spaces, similar to libraries and classrooms that share space for information technology, remote or online education, tutoring, collaboration, content creation, meetings, socialization, playing games and studying. Learning commons are increasingly popular in academic and research libraries, and some public and school libraries have now adopted the model. Architecture, furnishings and physical organization are particularly important to the character of a learning commons, as spaces are often designed to be rearranged by users according to their needs.
In the United States, elementary schools are the main point of delivery of primary education, for children between the ages of 4–11 and coming between pre-kindergarten and secondary education.
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.
Information Communications Technology is usually included in the Home Economics and Livelihood Education program in grade school and taught through the Technology and Home Economics program in high school. The recent status of ICT education in the Philippines, along with other Southeast Asian countries, was surveyed by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) in 2011. Using the UNESCO model of ICT Development in Education, the countries were ranked as Emerging, Applying, Infusing or Transforming. The Philippines were ranked at the Infusing stage of integrating ICT in education, indicating that the country has integrated ICT into existing teaching, learning and administrative practices and policies. This includes components such as a national vision of ICT in education, national ICT plans and policies, complementary national ICT and education policies, professional development for teachers and school leaders, community or partnership and teaching and learning pedagogies. A 2012 study reported that public high schools in Metro Manila had a computer to student ratio of 1:63. While 88 percent of schools have internet connections, half of the students claimed not to be using it.
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